Thunder and Lightening: Chapter 28Home « Thunder and Lightening Index « Previous

- Chapter 28

Posted: February 07, 2005 - 11:24:23 am



The lawyer at the door groaned as he wondered for the thousandth time how he had

ended up with Melissa and her mother as clients. Shaking his head, he said, "You

got the better client in this mess."

Smiling, Jerry could understand what the man meant. He nodded his head and said,

"I'm here to pick her up."

"Come in," replied the lawyer as he opened the door.

Jerry stepped into the house and looked around. Horrible memories of coming here

on holidays returned to him. This place had been the scene of lots of abuse with

him the subject of most of it. He wondered how many that times he had been

called a loser inside the walls of this house.

His mother-in-law had been a hard-hearted woman. He remembered the funeral after

his father-in-law had committed suicide, leaving behind a note that he preferred

death to spending his retirement at home. He had a glimpse into the true

character of his mother-in-law when she had not been the least bit upset, saying

only that her husband had always been a weak man and was better off dead.

He could hear his daughter moving around in the living room. It was clear that

she was not happy about the situation. He walked into the living room and said,

"Hello, Melissa. I'm sorry about your grandmother. I know that you cared about

her a lot."

"Oh, shut up. You hated her, just like you hate all women," retorted Melissa.

It would have been very hard to say that he liked his mother-in- law, but he

didn't hate her. The woman was evil and he had avoided her as much as possible.

He wasn't going to make an issue out of it even though he was sorry to hear that

she had died. He said, "I'm here to take you home."

"You're here to take me home? The greedy bastard lawyer told me that I was

supposed to live with you instead of going home to mother where I belong,"

challenged Melissa.

"I guess I should have said that I was here to take you to my home," corrected

Jerry. He wondered if the rage would return, but there wasn't any hint of it in

the pit of his stomach.

Melissa had no idea where Jerry lived. For all she knew, he lived in a palace

while making her and her mother live in that horrible little suburban home. She

snarled, "Your home. Right."

Sighing, Jerry said, "Let's get your stuff into the car and I'll take you home."

Standing in the center of the room, Melissa pointed to four suitcases and said,

"There's my stuff. We'll have to get a mover in here to get the rest of it."

"The rest of it?"

"Of course, I have a whole closet full of clothes and a couple of boxes of stuff

that I haven't unpacked yet."

"Oh," replied Jerry as he looked at her. She had no idea what her life was going

to be like when she moved in with him. He doubted the closet would hold all of

the clothes that were in the suitcases.

She looked at him tapping her foot for a minute and then said, "Well."

"Well, what?"

"Load my suitcases in your car," ordered Melissa.

"If you haven't noticed, I've been injured and can't lift things until cleared

by a doctor," replied Jerry irritated by her imperial attitude. He added, "If

you want to take them with you, you had better get them out to the car."

"What?" she screeched. How dare he suggest that she try to carry those heavy

suitcases? Her mother was right. He was an unfeeling brute that abused women by

making them do all kinds of things that ladies shouldn't ever have to do.

"You're young and healthy. A couple of suitcases shouldn't be too difficult for

you," replied Jerry.

"Mother was right. You are an abusive ape. How dare you even suggest that I

lower myself to do this when you are perfectly capable of doing it? I know that

you can carry them without a problem."

His ex-wife's lawyer shook his head at her words. He stared at the

sixteen-year-old girl unable to believe that she wouldn't even carry her own

clothes out to the car. If she had been his daughter, he would have grounded her

for a week. Looking over at the big man, he realized that Jerry was willing to

stay there all day until she took the suitcases to the car. He wanted out of

there and said, "I'll put them in the car."

Jerry looked at the lawyer thinking that this was how his ex-wife and his

daughter got men to do things for them. They both possessed an abusive sense of

offence that forced people to do their will than suffer the constant stream of

abuse that would follow a refusal. She was going to have a rude awakening in his

neighborhood.

The two lawyers carried the bags out to his Camaro. She froze at the sight of

his Camaro and the fancy paint job. She screamed, "There's no way I'm getting in

that piece of trash! I want to go in my car."

