Chapter 8
Clem
Sunday morning and both Oren and I are grinning like a pair of fools as we saunter over to Whitney’s. Well, I saunter, while he’s running as fast as his legs will carry him. I’m sure he’d move in with her given half a chance.
As I near the front door, I hear Oren asking what she’s doing, and looking inside she has a finger to her lips because she is on the phone, which Oren has completely missed in his excitement.
“Oren, quiet bud. Whitney is on the phone,” I tell him gently. I steer him to the table where the decorations are piled, and point to them. “Let’s unwrap these, then we’ll be ready when Whitney is done. Okay?”
“Okay,” Oren replies a little moodily, but he snaps out of it quickly enough when he rips the packaging from the large garland for the front door.
Whitney is speaking excitedly, and I can’t help but hear some of what she is saying. Not sure I like what I’m hearing.
“Oh, that’s good. I have the spare room ready now.”
“Can you get the three days?”
“Lee, that’s great.”
“I’m not speaking to Kyle.”
Who the fuck is Lee, and who the fuck is Kyle? My jaw clenches at the thought of these men around Whitney. I realize I’m jealous, and that is a new emotion to me, something I’ve never felt before. I’m not sure I like the feeling either.
“Oh, you’ll love meeting Oren.”
“My neighbor is Clem and he is such a sweetheart. Oh, I have to go now as Clem and Oren are here to help me decorate for Christmas,” Whitney pauses then affectionately replies to this Lee. “Love you, too.”
Now, sometimes I have to admit that having a kid around is very handy, and now is one of those times. Oren looks Whitney right in the eye as he blurts, “Who is Lee, and who is Kyle, and why did you say you love them?”
Whitney looks surprised at his questions, but doesn’t bluff or mess with him.
She takes his hand and sits on the sofa, looking at him seriously.
“Okay, let me tell you. Maylee is my bestie. I call her Lee for short. You know, as a nickname. She’s a lawyer and a great one.
She untangles messes people make. She’s coming to stay with me for Christmas, and you know she’s gonna love you.
You’ll like her. I’m absolutely sure of that. ”
“Okay. I want to meet her. Who is Kyle?” Oren is more than a little possessive I’m thinking while watching how he’s sitting with his arms folded across his chest, frowning at Whitney.
“Kyle is my ex-husband. We decided that we didn’t want to be together anymore, so he stayed where we lived, and I came here, making a new start, and wow, I met you. Now, how lucky was I to buy the cottage right next door to your house?”
Oh, that was clever. Whitney covered who he was, and although they are not together, she is good with that. But she also put Oren as an important person now to her.
“Oh,” Oren near enough whispers, and both Whitney and I wait for what he’s pondering about, because it’s bound to be said as he can’t keep quiet about his feelings. “So, you are not leaving me then?”
I rub my sternum because I know this has come from the mess at school, and it’s obviously still playing on his mind that his mother left him.
Whitney surprises me when she laughs. “Leave you? Leave you? Why on earth would I leave you? Hey, you are stuck with me now. I can’t wait until you grow up and get girlfriends. I’m going to tell them all about the stupid things you do between now and then.”
Oren looks horrified, but Whitney jumps on him and starts to tickle him, which has him in hysterical laughter in no time. The crisis has passed, and I’m thankful for that.
A few minutes later we are standing outside, well, those two are and I’m up a ladder fixing the garland around the front door. Oren keeps hopping around and singing a Christmas song I’ve not heard before.
Whitney starts to sing along with Oren, and I smile to myself because it is heartwarming to watch the pair of them together.
‘Under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow, and telling me I love you.’ Now, I’ve got to say I am impressed as it’s a catchy tune and they are singing it as though they’ve done this a million times.
“What song is that?” I can’t help but ask.
Oren laughs. “It’s Christmas Tree Farm, Uncle Clem. Taylor Swift sings it. We are learning it to sing for the holiday concert at school. Will you come and watch Aunt Whitney?”
“Can I? Would I be allowed to come?”
“Yes. I’ll have your name put on the emergency list at school. Then, if Myles or I are out of contact, they can still call you if Oren needs anything. Is that okay?” Shit, I should have asked her first.
“That’s fine. I’m not far away, and I work from home. It wouldn’t take me long to get to the school. You’ll have to show me exactly where it is, Oren. We don’t want me going to the wrong one, do we?” Whitney does a look that imitates an owl, and I chuckle.
Oren however takes it seriously. “Uncle Clem, we will have to show Aunt Whitney where my school is. I don’t want her picking up another kid instead of me.”
The rest of the morning and after we’ve eaten lunch, we knuckle down to put up a tree, a garland around my front door, and the snowman in the yard. It all looks a little pitiful if I’m being honest, and from the look on Whitney’s face she thinks so, too.
“I think I’ll get some more decorations for your place, Oren. It looks a bit on the…” Whitney stops speaking, and I can see why when Oren is standing with his hands on his hips, shaking his head back and forth, right before turning and giving me a mean look.
“I’ll sort it, bud.” It’s the best I can manage at the moment, but I can see this is going to cost me, and my wallet is going to be feeling it.
I change the subject before we have a serious issue here over decorations. “Did I tell you that after school you are going to stay with Whitney until I get home from work?”
