Chapter 5

I managed to wake up in time to go out and help my mother set the table for dinner. My dad wasn't home yet, and I took some time to actually have a real conversation with my mother. It confused her, and made her wonder what had happened for me to suddenly want to know what she thought about things. We talked about the move out to California, and about how she felt about having my father always getting his way with things.

"Jimmy, your father and I fight enough already, without me trying to tell him what to do. He's the man of the house, the breadwinner, it's only right that he makes most of the decisions."

"Don't you think that it should be more of a partnership?"

"It is a partnership Jimmy. Your father is just the senior partner, that's all." Ma laughed and went into the kitchen. I followed after her, really interested in whether she believed in what she was telling me. "In here, Jimmy, I'm the senior partner, and I make all of the decisions."

"How about when pop wants you to make meat loaf, and you've got a chicken that you want to cook?"

"That never happens Jimmy. I discuss what I'm planning on cooking for dinner with your father in advance. He might tell me that we haven't had meat loaf for awhile, but he'd never tell me that he wanted it tonight. He gives me his input, but I decide what we're going to be eating, not him."

"Is the kitchen it? You don't get any say anywhere else?" She just smiled when I said that.

"You need to pay closer attention to how things really work Jimmy. Someday you'll be married, and it would be good for you to know about how a marriage works." She sent me back out with the things that still needed setting on the table. She stayed in her kitchen and worked on the dinner. After dinner, my father turned on the television, and was watching the news and my mother was in the kitchen doing the dishes. "Jack, run down to Stopak's and get me some chocolate ice cream."

"I'm watching the news. I'll get it later."

"I want some now."

"I'll leave when this story is finished, all right?" There was thirty seconds of silence. My father got up from his chair, put his shoes back on, and went out the front door. After he left, my mother came out and gave me a triumphant smile.

"Did you pay attention to that, Jimmy?"

"Sure, Ma. How did you get him to get up while the news was on?"

"It's just like you said earlier, a partnership. Both sides need to pay attention to what the other side wants. Your father understands that." She never once mentioned or hinted that sex was tied up with my father's actions, and yet, I knew, just like my father had, that he better go get her that chocolate ice cream when she wanted him to, not when it was convenient for him to do it. I left soon after, to walk over to Carolyn's. I felt better about my mother than I had before we'd had our little talk.

When I got to Carolyn's house, she came outside even before I had climbed up the stairs of her porch.

"Jimmy and I are going for a walk mom. I'll be home before eleven." She took my hand and we walked back down the stairs, side by side. "I'm glad you didn't pay attention to what I said this morning, Jimmy. I was confusing myself because I thought that what you were doing was like what Ralph did to me. Today, I was sitting down, thinking about nothing really, and I just started to think about how differently the two of you had treated me. Ralph kept going when I asked him to stop. You stopped when I asked you to, and then you tried again, using a different way. I saw that you would have stopped if I'd asked you to. It is still a big difference though. I felt bad after I thought about that, and for telling you that I didn't want you to come over to see me anymore."

"Well, I'm glad to find out that you didn't really mean it. I was just stopping by to make sure that you hadn't changed your mind. My mom told me that girls sometimes change their minds, and that I should check in with you every once in awhile, just to see if you had changed yours."

"You talked about me with your mom?"

"She asked me why I was looking so depressed, and I told her that you didn't want me coming over to see you any more. That's when she told me to wait awhile and try you again."

"It made you depressed when I told you that I didn't want you to come over any more?"

"Not depressed exactly. More like sad. I like hanging around with you."

"I was sad too, Jimmy, right after you turned around and left. I almost yelled out to call you back, but it would have been embarrassing for me to do that. It's too bad it's so early, and so light out, else we could go over by the Bolling fence."

"You want to go to the movies? There's a western with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas playing. It starts at seven thirty. I'll ask my dad if he will let me borrow his car. We'd be back way before eleven."

"You mean like a real date? I'd have to get permission first."

"Let's go ask your parents first. If they say okay, we can go see if my dad will lend me his car. If he says no, we can still take the bus if we hurry." While I was talking about all of this, Carolyn had already turned around and was leading me quickly back to her house. When we got there, she told me to wait, and went inside by herself. In a minute, she came back out with her mother and motioned me to come up on the porch with them.

"Mama, this is Jimmy Gordon. Jimmy, this is my mother, Gladys Coffee." We did the how do you do thing, and she asked me questions about whether I was a safe driver, and about whether I could be trusted to remember to bring Carolyn home before eleven o'clock. I never knew Carolyn's mother's married name before. Carolyn's last name was Adams, from her dead real father's name I guess. After we were done talking and nodding about understanding Carolyn's deadline time to be home, we hurried over to my house. I went inside with Carolyn, and introduced her to my parents. They were both eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream together. My mom offered us some, but we both refused.

At first my dad refused to let me borrow his car, but my mother said something quietly to him that Carolyn and I couldn't hear. My father stood up then and handed me his key ring and asked me if I was all right for money. I think my mother might have told him that if I was over at the movies, they would have the apartment all to themselves, and guaranteed privacy for several hours. That's the only thing I could think of that would have made him change his mind so quickly. I thanked him for the loan of the car and promised to drive carefully. I leaned in and gave my mom a kiss on her cheek and whispered a sincere thank you for her help with persuading my dad. She just smiled at me and told the two of us to have a good time at the movie.