Thunder and Lightening: Chapter 15Home « Thunder and Lightening Index « Previous

- Chapter 15

Posted: November 30, 2004 - 11:13:46 am

"So how did you get here?"

Martin smiled and pointed across the parking lot to the Caddy. The Caddy didn't

have license plates or an inspection sticker. He didn't even have insurance on

the car. He answered, "I drove the Caddy."

"Damn, you're going to get tickets galore trying to get that car home."

Shrugging off the cost, Martin replied, "I'll pay them if I get stopped."

"No you won't. I'll go get the truck and the tow bar. We'll tow it to the

muffler shop and then back to the house."

"Didn't think of doing that," replied Martin. He was amazed that Jerry thought

about his problems even though the white guy was the one with real problems.

"Aw, don't worry about. It's nothing. Let's head home and get something to eat."

They'd make it back home in time to open the store. He'd work in the morning and

take some time off in the afternoon to deal with child services. Hopefully, he

would be returning home with his son.

The drive back to where they lived was quiet as each considered what they had

seen and heard in the hospital. Martin shook his head and said, "Man, a mother

shouldn't ever do that to her own kid."

"No one should ever do that to a kid," replied Jerry. Even when his rage had

burst loose of its bounds, he had managed enough control over it not to harm

anyone. Sure he had broken things like fences, walls, chairs, and doors, but

things didn't feel pain like people.

"Damn right," replied Martin. He knew that a lot of kids in his neighborhood had

mothers that weren't afraid to hit their kids, but they very seldom actually

hurt their kids.

They stopped at a chain restaurant and had a quick breakfast of eggs. As they

ate, Jerry said, "I'm going to be busy most of the day. We really need to get

another person to work in the store. Right now, if someone takes a day of

vacation we're left short handed."

Surprised, Martin looked at Jerry unable to believe what he was saying. He

asked, "You are actually going into the store today?"

"Sure, I've got responsibilities there. I'm opening the store this morning. Mike

and Karen will be in a little later."

Martin didn't know what to say about that. If this had happened to him, he'd

have taken off work to deal with everything. It wouldn't have mattered to him if

the store had to remain closed for half an hour. He shoveled some more of his

breakfast into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. It was easy to wonder what

differences it would have made to his beliefs if he had a man like Jerry in his

life when growing up. Finally, he said, "I'll open the store this morning."

Jerry laughed and said, "You forget. You are supposed to open the store this

morning with me. There's a reason why we have two people scheduled to open the

store."

"Shit, I never really thought about it," replied Martin.

Looking over at the young man sitting across from him, Jerry decided it was time

to share some of his philosophy about running a business. There was no telling

what was going to happen in the future and the young man should be prepared to

accept more responsibility. He said, "The sign over the counter says that the

customer comes first. I take that very seriously. The store opens on time. The

store closes after closing time. Orders are pulled quickly. The phone only rings

once before it is answered. Each of those things require that we do things a

certain way."

Taking a sip of his coffee, Martin nodded and said, "I never really thought

about that."

Jerry said, "We went from the third largest auto parts dealer to the largest in

this town over five years. I'm afraid that I was the weakest link in the growth

of the store."

"Why?"

"I took things too seriously and reacted to any limitations of the staff with

anger. I realize now that was bad. It made people more afraid of screwing up.

They'd made more mistakes and then would try to cover them up."

It was clear to Martin that the big guy was harsher on himself now than on

others. He said, "I like working for you. It seems to me that you are very

fair."

Smiling, Jerry said, "Oh, I always treated everyone equally. The problem was

that it was equally horrible. I've worked hard to keep from getting angry and to

treat everyone a little better."

"You've done a pretty good job of that as far as I can tell."

After a quick trip to the house where each man changed into their work clothes,

they made it to the office to open the doors on time. Jerry said, "Why don't you

take the counter? I need to move around a bit this morning."

Considering that Martin had slept in a chair and didn't get that much sleep, he

was more than willing to take the counter. It was a slow morning, probably a

result of the storm the night before. It was likely that people were taking care

of storm damage that couldn't wait over auto repairs that could be postponed.

Mike and Karen came in a half an hour after the store had been open. They

noticed the tired expression on Martin's face and the tension in Jerry. It was

obvious that something had happened and they both assumed that it was because of

the storm. Mike asked, "Do you guys get hit with that storm last night?"

"We had lots of wind and water, but no real damage. Jerry's roof leaks, but ours

actually stood up to the storm pretty well," answered Martin with a yawn. He

apologized, "Sorry, I didn't get much sleep with all of the excitement last

night."

"Yeah, that was quite a storm."

