A Soldier's Guide to Single Parenting

Stormy Weather Part 4

"Right. Where's that son of mine?"

"Bobby's watching TV."

"No, the other one."

"Jon's out."

"The other one."

"David's still at work," said Simon. "He called earlier to tell me he'd be late." David and work in the same sentence was music to my ears, but Simon made it sound quite strange.

"When did you guys get married then?" It was supposed to be a joke but you wouldn't have known it from his expression. "I was joking," I said, and Simon forced himself to laugh.

I put it down to his religious upbringing. I knew they had very strict rules governing marriage and they didn't believe in same sex relationships. I probably offended him but sooner or later, he was going to have to start living in the real world.

"Have you heard anything from your family since you left?"

"No."

"Do they even know that you're staying here?"

"Probably."

"Don't you think you should at least let your mom know where you are? She must be worried, surely?"

"My mom's not there, just my dad and he has your number, he could have called if he was worried, there's always someone here."

He was right, there was always someone here and it was usually him. I felt sorry for the kid and I couldn't understand how his father could be so uncaring about his only child. He was just sixteen, too young to be forced to leave home.

"What about your clothes and stuff?" He had been sharing David's wardrobe for a week but refused my offer to go over there and collect his own.

He was obviously scared of his father and to an extent that went way beyond the usual acceptable boundaries. I used to be scared of my old man when he was angry, but Simon showed signs of genuine fear whenever someone mentioned his dad. The kind of fear I had seen on men's faces before and during battle but never on a kid.

It disturbed me and I had this nagging urge to go to his house and demand some answers from this so-called man of God. I wanted to see how tough he was when faced with someone who could and would hit him back.

Simon's spicy chili helped to take my mind off his dad and some of David's hard earned cash softened the financial blow but it provided them with only a temporary reprieve and a situation which had been simmering for a week was about to boil over.

* * *

"I want you to be honest with me, Jon. What do you think of Simon?" My son wasn't expecting that question but it was difficult for him to ignore me as I drove him to his game the following day.

"Simon?"

"Yeah, you remember? The tall skinny kid who's staying with us?"

"I know who he is, Dad. But I don't understand your question."

"Well, it's pretty obvious you don't like him all of a sudden and I wanna know why."

"No reason."

That answer always bothered me. There was a reason for everything and Jon wasn't the type to take a dislike to someone without good cause. I turned to face him as we sat at the light. He was a poor liar and unable to hide his nerves.

"I told you I wanted the truth, Jon."

"He's been acting kinda weird lately, that's all. He's changed."