A Woman Scorned

Chapter 4

“Hey little sis, how’s it going?”

“I’m not that little,” JR groused into the phone.

“Whoa, don’t bite my head off.  You called me, remember?”

“Yeah, sorry.  I’m pissed off.”

“I can tell.  What’s got your knickers in a bunch?”

“You got time for this?  Don’t you have tests or something?”

“I’ve got a lot of somethings going on but I always have time for my sister.  So what’s up?”

“You mean besides you?”

“Boyfriend in another state; nothing’s up around here.”

“Same here.”

“TMI.”

“Oh, so it’s okay for you to talk about your dick but I can’t.”

“JR, you don’t have a dick to talk about.  Is this about Curtis?” Gus asked as the light dawned on him.

“Yeah, sort of.”

“So why don’t you sort of tell me about it.”

“He’s at NYU this semester.”

“I know; Ray and Jeffrey have been hanging with him on weekends when he’s not studying.  He’s also had dinner at their house a few times.”

“Wow, you know more about him than I do.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Not really.  I guess I was a little jealous.  He’s got this great life, you know?”

“JR, there was a time not that long ago that Curtis’ life wasn’t all that great.  He’s come a long way.”

“I know that and I thought I was a part of it, but now I’m not so sure.”

“Do you miss him?”

“I do but I thought I’d miss him more.”

“Maybe it’s time for you to date other guys.”

“That’s just it, I don’t think I want to date other guys.”

“You mean you want to wait until Curtis comes back to Pittsburgh?”

“Um, no.”

Just then a very pretty young woman wearing a micro mini skirt, black patterned tights, thigh high boots and a sherpa lined denim jacket came into the comic shop.  She smiled demurely at JR through her long thick purple mascaraed eyelashes that matched her purple spiked hair.

“Then what?” Gus asked.

“Hold on,” JR said then Gus heard JR put the phone on the counter.  “Can I help you?” JR asked the young woman.

“I don’t want to interrupt your call,” the girl replied sweetly.

“No interruption, it’s only my brother,” JR said.  Gus rolled his eyes as he heard what JR said.

“Well, if you're sure.  I want to buy a present for a friend, a cousin really, who’s into comics.  I could use some expert advice.”

“Of course.  I’d be very happy to help.  Just, ah, let me say goodbye.”  JR indicated the phone.

“Sure.  I’m in no rush,” the girl said.

JR hastily picked up the phone.  “Gus, I gotta go.  Thanks for the talk.  I’ll call you later.  Bye,” JR said quickly into the phone then hung up on her brother. 

Gus laughed as he barely got out a “later” before he heard the phone slam down.

“Now how can I help you?” JR said with a pretty smile as she came around the counter.

*****

“Schmidt, my office,” Brian called out as he saw Ted hunched over a computer terminal giving a new employee some assistance.   Brian strode through Kinnetik like he owned the place, leaving peons scattered in his wake.

“Right away, Boss,” Ted replied as he stood up.

“Are you in trouble?” the employee whispered.

“Nah.  That’s his ‘nice’ voice,” Ted assured the young man.

“While I’m young!” Brian bellowed. 

“That’s his ‘getting testy’ voice.  I better go,” Ted said as he patted the man on the shoulders then scurried into Brian’s office.

“You need me, Bri?” 

Brian pointed to the sofa in the middle of the office.  As Ted took a seat, Brian came around his desk to join him.  “Ted, how long have we worked together?” Brian asked as he tried to gather his thoughts.

“Oh My God!  Are you firing me?!” Teddy asked in a panic, misunderstanding Brian’s question.  Ted began to hyperventilate.

“Geez, Ted, take a pill or breathe into bag or something!”  Brian stood as he shouted.  “Why the fuck would I fire you?”

“I don’t know!”  Ted jumped up and shouted back. 

Cynthia burst into the room.  “What is going on in here?” Cynthia asked.

“I have no fucking clue,” Brian stated.  “I’m trying to have a friendly chat with Ted and he thinks I’m firing him.”

“And are you?” Cynthia asked with her hands on her hips.

“Fuck no,” Brian replied.  “I was going to ask him what kind of help we need.  We need to have more of a presence in England and at Perspectives.  Other than the computer conferences, none of us has visited them lately,” Brian explained.  And he was seriously thinking of expanding into Canada.  They had been very well received when they went up there.