Martin gestured towards the back where Mike was pulling parts. In a low voice,

he said, "His ex-wife hit his son with a baseball bat last night. The kid showed

up on the porch in the middle of the storm. We spent the night at the hospital."

Carrying the box of parts, Jerry came out of the back. Seeing that Mike and

Karen were here, he said, "Martin, why don't you take a nap on the couch. You

look beat and won't be any good to us later when we'll really need you."

About to argue, Martin reconsidered and said, "Sure."

Turning to Mike and Karen, Jerry said, "I have some personal issues to take care

of today, so that means we are going to be running a little short handed. I have

to leave before the lunch breaks, so that means short lunches for everyone."

Mike nodded as Karen said, "Sorry about your son."

Jerry shrugged his shoulders, uncomfortable with receiving sympathy. He grunted,

"He's a good kid and will get through this."

Recognizing that Jerry felt uncomfortable about the topic, Mike asked, "So what

are your plans for today?"

"I've got to get in touch with my lawyer to get custody of Bill and make sure

that the bitch is charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Then I've got to

get him out of the hospital and take him home."

Karen asked, "What about your daughter?"

Shocked that he hadn't even thought about his daughter, he knew that she would

never live with him. All attempts to talk to her in the past had failed. Shaking

his head, he said, "I'll have to see if her Grandmother will take care of her."

The comment caused Mike and Karen to exchange a glance, shocked that Jerry

wouldn't try to take care of the girl. Did he hate her that much? Unsure of

himself, Mike asked, "Why don't you take care of her?"

"She won't even talk to me. It's pretty clear to me that she hates me as much as

her mother does," answered Jerry saddened at having to admit that aloud. He

noticed the look that crossed Karen's face, unable to believe that a daughter

could possibly hate her father that much.

Jerry said, "I always thought that little girls were supposed to love their

fathers, but that never happened in our house. My wife grew up thinking of her

father as a low life that brought home the money. My daughter is the same way."

The couple didn't know how to respond. Shaking his head, Jerry headed to the

back office to make the necessary telephone calls. The first call was to the

hospital to find out when they would be discharging his son. That would

determine everything else that he did that day. The result of the call was that

his son would be released around noon, but that he should show up a half an hour

early to take care of all the details that hadn't been handled the night before.

They wanted him to talk to a counselor about the injuries to his son.

After hanging up from the hospital, he called his lawyer realizing that this

call was going to cost him a fortune. He was racking up lawyer hours almost as

fast as he racked up work hours for himself. When the lawyer answered, Jerry

said, "Hello Tony. This is Jerry Smith."

As if anyone could mistake that deep gravely voice, Tony replied, "What can I do

for you?"

"My ex-wife hit my son with a baseball bat last night after returning home from

the hearing. He rode his scooter to my house through the storm and I took him to

the hospital. He's got two broken ribs and a broken arm."

"My God! How did he manage to make it all the way to your house?" asked the

lawyer incredulous at the feat.

"He's incredibly strong for his age," answered Jerry. There was a pregnant pause

and then he said, "I want to make sure that my wife goes to jail over this. I

need to protect my son from her. My daughter should go live with her

grandmother."

The lawyer took notes and then said, "I'll make some calls and see what I can

do. You can expect to be in court this afternoon. Is there a number where I can

reach you?"

"I don't have a telephone."

"You had better pick up a cell phone and call me back," replied the lawyer. If

he could get a judge to listen to the case, then they would have to act fast.

Jerry added getting a cell phone to his mental checklist of things to do that

day. He had no idea how long it would take to get one, but he knew that it would

have to be after ten when the stores opened. He replied, "Okay. I'll do that

when the stores open."

"Good. Call me when you get it. Until then, I've got some phone calls to make,"

replied the lawyer.

Jerry sat back and considered his options. He picked up the phone and called his

boss to make his weekly report. He was tempted to ask for a temporary

replacement, but didn't know if it would be a good idea. His boss answered,

"Hello, this is Al Sinclair."

"Hello, Mr. Sinclair. This is Jerry Smith," replied Jerry.

"You're calling early today."

"Well, some personal issues came up and I have to take care of them later

today," answered Jerry.

"Oh, what happened?" asked his boss wondering if Jerry had lost his temper. The

reports he was getting were positive and he didn't like the idea that Jerry

would blow it.

"My ex-wife took a baseball bat to my son last night. I have to arrange things

so that I can take custody of him today."

The simple factual manner in which Jerry related his story was striking in that

there was no anger or rage expressed by the man. Al said, "Well, you better take

care of your problems."

