Chapter 3: Viarum

Luke packed his meager belongings. Just what his sister had grabbed; it had been a few days since their shopping trip and little excursion, and now they were leaving. He was feeling better, his limp wasn’t as bad, and his voice was almost back to normal, looking like no permanent damage done to his vocal cords. He had just thrown on jeans and a t-shirt, his John Deere ball cap sitting on his head in all its green glory.

Apparently, his mother had kicked over the hornet’s nest with what she had done. Luke hadn’t known about it till yesterday, not that it was his call or in any way something he should be made aware of; it just would have been nice to know.

Jeannie had filed for divorce earlier in the week but had also more or less declared war on the family. She had her lawyers and property managers hand an eviction notice to her mother-in-law giving her a week to get off all of her property. Luke didn’t understand fully, but from what he could piece together, it was his mother, Jeannie, who had been the driving force behind the company they had built, not his father, as he had so long believed. He knew his mother didn’t come from money; They had moved north because her father had been looking for work; hell his grandparents, before they died, still drove the same car they had bought back in the early 80s, a used but well-taken-care-of 1977 Pontiac Trans Am. No, not the KIT car from Knight Rider; it was an older model; it looked like the one from Smokey and The Bandit.

Jeannie had been the one with the idea to use a method similar to Amazon in getting the shipping weight down and making paper products just as good as what they buy in department stores delivered directly to their office and place of business, at about 1/3^rd the weight, which meant shipping costs was considerably less and the product was the same quality and with a lower price it was virtually the same price as if they had bought it at Walmart even when paying for shipping, it was win-win for everyone. From what Luke understood, it wasn’t something new; Jeannie just took what was public and started to see if she could get it made cheaper than in the past.

And not just paper for copiers; she also had her lab working overtime; under her guidance, she had made some nice products to license out to some of the bigger manufacturers. She had gambled, and it had paid off, and what that really meant was she did. Sure, Rob had jumped in feet first and threw himself into it with her, but he didn’t start the business; she did.

Rob had been a typical jock when they had met in high school, tall, handsome, athletic, and yes it was high school but Jeannie was finishing when Rob was just a junior, she had skipped a couple of grades, but as the old story goes, they met, they fell in love, and then she was pregnant, at 16. She was showing when she walked across the stage and got her diploma; neither of their parents were happy, but they did get married a month later, and while Rob was finishing high school the following year, Jeannie was blazing through her courses in college as quickly as she could while her parents baby-sat Jane most of the time.

By the time Rob was registering for his first year at the university Jeannie was into her 2^nd year with an eye for graduating in her 3^rd. She was a driven young lady and 6 months pregnant again, which caused a lot of late-night talks with her parents, again, but she didn’t let it bother her, she just kept her mind on a razor-focus, she was going to finish and get her degree in business, no matter what anyone, namely her mother-in-law tried to tell her. The main thing that had the Sevenson clan chaffing now was the ironclad prenup Rob’s mother had insisted on. Luke wasn’t familiar with it, but from what he understood, the prenup said that nothing belonged to his mother unless it was in her name and could be verified to have been bought and paid for by her.

In that way, everything her husband worked for would be his, and everything she worked for would be hers; she had made damn sure hers was the only name listed as the business owner mainly because of that prenuptial agreement Linda had insisted be in place before her precious boy could marry the poor little new girl. And in case of divorce, she would get one hundred thousand per year of marriage and one hundred thousand for each child she had with him, but nothing else. As a result, she became Independently wealthy. She wasn’t on any Fortune 500 lists and didn’t have as much money as the rest of the Sevenson clan, but she had her own; theirs were all tied together with allowances and trusts. And they didn’t like it, which really meant the matriarch didn’t like it, Linda.

She had started with the divorce filing and then cleaned house at the company. She cleaned out the joint checking account, sold their cars for pennies, canceled all credit cards, and closed all investment accounts; anything that had her and Rob’s names on it was closed and gone in a day. She then fired her husband who had gotten his team of assistants to do all the work anyway. Then she canned her brother-in-law Garret, whom she was talked into giving a job just so he could get a W2 every year, and she sacked Anna, Garret’s wife; she also culled five deadbeat do-nothings she had no idea were working there that her dumbass husband had slipped in.