“True,” Cynthia said as she took a seat on the sofa.  Ted sat next to her.

“I want someone who has business savvy, confident with a bit of arrogance but not someone who’s going to argue with me all the time.  I get enough of that shit from you two.  Someone who’s free to travel.  And I don’t want a kid.  When Gus takes over he can hire all the kids he wants,” Brian growled.  Cynthia smiled at the thought of Kinnetik going to the next generation of Kinney.

“I, I was thinking about that,” Ted stammered as he tried to get his breathing under control.  Brian sat across from them.

“So do we need someone in sales, another accountant, what?”

“Lawyer,” Ted and Cynthia said together.

*****

“Hello?”

“Sweetheart, it’s Mom!”

“Mommy!?  How are you?”

“I’m okay.  How are you?  I hear you’re running the store,” Mel said with genuine pride in her voice.

“I know you want me to go to...” JR was ready to defend her choices, again.

“Jenny Rebecca, I just want you to be happy,” Melanie said softly.  “You’re right, JR, I will always push for you to go to college but you should do it for the right reasons and when you’re ready,” Mel said reasonably.

“Wow, I, wow!” JR wasn’t sure if she heard right.  “Mommy, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, honey.  JR, I have to tell you something.” 

All of a sudden JR became worried and took a large intake of air.  “Mommy, you’re not sick or anything, are you?”

“No baby, I promise you I’m fine.  But Portland turned out to be...I should have never left or gone so far away.  I missed you and Gus.  Believe it or not I even missed Pittsburgh.”

“So come home.  I don’t want to leave Daddy, he kinda needs me, but I really miss you.  I can talk to Daddy and Ben about anything but they’re guys!” 

Melanie softly chuckled.  “Yes they are.  JR, what would you say if I told you that I moved back?”  JR let out a happy shriek.  It was so loud that Mel had to pull away from the phone.  “Does that mean you’re okay with it?” Melanie asked with a certain amount of nervousness in her voice.

“Where are you?  Can I see you now?  Can we go to dinner?  There’s so much I have to tell you!” 

Mel laughed, happy tears streaming down her face as JR babbled on.  They made a date to have dinner that night.

*****

"Daddy, which outfit should I wear?" JR asked as she came down the stairs of the house carrying three outfits.

Michael made a face.  He had not been at all happy to hear JR's news that her mother had returned to Pittsburgh and seemed ready to pick up with her daughter just like nothing had happened.  Like the fact that Mel had abandoned her daughter.  Like the fact that Mel had moved across the country without a single thought about family.  Like the fact that Mel had walked away from them all in hopes of some doomed relationship with a woman that JR didn't like.  None of that seemed to matter to the selfish woman who just happened to be the mother of Michael's daughter.

"I'm sure any of them will be fine," Michael said in a non-committal fashion.

"But, Daddy, I want to look nice for Mom.  Which one do you like best?"  She held each outfit up against her body waiting for Michael's decision.

"You do realize that your mother and I are very different, don't you?" Michael asked pointedly.  "What I like is not necessarily what your mother will like."

"I know that, Daddy, but I want your opinion."

"I guess I'm useful for something," Michael muttered.

"What?" JR asked.

"That one," Michael said pointing to one outfit.  It was not much different from the other choices, and he didn't really care what his daughter wore for this dinner.  He just hoped she would come home at the end of it.

"Hm," JR said holding the outfit Michael had indicated at arm's length.  "Are you sure?"

"If you didn't want my opinion, then why the fuck did you ask me for it?" Michael said crossing his arms over his chest.

"Daddy!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry.  I just wish your mother hadn't sprung this sudden return to Pittsburgh on all of us."

"I'm happy she's back," JR declared.  "Aren't you?"

"Well, I..."

Just then the front door opened and Ben arrived home.

"Hey all.  What's up?" Ben asked.

"Mommy's come home," JR blurted out happily, "and I'm having dinner with her tonight."

"Mommy?  You mean Mel?  Melanie's in Pittsburgh?"

"Yes, isn't that great!" JR enthused.

"Yeah, great," Michael muttered.

"Is this a visit or is she here to stay?" Ben asked. 

"She's staying," JR said with a grin on her face.

"When did all this happen?"

"She just showed up.  Called JR out of the blue," Michael griped.

"Today?" Ben asked trying to get his mind around this disturbing train of events.