Jerry following along behind the lawyer wondered what kind of car his daughter

had. He asked, "What kind of car do you have?"

Behind him, his daughter said, "Because you are divorcing mom, I had to get a

used BMW. Can you believe that I had to settle for a car that is two years old

instead of brand new? I'm never going to be able to show my face around my

friends."

Smiling at the fact that her car was only two years old, Jerry said, "My Camaro

is older than you."

"Oh, God. You wouldn't dare expect me to get in that tacky looking thing."

"It's that or stay here," replied Jerry, knowing how much she hated the Camaro.

Her mother had hated that car when he lived at home and Melissa had adopted the

same attitude towards it. Despite all of their complaints, when he suggested

getting a new car his wife had a fit. He was actually glad now that he hadn't

gotten rid of the Camaro.

"You are white trash," she exclaimed, echoing a refrain that his ex- wife had

given voice more often than he wanted to remember. The comment no longer

bothered him. Perhaps he was white trash. After all, he was happier living in

the slums than he had ever been all the while he was living in the middle class

suburbs.

Seeing the kinds of abuse that Melissa was throwing in the direction of his

client, Tony gestured for Jerry to step away for a private talk. Wondering what

his lawyer wanted, Jerry followed him to the garage. Once they were out of

earshot of Melissa, Tony said, "You're going to have a tough time with that kid.

She's as bad as her mother."

Looking back at the Camaro, Jerry watched as Melissa started lecturing the other

lawyer about something. He frowned as he answered, "I know this is going to be

rough. I'm afraid that she's going to scream child abuse or sex abuse as soon as

we are alone."

"I didn't think about that, but I wouldn't put it beyond her," affirmed the

lawyer.

Jerry thought about the situation for a moment and said, "She can't move back to

her mother since she is up on charges of child abuse. I guess she could be told

that moving into a foster home is always a possibility if she doesn't like

living with me. Of course, some disinterested person might point out the kind of

things that can happen in a foster home, particularly to a young pretty girl."

His lawyer looked at him with a smile and said, "I suppose a disinterested

person could mention that to her."

The men returned to the car to see how packing the luggage was going on. Melissa

was not happy with having to move in with Jerry and she let that be known to

everyone. It wasn't until the lawyer spoke with her about the options that she

faced that Melissa understood just what a precarious situation she faced. She

even admitted that she had planned to charge her father with child abuse.

Getting into the car with Jerry she sat as far from him as possible.

The look of horror on Melissa's face when they drove into the neighborhood was

priceless. Glancing over at her, it was clear that she didn't believe that she

would actually have to live there. Her reaction was one of mixed fear and

disgust. It was clear that she had no experience around blacks. When she saw his

house with the car and the motorcycle in pieces under the oak tree, she turned

and stared at Jerry fully convinced that he was white trash.

He parked the car in the front yard. His daughter turned to him and asked, "This

is where you live? What are you, some kind of white trash?"

"You bet," answered Jerry with a smile.

Bill came running out of the house to find out what his father had done while he

was gone. The young man froze and stared at his sister in shock at the fact that

she was at the house. He didn't know that his grandmother had died and that his

sister was coming to live with them. The idea that his sister would come visit

them in this neighborhood ran counter to everything he knew about her.

Jerry got out of the car and opened the trunk to remove the luggage. When Bill

saw the luggage his shock turned to horror at the idea that his sister was going

to be living with them. He knew that his happy life was going to go downhill

with his sister living in the house. Seeing the luggage and knowing his sister,

Bill realized that something must have happened to his grandmother for her to be

moving in with them.

Almost afraid to learn the truth, he asked, "What happened to grandmother?"

"I'm afraid she died," answered Jerry.

The young man turned and looked at his sister wondering how she was dealing with

the news. She did not seem as upset about the death of his grandmother as he

would have expected. It was easy to see that she was angry that she had been

forced to move into this neighborhood with him and his father. Knowing her as

well as he did, it was likely that the neighborhood bothered her more than the

death of her grandmother.

His sister, looking at her brother, said, "You had better start moving my

luggage into my new room."

Looking at the luggage in the back of a car, he knew that if he did as she had

demanded, she would be dictating his life for the next five years. Bill laughed

and replied, "No, I think you ought to start moving your luggage into your new

room."