After giving them the boot and only one or two tearfully apologizing the rest of course became threatening, all kinds of lawsuits and hints of this kind of rumor spreading or that, she had just smiled and kicked their boxes out the door, then she had Ray and Billy, two of the retired cops she had hired for security to take them by their arms and firmly move them out of the office building. After that, anyone who was in any way associated with the family thought it best to turn in their notices and hoped they would get the next two weeks. They had seen the writing on the wall.

The house they had lived in and grew up in belonged to his grandmother; she had given it to Rob and Jeanie for their anniversary one year, but as it turns out, she had never changed the deed over. It had been in the family for decades and had been rented out to several families until she had the idea to have her son and his wife and kids move in and keep the place up.

That’s why they left last week; Jeannie didn’t want her ex-mother-in-law to have any type of power over her period. As for why Linda was living on property belonging to Jeannie that was easy, it was a company retreat on paper, with a four-car garage, a dozen bedrooms and half as many baths, 28 acres complete with an Olympic size swimming pool, outdoor shower and sauna, a tennis court, stables, and a workout area for the horses along with wooded surroundings for privacy. All taxes are paid for by her company, year after year. Her husband had convinced her to buy it and gift it to her mother-in-law on her 53^rd birthday. She had loved her mother-in-law then and wanted to see her happy, but now she saw her as what she truly is, evil and manipulative.

Luke had smiled thinking about it. Just wondering how well the move was going if all the family was helping to load moving trucks, or if Linda just hired a bunch of people, throwing money at problems and expecting them to disappear like all rich yuppies. Knowing those lazy bastards, they were probably sipping whiskey and having a picnic, treating it like a game.

He finished stuffing his clothes into his bags, and using an extra suitcase he found in the closet, he managed to fit most of the clothes he had bought since that night into it, along with a shaving kit his mother had bought for him. He got the new laptop and charger and tucked them into the leather bag for them, both brand new, something else his mother had bought for him when she had gone yesterday to collect her new coat from the leather shop. He was surprised and delighted to get the new PC; he wasn’t a gamer per se, but he enjoyed his games a lot, so a decent rig was more than welcome.

He picked up his stuff and grunted at the effort. He was getting stronger by the day, but he still wasn’t a hundred percent yet, and his fucking left leg still gave him trouble; being shot in it, even if it was just a short thick-ass needle, still hurt. He lugged it all to the front room next to the door and found a couple of other cases as well; he went and poured himself a cup of coffee and sat at the table to wait as he heard his mother and sisters talking in one of the bedrooms, he sipped the hot liquid and waited.

He didn’t wait long; his mother entered the kitchen, taking a cup and pouring some coffee before sitting next to him and smiling; she gave him a little one-armed hug and sipped hers a moment before speaking to him.

“So all packed up and ready to go?”

He shrugged.

“Sure, but where are we going?” He looked at her with a confused expression for a moment before he added.

“I guess I can take a few more days, but I’ve already missed a few classes; if I miss anymore, I’ll flunk the semester.” He shook his head at the mess.

She sighed.

“I canceled your classes already baby.” She looked up at him with that sad expression.

He blinked at her, not sure whether to be angry or touched. He hissed a breath out through his teeth, but realized it probably was a good idea; he was still having nightmares, and sometimes he ... saw ... things. So maybe she was right, maybe he just needed to ... well just learn how to be normal again. He let out a breath and nodded.

“You were probably right to do so” He conceded after a moment.

“Don’t worry, when you’re healed and ready, you’ll return to that college and rip through those classes faster than I did.” She smiled and rubbed his back again.

He smiled back at her, managing to keep his face from showing anything as he saw ... something over near the coffee table, a bloody leather strap ... He closed his eyes, pretending to take a deep breath, and opened them again; it was gone. He smiled again at his mother, who looked a little puzzled, but he just pretended nothing was wrong.