"Daaad," JR said.  "I'm glad Mommy is back.  Please be happy about it too."

"If you're happy, sweetheart, I'm happy," Ben said giving JR a hug.

"Thanks, Dad.  I need to go get changed."  JR ran up the stairs carrying her outfits. 

She seemed so excited to be having dinner with her mother.  That really rubbed Michael the wrong way.

"Can you believe that?" Michael demanded.  "Mel calls up out of the blue, and it's like she never left.  She just turns up and says she's back for good.  I can't believe JR is so happy to see her.  She should be angry at that woman.  Look at everything she's done to her daughter."

"Mel is her mother," Ben reminded his husband.  "She's happy she's come back.  Let her enjoy this."

"What?  You want me to be happy about this?  What if JR decides she wants to go live with Mel?  What if she turns her back on us?"

"JR would never do that," Ben replied gently.

"You don't know that," Michael contradicted.

"I know JR is a good kid."

"She's not a kid anymore.  She can go wherever she wants."

"So, don't pressure her.  She will make the right decision."

"You don't know that either."

"Michael..."

"I have a really bad feeling about all this."

JR came down the stairs.  Both men stopped what they were saying and turned to look at her.  She looked so beautiful and so grown up.  Michael felt his heart clench in his chest.  He didn't want to lose her.

"How do I look?" JR asked.

"Like a gorgeous young lady," Ben said.  Michael merely nodded in agreement.  "Do you want us to drive you to your mother?" Ben offered.

"No, I'll grab a bus at the corner.  I don't have far to go.  See you later."

And just like that she was gone out the front door, maybe out of their lives if Michael's foreboding proved to be true.

"She didn't even wear the outfit I chose for her," Michael said sadly.

Ben pulled him into a warm hug.  He wished he could make things better for his husband, but JR would have to decide for herself where she wanted to live and who she wanted to spend her time with.  It was all out of their hands.  He wished Michael could see it that way.

*****

JR had jumped off the bus and was walking toward the restaurant where she would meet her mother.  She heard her cell phone ring in her purse.  She stopped and pulled it out.  She looked at who was calling and pressed connect.

"Hey, Bree, what's up?" JR asked.

"JR, I need to talk to you."

"You do?  What about?"

"Personal stuff."

"Personal stuff?  You mean boys."

"Yeah."  That was one of the things that Bree liked about her sister.  She was quick on the uptake.

"That sounds like a serious conversation.  Not one for the phone."

"I guess so," Bree agreed with a heavy sigh.

"Can you get your dads to bring you into Pittsburgh on the weekend.  We could spend some time together."

"Okay," Bree said.

"I have to go.  I'm meeting Mommy for dinner and I just got to the restaurant."

"Okay," Bree agreed.

"See you soon," JR said before she shut off her phone.  She pushed open the door of the restaurant and entered.  Her heart soared as she saw her mother sitting at a table and headed in that direction.  It felt so good to be wrapped in her mother's arms after all this time.

*****

"Hello," Brian said into his cell phone.

"Brian," Michael whined, "everything is such a mess."

"A mess?  Is something wrong with Ben?"  Ben's health was always an issue.

"No, Ben's fine.  It's JR."

"Is she sick?"

"No, Mel's back," Michael informed his friend.

"Yeah, so?"

"What?  You knew, didn't you?  You knew she was back and you didn't tell me," Michael said in horror.

"I figured Smelly Melly would tell you all about her return in her own sweet time," Brian said laconically.

"You let me be blindsided."

"Michael, it's not my place to interfere."

"Since when?" Michael accused.  "The least you could have done was to tell me.  And how did you know she was back anyway?"

"She's staying in the Kinnetik suite at the Plaza," Brian admitted in a soft voice.  He knew that would not go over well with his best friend.

"You're helping her?" Michael almost screamed.

"Calm down, Michael, or you'll blow a blood vessel."

"I will not calm down!  I can't believe you've done this.  It's...It's...unbelievable!"

"Yeah, I get it ... unbelievable."

"You are an asshole," Michael spit out before cutting the connection.

Brian pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it.  He couldn't remember the last time Michael had hung up on him.  He hadn't realized how upset Michael would be about him allowing Mel to stay in his corporate suite.  With a heavy sigh he set down the phone.  He wondered if his friend would ever grow up.