Handsome Lying Jerks

Chapter 4

 Chapter Four

Respect is Better than Acceptance

That evening, the Becker’s was having an elegant family dinner with a certain reason. All of them gathered on the round table ready to eat along with Officer Adam Shay. Travis doesn’t like him to be around. In fact, he still does not like him to be his new father – er, step-father.

“Travis,” Marnie, Travis’ mom, said gently.

“Yes, mom,” Travis said.

 “Will you please lead the prayer for us and for your dad?” Marnie asked.

Travis started praying. While he was praying, his mom started crying.

“Amen.”

Adam hugged Marnie and it made Travis feel disgusted. He shook his head and rolled his eyes. Then they all sat down. Adam saw Travis’ reaction.

“I am so sorry,” Adam touched Travis’ left arm.

Travis quickly removed his arm from Adam’s hand and remained silent.

Adam was not like any other step-fathers who are cruel to their step-children. Adam had accepted Travis as his son ever since he met Marnie but Travis doesn’t want to accept him as his father. Yet Marnie and Adam were not yet married, it seemed that they were because Adam already moved in. 

Travis still missed his dad so much. And it was definitely hard for him to accept a new father because last year, Travis’ father, Tony, died on a plane crash. Months had passed and Marnie met Adam at a grocery store. Their tory was quite cheesy. Then, she moved on with him.

Their dinner was dedicated for Travis’ father’s first death anniversary.

Marnie started slicing a Roast Turkey while Leonard – Travis’s younger brother – ate his ham as if he had not eaten for two years. He was so famished.

Unlike Travis, Leonard bonded with Adam quite well. Of course, there was still the sense of missing his dad but accepting Adam was fine for him.

Travis was not touching slice. Not even the beans around his plate. His mom really made an effort for this but he was just staring at it as if he was waiting for it to vanish.

“Why aren’t you touching your food, sweetheart?” Marnie asked. “Eat your meal, please. I thought Roast Turkey was your favorite?”

Travis bit his lip looking really upset. He noticed how Leonard quickly glanced at him, rolled his eyes, and resumed eating.

Adam looked at Travis like he could feel his hatred. He even took a time off on his duty just to help Marnie prepare and he could relate to her with regards to their efforts being wasted if someone is not liking what you are doing. Ever since he had been here, Travis had changed according to Marnie but she does not blame him for his behavior.

“Can we talk, Travis?” Adam asked in a low but pleasing tone.

Travis ignored him and stepped out of the dinner table and threw his table napkins on the chair. Then, he stormed out and went upstairs to his room.

“Travis,” Marnie cried as she came following him, “don’t be so rude.”

Adam pressed his lip. He looked at Leonard and Leonard lifted his shoulders as if he was saying “I don’t know.”

Travis then sat on his bed positioning behind the doors. Then, his mother went inside and sat on his bed as well. Marnie saw Tony’s photo beside the lampshade near Travis’s bed.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Marnie asked as she held her arms around Travis’ shoulder, “is it about, Adam?”

Travis did not respond. Tears suddenly rolled down from his eyes.

“When are you going to love him?” Marnie started again, “he will not replace your father. He will just be a father figure to stand for what is lost. Your dad will always be your dad so... try to learn to accept Adam.”

Travis rubbed his right eye. “Don’t you know that today was dad’s...”

“I know,” without letting Travis finish, “that’s why we had this dinner. He will always be in our heart. Just give Adam a chance.”

“It’s hard, mom,” Travis cried.

“Don’t you think it isn’t hard for me too?” Marnie started raising her voice, “it’s freaking hard for me to accept that your father had died. After that, I had sleepless nights thinking how I am supposed to raise this family again...”

Travis tries to utter a word but nothing came out from his mouth and he just looked at his mom.

“...so I moved on. I need to be happy again. I’ve deliberated a lot before letting him in in your lives – in my life!” Marnie explained and tears flowed from her eyes to her cheek continuously. She looked at Travis but he removed his looks from his mother. “Fine, if you’re not gonna accept him in this family, I just hope you’ll respect him as a person.”

Then, she walked out of Travis’s room and headed downstairs as she wiped her tears off.

Travis locked his door. He jumped on his bed, crying, thinking about his dad, then, he grabbed the photo on the frame, reminiscing their good old memories. He could see the reflection of his puffy red eyes on the glass cover of the frame.

All of a sudden, his moment of being blue was interrupted when his HTC started chiming on the desk beside his bed. He looked at his HTC and tapped Open on the screen. His eyes were still red and puffy.

He was shocked in seeing the message. He was also insulted by it. Who would have sent this to him? Was someone spying on him? Was this his brother? He read the message again and he noticed that there was a letter at the end like it was an initial of something:

Poor little Travis.

Another ‘melodrama’ about your dad?

Wait until your mom’s fiancé marries her. –E