“So where are we going? Vegas?” He smirked trying to make one of his old stupid jokes.

She just shook her head and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

“You’ll see.” Then she patted his knee and got up to grab her things from the bedroom.

He looked after her momentarily, sipping his coffee, wondering what she was talking about. The way she said it and looked was a bit ... unusual. But then again, the past couple of weeks had been one roller-coaster ride through hell and back; how could it get any worse? He quickly knocked on the table to offset that foolish thought, then sighed.

“Is someone at the door?” Jane stuck her head out of the bedroom, looking at him curiously. He waved her off.

“Nah, just me trying not to be stupid when tempting fate.” He grimaced.

She gave him one of those brow-lowered twisted expressions like what the fuck are you talking about?

She just shook her head after a moment then she ducked back inside.

He just shrugged and enjoyed the last coffee as he listened to the whispers from the bedrooms, getting a refill after a few minutes.

A few minutes later, his mother came out with a large carry-on and a very thick briefcase, the kind you see in those movies where drug dealers stack cash in for deals.

She was dressed nicely, sleek Chelsea boots, clean-cut black slacks with a tight navy blue turtle neck; she had her soft black lambskin jacket draped over her arm and her shoulder-length hair gathered in a ponytail.

She reached into her pocket and brought out three new shiny credit cards, all with his name, and a bank check card, again in his name. She also handed him a new phone, telling him that all of their numbers were in it, but no one else’s.

“These are one of the reasons we waited here, I had them rushed to this address so you can replace the ones canceled when I closed all the accounts.” She gave him the cards and the pin numbers for each on a little piece of paper.

She enlisted Kim and Jane to help them get their luggage to the entrance before Luke realized something.

“Jane? Kim? You’re not coming?” He asked, suddenly worried.

They both looked at their mother with a somewhat pleading expression but she shook her head and sighed.

“No baby, Jane has to take care of things here, she’s the only one I can trust to run things while we’re gone, she’s the only one strong enough to deal with... them”

She spat the word with a sneer to her lips that she couldn’t suppress. Then went on to explain.

“Kim is still going to class and can’t really afford to miss any time, even though we’ve been arguing about this for days. She knows she needs to stay in class; then, she can spend the summer with us if she wishes.”

She looked at Jane and then said.

“Jane just remember, Lawton is a good man, he’s a very loyal man, listen to his advice and hold the ship steady, don’t take any risks, just keep things running smoothly. It won’t be forever, just buy us some time, ok honey?” She looked at her daughter, knowing it was a big ask of her to put her life on hold and take over the company for now. But she just didn’t have anyone else she trusted not to get railroaded by... those people.

Jane nodded. “I’ll keep things running, Mom, you and Luke, do what you have to do, then come home, please.” She sniffled and smiled, hugging her mother first, then Luke, then grabbing Kim by the collar and pulling her in too. Everyone was in a big ball of fluffy, warm feelings. Kim and Jane giggled a little as they let go and everyone gave last kisses and hugs, then they were out the door and down in the common area with their luggage. They didn’t have to wait a minute.

She and Luke were walking out when their mechanic, Frank Mitchell, pulled up. In the very car Luke had been reminiscing about earlier. He stood staring at the pristine-looking ‘77 Trans AM his grandfather used to drive. It was the same Maroon color with white trim; the tires were white-lettered Good Year’s and looked brand new, though it did have tinted windows, which was different from what he remembered.

He just got out and greeted us before tossing the keys to Luke. Luke clumsily grabbed them, kind of shocked because it wasn’t his car. Jeannie just smiled at him and then talked to Frank.

“Is everything set?”

Frank nodded. “Yup, we put the new engine in and worked on it for two days straight. My boys and I took shifts to make sure it would be road-ready for ya today; we put her through her paces this morning before rush hour, and the new suspension, brakes, everything is tip-top.”

Jeannie smiled and gave him her thanks. Then she turned back to Luke.

“Let’s grab the bags, baby.” She smiled and tugged him inside as Frank turned to the service truck that had just pulled up to take him back.

