Passage 44
Avery had been a little more open with her and Roger seeing each other again as Roger became a constant in the house when he would come home. He never was over on the weekends . His mother was working and coming home later as sometimes he would meet Roger at the house as his momma was with him.
Caden wanted to be happy as he did always want to know his father and wanted his mother to be happy more, but even this situation didn't feel right to Caden as he quietly watched and observed the man his father was now he had a chance to observe him up close. His mother rarely spoke of him or even mentioning him was taboo in the Jing household when his shushu was in the home .
He knew there was history he didn't understand and hushed conversations ,but he was always curious where he got his grey eyes and blonde hair from. His momma didn't have blonde hair she had silky ebony hair that flowed like a black sea and her eyes were crystal blue like Nainai . She looked like Nainai as his shushu looked like his grandpa except he had Nainai's eyes the crystal blue .
Caden had always felt the odd ball out with his light hair and grey eyes and even his face looked alot like Rogers not he could take a closer look at him now since he was around more often now.
Roger sat on the sofa in the Jing estates as he waited for Avery to get dressed from the bed room. Caden sat there doodling trying his best to ignore the man in front of him. When his momma first told him about Roger being his father his heart was full of interest and wonder but after a few weeks of him coming and going as he pleased it began to bother him.
His mother rarely came out of her room when Roger was over and even rarer was at the dinner table. His Nainai was gone most of the time and come back to fuss at his momma about money and things. When Caden would come home from school there he was sitting there taking up space on the sofa .
Every once in a while Roger would call him little squirt not knowing the significance of this term. He would lean against the door like he owned the place and walk over to Caden as He mess up his hair and then nod like Caden was supposed to be a good boy and go to his room. It was weird how he came in and didn't really talk to him just sit there in awkward silence . Caden started to get the feeling Roger didn't like kids too much .
Countless times he come straight in and go to his momma's room as noises were heard Caden didn't understand. They weren't quiet about it as the house was all wood and tiles no carpet to absorb noises as it echoed off every surface of the house since it wasn't a huge house the rooms were close together in a hallway. The only silence Caden got was the far end of the garden near the coy pond.
When his momma would come out it would to get some food and head back to the room with Roger. Before him his momma would at least watch a TV show or go to the garden with him. Ask him how his day was . But now he got nothing like he wasn't even there.After his shushu left to go to his trainers place after momma and his argument about nainai the house felt cold and empty.
He remembered what was said between his momma and shushu and he was in tears when his uncle left him. Like his Nainai she left him too once. Caden's fear of never seeing his uncle again was beginning to set in.
Caden didn't remember his momma and shushu fighting like this before Nainai or Roger was in the picture .
Caden went to his room knowing she wasn't going to come out to check on him and he would have to eat some left overs from the fridge if he was hungry enough.
The only good thing was Roger would never sleep over . When nightfall fell he always peeled out of the driveway and left the house. That would also be around the same time his Nainai would come back home.
Caden didn't understand this occurrences . How Roger would disappear right before his Nainai returned. But to Caden he stopped caring about what went on around the house anymore.
One day he came in when he won an award at school as he wanted to tell his mother his new all excited . He stopped hearing Rogers voice as his hand hovered over the door knob.
" That boy is too big to be moping around acting all moody you coddle him too much. Do you want other kids his age think he is stuck to your skirts ." Roger said .
" He is a boy they do that? And I do not coddle! " Avery defended .
" When I was his age I was sent to a boys school overseas to learn with other privileged boys. I think it will do us some good to give him the same opportunity to learn abroad." Suggested Roger.
" Why . He is doing fine in school here. He has friends." Avery said panicked.
" I don't have time for kids . And your constantly running around watching him. Your mom goes out and we keep trying to avoid her. It's not healthy ,Avery to be moving around your mom and him all the time." Stated Roger.
" Then we can move in with you. Or you move in here or we can get a place together?" Offered Avery now desperately trying to ease him.
" Live with your mom too. There is too many people in this house already. And I don't want him in my loft breaking my very expensive items . Take my advice send him to get a proper education instead of relying on public schools teaching him God knows what?" Tempered Roger as Caden absorbed the words that was being said.
" What if we have another child . What about them. Will he or she have to go to this proper school as wel or is it just Caden to deserve this special treatment?" Cried Avery now. Realizing Roger didn't like Caden being around them.