"I called to tell you that Karen was going to purchase a computer and install it

here at the store. We'll be seeing what we can do after we get some of the bugs

worked out." This whole process scared Jerry more than he would be willing to

admit. Computers were a complete mystery to him, but he recognized the need for

them in business.

"Sounds good," replied Al, surprised at how together Jerry sounded considering

the circumstances. He asked, "So what do you know about computers?"

"Nothing and this whole thing scares me to death," replied Jerry honest about

his feelings about the entire process.

Al laughed at the honest appraisal as he jotted down a note to call the

therapist to find out about the progress of Jerry's treatment. So far Jerry had

done everything that he said he would do and that had impressed Al. It made him

wonder how much of the rage was due to the ex-wife. He said, "Stick with it and

let me know how it works out."

"Sure thing," answered Jerry. He went to the next item on his list and said,

"Sales are up five percent over the past month compared to the same time period

last year."

"Five percent?"

"Yes. I'm rather concerned with that figure," replied Jerry as he went over his

notes. He had done a little investigation into the sales figures now that he was

spending more time at the store.

"Concerned? Why?" Al was surprised at the assessment.

Jerry leaned forward to read some figures off his sheet. He answered, "The

population in this area has increased by about six percent and that accounts for

most of our growth. However, we've seen a trend where people are leasing more

cars in this area. That means that the dealers are performing the repairs and we

don't have distribution within the dealer network. I'm beginning to think that

we may have reached a maximum in our business growth."

The analysis stunned Al and he sat back to think about it. He jotted down

another note and said, "I'm going to forward your observations to the

headquarters. You're the first one that has looked at the issue of leasing and

the impact on our sales."

"Well, it's just an observation and I'm not sure how accurate it is. As I

mentioned, the figures concern me."

"You're right to be concerned. I'll investigate it," replied Al. He asked, "Is

there anything else?"

"I'm still looking for a full time person," answered Jerry.

"We are having the problem in a couple of the stores. Quite frankly, we don't

understand why that is the case," replied Al.

"Kids are looking at computers rather than cars," commented Jerry. When he had

been a kid, every boy was interested in cars. Today, they talked about computers

with the same passions as people used to talk about cars.

"You could be right."

The call ended and Jerry checked the clock. It was approaching ten and he needed

to get to a phone store. There was one more call that he had to make before

leaving the office, but he realized that once he got a cell phone that he could

make the call then. After a minute of internal debate, he decided that it was

time to get a phone.

Standing up, he headed out of the office to the front of the store. Reaching

there, he said, "I'm leaving now. I'll try to be back before closing time, but

I'm not sure if I'll make it."

Mike nodded and said, "I'll take care of things here."

"Thanks," replied Jerry as he headed towards the back. On the way, he stopped by

Martin and said, "If you give me your car keys, I'll tow your Caddy to a paint

shop."

Martin said, "Leave it until Monday. You've got enough on your mind."

"The parking fee will be staggering," replied Jerry.

"Don't worry. Go pick up your kid and get him settled at home."

"Alright," replied Jerry with relief that he wouldn't have to take care of that

little item.

With a new cell phone in hand, Jerry arrived at the hospital while talking to

his lawyer. His wife was already in jail and a quick hearing concerning the

welfare of the children had been arranged for three in the afternoon. His

mother-in-law had been contacted to attend the hearing and she was more than

happy to take care of his daughter. It was interesting that she had no desire to

take care of his son. Until then, he had temporary custody of the children and

was going to have to swing by his daughter's school to pick her up for the

hearing.

At the hospital, he met with an individual from social services concerning the

welfare of his son. This had led to another conference call with his attorney

and a supervisor of the social worker. As a result of that discussion, social

services had agreed to support his bid to get custody of the boy. Life had

suddenly become very complicated for Jerry.

When Jerry entered the room, Bill was sitting up in his bed watching television

looking bored. A smile came across his face when he saw his father come in the

room. He said, "Hey Dad!"

"Hi Bill. How are you feeling?"

"It hurts to breathe, but other than that I'm okay."

"Your arm?"

"The pain killers have stopped that pain. It is just that my ribs hurt every

time I move, laugh, or talk."

Jerry sat down in the visitor's chair and said, "Well, I guess you might want to

know what is going to happen today."

Looking worried, Bill replied, "Yeah. I do."

"Your mother has been arrested for assault and is currently in jail. According

to the separation papers, she has custody of you and your sister. We are going

to court today so that I can get custody of you and so that your grandmother can

get custody of your sister." Jerry watched his son for his reaction. When he

heard that his mother had custody of him, the boy had paled. When he heard that

his father was going to court to get custody of him, the look of relief was

obvious. The news that his sister was going with his grandmother had lifted his

spirits.