Once everything was loaded and Jeannie got in the passenger side, and Luke climbed behind the wheel; he sat there a moment, just enjoying the feel of the leather steering wheel, feeling the gear shift, the solid maroon color with the golden bird etched into the top of the knob. He looked at everything with a kind of wonder little kids do when they see something amazing for the first time. There was just a feel of this classic car with its leather seats and analog odometers that made it more real; he had more control and more freedom. He was in awe of it.

Jeannie smiled and rubbed his hand as he sat there marveling at the car, she was glad she had saved it for him.

“I wanted to give this to you when you turned 16 you know.” She gave him a lopsided grin.

“Why didn’t you!?” He asked grinning.

She smacked him on the head.

“Because you wouldn’t shut up about that stupid Ford Ranger, that’s why.” She giggled.

“Oh,” He smiled and shrugged guiltily, then looked back at the steering wheel, inserting the key and turning the engine over.

It roared to life immediately and he gave the pedal a couple of pumps, just listening to the engine growl. He grinned like a kid with a new toy.

He was still grinning when he looked over at her; she had a small, amused look on her face, and her eyes were looking a little starry for some reason.

“So where to?” Flexing his fingers on the wheel ready to go.

She reached over and touched the GPS mounted to the dash, then looked at him.

“South”

He looked at her a little confused.

“But where though?” He saw the little line on the street on the screen.

She looked out the window and then said one word.

“Home.”

Luke widened his eyes, but he read her body language and nodded. He put the car in gear and pulled out onto the street and started navigating to the freeway and then, south.

He drove through the city for a few minutes until he finally made it to the interstate and then he had a little fun. He got out in the traffic and then surreptitiously checked both in front and behind, slowly letting his speed increase. He wasn’t weaving in and out of traffic like some maniac but moving fast and hard, like a driver looking for the finish line, a hot woman, and supper! He went a bit too fast at one point when Jeannie just said his name. He got the message, and he just blushed as he looked over and grinned. She smiled back and patted his knee and rubbed it.

They drove through Maryland and West Virginia relatively quickly, plunging through the Virginia hills, up one and down the other, slipping into the foothills of the Appalachians. They stopped for lunch at some little roadside place; they had some burgers and fries; it was nothing special; they ate quickly and got back on the road. While on the road, Jeannie had gotten a lot of calls; most she just looked at and then clicked the Decline button. She did take a few from Jane and Kim. Mostly, they wanted updates about our road trip and how we were; they talked and laughed a little before hanging up.

They managed to make it to North Carolina at around 9 PM before Jeannie said she was tired and maybe they’d best find a motel for the night. They drove a little further to Asheville, just a mountain town, city size but small compared to some of the bigger ones. They found a Super 8 relatively quickly and checked in as they had plenty of vacancies.

Jeannie took care of the room while he stayed with the car, looking around; even in the dark, he could see the big shadowy shapes of the mountains, like giant gods of old looking down on the ants called humans. He could only imagine what a full moon would paint those behemoths as. She was back after a few minutes, and he drove around to the back, they got their belongings and went inside, turning on the heat and moving most of the bags to the side. His mother flopped down on the king-size bed and acted like she was making a snow angel, just moving her arms and legs back and forth.

“What in the hell are you doing?” He asked her jokingly

She just giggled at him. “Try it and tell me it doesn’t feel good.”

“Ok, get up then.” He chuckled. She grinned and did just that, waving her arm at the spot in the middle. He sighed and felt like a fool but he did it. He flapped his arms back and forth and moved his legs the same as his mother did. Then, strangely enough, he realized she was right! The cool bedspread on his back and legs as they rubbed back and forth felt like a massage, it just soothed.

“Ok, one point for Mom” He smiled and gave her a seated bow.

She smiled back and gave a formal curtsy like she was greeting royalty, which caused him to chuckle.

Then she grabbed her kit and flip-flops and yelled “I got the shower first!” Dashing to the bathroom.

