No Way Out - Fern Michaels Page 0,28
Vivian replied.
“That’s fine. As long as the movie is suitable for Jackson’s age. But please don’t take him to any fast-food places.”
“We’ll take him to wherever we want. It’s our time with him, not yours!”
“Gotcha. Eleven o’clock?”
Jackson watched as his mother rolled her eyes. He started to giggle. Then his mother gave the phone a funny look. He guessed Grammy had hung up because his mother didn’t have a chance to say goodbye.
“Looks like it’s going to be a movie,” his mom declared. “Some space thing.”
“Yippee!” He was excited to know that there was going to be at least one thing he would enjoy that day. He knew it was going to be weird going to the movies with his father and grandmother. He couldn’t remember if any of his friends went to the movies with grandparents. Yep, it was going to be weird all right.
* * *
The next morning, Jackson was up at the crack of dawn. He was both excited and anxious at the same time. He wished he could go over to Ms. Bowman’s house and run with Buddy before his grandmother picked him up, but then he would have to change his clothes, and he didn’t want to upset his mother. He could tell she was in one of her “worry moods.” Jackson came up with that term whenever his father didn’t come home for dinner and his mother didn’t know where he was. Once, when his father was absent from the dinner table, he blurted out, “Mom? Are you in a worry mood?”
“A what?” she asked.
“A worry mood. You know, when you worry.” Jackson thought he was making perfect sense. She smiled at her astute son then, so he decided to ask her again now.
“Mom?”
“Yes, honey.”
“Are you in a worry mood?”
She wiped her hands on a paper towel. “To be honest, I am a little worried.”
“What about?”
“Oh, that you’ll have a good day with your father. And Grammy.”
“We’re going to the movies!” Jackson said it as if there was no doubt they would have a good day.
“Yes, you are. And you’re going to have some lunch, too.”
“Will Dad bring me home?”
“Not this time. Grammy will drop your father off somewhere, then she’ll bring you here.”
“How come Daddy won’t bring me home?” Jackson still didn’t know why his father wasn’t around.
“Remember the big argument when the police came?”
“Yes.” Jackson was getting uneasy. He had tried to keep the memories of that evening at bay.
“Well, there are a few things that need to get fixed and figured out. I don’t want you to be in a ‘worry mood,’ OK?” She gave him a hug, and he giggled because she had used his word.
“OK!”
Chapter Fifteen
Mitchel decided to clean himself up for his big day with his son. Besides, he didn’t want any flak from his mother and wanted to make a good impression on his son. For a fleeting moment, he was feeling a little guilty about the morning when he had yelled at Jackson from the porch. If Colleen hadn’t dragged him away, maybe things would have turned out differently. He tried to move his thoughts to a better place, but he was stuck. He was stuck in a state of loathing. He couldn’t think of anything that was OK in his life, except for his son, and even he had been taken away from him. Mitchel gripped the sides of the sink and looked in the mirror. He needed a shave, for sure, but there wasn’t anything he could do about the bags under his eyes. He knew he had Visine eye drops in the glove compartment of his car. They were almost a daily routine. It would help with the bloodshot eyes but not the bags under them. He splashed cold water on his face, combed his hair, and took out the shaving cream and razor.
Ten minutes later, he took another good, long look. It was an improvement. He pulled the freshly ironed shirt from the hanger.
Elaine had been kind enough to wash and press a shirt for him. Little did he know she had ulterior motives—to get him the hell out, and if helping him clean up his act would facilitate his moving out, she would iron all of his shirts, pants, and underwear. Well, maybe not the underwear, but surely his socks. Maybe not those either, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If she could write him a check to get out, she would. It had been only two weeks, but she