"That's great news," replied Bill with a sigh of relief. He hadn't looked

forward to being injured around his older sister. He had no doubt that his

sister would hurt him on the first available chance.

"You don't seem upset that your sister is not moving in with us," remarked Jerry

wanting to get a little more of the story about what was happening in the house.

"She hates men and has become a real bitch lately. I don't know if you've seen

my scooter, but she took a hammer to it out of jealousy. When you left mom, that

was the end of her dreams of a new sports car."

The news struck him like a fist to the stomach. If he had stayed at home, his

daughter would have gotten a better car than he had. The thought irritated him

more than he could express. That she took a hammer to his son's scooter only

proved that she was just as ugly as her mother was. He said, "Don't worry. She's

going to get child support and that is all we'll do for her. Your mother is

going to jail and you won't have to deal with her. I'm sorry that things reached

this level. I really didn't know."

"Well, I never told you," answered Bill.

"The nurse is coming in a few minutes and we'll leave here. We have to pick up

your sister at school. Do you want to stop by your school and get your books?

I'm afraid that you are going to be pretty bored for the next few days."

"That sounds good. Report cards come out today," said Bill with a smile. He knew

that he had two A's and possibly another.

The nurse came into the room pushing a wheelchair. Going over to the bed, she

said, "You'll have to stand up and walk over to the wheelchair. I'll help you,

but you've got to take care not to move too sharply."

With the kind of skill that came from lots of practice with other patients, she

helped Bill get into the wheelchair. He grimaced as he sat down, but didn't seem

the worse for wear. Jerry watched him move feeling more pain than his son. He

put his jacket around his son's shoulders to help keep him warm.

The nurse pushed the wheelchair to the hospital entrance while Jerry went to get

the Camaro. Pulling up in front of the building, Jerry got out and opened the

door for his son. Bill stood up and climbed into the Camaro on his own although

the effort did cause him some pain. Once in the car, Bill said, "You should have

brought the truck. I think it would be a little easier to get into."

"I know, I thought about that," replied Jerry. He said, "Not enough room for

you, your stuff, and your sister."

"I didn't think about that."

They pulled away from the hospital and headed towards the junior high school.

Jerry was sure that the principal didn't know about the events of the previous

evening. It didn't take long to arrive at the school. After pulling into a

visitor's parking spot, Jerry helped Bill out of the car. The poor kid was

moving slow, but could walk without much difficulty.

They made their way to the front entrance of the school building. It was

lunchtime and a few of the braver kids were outside eating sack lunches despite

the chill in the air. One of the kids spotted Bill and came over in a quick

step. Eyes wide, the kid asked, "What happened to you?"

"I got hit by a baseball bat," answered Bill without boasting.

"Jesus, when did that happen?"

"When I got home from your house last night," answered Bill. He'd had a fun

evening playing video games with his friend and had come home to find his mother

smashing everything in his room.

The kid glanced at Jerry and then asked, "Was it your mother or your sister?"

"My mother," replied Bill looking down at the ground.

"We were worried when you didn't show up to school this morning. I was sure that

you had a wreck on your scooter."

Seeing that Bill had friends at school that worried about him really struck

Jerry far more than he could have imagined. That was something he had never

experienced going through school. He noticed Larry coming out of the building.

When Larry saw Bill, he headed directly over to the boy.

Jerry bent down and said, "Bill, why don't you stay here and talk to your

friends? I'll go inside and talk to your principal."

"Thanks, Dad."

As Jerry walked away, he heard Larry say, "Wow, you're dad is pretty nice."

The comment brought a smile to his face as he navigated the halls of the school.

Entering the principal's office, Jerry told the receptionist, "I need to talk to

Principal Haroldson."

The woman knew exactly who Jerry was from his previous visit. The absence of

Bill had caused a lot of excitement in the office. The presence of his father

probably meant that big trouble was on the horizon. She went to the microphone

and paged the principal who was currently walking through the halls of the

school making sure that nothing bad happened during the lunch break.

It was five minutes before the principal showed up in the reception area. He

frowned on seeing Jerry standing at the receptionist's desk and, with a gesture

of his head, indicated that Jerry should follow him into his office. Once there,

he pointed to a chair for Jerry and sat down. Shaking his head, he started the

conversation, "I assume you are here because I called social services about your

son?"

The question took Jerry by surprise and he answered, "No. I didn't know that you

did that. I talked to social services this morning at the hospital about the

situation with my son and they didn't mention that."

"Oh." The principal didn't know what to say in response to the information.

"I came here to let you know that my ex-wife is in jail for assaulting Bill with

a baseball bat. She is not to be allowed contact with him."