Melissa turned her father and shouted, "You tell him to move my luggage into my

room."

"No, in this household everyone has to pull their own weight," replied the

father understanding what was going on between the two siblings. This was an

attempt to position herself as Queen Bee in the household, with Bill as a worker

bee. No one was going to be a second class citizen in this house.

Jerry and Bill returned to the house leaving Melissa in the front yard standing

beside the truck. When the two had entered the house, Jerry turned to Bill and

said, "Melissa is going to live in your old room."

Although he had already moved his stuff out of his old room, the announcement

struck Bill as very unfair that he should have to give up his bedroom for

Melissa. For the moment, he feared that his life was going to return to being a

second class citizen in his own house. He complained, "Why should I be the one

to give up a room for her?"

Jerry smiled and answered, "You give up the room so that you get the one with

the lock on the door. I recommend using the lock at all times."

In the front yard, Melissa contemplated what she should do. After ten minutes,

it became clear to her that neither her father nor brother would return to carry

her luggage into the house. She wondered how they could dare treat her in that

fashion. It was so unfair that she had to do work that the men were supposed to

do.

Angry, Melissa picked up one of her pieces of luggage and carried it into the

house. She made a huge production out of carrying her suitcase, complaining the

entire time about how heavy it was. Bill watched his sister with a disgusted

look on his face.

On entering the house, she stared in shock at her surroundings. There was almost

no furniture, the walls were bare, and the only lights were the ones built into

the ceiling of the rooms. She turned and stared at the mangled bumper hanging on

the wall not knowing what to make of it.

This hellhole was going to be her home until she was able to escape. The she

noticed Bill watching her. She barked, "Where am I supposed to sleep?"

"In my old room," answered Bill.

The answer brought a smile to her face. It was the first that she had given

since she had learned that she was going to have to move in with her father. The

idea that her brother had to move for her pleased her a little since that was

the way that things were supposed to be. Men were supposed to step aside for

women.

Jerry went into the larger bedroom and moved the bags that held his clothes out

of the room. He put the bags of clothes in the living room under the futon where

they would be out of the way. Having his daughter move into the house was going

to be rough. Two bedrooms were not enough for a house with a teenage girl, a

teenage boy, and a middle-aged man.

The next few hours were spent getting a new bed for Bill. The three of them had

gone to one of the large furniture warehouses in town and picked out a simple

bed for Bill. Realizing that they didn't have any kind of dresser drawers in

which to store their clothes, Jerry bought three assemble your own dressers.

Jerry had to pay a young man with a pickup truck to deliver the bed to the house

since he couldn't wait three days for the store to deliver the furniture.

It was close to dinnertime when they finished moving furniture into Bill's

bedroom. Jerry looked over at Bill and asked, "Are you up for Mexican food?"

Bill answered, "Of course I am."

Turning to look at his daughter, Jerry asked, "How about you?"

"Yes, I can do with some Mexican food," answered his daughter realizing that she

was hungry. It amazed her that the two men actually ate out, since that was

something white trash didn't do. After a minute, it dawned on her that he

actually might be referring to a fast food place. She decided that this mean

that they were going to go to Poncho's Taco Heaven, but she was hungry enough

that she didn't care.

The three of them went outside to get into the Camaro. Melissa looked around and

noticed that besides the car that was taken apart, the motorcycle, and the

Camaro there were no other cars. She wondered if Jerry still owned that creepy

truck that he had driven to pick her up in that one time. If he did, then where

was it? She wondered if his crack whore girlfriend was driving it around.

Bill into the back seat of the car and waited for Melissa to get into it. He

didn't want her sitting behind him where he couldn't see what she was doing.

Glancing over at the old car, she asked, "Whose old car is that?"

Bill answered, "That's my car."

"Sure is ugly."

Bill laughed and replied, "It is now. When I'm done with it, it'll be an amazing

looking car. I'm thinking of painting it yellow with red flames, but dad thinks

it would look better if it is painted burgundy red. He might be right. You

should see the job that he did on the truck."

Melissa scoffed, "What do you know about nice cars?"

