Chapter Twelve I Hate Country Clubs
I don’t know what part is more shocking to me, the fact that Jason and Noah have clearly met before and no one thought to tell me, or that Noah called Jason “Uncle Jason.” Is Jason really Noah’s uncle? That would make Noah my cousin… sort of. The way that Sadie is my cousin, at least.
Do I have a major crush on my cousin? If so, the curse really outdid itself.
A waiter comes to us offering something called chateaubriand, which looks like little chunks of beef on toast. We unlink our arms to take one each.
“It’s roast beef,” Noah says. “Why don’t they just call it roast beef?”
I eat my admittedly delicious roast beef. “You want to tell me what that was all about?”
“What?”
“You calling Jason your uncle? Don’t tell me you’re my long-lost stepcousin?”
Noah chuckles, wiping his fingers on his napkin. “No, I’m not your cousin, Noorani. Step or otherwise. But yeah, my dad and yours go way, way back, and he once told me to call him ‘Uncle Jason.’ ”
“And you didn’t tell me this because…” I frown, thinking back to when he agreed to come to this party. He only said yes after I told him who my stepfather was. “Does your family have some feud with my family, and is that the only reason why you agreed to come tonight?”
He nods. “Yup. Not sure why that would be a problem. You wanted me here to upset Jason, and I guarantee that bringing Mike Jacobs’s son as your date upset him more than if you’d brought some other random juvenile delinquent.”
I exhale. He’s right of course. But still. It feels weird. Like Noah used me for his own nefarious reasons. Technically I’m using him, too, but at least I told him everything first.
“Okay, but will you tell me how your dad knows Jason?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s get more of this fancy roast beef, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Together we find a big plate and fill it not only with the roast beef appetizers but also mini tomato tarts, these weird little pastries filled with cream cheese and peas, and big round cheese puffs.
I can feel people staring at us the whole time, and that feels very weird, because I’m not used to standing out for breaking the rules. Weird, but not… bad?
When we have our food, we find an empty table in the greenhouse portion of the room.
The sun is starting to set, and the sky is turning gorgeous shades of yellow and orange over the green expanse of the golf course.
It’s so pretty. I really don’t understand why this huge piece of land is used for a sport that most people can’t afford to play.
I also wonder how many people they need to weed that thing.
“Okay, tell me,” I say after we’re sitting. “What’s your family’s history with the LeClairs?”
“My dad and your dad—”
“Stepfather,” I correct. He’s not even in stepdad territory.
He smiles. “Okay, your stepfather and my dad knew each other when they were teens. Remember I said my dad was in a grunge band when he was young? Jason was the lead singer.”
My eyes widen. “Seriously?” Jason is not a musician. He’s a dork, not a rock singer.
Noah nods. “He was awesome. I’ve seen videos. The band was called Crash on Jupiter. My dad played lead guitar; Jason played rhythm guitar and sang. A couple of other guys were on drums and bass. They were phenomenal. Jason was a beast with his vocals. They should have been huge.”
I frown. I can’t picture straitlaced politician Jason fronting a rock band. “When was this?”
“Late nineties. Dad was seventeen when they started, and twenty-one when they broke up.”
I shake my head, amazed. Does Mom know about this? “How did they even meet? Jason went to Randell Academy. Did your dad go there too?”
Noah chuckles, shaking his head. “He went to Cherrybridge, same as me. They met at Gordon Park, back when they used to have concerts there. Pretty much all the teens in town used to go to them. A bunch of them started jamming together when they realized they all played instruments. Eventually they started practicing in Jason’s garage. ”
“Oh wow.” I can’t believe Jason’s conservative parents let Jason’s rock band practice in their home. “So, what happened? If they were in a band together, why does everyone seem to hate each other now?”
Noah makes a sour expression. “Because Jason ruined their chance of success. When they had an offer for a record deal, Jason refused to sign. He said he didn’t want to ruin his future opportunities or something.
They all fought about it, and Jason quit the band.
They lost the record deal. Dad and the others tried on their own, but they couldn’t make it work.
Jason was the front man. He couldn’t be replaced. ”
I’m shocked about all of this. There is no way Mom knows that her new husband was almost a rock star. “Okay, but this still doesn’t make sense. You said this was in the nineties, before you were born. When did Jason tell you to call him Uncle Jason?”