"Where is he now?"

"He's outside talking to his friends, Larry and Woody. I thought it would be

good for him to get a little moral support from them," replied Jerry knowing

that he would have sold his soul as a teenager to have anyone with whom he could

share his problems.

"They are good kids. Larry had a rough start, but he's found his niche in school

and is happy here. I must say that your son seems to have undergone major

changes this year. His grades are good, he hasn't been in a fight, and he's

participating in some school events," replied the principal. Bill had been a

real trouble student and many of his teachers had started the year disliking the

kid. When he had started submitting outstanding homework, many of them felt that

he was cheating. The first month of school had been tough for everyone, but Bill

had come through it well.

"I'm glad to hear that. It's going to be tough next week as I figure out how to

get him here on time and pick him up from school."

"I'll let his teachers know and we'll give him a little extra leeway," remarked

the principal. It pleased him that the father was taking his parental duties

with far more seriousness than the mother did. He had called social services

after learning that Bill was missing from home and she hadn't bothered to find

him.

Jerry said, "I want to pick up his assignments. We may need to replace his

textbooks."

"That's a problem."

"I'll know more by Monday," replied Jerry as he wondered how difficult it would

be to replace textbooks.

"I'll send the secretary around to get his assignments," said the principal as

he went through a stack of report cards. Pulling out one, he handed it over to

Jerry and said, "You might want to show him this."

Jerry looked at the envelope containing the report card and said, "You may have

just cost me a fortune."

At the puzzled look from the principal, Jerry explained, "He's been keeping a

log of how much he's been studying. I have to pay him per hour for his grades."

"Now that's a way to motivate a kid to study," replied the principal with a

chuckle.

"Well, I couldn't stand over him and make him study. The whole effort that he

put into getting those grades came from him," replied Jerry.

From the principal's perspective, it was a pleasure to deal with a parent that

took real interest in their child. It wasn't that Jerry had done much, but he

had done the right things. He had supported his son when he needed it and

provided positive motivation. He left the room and took care of getting the

homework assignments from the teachers. The receptionist would be back in half

an hour.

When the principal returned, Jerry asked, "Would it be okay if we ate lunch here

while we are waiting for the homework?"

"Sure," replied the principal. He added, "Not many parents come and have lunch

here, so expect to get lots of stares."

"I'm used to getting stared at," replied Jerry thinking about the effect that

his large size had on others.

Jerry went outside and found Bill talking to Larry, Woody, and a young lady that

he assumed was Sandy. She was at the age where her body was maturing faster than

the bodies of the boys around her. It was hard to tell how developed she was

since she wore baggy clothes that hid her body. Joining them, he said, "I got

permission for us to eat in the cafeteria. Would your friends like to join us?"

The young girl turned and looked at Jerry through half-lidded eyes as if she

were assessing him. It was the most adult examination that Jerry had ever

received from a person her age. She said, "Our classes start in five minutes."

"Then I imagine that you might want to walk to the cafeteria with us. Bill is

moving a little slowly and painfully. I'm sure that he would appreciate talking

to his friends to take his mind off his problems," replied Jerry.

Sandy stepped back and stared at Jerry for a minute as the other three boys were

waiting for her to say something. It was clear in this group who was in charge

and Jerry wondered if that was good. She smiled and said, "That would be great."

As they moved into the building, the kids talked while Jerry followed behind

them. He was a little concerned about Bill hooking up with a manipulative woman,

but refrained from making a judgement about Sandy for the time being. One of the

kids in the hall called out, "Hey big boy! I see someone finally kicked your

ass."

Jerry was surprised by the reaction from the four kids. Woody spun around and

pointed his finger at the kid that had made the comment as he shouted, "You shut

your mouth, Jimmy! I know things about you that you'd hate to have spread around

school."

As the kid burned a bright red in anger, Larry stepped forward and, in a

threatening tone of voice, said, "You better think twice about what you do

next."

Sandy had moved over to Bill and said, "Hey, don't let that asshole get you

down."

Jerry was shocked to see all three kids come to his son's side in such a unified

show of support. Woody dealt with the verbal insults, Larry backed him

physically, and Sandy supported him emotionally. Jerry wondered how his life

would have been different if he'd had that kind of support in school. It was

almost enough to bring tears to his eyes.

At the door to the cafeteria, Woody said, "We had better get to class. It's good

to see that you're up and about."

As the three kids started to leave, Jerry said, "Hey kids. Thanks for watching

over him."

As Woody and Larry went on their way, Sandy turned and looked at Jerry for a

minute. Shaking her head in disbelief, she went on her way.

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