Luke just shrugged and grabbed his shaving kit with all his stuff and tossed it on the bed, then dug around for some clothes, gathering up a change of everything, then sat down and opened his laptop and browsed the net a little, using his iPhone for a wifi hot spot. He played around on the net for a little while until he heard his mother coming out drying her hair, wearing her old Van Halen shirt and a pair of lace brief panties.

“Showers all yours.” She smiled as she sat down, grabbed her laptop case, and opened it.

Luke grabbed his stuff and walked into the damp bathroom; it wasn’t terribly cramped but still smaller than he would have liked. He stripped and got the water to the temperature he wanted, then stepped into the nice hot shower, letting the water wash the road away. He got his soap and started to scrub, not really being careful anymore; the damage of last week was largely healed except for his limp and the tenderness around his throat. Apparently, those might take a couple of weeks. After he got showered and put on some deodorant, he slipped his shorts on and walked back into the room.

Noticing his mother typing away on her laptop, he walked over to the menus near the TV and got the number for a pizza place; dialing it, he found he was just in time; they were going to stop taking orders in five minutes. He quickly ordered a large meat lovers pizza and 2 2-liters of Mountain Dew. He gave them his credit card number and hung up. He turned back and sat down on the edge of the bed, picking up his laptop.

“You and that mountain dew, pfah.” She mimicked being sick, then giggled.

He just grinned as he started browsing information about the car they were driving.

Just 20 minutes later their pizza was at their door, fresh and steaming hot, which amazed them both. Luke asked him how they were so fast. The guy just turned and pointed across the parking lot, not 500 feet from the lit motel sign. Luke just shook his head, put the amount for the pizza in the tip box, and paid double for the pizza. When the guy thanked him, Luke just shook his head.

“No thanks necessary, I’m just paying the idiot tax.” The driver laughed and wished them a good night as he climbed back in his little Sentra.

Jeannie had smiled when she took a bite and chewed.

“That was a nice thing you did you know.”

Luke shrugged, chewing on some crust from his third slice.

“I saw the place when we pulled up, I’m not sure why I didn’t just think to run over there real quick.” He chuckled.

She got on all fours and kissed his lips drawing back with a smack.

“You were tired, sweetie; we all think better on some sleep.” Then she sat back down at her laptop and went back to munching on her 2^nd slice as she answered more emails.

Luke played around with the internet some more, then looked at the time; seeing it was a little after 11, he called it a night, crawling beneath the covers and turning off the lamp on his side. He rolled to his side to hide from the light from his mother’s side and closed his eyes.

He felt a hand on his arm, stroking it gently.

“Good night.”

“Night Mom.”

He felt her lean closer and whisper in his ear. Turning his face up to her.

“You’re still my baby, now and always; I love you, sweetie.” Then she kissed his neck softly, then she placed her lips on his for a moment before pulling back, and he heard her typing again. He drifted off to the sound of keys being pressed.

Luke awoke and yawned. Just coming awake and yawning was a habit he had ever since he could remember. He breathed deep and smelled flowers, opening his eyes and looking down at his mother’s golden tangles; he smiled; he loved that smell; he just never knew how much until recently. And as seems to be her own habit she had her arm over his chest up to his shoulder and leg across his stomach. He slid out from under her, got up, and got dressed. She hadn’t stirred as he checked the time, just 6:45, he picked up her pad and ripped off a page in the back and wrote ‘Breakfast, back in 20’ then placed it on the pillow.

He grabbed the keys and his wallet and slipped out, letting the door gently close so as not to wake her. He went over to the front desk, hoping the clerk would know where to get some good food, which he most certainly did; he was an older gentleman who had a rather big belly, so Luke took his word for it. He said the best biscuits in town were over at Wally’s Full Service, a gas station just two miles down the road. Luke thanked the man and left.

Now, Luke was a very open-minded person, but the best breakfast food in town was at a gas station? He had just shrugged and typed in the location on the GPS he got from Google for Wally’s.