" There will be no other children. Mark my words I will not make that same mistake again and you shouldn't either." He scolded her. Avery held her head low as she was being made to chose between Roger or her son for her own personal happiness.
" So you really don't want any kids at all. Me raising him all these years for you to one day know your son was all for nothing. " She said to him angry.
" You raised him not me. Shit Avery I admit it was fun while it lasted but the reality is we both work then have to move our schedules around your mom and son . When is is my turn to just have you. You were too young anyways to have him." Stated Roger.
Caden had heard enough of what was said . They basically admitted he was the biggest mistake of their lives as he ran to his room slamming the door shut in hated aggervation. He hated Roger . He hated his momma for being with him. He missed his shushu but since his Nainai came back he won't come back to this house. Caden felt alone and unwanted in his own home.
Roger wanted to send him away. Momma didn't defend him in the least . Just made excuses why he was still here existing. He didn't realize Roger hated having him as a son all this time as he pretended to tolerate him and be a father. Tears threatened his eyes as he wiped them away before they started. I'm not a crybaby I'm a boy he thought as his emotions filled him in an angry rush overwhelming him all at once.
Nainai was mean to momma and momma in a sour mood Everytime her and Roger got into it then make up and be nice and fight again. These words vibrated in his head as he felt the harsh unwanted atmosphere he was living in.
When his momma wasn't in the room making strange noises he still hasn't figured out she was fighting with Roger . It was so much overwhelming and hard to hear. Caden was sad, disappointed , angry, and felt unwanted all at the same time as he tried to check his emotions. He had a good day at school was nominated for a merit award and was happy to be offered speciality school note to apply to a school for kids like him . His proudest moment was crushed by one realization of his momma and father didn't ever want him .
Caden was now convinced Roger was not a good man for his momma . He had only known Roger a few months and they were already thinking of sending him away. Caden rubbed his tear filled eyes as he wanted his shushu . He wanted to any where but in this house. Well anywhere that Roger was not at. He truly wanted to know his father after all the years of no one speaking of it like he was born as a immaculate conception.
'Shushu!" he cried aloud as he held his knees rocking back and forth in his room. When he heard the front door shut he knew Roger was gone,but at the same time he knew he would also be back. That was the sad truth . When he met his father in that fancy office he seemed different than now. He seemed like he cared . Now Caden was really tired of Roger ruffling his hair. Calling him squirt . Going to his momma's room monopolizing all of her time.
Caden was thoroughly sick and tired of Roger. He didn't want a dad anymore he wanted to go back to the way things were before. When his grandpa was alive and his Nainai never left. When shushu always had his talks with him. Now all he had was himself. Alone in his room . Anger and sadness building inside of him . His temper he didn't know he had began to boil and his heart was symotanuiously breaking all at once.
Caden wanted to see his uncle he wanted to see Sunny but he hadn't seen either since his uncle left the house and his mama started seeing his father again. Caden was confused by how his mother was acting always taking Rogers side of the argument.and then when he went home always wanting Roger with her .
Avery felt hurt all the words he was saying as she knew rekindled romance was a risk with there history. Although Avery was twenty-eight now and older and more mature she can see their age difference was still a problem in Rogers eyes. Roger was forty-two years old and it didn't matter their position in life he couldn't look past her age as a problem.
Avery really wanted this to work out and he was plainly making her choose between her son and him and she didn't know what to do if she lost either of them when she just got both of them in her life at the same time. Roger being in her life made it bearable for her to look at Caden . He looked so much like his father it use to hurt a very to look at him some days as he was a constant reminder of her biggest heart break of her life. Now Roger was here and giving her an ultimatum she felt her heart breaking all over again as he stood right in front of her.
Caden didn't know what to expect . His momma rarely spoke of Roger at all. He heard his name referenced from time to time but when he met him in the fancy business building he was unsure how he felt about the quizative man who bore his grey eyes as well. He noticed a few features that was like himself and noticed a few things similar to him like his chin and his nose .
Caden wasn't even sure if he was part of the family anymore the way he was ignored and left to fend for himself. Even his Nainai showed more attention to him then his mother at times. Caden remembered his shushu warming up out in the garden he tried to do the routine on his own but it wasn't the same as his shushu beside him. He really missed his shushu .