"I know a lot about nice cars, particularly classic cars like mine," replied

Bill. He wasn't going to let his sister badger him or make him feel like a

second class citizen. She had played that game with him his whole life. The time

spent around Sandy, Woody, and Larry had shown him that he was as good as anyone

else.

Jerry got into the Camaro and headed off towards the restaurant. It wasn't a

long drive, but Melissa stared in horror at the neighborhood through which they

drove. She couldn't believe that people would live in such rundown houses or on

streets that weren't properly paved. As far as she was concerned, these people

were living like animals. Then the thought dawned on her that she was living

just like them. She wanted to cry, but there was no way that she was going to

give her father and brother the satisfaction of seeing her weak.

Jerry glanced over his shoulder at Bill and said, "I see that some of the people

of been fixing up their houses."

"Yes, even big Ottis was painting his house earlier today."

"Now that they own their own houses, they're taking a lot more pride in their

places. I'm glad to see the neighborhood is the getting nicer."

The discussion shocked Melissa. She could not believe that this neighborhood was

an improvement over how it had been earlier. She stared at a house that had a

plastic bag taped over the window. What kind of person could live in a house

with plastic bags instead of glass windows? She didn't know and didn't want to

know.

When they pulled into the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant, she stared in

horror at the kind of place that they were eating. This wasn't a proper chain or

a high-end restaurant. This was a family owned place that spoke of poverty and

people just getting by while making a living. She was thoroughly convinced that

this would be a place that served lots of greasy food that tasted foul and old.

The reception that Jerry received when he entered the restaurant was amazing.

This was the first time that he had returned to it since he had been shot. The

owner of the restaurant, on seeing Jerry enter, had run over to him thanking him

for hiring her cousin. Almost every patron in the restaurant knew what Jerry had

done for Carlos. Few of them could believe that an Anglo would pay a Hispanic

that much money to work and go to school. It was almost too good to believe. The

owner couldn't speak English, but her excitement, tone of voice, and general

manner conveyed everything she had to say.

Jerry was surprised when Carlos came over from one of the tables in the back and

invited them to join him at the family table. Melissa and Bill were surprised by

the reception, since neither had known what Jerry had done for Carlos. Although

Bill had no idea why the family reacted in such a positive manner, he just

figured it was something that his father had done. While the kids were puzzled

by the greeting, Jerry was totally overwhelmed by the nice reception.

After Jerry had introduced everyone in his family to Carlos, Carlos introduced

them to the rest of his family. They sat down at the table even as food-filled

plates were set in front of them. The discussion flowed freely between Jerry and

the Carlos family. Bill, with the confidence that came from having been accepted

by others, was soon engaged in conversations with the others at the table that

were his age. He started talking about his car that he was restoring.

Melissa watched her father and brother as they relaxed and joked with complete

strangers. She wondered how it was that they could possibly lower themselves to

deal with Mexicans. Mentally, she corrected herself and wondered how they could

possibly socialize with wetbacks. Her mother and grandmother would have been

horrified to see her sitting in a restaurant surrounded by wetbacks.

She was surprised by the quality of food that was served at the table. The tacos

were nothing like she had ever experienced. The enchiladas were delicious. Even

the beans and rice were better than any other Mexican restaurant. Despite the

fact that she was uncomfortable with people around her, she did enjoy the food.

As she finished her meal, she thought that it was a shame that it wasn't a

trendy spot so that she could return sometime in the future.

Jerry and Carlos were talking about his education and the potential for his

advancement in the company. Carlos served as a translator, letting others in his

family know some of the things that Jerry said at the table. Jerry realized that

it would be valuable for him to learn Spanish. The Hispanic community was small,

but growing.

Bill was learning Spanish in high school and realized was that this would be an

excellent opportunity for him to practice. Although his accent was horrible, the

people at the table appreciated his attempts to communicate in their own

language. An hour of immersion in Spanish conversation was worth a month of

classes.

Throughout the meal and the time spent relaxing at the table afterwards, Melissa

was tense and uncomfortable. She wanted to leave so that she could return to a

better class of people. It wasn't long before she was nudging Jerry in his side

and said, "Let's go."

