Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in.
~Shannon L. Alder
***
Marcus stared at the man before him, unable to get his normal body functioning back. He did not know what to make of the situation. This man, this man who he had been praising in school was the man who had taken off after impregnating his mother. Yet he was here, finally facing his teenage son.
Stewart, on his side, wasn't able to look his son in the eyes. The guilt was too much...no....it wasn't the guilt...it was shame. Shame that his own biological son was seeing nothing good in him at that very moment. His only shot at parenting had gone wasted, and trying to mend things right now did not provide any certainty.
Jane wondered why her son hadn't welcomed the guest inside or told her the identity of the visitor like he always did. She was suddenly worried by the abrupt silence in the house and her instincts instructed her to go and check on her son. She rushed to the door and the sight that met her made her scream and leap into the air.
Wait, this has to be a dream, she thought to herself. She pinched herself to ascertain her reality but there he was, as handsome as he used to be. His body stockier, and bright. His pink lips itching for a kiss, and those big yet soft hands whose touch was filled with utmost compassion and desire... no, she wasn't supposed to be thinking like that. She was supposed to be furious at him, and the anger rushed back to her like an ignited flame.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, murderously, and stepped forward so that Marcus was now behind her. She couldn't trust this man, not after what he did.
"Don't women nowadays welcome their ex-boyfriends into their houses," Stewart joked, trying to bring a light moment in between the very tense atmosphere that was there.
Then Jane slapped him.
It was a loud one, and the volume of it indicated that it had served its purpose. Stewart's head was bent an acute angle, absorbing the impact of that very slap he was given. Jane was furious. Here she was raising her son perfectly and this man decides to reappear.
Then his first words are not even an apology—a joke, A FUCKING JOKE!!!
Stewart returned to face Jane, surprised at her reaction. Didn't she miss him or what?
Then he received another slap.
This one was perfect. Maybe because it was given to the same cheek that had been slapped earlier. Stewart cried out, suddenly shocked by how much strength those hands had. His cheeks were already turning red from the pain, and he stepped back to avoid any further of those that were probably to be given again.
"What was that for?" He cried, his eyes showing hurt.
"You fucking moron, you fuck up my life, then you run away to fucking God-knows-where, and then you and your frigging mannerless body wants to come here and pretend that everything's fucking okay. Are you shitting me?!" Jane was screaming loud enough for the neighbourhood to hear.
"Lollipop, you are using inappropriate language in front of—"
"For fuck's sake Branwen! What is wrong with you?" Jane cut him off.
"I can explain," Stewart said and then stepped into the house, for he had noticed people were staring out of their windows. Jane noticed them too and shut her door, but not before throwing her middle finger at those who apparently couldn't mind their own business. This time she was ready to let her feelings out to people she hid them from. She turned and saw Marcus face to face with Stewart. She thought it was best to leave some skin for his son to slap too, or hit.
"So you're my dad?" Marcus said, his voice slow and soft.
Stewart looked at him intensely before replying. "Yes, it's me, son." They stared at each other for a while, each one confined with his own thoughts and emotions.
Then to everyone's shock, Marcus hugged Stewart.
Jane was about to choke on herself. "Marcus!"she screamed, making both Marcus and Stewart jump with fright. She went ahead and grabbed her son by the hand and pulled him, but Marcus freed himself and stood between the two, her mother glaring at him unbelievably while his father glowing with happiness.
"Marcus, what was that?" Jane had reached her boiling point.
"Father is back, can't you believe it too!" Marcus exclaimed, the joy very much visible on his face. Jane couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"Weren't you the one who was telling me a while ago to forget about this idiot and move on?!" she asked, furious.
"So what? He is back, and he wants to apologise, mom," Marcus defended himself.
"I cannot believe this!" she muttered, placing her hands on her head in exasperation.
"My kiddo isn't lying. I came to apologise, lollipop," Stewart stepped ahead and took her hand. "I am sorry, Jane. I was immature and reckless, but I was young too, and afraid to take responsibility for my actions. Now that I grew up, I saw my mistake, and it is what I am trying to rectify now."
"I am not your lollipop!" Jane hissed as she yanked back her hand. She turned back to Marcus. "I can't believe you are siding with him."
"I only want what's best for us, we can all become a normal happy family again. What's the big deal?"
"What's the big deal?!" Jane exploded. "What is the big deal? The big deal is that this man here took advantage of my innocence, made me pregnant and then ran away not wanting to take responsibility for his actions."
"Well, you were both irresponsible then. Who told you to bang him?" Marcus retorted, shocking his mother enough to stagger back in disbelief.
"Maybe I was irresponsible at that time, but I won't be irresponsible again and let this man take advantage of us again," her voice was softer but more threatening. She shoved Marcus aside and grabbed Stewart against his will. With the strength of her anger, she overpowered him and pushed him to the door where she kicked him out and locked the door.
"What are you doing mom?!" Marcus cried out and went to open for Stewart who was knocking but was stopped when Jane stepped in front of him.
"I am not letting you talk with that man Marcus, he hurt me so much," Jane tried to negotiate with her son.
"But he said sorry! What else did you expect?" Marcus argued.
"So you thought I was going to accept his apology and then boom! We are one happy normal family?" Jane was fed up with her son's ranting and raving. It was now becoming unnecessary.
Marcus erupted. "Yes! Maybe I do want you to forgive him. Maybe I do want us to become a normal family. Maybe I do want to know how having a father feels like. Maybe I am fed up of my friends talking about their fathers around me knowing I don't have one. Maybe I don't want to end up like you who was raised in an orphanage. Maybe I don't want to be the odd one out. But you don't listen to me. You never listen!" He stormed up to his room and banged the door, leaving Jane sighing to herself. Stewart had heard them arguing and decided to give them some space.
Jane sat down on the couch, exhausted. That was not how she expected the visit to go. She had not realised that her son needed a father figure. Marcus was emotionally unstable and often let his feelings do the thinking for him, and it was a disadvantage at this point. She wondered if maybe being brought up at the children's home had destroyed her parenting skills, she had never got the love of her father and mother, and she thought that it was the reason why she wasn't able to raise Marcus properly. But Marcus was being naïve, and as the darkness was setting in, she was sure of one thing.
She would never forgive that son of a bitch.