15 minutes later, after limping through the line, he ordered 5 biscuits, 3 buttered with country ham, and 2 buttered with sausage. He had been smelling them in line for only a few minutes, but his mouth was watering. They smelled like butter and heaven in foil-wrapping. When he got back to the car, he unwrapped one with ham and took a bite. He couldn’t believe such a thing existed! He had never tasted a biscuit this soft and with this much flavor! He quickly consumed the rest of it and almost tore into the next but then remembered he needed to get back. So he backed out and made the return trip, stopping at a Starbucks on the way to get two large black coffees.

When he got back and let himself back in he saw his mother was up with her laptop in her lap, typing away. She hadn’t gotten dressed yet. She looked up when he entered and smiled. She took a deep breath, sniffing the air.

“Mmm, a true southern gentleman, bringing his woman coffee and biscuits in bed!” She giggled as she held out her hands and wiggled her fingers in that classic ‘Gimme’ pose.

He smirked as he handed her a large coffee and the bag of biscuits. She peeled one and happily started munching away. She took a few relishing chews of hers, swallowed, and then looked up at him, tilting her head slightly with a curious expression.

“Where’s yours?” After finishing her first biscuit, about to unwrap another.

“Hey, I went and bought’em!” Laughing.

She finished the first then started munching on the next, looking at her screen, totally oblivious to his hint.

“Mhm, love’em, I haven’t had these in years! Thanks, baby!” She blew him a kiss, then wiggled her hips in exaggerated happiness as she set about eating the rest.

He just shook his head and chuckled as he got his laundry up and put it in his clothes bag for dirty clothes, stuffing it to the bottom of his duffle. Then he grabbed his kit and went into the bathroom. He shaved and got his face nice and smooth; he checked his throat again and didn’t see the signs of any bruising or even swelling; he thought that maybe it might finally be healed. He ran his fingers over the skin there, he couldn’t explain it, but ... he ... felt the leather there, biting and griping the skin. He closed his eyes and just breathed; he did that for a few minutes, then looked again, felt with his fingers, and the sensation was gone. He splashed water on his face and toweled off any remaining shaving cream, his face was clean. When he came out, his mother had taken his absence to dress in faded jeans and an old Sherrif t-shirt; where in the hell she had gotten that one, he had no idea.

“Ready to go?” He asked her.

“Yup, lemme get my shoes on, and we’ll roll, baby.” She was putting her socks on and slipping into her sneakers.

They had gotten back on the road by 8:30 and were headed south again on their way to Spartanburg, where they would take a hard right and head west. They had been listening to a lot of his mother’s old bands, Whitesnake, Ozzy, Skidrow, Poison, and even a few songs by her shirt band, Sherrif, though she did get a funny look on her face when it came on the channel. It was about 11 when they had just pulled into a diner and were about to get out when her phone rang for the 10 millionth time that morning when she finally answered, putting it on speaker.

“Do I have to change my goddamn number?” She said out loud.

“Jeannie, please, we HAVE to talk!” Rob was on the other end.

“We said all we need to say, Rob, you love that cunt you call a mother, I don’t, you’re her fucking slave, I’m not, and I won’t have her in my or my children’s lives anymore, can’t you understand that? What is not getting through to you? How am I saying this so you’re not understanding me?” She rolled her eyes angrily.

“Goddamnit Jeannie! This isn’t about my fucking mother, okay? This is about you! And your goddamn obsession with our son!” He was screaming into the phone, they could hear some female voices in the back, trying to calm him down.

Jeannie just shook her head.

“Lemme guess, the Matriarch of Cunts has been whispering in your ear ever since we moved out and cut off all contact. My guess is she is in your bed every night making her little slave feel good and warm and fuzzy while filling his head with exactly what she wants him to know and believe, just like she’s always done. You’ve been manipulated by that conniving bitch for 40 years, Rob; it took me 23 to wake up; I consider myself lucky. Now you and the fucking Queen Hag can go play happy-happy fuck-fuck with the rest of the family while we go on living our lives, have a nice day Princess.” She hung up and turned it off when it immediately started ringing again. She huffed and tossed her head for a minute. Luke didn’t say anything, he just put his hand on her knee and squeezed it, giving her a half-smile and as much reassurance as he could. She smiled back.