Chapter 23

It was a dark and stormy night. Actually it wasn't. It may have been better if it had. The tension at the clinic was so thick it was like walking through waist high mud. I'll say this for Dad, he was polite and respectful to Kim. Kim was, of course, respectful to him. After the tests, Dad took us out to an early lunch and went over the rules with Kim. Kim agreed. Dad decided to get me a cell phone so that Mom wouldn't have to listen to me call Kim. I thought getting a cell phone was awesome. He even bought me a smart phone.

Dad dropped me off at the house saying that he had to run errands. I walked into the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the table. She looked like shit. A half empty bottle of Dad's scotch was at her elbow.

Mom gazed at me. Her eyes blood shot. A small glass was in her hand. "There you are." She tossed the drink back.

"Good Morning."

"There's nothing good about it." Mom said. "My son hates me." She poured another drink.

"Mom, I don't hate you-"

"You hate women and if you hate them you can't love me. I'm a WOMAN." Mom glared. I stepped closer and she threw her glass at me. I ducked as it whizzed by me. "GET AWAY. GET OUT!" She laid her head on the table and cried.

"Mom?"

"Just go."

I ran to my room, pulled out my cell phone and called Dad. He asked me to calm down and speak slower. Once, I had the story out. He told me to stay in my room until he got there.

He stayed on the phone with me until he walked in the door. I heard the sound of fighting down stairs. TreFual stopped me. "Kid, it's no good. You'll make it worse. Sit here with me. Your Dad will handle it."

I sat on the bed. Mom had never hit me before last night. She spanked me when I was little but never hit me. Much less, thrown a glass at my head. I didn't know what to do. I cried. TreFual looked at me with disgust on his face.

"Kid, that's not helping the situation."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Almost anything would give you better results than crying your sorry ass off. Emotions are a tool. Right now, you're waving a mallet around when a screwdriver would do."

"What?"

"You need precision in your thinking. Think, what can you do to help the situation?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't seem like I can do anything."

"That's right, there's nothing you can do. Use this time to plan your next move. Ask yourself 'What are the possible outcomes and how can I influence them?' That should be your concern." TreFual lit a smoke. "You look like shit. Go wash your face. You'll at least look like a polished piece of shit.

"Can't. Dad told me to stay in here."

TreFual slapped me and I saw stars. "Use your fucking head, asshole. He pointed at the wall. "There's all the fucking water you'll ever need right there."

I washed my face in the sanctum and came back out. Trefual was still smoking. "I went and took a look see. Your Mom is asleep on the couch, she's going to have one hell of a hangover. Your Dad took all the scotch to the garage for the duration. Kid, you couldn't have fucked this up more if you tried."

I hung my head."Kid, do you want me to slap your ass again?"

I stood up straight. Trefual smiled. "There you go. Sit and relax. Your Dad will be here soon."