CHAPTER 20 - SHE SPEAKS BUT DOESN’T LISTEN...AND HE MOUTHS OFF

MEL AND LINDSAY’S HOUSE - FRIDAY EVENING

KITCHEN

JENNY

I am so fucking bored! I put my mug in the sink, but then Mom clears her throat behind me. So with a deep sigh, I rinse it out.

“What are you up to tomorrow?” She asks.

As if you care!

“Nothing much. I have nobody to do it with anyway.”

She sighs. “Jenny, has it occurred to you that now that there has been a slight cooling off period, an apology might go some way to repairing the cracks in your relationships?”

“Don’t tell me, tell them! They haven’t called me!” I whine and then frown at the look of astonishment on her face. “What? They haven’t.”

“Seriously, this is your thought process over your actions over the last few months?”

“Months?” I gasp. “Mom, can we sit down and you actually listen to my point of view?”

“Yes. Where do you want to have this conversation?”

“Wait, shouldn’t we wait for Mommy?”

“No, it’s just going to be us having this talk. Besides, she’s out this evening. Shall we go to your lounge?”

LOUNGE

MEL

I watch carefully as she gets herself comfortable a-la-Lindsay when she’s trying to placate, justify and bamboozle. She look expectantly at me and I nod for her to proceed.

“When we, I mean you and Mommy, decided to uproot us back here, you never took into consideration how lonely it would be for me…”

“Lonely?”

“Yes, I have nobody. In Canada, I had friends and…”

“They listened to you and had your back?”

“Yes!” She declares, mistaking my comment for support.

“But did you have theirs? Was it friendly to call Wendy a BUB?” I ask, but she waves away the question. “I want an answer. Was it friendly to do that for months?”

“I was only joking!”

“It’s not funny when you’re the only one in it. And then, of course, you telling them that they all were the last time they were here, not clever.”

“I was upset.” She grinds out.

“How would you have felt if they said that about and to you?”

“They wouldn’t do that!” She declares smugly.

“Exactly. So why was it okay for you to do so?”

“Like I said, I was upset.”

“About what?”

“They didn’t come back with me as they should’ve done! I still can’t believe that they did that!”

“But they didn’t do anything. Why should they have had to curtail their evening because of your stupidity and recklessness? Your Mommy wanted them to all go home, but I said no. She was as unhappy as you were. We are not the selective Musketeers. It is either all for one and one for all, all the time, or everyone for themselves all the time. You can’t have it both ways.”

She opens and then closes her mouth before having her lightbulb moment. “You and Gus conspired against me with regards to Uncle Brian.” I can hear the triumphalism in her voice.

“How so?”

“You stopped him from buying me stuff. Why did things have to change and so quickly?”

“You can still get stuff, but not immediately as we don’t have access to the funds he does. And as for why it changed, you know why. He got his rights back and we promised Gus that as your parents, we wouldn’t go to Brian for things we should be paying for.”

“That’s my point! Gus, Kemi and Kendi ask and get, so why do I have to wait now? I am used to getting my own...I mean things I wan...I mean…” She trails off, scowling at the sardonic look I know is on my face.

“It’s not funny!” She grumbles.

“Oh yes, it is! Besides they don’t ask and get...they earn what they want. Despite them all growing up apart, well mostly for Gus and Kemi, their fathers instilled the same values. Work for what you want, don’t expect. Okay, so tell me a couple of things: why did you ask your Mommy and not me for the Chloe trainers? And why do you call her Mommy and not Momma in the reverse of what Gus does?”

“Does it matter?” She sighs dismissively.

“Yes, especially when you say it to infantilize yourself. Which...no let me finish, you do. You have a particular tone you use with me and Mommy. With me, you whine and complain but with her you speak softly and sweetly, almost like a baby tone. But woe betide anybody that gets between you and what you feel, rightly or wrongly, is what you are due. Then, you suddenly become a bossy brat with a big mouth and no filter.” Said mouth opens in surprise. “So why do you think you needed $385 trainers and what are your thoughts on your trust fund?”

She sits up straighter. “Regarding the trainers, I think that was particularly hurtful and a total over-punishment!”