Officer Winchester came in as an official capacity as he read Bobby -Joe his Miranda rights and and was there to escort him to the pricinct. He looked down at his feet as he saw he only wore socks and no shoes . Officer Nathaniel Winchester had seen many things during an arrest but this one was strange.
" Where are your shoes?" He asked as they prepared to escort him out of the hospital.
" I got mugged . Apparently Italian leather shoes is a high commodity in the criminal underground." Sassed Bobby -Joe as officer Winchester nodded at the sarcasm and irony of his circumstances.
" Can we get him some slippers or something. He can't walk outside in socks. That's a medical lawsuit waiting to happen." Demanded Nathaniel Winchester.
A nurse came back with fuzzy pink slippers from the maternity ward for a new mother's package. Bobby -Joe looked at the sissified slippers and gasped." Oh hell no I'm not going to jail wearing pink fuzzy slippers looking like a marshmallow ." He protested as the nurse looked at Winchester for her next move.
" Well I can't have you walk outside barefoot and stepp on a nail and sue us now can I ?" Said Winchester in small amusement of his prisoners discomfort.
" Than switch shoes with me and you were the pink slippers out." Protested Bobby -Joe.
" I can't do that. These are officer issued police shoes. You don't want to be charged with impersonating a police officer by wearing part of his uniform." He said at how ridiculous this man was behaving over a pair of pink slippers.
Winchester nodded as the nurse put them on his feet as Bobby -Joe made a face that was distorted and embarrassed. They began to walk as the scuffing of slippers and shoes echoed down the corridor. The cruiser was waiting outside as Bobby -Joe saw freedom a few feet away as he tried to pretend to fall down knocking back the two officers filling him as Winchester was holding the door open and he made a run for it. Winchester grabbed him by the back of his blazer and tossed him in the back of the cruiser as he shook his head.
" I don't know what it is about Barry men thinking they can out run a fully trained officer." He said slamming the door shut securing Bobby -Joe in the cruiser.
Bobby Joe was being escorted to the holding cells. He knew he brought this on himself. Now he was being walked in with a suit in his fuzzy pink maternity slippers on. It was embarrassing being arrested with these shoes on . He rather be bare footed that this blow to his masculine pride.
He hated that he got caught his plan was to run until he ran out of money and that went south as those boys took the money he had until he could get to the safety deposit box with his back up cash he hld from Ruth -Anne because he knew she would spend every dime on stupid stuff.
When Bobby- Joe was married he had a perfect partner in crime with Tara . Tara he met at a church function and was immediately drawn to her. She was so sweet and was willing to do anything Bobby-Joe asked of her. She followed him around until Bobby-joe married her out of convince .His Scams were not picking up the way they had before and he was running low in funds. When she mentioned to him her little nest egg her daddy saved for her to be released on her wedding day the wheels in his head began to turn.
The plot to marry Tara and ditch her later was his newest scheme. Perhaps instead of of insurance fraud he could be a fortune seeker through calculated marriages. He can last a year before he divorced her and by then embezzled every dime she had. When the money was gone he tried to make a clean break but Tara wanted to go with him. He couldn't get away from her she was like a leeach . Sucking him dry and making it impossible for him to escape her.
When he set her up to take the fall for a scam that was in the red he knew this was how he was going to shake her finally. Sure he should feel bad he used her and disposed of her but according to him she was a business arrangement and it had rand it course. She was just a means to an end. A scam just like all his other scams.
Now he was here finally caught. With no shoes and wearing women's fuzzy slippers he somehow felt like he was being paid back for what he did to her. He sighed as he shook his head never thinking it would come to this point when the scams were put on hold. He had never had an honest job in his life all he knew was the side hustle and grab and go. He didn't have time for scheduled structure. He like pretending to be many people to achieve his goals by any means necessary.
Meanwhile in another part of the pricing Ruth-Anne sat in a holding cell with four other women. She stood away from the wall afraid to touch the filthy walls . One woman layed on a bench taking up the entire sitting area asleep. Another was leaned against the wall braiding her hair tips. The third woman walked around in a wide loop talking to herself. Then stop and burst out laughing and continue to walk. The fourth woman sat on the floor glaring intensely at Ruth -Anne.
