"There's nothing worse for a child," Mom said, "than to be brought up by selfish, quarreling parents."
"Who's selfish? I've told Jodi I'll pay child support."
"That's not the kind of support she needs most."
Chapter Twenty
When Mom came home at noontime on New Year's Day, Oz had already left. We had cleaned up our mess, and I'd thrown our empty bottles and cans into the garbage.
For being out all night, Mom seemed unusually bright and sparkly, not at all wasted-looking like she should have looked after being at an all-night party. Like I'm sure I looked.
I lay stretched out on the couch, watching the Bear-Packer game on TV. Bears were winning, 14-3. Awesome.
"How was your evening?" Mom asked.
"Fine."
"You look pale. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. Oz and I didn't get much sleep. What about your evening?"
"Marvelous. We danced all night. Had a huge breakfast at four this morning. Talked and talked and talked."
She was standing in front of the TV, and I tried to see around her. "Mom, move."
She punched the TV's power button. Picture and sound vanished. I sat up and reached for the remote control. "Hey!"
"Listen to me, Michael." She snatched the remote from my grasp. "Ted has an unmarried daughter who got pregnant and now has a little girl. Lisa."
"Ted?"
"The man who picked me up last night."
I frowned. "What's that got to do with me?"
"Nothing, of course, except that the boy dropped Megan—she's Ted's daughter—the minute he found out she was in trouble."
I blinked, then stared at Mom. "You were talking to this Ted guy about me?"
"She thought he loved her—she's devastated—and she's finding it very difficult to bring up the child herself with no acknowledgment from its father."
"The situations aren't the same, Mom. I plan to acknowledge the baby. If it's mine."
"You need a solid relationship with the mother."
That thumping in my head started to get worse. I sprawled back on the couch. "Mom, I tried with Jodi. I'd been seeing her. We went eagle watching and skating. I met her grandparents. I brought her over here for dinner, remember? And we had this disagreement...I told you about it."
"You need to call her," Mom said. "Smooth things over. I'm not saying you have to marry her, but the two of you must get along for the baby's sake."
"I don't know if we can. She's got a short fuse, she's stubborn, and I'm not sure I understand her all the time."
"There's nothing worse for a child," Mom said, "than to be brought up by selfish, quarreling parents."
"Who's selfish? I've told Jodi I'll pay child support."
"That's not the kind of support she needs most."
I grabbed both sides of my head and massaged my temples.
Man, what I didn't need this morning from my mom was a continuing lecture about getting along with Jodi. I'd tried hard enough already. Suddenly I was tempted to tell Mom about Jodi and Luke. Maybe that would get Mom off my back. But I didn't. I just couldn't.
I held my hand out. "Remote? Please?"
Mom tossed the remote on the couch, whirled on her spiked heels, and stalked up the spiral stairs. Her heels click, click, clicked across the kitchen floor above me. I flopped flat on the couch and stared at the ceiling. Then I closed my eyes and prayed my head would stop throbbing. I'd be damned if I'd call Jodi. If she needed my support so bad, let her call me.
When I went back to school Monday after Christmas vacation, Christie trapped me in front of my locker before classes started.
"What did you tell Oz about me?" she asked. Her brown eyes blazed.
"Nothing," I said, backing up against my locker.
She pointed a finger at me. "You told him we'd done it, didn't you?"
Kids paused in the hall long enough to look over their shoulders and to listen a second. God, I was tired of hearing women bitch me out. They were all allies, all of them. Female warriors. All against me. Even my mom.
"Keep you voice down—I did not," I said.
"Why all of a sudden did he come on to me? I mean, at my house one night Oz wouldn't let me alone. He was all hands."
"I don't know why he came on so strong. Maybe you encouraged him."
"I did not!"
"That's what girls always say."
She stepped back, glaring at me, more furious than before, her face red, her fists clenched. "Both of you have been talking about me, haven't you? Comparing notes. You told him I'd do it, didn't you?"
"I did not. He thought you liked him."
"I did like him! That doesn't mean I wanted him to maul me."
"I didn't say anything about us."
"You're such a liar, Michael."
"I'm not lying."
"Jodi Jackson talked to me just before Christmas. I nearly died when she introduced herself, and I realized what you'd done to her."
"That was a mistake...an accident, pure and simple."
"I always thought there was another girl last summer, the real reason why you wouldn't take me back, but you lied to me."
"I didn't know she was pregnant, I never expected to see her again."
"She's in love with you. But I don't know why."
"She tell you that?"
"I could tell by the way she talked about you."
"I should hate her," Christie said, "but it's you I hate, Michael! I hate all men!" Christie cocked her hand as if she were going to slap me. I tilted my head back and lifted my forearm to protect myself. But Christie didn’t swing. Instead, she yelled, "You're all a huge pain in the ass!" She whirled and stormed off into the stream of kids hurrying to class.
I pounded my locker with a doubled fist.
The turmoil relationships spawned was incredible. I needed to regain my focus. Keep my life simple.