Jerry considered her request. This had been a far harder day for her than for

him. She had lost her grandmother, had been forced to move into a neighborhood

that she didn't like, and was now sitting around a table full of strangers. He

could see that the emotions of the day were catching up with her. Rather than

argue, he said, "We'll leave in a minute."

Turning to Carlos, Jerry said, "I'm afraid that I have to leave now. My

ex-wife's mother passed away today and my daughter is rather upset about it."

Although Jerry wanted to pay for dinner, Carlos's family would hear nothing of

it. They insisted that he had become family for having treated Carlos so well.

Jerry was honored by their sentiment. Looking over the large table filled with

happy smiling faces, he realized that he gained more friends today. It is a very

touching moment for the big man and his eyes misted over.

He thanked them for their sentiment and told them how much he appreciated their

kindness and goodwill. It continued to amaze Jerry when he was able to make new

friends. It seemed that once people got beyond his large size, they found the

man himself to be nice. He never thought of himself as a nice man, only as an

angry big man. The thought came to him that maybe he was the one who was fixated

on the fact that he was big and that maybe others didn't really care. The idea

was startling.

They returned to the house and found Sharon waiting for them. She had seen the

activity around the house earlier and wanted to welcome Jerry's daughter to the

neighborhood. She smiled and said, "Hello. You must be Jerry's daughter."

It wasn't until Melissa stepped out of the car and looked at Sharon that the

black woman realized that she might not want to know the young woman. The look

the younger woman gave her conveyed total contempt. She knew enough about

Jerry's past to know that the relationship between Jerry and his daughter was

not very good.

Jerry answered, "Sharon, I would like you to meet my daughter Melissa. Melissa,

this is my neighbor Sharon."

Sharon, smiling at Melissa, said, "Welcome to the neighborhood."

The young woman stared at the black woman wondering who she was and how she knew

Jerry. She immediately decided the black woman was the crack whore that her

mother was always talking about. The idea that anyone in her family would

associate with blacks was very disturbing to her. She turned her back to ignore

the older woman. Her body language and her lack of words conveyed the young

woman's true feelings.

Jerry shrugged his shoulders in apology. He didn't want to apologize for his

daughter's behavior and he didn't want to confront his daughter with her the

prejudice in public. However, he couldn't allow her to treat his friends in such

a disrespectful manner. In a patient tone of voice, he said, "Sharon is a friend

of mine. It's polite to say hello when you're introduced to a friend of your

father."

"I don't have to talk with a nigger!" Melissa shouted.

Stunned by her announcement, Bill, Jerry, and Sharon stared at Melissa with wide

eyes. The young woman glared back as though to challenge them to say anything.

The entire neighborhood became quiet as eyes turned to watch what was going on

in the front yard.

Even though the rage was gone, Jerry discovered that he still could get angered.

In a low voice that conveyed his anger, he said, "Sharon, you have my permission

to slap her."

Sharon shook her head in disgust at the woman standing in front of her. She

couldn't blame Jerry for the actions of his daughter, but that a daughter of his

could possibly talk like that disturbed her. In a cold voice, she replied, "Not

this time."

Melissa had turned to her father and said, "How dare you give permission for a

nigger to lay her hands on me! You may enjoy being around wetbacks and niggers,

but I don't."

Knowing how the other kids in the neighborhood would react the first time she

said anything like that to them, Bill said, "Mel, you are such a bitch. You are

also so fucked."

Unconscious of their actions, Bill and Jerry stepped away from Melissa wanting

to put as much distance between them and her as possible. Even Sharon backed

away from the young woman as her eyes looked around the neighborhood.

Shaking his finger at her, his deep gravely voice reverberated through the night

air as Jerry shouted, "You better learn respect for people that are better than

you. One of these days, you're going to realize that just about every damn

person on this planet is better than you are. You had better apologize to Sharon

right now."

His words had no effect on her. She looked around and realized that she was

standing ten feet from everyone else. Wondering if this was some sort of rude

behavior, she asked, "Why are you backing away?"

With a snort, Bill answered, "We don't want to get shot."

"What?" the young woman screeched while looking around in fear. She only then

realized the effect that her words might have on the neighbors. The angry looks

on the people in the neighborhood sent a chill down her spine.

