“I thought it was cute,” I laughed. “When did you figure it out?”
“At about three this morning when I went in to use your bathroom. I saw my reflection and scared the shit out of myself.”
“You could be covered in oil and grime and I’d still think you were sexy.”
“You know diabetes can affect your vision, don’t you?”
“Shut up and kiss me, smart ass.”
◆◆◆
I looked down at my plate and held back a grimace. The food looked delicious, there was no doubt about that, but it was a lot heavy on the veggies and way too light on the bread and pasta as far as I was concerned. It didn’t help that the glass in front of me held ice water instead of sweet tea.
“Why is he here?” Jamie’s oldest boy Adam snarled to the table in general.
“You can find some manners, Adam Grayson or you’ll find yourself hungry tonight.” Jamie snapped. “Apologize for being rude.”
“When you answer my question,” he snarled. “This is my house, too. Don’t I get a say before you invite Charlie Daniels to move in?”
“Adam,” Jamie threw her fork down onto her plate as she glared at her son.
“I always imagine Charlie Daniels with white hair. Have you ever heard of Grizzly Adams?” I asked Jamie’s son as I looked at him and then the other boys. “It was a television show back when we were kids.”
“There was television then?” Adam snarled.
“Out!” Jamie yelled as she pointed to the hall. Adam tossed his napkin onto the table and stood up, causing his chair to fly backwards and bump into the wall. “I’ll be in there when I’m done so we can talk about your attitude. Again!”
We all watched Adam stomp down the hall and I saw that Jamie and her other two sons jumped when the door slammed behind him when he got to his room.
“I’m sorry about that,” Jamie started to explain but Neva interrupted her.
“He’s turned into an asshole,” Neva said. “We don’t even know him anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” Jamie started again. “Between Wyatt dying and then our move here, he’s just not handling any of it very well. I’m at the end of my rope.”
“Is he ever happy?” I asked her.
“Well,” Jamie thought about it and as I looked around, I could see all of them trying to think back to when he was the Adam they knew. “It’s happening less and less. But yeah, we had a great conversation just last week when he came out to talk to me while I worked in my shop. He asked about Mojo and Lola and we talked about what was next with them and then we came inside and looked up some more information on the internet.”
“He was nice to me the other day and helped me with my homework,” Heath answered. “But when I couldn’t understand it after he’d already tried to explain it twice, he got really mad and ripped my paper up.”
“Has he seen a doctor or anything?” I asked quietly. “Maybe a shrink?”
Just then the door to Adam’s room flew open and he came rushing toward us.
“I can fucking hear you talking about me!” he screamed.
“Boys, take your plates to the den,” Neva urged the other two. “Go in there and shut the door.”
“You can’t come into my fucking house and tell me how to live! Fuck you!” Adam yelled.
Jamie stood up and got between Adam and Neva, as if to protect her back while she hurried the other two boys out of the room. It took everything I had in me to remain still, but I was prepared to intervene if it got to that point.
“Adam!” Jamie yelled at him as she maneuvered herself in front of him every time he moved. “Stop it!”
“Fuck you, Jamie! You’re not my mother! Stay out of my life!” Adam turned and pointed at me, “And you stay away from us. We have a dad and we don’t need you!”
“Boy,” I said calmly. “I’m not your daddy and I’m not ever gonna be. However, my house or yours, you rush up on those ladies or your brothers again like you’re going to hurt them and I’ll whip your ass like this whole motherfucking block and everyone on it belongs to me.”
“Adam,” Jamie pushed at his shoulder to get him to turn back toward his room. “Go pack a fucking bag. I’ve had enough of this bullshit! You’re going to Eli’s house for the night!”
“So that’s how it’s going to be? Dad dies and now you can’t wait to get rid of us? Really?”
“Go!” Jamie screamed. “Now!”
“Fuck you!” Adam spun around and ran back into his room. The door slammed and Jamie and I stared down the hall as we heard him throwing things around his room while he screamed uncontrollably.
“I don’t know what to do,” Jamie fell into the closest chair and put her head in her hands. “I just don’t know.”
“I called Eli,” Neva said as she sat back down in her chair. “He’s on his way.”
“What is Eli going to do, Neva? He lives in a fucking apartment on top of a beauty salon. Are there even two bedrooms there?” Jame asked, exasperated.
“There are. He’s going to take Adam tonight and talk to him when he’s calmed down. If he’s better, he’ll bring him back in the morning. If not, he’ll drop him back here at home and he can stay alone while we do your shoot,” Neva told Jamie. “But, Jamie, honestly - it’s to the point that I’m almost afraid of him.”
“Me, too,” Jamie admitted. “And I don’t want the boys alone with him anymore. At least for now, until he gets back to his old self, if he ever does.”
“What would his daddy have done if he was sitting here instead of me?” I asked the women. “Honestly.”
“He’d have knocked him into next week,” Neva said without hesitation. “Maybe even the week after.”
“Do you think that would have done any good?” I asked.
“No,” Jamie shook her head. “He’s beyond just misbehaving. He was always moody and skirted the rules sometimes, but this is like a funk he can’t get out of.”
“Have you tried a therapist?” I asked again, but Jamie didn’t answer me because Eli walked through the door just then.
“What the fuck is going on, Jamie Lea,” Eli shook his head. “He cussed you again? Did he threaten you?”
“No,” Jamie told her brother. “He just ran up like he was going to do something and I was scared. Neva was, too.”
“Daughtry?” Eli asked.
“He didn’t put his hands on anyone and I didn’t put my hands on him, if that’s what you’re asking,” I told Eli. “Not that the urge wasn’t there, but that’s not how I was raised.”
“Yeah,” Eli shook his head. “We weren’t either, but I’ll be damned if I know how to fix him without just beating the ass off him and starting fresh.”
“Don’t hurt him,” Jamie whispered. “I think he’s hurting enough inside that it wouldn’t do anything but make him worse.”