“You made the choice to have them displayed in your bedroom and not use them for their proper purpose. Every fashionista wears what they buy. And no, you didn’t deserve the money from the sale of them. Nobody should profit from a lie.”

“It wasn’t a lie!” She objects, sounding just like Lindsay.

“Did either of you actually say to Uncle Brian that you wanted a pair of Chloe trainers?”

“No.”

“Then you lied by omission. Still a lie. Which I am glad Gus told him about.”

“Gus told him!” She spits. “What for?”

“He was protecting his father from hurt. You and Mommy lied to him and you know he hates people lying to him.” She just stares at me. “And you are not going to pay back Gus for that; he did the right thing.”

“Speaking of rights, why were they given back?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but because that is what they both wanted.” I reply.

“Who’s both?”

“Gus and his father. It wasn’t fair to be back in the States and for him to be used as a walking wallet.”

“Speaking of money...my trust fund. I…”

“Did you know about it before your Mommy mentioned it?”

She pauses. “No, but the fact remains that when I was told about it, it should not have been taken away from me.”

“You do realise that it wasn’t actually yours? You were never going to see that money.”

“Of course, I was!” She declares.

“How do you know?”

“Because Mommy and I are cut from the same cloth. She would’ve told me.”

“Yet, you didn’t know. Besides, you caused the damage to Gus’s things so it was just and fair that your money should be used to replace it.” She shakes her head, but says nothing. “So back to the trainers, why not me?”

“Mommy was the only one available.” She retorts.

“And there’s the tone. You mean that Mommy would’ve, and did, say yes and I wouldn’t have. “

She huffs angrily and folds her arms. “Why do you treat me and Gus differently?”

“I don’t; I treat you both the same. I just treat him as the older child, which he is. Which means he gets different things to you because of that and only that. Do you know that you and Gus get the same amount of allowance?”

“No, we don’t! He gets money from Uncle Brian!”

“I meant from us. It was at Gus’s insistence because he gets that extra money from his father.” This revelation does nothing to soften her sour countenance.

“But Uncle Brian is my uncle and I was promised that this would not change!”

“And he is still your uncle, which has not changed and you were never promised anything of the sort. What has changed is what he will do for you from now on, and that is nothing, as he is not your father. He is Gus’s father, Kemi’s father and Kendi’s father...not yours.”

“Why didn’t he want to be my dad?” She demands.

“He couldn’t be your dad. It wasn’t a matter of not wanting to, he couldn’t.” I tell her softly.

“Mommy said that when she told him it would be you carrying he said no...why?”

I raise my eyebrows and make a mental note to speak to Lindsay about that. Okay she doesn’t know that Brian can’t have children anymore, but she still should not have told Jenny that.

“No, that was not the case. She should not have said that to…”

“She didn’t. I heard her saying it to someone...I can’t remember who, but we both heard her say it.” She gives me the look she’s picked up from her Uncle Michael when he wants to impart some gossip but wants you to beg him for it. But I am not going to bite. “Mom, we both heard her say it…”

“Like I said, what she said was incorrect. So is there any other points of view that I can refute?”

“Refute?” She echoes.

“Yes, you maintain that this is everyone’s fault but yours. Except the common denominator in every slight, hurt and injury, is either you yourself, or something you have done to someone else and it has backfired on you. Case in point...New York.”

“Now that was totally Aunt Nya’s fault!” She exclaims. “She didn’t have to call you!”

I am so bewildered by her inability... no unwillingness to see she is at fault here that I am tempted to have her genetically tested to see if she carries any Novotny genes! “And what would you have her do? Allow you to continue to try and ruin the trip for everyone? You admitted that you behaved badly because you immediately tried to apologise. For once, you even pissed off your Mommy.”

“I still haven’t got my lipstick back!” She pouts.

“And you won’t because I am using it.”

“Oh for fuck sake!” She explodes and I have the reaction neither of us were expecting. I burst out laughing. “Why is this so fucking funny to you?!”

“Jenny!” I stop laughing and stand up quickly. So quickly in fact that she shrinks back into the sofa. “I am no longer amused!”

“You know what keep the fucking lipstick! I am going to my room!” She screams at me.

“No, you are not!” I snap. “You are going to stand in the corner, facing the wall for 12 minutes and you are going to do it now!”