Jumping up and down clapping his hands, I watch him throw all this excitement towards Whitney. She is looking at him with a soft look that shows how much she cares about him. “Oh, are you going to be waiting outside school?”
Whitney replies before I do. “No, you are too grown up now for picking up and dropping off like we do for kindergarten kids. You can get the school bus, and it’ll drop you off.
I’ll be ready for you, and we’ll have a drink and a cookie, or a cupcake, or something else as an after-school snack. How about that?”
“I can do the bus, and have a snack,” Oren looks at me with a shit-eating grin, and I reckon he is showing me he is the man, and I’m just the helper in the scenario.
The rest of the day breezes past with finishing decorating, then cleaning up the mess it all made.
Oren and I eat at Whitney’s, and I have to say she makes a heck of a good pulled pork.
There was also mac and cheese, potato salad and cornbread as side dishes.
I was expecting a roast dinner, but I think this is perfect especially for Oren who had eaten so much his stomach was bulging.
By the time we went home, I think all three of us were tired. It had been a busy day but an enjoyable one.
Walking into school after waving Oren off with his teacher, I wait at the reception for the principal to see me. He’ll have to see me because I’m not leaving here until I’ve spoken to him about the incident with Bryan.
“Principal Glenshaw will see you now Mr. Barstow.” I don’t give her more than a nod before I walk across the reception and into the principal’s office.
“Good morning, Mr. Barstow. What can I do for you?” He indicates I should take a seat, which I do, but I am sitting stiffly as I want him to know I’m not here to have a happy hour.
“It’s simple why I’m here, Mr. Glenshaw. I want to know what punishment you are giving Bryan for being a little asshole and then pushing Oren to the ground, which inflicted a leg wound.”
“What do you mean, he was an asshole? Not a good way of describing a child I have to reprimand.”
“You can reprimand all you like, but when that asshole spoke to Oren, it amounted to bullying. He was telling Oren his mother hates him and that’s why she left.
That is why Oren punched him, and yes, he got pushed down after that.
But they were both in the wrong, yet it’s Oren who has a stitch, isn’t it? ”
“Mr. Barstow, I’ll look into this further. I was not handing out any punishments to either of them. We get scuffles with the kids, as you can imagine. I will be speaking with Mr. Perez about Bryan’s behavior because that is not the way I’m sure he wants his child to act.”
“Principal Glenshaw, you know Mr. Perez dislikes Myles, Oren’s father.
Has since high school. All because Myles took Priscilla Owens to the prom, and he wanted to.
This is the backlash of his bad-mouthing Myles, and now Bryan is going to take up the mantle.
” I make sure he can see how serious I am and that I don’t like what I’m telling him.
Rubbing his chin in thought, I wait for him to respond.
“If that is the case, then nothing we say will make a difference in the long run. But I’ll move Bryan to another class so he won’t have so many opportunities to poke at Oren.
I will speak to Mr. Perez and let it be known that this behavior won’t be tolerated.
Leave it with me, Mr. Barstow, and I'll do what I can. But I will tell you that Oren is a great kid, and he’s doing well. ”
“Yeah, he is a great kid. He doesn’t deserve to be told that his mother hates him.
But I have told him to stick up for himself, and if that means he has to punch someone he is to do it.
We are bringing him up to know right from wrong, and he’ll do what is needed, when it’s needed.
If I or Myles have to sort Mr. Perez, we will. ”
“I don’t need to know that, but I will say that to harbor resentment from a prom date is ridiculous and probably time he grew up. If I need to speak to you about this, I will not hesitate to contact you.”
Stopping at the reception desk I updated the contact list to add Whitney’s name, and for a moment I had to think about her surname because I wasn’t sure I’d heard it.
But I remembered she’d told me while we had our meal after Oren, of course, pushed to know more about her.
Whitney Brooksbank, I like it, but Whitney Barstow would sound better.
Shit, shit, where did that thought come from?
Later that evening after settling Oren in bed, showering and climbing into bed myself I pick up my phone and call Myles.
“Hi, Clem, what’s up?” Myles knows that I’d only ring this late if I had something on my mind or something he needed to know.
I updated him on my meeting with the principal, added Whitney to the contacts, and all the small things we’d been doing. But I have to ask. “When are you coming home?”
“I’ve paid off Greta. She has signed everything, so I can wash my hands of her now and move forward. I’ll be home by Friday, but don’t tell Oren because I want to surprise him.”
“Okay. I’ve got your room ready. Did the house sale go through okay? Did you have the money to pay Greta? You didn’t have to get a loan did you?”
“The house sold within a few days. I had to drop the price some to get it done quickly. But it’s done. I’m angry I had to sell it, but I’d do what’s needed to have Oren safe and away from that bitch.”
“Okay. Just come home, Myles. We can sort anything out together. Oh, be ready to take a backseat to Whitney. She’s Oren’s number one at the moment.
He’s even asked her to go to the school holiday concert,” I chuckle.
“They were singing a fuckin’ Christmas song over and over, just so he’d know the words and bro’ I’ve got Taylor Swift rattling around my head now. ”
We talk, laugh and reminisce for a while before we say good night.
I’m looking forward to his coming home, and I know Oren will be over the moon when he sees his father.
He’s said nothing, but I catch him looking out the window now and again, with a look that says he’s waiting to see if his father will actually come back, or leave him as his mother had.