"I can do what I want Tom! You're not my mother!"
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"You seem quiet Jas. Are you ok?" Thomas looks to his right at the younger who was just standing there, staring at the uncut hedge with the trimmers hanging from one hand. Jasper seems oblivious that he's even been addressed until he feels a touch on his left arm. "Hey. You ok?"
Jasper looks at Thomas staring at him, all concerned. Jasper half heartedly begins cutting away at a few stray branches as if to convey all is well.
Thomas knows Jasper well enough by now to know that there's something not right but leaves it, carrying on with cutting back the hedge by the sheep field.
A few more moments of cutting pass, before Jasper finally decides to speak. "It's grandma's funeral tomorrow." He says it so casually that Thomas thinks he mishears what he said.
"What did you say?" He halts his trimming momentarily.
"I said it's my grandma's funeral tomorrow...but I'm not going." Jasper carries on with the trimming as if he's just said he's been invited to some lame party.
Thomas at this moment puts down his garden clippers. "You're not going to your own grandmother's funeral?"
"No Tom I'm not." Jasper repeats.
Thomas now turns to face Jasper. "Jas, look at me." Jasper seems to ignore the request, just carrying on with his allotted task. "Jasper Jones!" Thomas repeats in a slightly firmer voice.
Jasper throws the hedge trimmers to the ground and faces the older. "What Tom!"
"You...you can't not go to your own grandmother's funeral." Thomas raises his arms either side in disbelief.
"I can do what I want Tom! You're not my mother!" Jasper retorts, causing Thomas to laugh.
"And that would make a difference because….?" Jasper doesn't respond. "Jasper the whole point you're even here is because you don't listen to your mother!"
Jasper pushes his tongue into his cheek, looking to the side. Thomas takes a step closer to the younger, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This is your last chance to say goodbye."
Jasper now looks Thomas in the eyes. Thomas can see Jasper's eyes glassing over. "Tom that's just it. I don't wanna say goodbye. If I don't go, then she is still here."
Thomas begins to squeeze Jasper's shoulder, trying to convey a source of comfort. "Jas you know your grandma isn't coming back."
Jasper smacks the hand away from his shoulder. "Do you think I don't know that? You don't know how I feel." He turns on his heels and begins to walk away, but Thomas won't let it drop.
"You think I don't know how it feels to lose someone special to me?" He follows Jasper in the direction he is going in, which seems to be nowhere in particular. "My gran was everything to me Jasper. She wasn't only my grandmother, she raised me after my mum fucked off!"
Jasper now stops walking, causing Thomas to stop also, a meter behind. He slowly turns around to face Thomas, head hanging low "I'm sorry." Jasper mutters under his breath.
Thomas once again steps closer to the younger. "Look, I'm not telling you what to do, but..." He takes a heavy sigh. "I was 14 when gran died and I regret many things. She wasn't like my grandpa. She was kind, loving, she accepted anyone who walked through our front door...and I never told her about who I really am. Maybe if I did, things would be different. Maybe I would be stronger around grandpa because I'd know gran would have loved me whatever. I'll never know now. That's why I told Molly not long after. She is very much like gran,...but anyways, what I'm trying to say, is don't do something you might regret. Sometimes we only get one chance. That's all."
Jasper stays quiet for a time before speaking. "Ok, I'll go but only if you come with me."
Thomas pulls Jasper in close for a hug, kissing his right cheek. "Of course I will." He responds, rubbing soothing circles on Jasper's back.
"And…" Jasper adds, leaning over Thomas' shoulder. "After all this, I think you should tell your grandpa exactly who you are."
Jasper can feel the once relaxed hug, tense up a little. Thomas then pulls away. "I can't Jasper. You know that!"
"Yes you can Tom. You have Molly and Jim. You have your best friends and you have me and if your grandpa doesn't want to be a part of that, then it's his loss." Jasper holds onto Thomas' arms tighter to stress the conviction.
Thomas gives a weak smile in response. "I'll think about it." Is all he can say. Though it was always a constant on his mind.