Ruth-Anne kept trying to move away from the woman circling and talking to herself. The woman sitting at n the floor smirked as she watched the barbie doll afraid to sit down or lean against anything.
" What you in for , Barbie?" Said the woman staring at Ruth -Anne.
" Oh I don't talk to strangers . I don't want anything your selling thank you." Said Ruth-Anne as she moved to a corner in the room.
" Well I'm Maggie. Now we ain't strangers." Said the woman on the floor in a calculating manor." And does it look like I have anything to sell. Unless you wand a kiss and a hug but I can see you don't have your credit cards on you for payment anyways." Said Maggie in a mocking tone.
" Well we aren't friends either. And I wouldn't buy anything from you even if I did have my purse on me." Retorted Ruth-Anne.
" Not with that attitude , barbie. " Smirked Maggie .
" I'm not supposed to be here. I'm innocent.i just got caught up in something I didn't even know I was doing" Said Ruth-Anne . As she protested her innocent to a woman on the floor of a filthy underground holding cell. She didn't understand why she couldn't have her own cell instead of being here with people she didn't know and worse they were talking to her .
" Aren't we all. I tell you what barbie come sit beside me and I'll make sure no one messes with you." Smiled Maggie with her toothy grin plastered across her face . As Maggie tried to persuade her not to be in the corner she was in .
" No . I'm good where I'm at?" Answered Ruth -Anne.
" Well that's all fine and dandy but you see Beatrice over there" she said pointing to the woman asleep on the only bench in the room.
" Well when she is awake she likes that there corner your standing in. Don't want to be in the corner either when she wakes. She is awfully fond of that spot." Warned Maggie .
" Well she can't have both spots she will have to choose. Either give up the bench or the corner she can't have both of them." Snooted Ruth-Anne stubborn as a mule.
" Well she can have what she wants. You see she comes here so often that she is a legend around here. She has heavy hands. They let her cool down a few days then release her. Everytime she comes back she brings souvenirs for the guards. I would move if I was you." Said Maggie .
Or what? What can she possibly do to me . I'm already in this filthy discusting place and people won't stop talking to me.?" Snipped Ruth-Anne.
Just then Beatrice sat up from the bench as she glared at Ruth-Anne . Silence echoed as the woman on the floor looked at the two woman's exchanges. Ruth -Anne realized Beatrice wasn't asleep at all and heard the entire conversation . Beatrice nodded at Maggie and stood up. Maggie held her hands up like she tried to warn the new girl.
"Get out of my corner ,Barbie." Yelled Beatrice. Ruth-Anne looked at the two woman confused as she stood her ground.
" This corner doesn't have your name on it." Sassed Ruth-Anne provoking Beatrice unintentionally. As Beatrice flashed a toothy grin at Ruth -Anne as she approached her slowly.
" Charlie." Whistled Beatrice. " Give me a minute with barbie here we need to have a chat." Requested Beatrice.
" You got ten minutes , Beatrice. Be nice don't make me take anyone to the hospital today. You know I hate doing paperwork." Charlie warned her as he left the desk to leave the room.
Beatrice leaned against the bars " hey cray cray. Stop talking to yourself a minute and get her out of my corner." Ordered Beatrice.
The woman that was walking in circles and talking to herself stop and turned to Ruth-Anne. Maggie began to laugh knowing her impending doom. Her laugh was sinister. The crazy woman launched at Ruth-Anne as she let out a scream in fear and instinctively shot out a right hook . The crazy woman held her jaw in shock. Then next thing Ruth -Anne knew she felt a hard back hand slap and she hit the wall . She stared up dizzy from hitting the wall. She saw all three woman swarm her. Ruth-Anne felt her face hurt and she felt blood run down her face as she started to fall unconscious.
Charlie came in and tapped the bars indicating their little chat was up. Ruth-Anne coughed as she layed on the dirty floor of the holding cell. She began to whimper and cry . Maggie laughed as she heard the gate open . Hoping someone would help her.
" Come on Beatrice. It's time to go. Next time I see you bring me some of those crispy pastries and those sausage balls." Said Charlie releasing Beatrice.
At that point Ruth-Anne saw the danger she was in. She had to get out of here. She had to give Mrs. Molusky something to free her. Anything would be better than nothing.