“Wha…” She stammers.

“You want to behave like a child, then I will treat you like one. Needless to say, you won’t be having your tablet or your phone...which is just as well since you have no friends according to you! Now move it!”

“But…”

“I said now!”

JENNY’S ROOM - AN HOUR LATER

JENNY

I have never been so humiliated in my life! Mom conveniently neglected to mention that Aunt Jennifer was coming round with Aunt Nya for a cotillion meeting. But because of her overreaction, I spent 20 minutes in the corner whilst they had their meeting. I am sure that they deliberately exaggerated everything they would be doing to bring me to heel. Well they can fuck off! I don’t care! I am going to the cotillion because Mommy will make them take me and I shall be presented! And if I am not, then nobody will be!

TED AND BLAKE’S HOUSE - SAME TIME

LOUNGE

BLAKE

“Say that again?!” I demand while looking at him with horror.

“I know. I have no defence. Except that I was tweaked out at the time.” He says quietly.

“But Hudson...what I, I mean we, don’t understand, what trick did he want to play on Brian?”

“I can’t quite remember, but the next thing I hear is Mason was cold cocked and knocked on his ass by some blonde twink after he refused to drink the drink...” He sighs sadly. “He hit him really hard and that’s where it started. It’s still my fault though.”

“What started? And yes, it’s your fault. But what started?!” Emmy demands.

“His addiction to Vicodin.”

“Whose addiction to Vicodin?!” Emmy snarls and almost stands up, but Ted pushes him back down again.

“Mason’s. He got hit so hard that it broke his jaw, so he had to take painkillers and he quickly got hooked. But then he swapped to Crystal, and that was that. He’s been relapsing ever since. I shouldn’t have arranged to meet him there, I shouldn’t have left it with him.”

“Left what with him?” I growl.

“The GHB. I should’ve taken it with me when I went out for a smoke. But I gave it to him and when I came back, he said he’d done it.”

“Who’d done it? What are you talking the fuck about?!” Emmy starts to pace.

“Wait, let me finish. After that I got myself cleaned up and met you, Blake, I took your advice and confessed my sins to my brother. Although he was pissed, he seemed fine. But then a couple of years later, he said that Novotny approached him thinking he was me, to do him another favour but he didn’t say what at the time. He made me open a bank account for him, saying he would go to the police with the roofie idea so I did and that’s all I did I swear!” He looks pleadingly at us and Ted nods for him to continue. “For years, I didn’t bother about it, thinking it was over. But it wasn’t until he heard they were coming back that he ramped it up…”

“Who were coming back? Ramped what the fuck up?!” Ted bristles.

“The dykes and the kids were coming back. And he put it in his drink.”

“WILL YOU SPEAK IN FUCKING ENGLISH?!” Emmy bellows.

“Novotny put the GHB in Brian’s drink. And for the last five years, my brother has been pretending to him that he is the father of Melanie Marcus’s child.”

“What?!” I whisper stunned.

He swallows hard. “He has been pretending that he swapped the samples, but he didn’t. He was only the janitor in the facility, with access to nothing.”

“He was going to…” Emmy goes pale and dashes to the bathroom.

“No! Put it in his drink yes, but we were to get him home and, well you know how GHB makes you get?”

“Horny... very horny.” I reply sighing.

“So he would’ve finally gotten what he wanted and Brian would be none the wiser.” Ted growls.

“Why the hell have you come to us now with this? Why not before?!” I bellow.

“Because Mason OD’d Wednesday night.” Their faces fall. “He’s in an induced coma, so I decided to come clean and take him away from here…”

“No, you fucking don’t!” Ted barks.

“Why not, Teddy?” Emmy is looking a little better.

“It’s time we sorted out that nasty little disease once and for all!”

“Teddy, what are you thinking?!” I demand, hoping it’s what I’m thinking.

“The account is in your name and he doesn’t know you’re a twin, right?”

“Yes and no.” He replies and then realisation begins to dawn. “You want me to…”

“Yes, I want you to get in touch with Michael and keep, what did you say?Ramping it up, yes keep ramping it up until that little shitkicker breaks...I want him crumbled to fucking dust!”