Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Eleven

—

"I'm a little kid, and so are you;
Don't you go and grow up before I do...
I'm a little kid, with so much doubt;
Do you wanna be there to see how I turn out?"
Turning Out | AJR

—

Jason
[Saturday, July 14th, 2008]

"Okay, kiddos, you guys gotta go clean up before dinner. Make sure you change your clothes and try to clean up your feet. Jason, can you make sure Joey gets cleaned up?" Dad unlocks the door as he provides our instructions. I rapidly nod, eager for him to trust me with my brother's care.

"Sir, yes sir," I salute. His smile in response fills me with confidence.

I take Joey by the arm and yank him up the staircase to the hallway with our rooms. I lead him to the bathroom and tell him to get in the bathtub while I go and grab us some clothes. When I come back, he's sitting patiently, wiggling his toes with excitement. I crank the faucet to a low pressure level, even though that makes it freezing cold, and Joey squeaks when the water hits his feet. Quickly, I wash his feet off and get him out of the tub, handing him a towel, and tell him to change while I wash my feet off.

I'm stepping into the bathtub when I hear the shouting.

Joey meets my eyes in a curious yet fearful gaze, and I step out of the tub.

"Stay here," I instruct. He nods and sits on the lid of the toilet.

Slowly, I pry open the door and tiptoe into the hallway and down the stairs, peering around the wall to where Mom and Dad's room is tucked behind.

From the angle I'm at, I'm staring at Daddy's back, but I can see Mommy. She's in her underwear. There's another woman, too; a blond, who is frantically trying to put some pants on.

"How long has this even been going on, Saige?" Dad exclaims. Mommy has her hands out in front of her, trying to get Daddy to calm down. It's not working.

"A year," she says with a steady voice.

"A year!?"

"Yes, a year," she responds, voice slightly raising.

"Jesus fucking Christ! We have two kids! A friggin company! If you're so, goddamn miserable—"

"Stephen—"

"Then lets get a divorce. You clearly want that." Dad turns around to walk away and I quickly duck back behind the wall.

My heart throws itself against my rib cage.

Divorce. Divorce. Divorce.

"Stephen, wait! We can't. You just said, we have two kids, a company!"

"The kids have been growing up in a household with parents who act like roommates. They haven't seen us in love, Saige. And you obviously want to explore your options."

"Well what about the—"

"We'll deal with the company later. