"No! I won't do this anymore Jo! It's becoming ridiculous, honestly. How do you expect me to stay here all day and take care of him?"
"Like any other mother would! Love him you, bitch! He's your son!" Jo stomped her foot, feeling the hardwood floor beneath her socked foot. She relished in the sharp pain that shot its way up her calf, stopping at her knee. Jo didn't flinch, lest Cyrene see her moment of weakness.
"It's so unfair to me!" Cyrene whined. "I can't take care of a baby and work late night shifts at the strip club! What am I supposed to do?" Cyrene slapped the palm of her hand down on the counter, causing Jo's school papers to flutter a few inches away. No one paid the white sheets any attention.
"Reen?" At the sound of the little voice, both ladies stopped their argument and turned to look at the toddler standing in the door way. His beautiful, sea green eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. Jo's heart immediately seized. Beside her, Cyrene stiffened.
"What is it Patrick?" she demanded harshly. Jo scowled at the woman but held her tongue, curious to watch this scene unfold.
"Up?" The little boy held up two chubby arms, reaching for the warmth and love only his mother could provide. Cyrene scrunched up her nose and shifted away from the child. The rejection was icy enough that it gave Jo shivers.
"Not now. I'm busy."
Furious, Jo stepped forward and softly coaxed Ricky to her arms instead. Ricky reluctantly crawled into Jo's arms. Jo felt her heart crack as she noticed the silent tears rolling down his chubby face.
"How could you do this to him? Look at him," Jo demanded. Cyrene avoided her gaze, choosing instead to observe her chipping red nail polish.
"Look at him!" Jo screamed. She was surprised to feel herself shaking uncontrollably. The rage inside her was growing with each cold rejection of Cyrene's. Cyrene sighed and turned her eyes on her child. She looked upon him with dis-contempt, regret.
"Look at what you've done to your child. He's crying because of you. This poor kid is crying because you won't even hold him,"Jo hissed. She stared down her step-mother, red-hot fury boiling her blood. "You're disgusting," she spat.
"He calls me Reen. He doesn't call me Mommy anymore," Cyrene observed. She didn't even care.
"Because you're no mother to him."
The silence grew, enveloping the trio in a dark, twisted hush. Jo broke the silence first.
"I'm going to solve all our problems. Right here, right now. I'm going to arrange for a babysitter every night that I work. That way, you can still work your job and I can work mine and Little Ricky will be taken care of."
"Great. Fantastic. Go for it," Cyrene mono-toned. She waved a manicured hand at Jo's proposal.
"You'll be paying for every cent that a babysitter costs. You will take care of your child. I don't care how indirectly you do it."
Cyrene rolled her eyes dramatically but acknowledged the request. "Fine, I'll pay for his nanny," she sneered. "Can I go to work now? Or is there anything else Your Highness needs?" she mocked.
Jo didn't answer that question. Instead, she turned on her heel and marched out of the room, Ricky still snuggled up in her arms.
"Leave some money for take-out. I'll need at least fifteen bucks," Jo called over her shoulder.
Jo didn't hear the response that came from the kitchen. She walked right into her bedroom and slammed the door shut, startling the dozing bundle in her arms. The toddler stirred and opened his sleepy eyes.
"JoJo?"
"No time to nap, little man. We need to look for a babysitter for you. How's that sound, hm? Would you like a babysitter?" Ricky didn't answer. He wiggled his way out of Jo's grasp and stumbled over to her collection of pillows. Jo had a variety of pillows; she had all types of colors, shapes, sizes, even textures. Jo's personal favorite was a circular, deep blue, fuzzy pillow with a purple spiral on the front and back. Ricky liked the little red pillow with yellow polka dots. He would cuddle up to it and curl his body around the curve of the pillow. Sure enough, Jo watched Ricky head straight for the red fabric and hug it to his body.
Jo grinned and picked up the blue and purple pillow. She hugged it to herself and settled down in a grey papason chair. Ricky waddled over and climbed into the comfy chair with Jo. He snuggled himself into her side, her rhythmic breathing lulling his eyes shut.
Jo took out her phone, ignoring the missed calls from Addie. Jo had specifically told her not to call and what had she done? Of course she called! It would be very un-Addie-like to follow instructions.
Opening the Safari app, Jo searched for local babysitters. After finding a few in the area, Jo selected two candidates for the opening.
Jo called the middle-aged woman first. Her fact sheet said she had two kids of her own and was comfortably living in the next town over.
"Hello, Carol's Babysitting Service, this is Carol Jennings. How can I help you this evening?" a cheery voice greeted Jo.
"Hi, my name is Josephine Hall. I'm looking for someone to babysit my..." Jo hesitated. She hadn't thought about what she would say. "Son," she recovered quickly. "He's a toddler and I need someone to be here while I'm away."
"Okay, nice to meet you, Mrs. Hall. How many days a week would you be needing a sitter?" Carol Jennings asked. Her voice was sweet and a high octave. Jo wasn't sure she liked the sound of her.
"I'll be needing someone here starting next week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays as well as weekends. I know that's a lot but it isn't a lot of hours. The hours would be from about 5:30 to 12:30 on weekdays and 4:30 to 12:30 on weekends. Are you available, Mrs. Jennings?"
"Let me check my calendar," her voice trailed off and Jo heard pages flipping as though she was searching through the months. Jo instantly understood that this woman was pretending to see if she was available even though she was not.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Hall. I can only work weekends at this time. And I have a scheduled job starting next month. While I can not take the job full time, I will definitely help out the best I can?" the woman offered. Jo shook her head.
"Thank you very much for checking, Mrs. Jennings. May I call back if I don't find anyone else right away?"
"Of course!" She rattled of her number instinctively. Jo thanked the woman and pressed the 'END' button on her phone. She wasn't all that disappointed that Mrs. Jennings wasn't going to be available. The woman sounded soft, easy to manipulate, and definitely a babier. Ricky would not like her.
The next woman was a bust as well. Instead of sounding sickly sweet, this woman was cold, hard. She had a stiff voice and spoke with no emotion whatsoever. Jo cringed and shouted, "The position has been filled!" in the receiver before pressing 'END'. Jo looked down at the toddler snuggled into her side and sighed deeply.
"I'll find you someone, little man. Don't you worry."
Cyrene shouted her goodbyes at that moment, signaling her departure. Jo was surprised she even bothered. She didn't care, she just hoped there was fifteen dollars in the kitchen.
"Jo? I'm staying the night at Derek's again. I'll be gone all weekend."
Jo didn't bother to respond to that.
***
"HALL! Wake up and get your lazy ass out of bed!"
Jo jumped and let out a shriek. Something shoved her shoulder hard and she rolled over, only to come in contact with the wall. Jo grimaced and rubbed her elbow, moaning in pain.
"JoJo!"
"Get. Up!"
Another shove. Jo realized that if she let whoever the intruder was continue to push her around, she'd be one big bruise. Jo sat up to look at the suspect.
"I'm up, I'm up! What the hell?" Jo's eyes widened at the sight of Greyson Michaels standing in her bedroom with Ricky standing next to him. Jo rubbed her head and flopped back on the bed, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I didn't drink anything last night. I'm not hallucinating. Greyson Michaels is standing in my room with my brother. I am not hallucinating. I am definitely hallucinating," she muttered to herself.
"JoJo!" Ricky squealed. Reluctantly, Jo peeked out between her fingers to look at the giggling toddler next to her bed. When he caught sight of Jo gawking at him, he stuffed his face into the red pillow and giggled insistently.
"Michaels, what the hell are you doing in my house?" Jo asked, closing her eyes and covering her face with her elbows.
"I'm here to work on that damn presentation Mrs. Illsen assigned. We were supposed to meet at eleven, remember?" His voice was full of annoyance. Jo groaned and rolled over to fish under her pillow for the charging phone. She found it and pulled out the blue box to check the time. It was almost twelve.
"You're late," Jo accused. She looked up at him through sleepy eyes and watched his eyes narrow at her.
"Look who's talking. You're still in bed," he pointed out.
"Technicality," Jo mumbled, dropping her face into her pillow. She breathed in the smell of the pillow, dust particles tickling her nose.
"C'mon, Hall. Get up! I'm tired of being here with this little devil child."
Jo growled but sat up anyway. "He's not a devil child," she said through a fierce yawn. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and managed to climb out of the bed. She stretched thoroughly, raising her arms above her head and even letting out a soft grunt. Her muscles started to rally against her but before the coup could properly form, she ceased to stretch.
She noticed Greyson staring at her funny and she placed her hands on her hips. "What?"
"Are you going to get dressed?" Jo looked down at her apparel. She was wearing thin, yet fuzzy, yellow pants and a large t-shirt that had been her father's. It said "King of the Hall" on the back. It was a sentimental pun and Jo found it hilarious.
"No. Why?"
"Will you at least put a bra on then?"
Jo's eyes widened. She didn't even realize it, but it was a chilly morning and she was currently without her over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder.
"Well, get out so I can put one on then!" Jo grabbed his shoulders and pushed him around and out the open wooden door. "Make yourself useful and get me breakfast," she called after him. Jo shut the door and turned around to see Ricky watching her with big, green eyes. "You, too. Out."