"You're lucky I don't have a gun. You'd be dead already," replied Bill in

disgust. If his sister destroyed his friendships in this area, her life was

going to be absolutely miserable; he would make sure of that.

Far angrier than he thought possible without the rage, Jerry barked, "Bill, take

your sister in the house."

Bill went to the front door and unlocked it. He went inside not looking to see

if his sister entered with him. As far as he was concerned, if she chose to stay

out there then it was her problem. Jerry watched as his daughter followed his

son into the house. She walked as if she were a princess and was the victim in

this entire episode.

Shaking his head, he said, "I apologize Sharon. She's just like her mother."

"I can understand why you left your ex-wife. God, that girl is one mean spirited

bitch," replied Sharon shaking her head as the anger slowly dissipated. Afraid

of saying things that she would regret later, she said, "I'm going home."

Head down in defeat, Jerry watched her walk off. He was afraid that he had lost

a good friend. Looking up, he spotted Mr. Atkins across the street watching him

to see what he would do. Jerry walked across the street fully expecting the old

man to return to his house.

Approaching the old man, Jerry nodded and said, "Mr. Atkins. I need advice."

"Wha' cha want?" asked the old black man, his accent making it difficult to

understand his reply. He stared at the large man wondering what he really wanted

from him. There was no way that a white man would actually come over to ask for

advice from an old black man.

"What should I do with her?" asked Jerry looking back at his house.

"Nutin ya kin do. She's rotted to da core. Da kids 'ill hav' at 'er, tho,"

answered the old man shaking his head. Jerry had given him hope that things

between blacks and whites were improving. It bothered him that Jerry's daughter

had crushed that hope.

"I'm sure they will. I can't blame them when they get mad," agreed Jerry. The

kids in this neighborhood could be very violent when insulted. He shook his head

and said, "She's just begging to get hurt."

"I'll 'ave a talk wid 'em dat dey ain't to kill or maim 'er."

The answer, once he figured it out, was not what Jerry had expected, but he

wasn't going to argue. The old man was doing him and his daughter a very large

favor by telling the kids not to kill or cripple her. There was no way that he

could protect her from the other kids in the neighborhood. She was going to have

to learn how to live with the consequences of her mouth.

Nodding, he replied, "Thanks. Still, what should I do with her? I can't just

throw her out on the street."

"She's ya kid?"

"I'm afraid so," answered Jerry sheepishly.

"Why she not bin her' b'fore?" asked the old man.

"Would you want her in your home?"

"Sheet no," replied the old man with a look of horror on his face.

"Same here," replied Jerry as he looked over at the house in disgust.

Mr. Atkins cackled at the comment and the look that Jerry had shot in the

direction of the house. He was relieved to learn that Jerry didn't secretly

agree with his daughter on the matter of race. He said, "Nutin' ya kin do. She's

a bad seed."

"She's just like her mother."

Mr. Atkins asked, "How'd ya hook up wit her momma?"

"A thirsty man will drink a glass of piss if that's all he has," answered Jerry.

He wasn't proud of his marriage with his ex-wife. He had lied to himself during

the majority of the relationship and was still paying for that lie to this day.

Mr. Atkins burst out laughing. Jerry was concerned that the uncontrolled

laughter of the old man was going to cause him to injure himself. Wiping tears

from his eyes, Mr. Atkins said, "Sheet. Know wha' cha mean. He'll e'en call it,

lem'nade."

The pair of men laughed for a moment. Jerry said, "It's hard to admit that

you've been a fool. It's hard to deny when the consequences of that foolishness

follow you for the rest of your life. I hope Sharon will forgive me and Bill."

The old man looked over at the house next to Jerry's. After a minute, he said,

"Don' worry none 'bout Sharon. She's a goo' woman."

"Thanks. You're a good man, Mr. Atkins, and I value your advice."

The old man watched as Jerry lumbered back across the street. Tears came to his

eyes, as that was the nicest thing that a white had ever said to him. Jerry was

a physically big man, but he was even a bigger man inside. In a soft voice that

didn't carry to Jerry, Mr. Atkins said, "Ya a good man, too."

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