Noah exhales, his face kind of dropping. “Yeah. So my dad, he took the whole situation pretty bad. And I don’t blame him; his dreams were crushed. He could have been the next Dave Navarro or Johnny Marr.”
“Those are guitar players from the nineties, I assume.” I don’t know that much about nineties rock.
He nods. “Dad and the guys all drank a lot back then, but Dad got into some worse crap after the band broke up. Met a woman—my brother Aaron’s mom.
She was already an addict. They were apparently clean for a bit when Aaron was born, but they relapsed.
Dad was arrested a few times. Aaron’s mom OD’d and died.
Then he met my mom. She used to work here at the hospital, and he was clean for a while again.
” He pauses, taking a beat to look at his hands and not make eye contact with me.
“I was born. Then Dad started using again. Mom left him and took me to Toronto. But then I came back to Cherrybridge because Mom got a live-in job, and Dad said he and Aaron did better when I was with them. But…” His voice sounds wooden now.
It’s clear that he’s still traumatized by all this.
As he should be. What a tough childhood.
I put my hand on his arm. He gave me strength earlier when I was nervous about this party, and I hope I can give him support too.
“Is this why you said you don’t drink yesterday?
Because your dad’s an alcoholic?” He nods.
I cringe. I was buzzed and sloppy off that wine, and I even offered him some.
I want to tell him that it was the first time I ever drank alcohol, but this moment isn’t about me right now.
“What was it like here when you came back to Cherrybridge?”
He blinks. “I was, like, seven years old. Dad was always drunk. And Aaron was smoking weed by then. Dad was fired from the auto shop he worked at and then arrested for disorderly conduct again. But this time, after Dad was released, Jason showed up at our house, saying he used to be Dad’s best friend.
He paid for Dad to get addiction counseling and offered to pay for music lessons for both me and Aaron, if we wanted them.
Jason told Dad that if he stayed clean, he could have a job at LeClair Industries.
My dad took him up on his offer and worked his way up to supervisor there.
” Even though Noah seems to be telling a success story, his jaw is clenched at the memory.
“Wow…” I really don’t know what to say. I mean, it was pretty cool of Jason to help Noah’s family, but why is Noah so bitter about Jason and the LeClairs now? “So, they didn’t stay friends?”
Noah huffs with derision. “They were never friends. Yeah, maybe when they were young, but when Jason backed out of that record deal, Dad knew they would always be from different worlds. Jason left the band because he was a LeClair. He didn’t need the money.
His future was already set. But the rest of the guys didn’t have the luxury of guaranteed success. ”
“But it was cool of Jason to help your dad get clean, wasn’t it? And he got you music lessons!” I’ve heard Noah play. The music lessons paid off big-time.
But Noah sneers at that. “Throwing money at us because of guilt doesn’t take away the fact that my father lost a chance to be a lot more than just a plant supervisor.
And… Jason didn’t stay in our lives after that day.
I’ve barely seen him. It’s clear he’s not going to lower himself to associate with any Jacobs now. ”
I can relate a little. Just like Mom threw money at me, or an expensive new phone, when she felt guilty about forcing me to live here. “Is Jason still paying for your music lessons?”
Noah nods. “Just for me. My brother was taking drum lessons, but he quit years ago. You saw, though, Jason didn’t even know who I was.
He gets a bill from the music school, and he pays it.
I don’t even think he knows what instrument I play.
He’s not paying for my vocal lessons, though. I’m trading babysitting for those.”
Okay, I had no idea that Noah babysits. It’s wild to me that everyone thinks this guy is trouble. He’s actually quite wholesome.
“Is it through the same music school?”
He shakes his head. “No, my vocal teacher, Clara, does private lessons. She also works at Donut Den, but she’s a trained singer. She studied vocal performance in university. Her husband is active military, so she needs babysitting when he’s deployed.”
I chuckle. I knew those rumors about him and that waitress were wrong. “Does your dad still… I mean, is he still—”
“Drinking or using? No. He’s been clean for a while now. But—” He exhales. “My brother isn’t doing so well.”
I recognize his expression; he doesn’t want to talk about his brother’s problems. “Your dad must be super proud of you, though. You’re an amazing guitarist and singer. You could be a professional musician. Maybe you can achieve your father’s dreams.”