Ricky giggled but let himself be led out of the room. "Go annoy Michaels some more, okay?"
Jo shut the door again and quickly threw the shirt over her head. She found a discarded bra and strapped that on. Glancing down at her father's old tee, she decided to at least put on one of her shirts. Jo shifted through a drawer of shirts before she found a plain black t-shirt. Humming softly to herself, she went out to handle the situation that had presented itself in the form of a handsome asshole, Greyson Michaels.
"Are you humming 'Black and Yellow'?" Greyson asked when Jo found him in the kitchen. She only smirked at him in response. He glanced down at her apparel and he rolled his eyes.
"You're a real comedian, Hall."
"Why thank you, Michaels. See, I knew you liked me, deep down. Now where's my breakfast?"
Greyson raised an eyebrow. "This isn't a romance novel, Hall. I don't magically know where you keep all your food so I can make you the "best pancakes you've ever had!"" He raised his voice an octave, mimicking a female enjoying a mouthful of pancakes. Jo cracked a smile.
"You read romance novels?"
"Shut up," he muttered. Jo chuckled to herself and moved around him to find the cereal and a bowl. She made herself a bowl of cereal before remembering Ricky.
"Ricky!" She shouted through the house. "Are you hungry?"
It sounded like a tiny elephant was running through the little brick home. Ricky appeared in the doorway, a goofy grin on his face.
"'Oasts," he demanded in his adorable toddler voice. Jo grinned at him and poured him a bowl of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal she had.
"Here you are, little man. Up you go." Jo picked him up under the arms and placed him in his highchair. She gave him the bowl of dry squares and he went at it. Jo sat next to him on one of the cushioned stools, eating her own cereal. Hers had milk, however. She couldn't stand eating dry cereal.
"So who's that?" Greyson asked, pointing to the boy chowing down on the cinnamony squares. He took a stool opposite to Jo but he was warily eyeing the toddler.
"He's my brother. His name is Patrick but I call him Ricky. He's almost two."
"He's a hellion," Greyson stated blankly.
"He is not! He's a sweetheart. Look, if he likes you he'll say your name. Ricky?" she got the boy's attention. "This is Greyson. Can you say Greyson?"
The little boy looked up at his sister and then to where she was pointing. Eager to please his sister, he started to say the unfamiliar word, until he saw who it was. He took one look at Greyson and his open mouth clamped shut.
"No!" he shouted, scaring both teenagers.
Jo chuckled at his outburst. "He doesn't like you!" Greyson rolled his eyes.
"I told you! He's a devil child!" he insisted.
"What did you do to him?" Jo asked through her laughter.
Greyson scowled and crossed his arms. "Me? I didn't do anything! That little shit came barreling at me when I opened the door shouting "Reen!" over and over. He almost knocked me over and it scared the hell out of me. When he saw who I was, he shut up and ran for the back of the house. I assume he ran into your room," Greyson finished. He eyed the little guy, watching unsteadily as the boy shoved a fistful of cinnamon squares in his mouth.
Jo silenced. She knew what had happened. She just hoped Greyson wouldn't ask.
"Who or what is Reen?" So much for wishful thinking. Jo sighed.
"He was saying Cyrene. That's his mother."
"His mother? So not your mother?" He gestured to both Jo and Ricky, a questioning look on his face.
"Correct."
"So-"
"Are you done, Ricky? I am." Jo quickly stood up and placed her empty bowl in the kitchen sink. She stood with her back toward Greyson and Ricky, staring at the peeling floral wallpaper behind the metal sink.
She was in no mood to explain why Ricky's mother wasn't hers. She was in no mood to explain her past to someone she barely knew, someone she strongly disliked.
"So the project," she began, changing the topic. She turned back to find Greyson watching her with cool, grey eyes and no expression. She ignored him. "Are we doing a paper presentation or a virtual one?"
Greyson shook his head as if clearing it before standing up. "I brought my laptop. We can make it virtual," he suggested. Jo nodded as he walked into the living room. Jo exhaled deeply, her tense shoulders relaxing. She looked over at Ricky who was watching her silently.
"Let's go, little man. It's going to be a looong day."
*~*~*~*~*
A little banter today. Okay, a lot of banter. But I hope you enjoyed it! I love creating problems, drama. The happy moments are the easy, boring parts. Who wants to read that? Maybe some people but those people are crazy and prolly shouldn't be on my profile...
Please, I'd love to hear from you. Comment and maybe vote, too. Every little bit is appreciated!
Always,
L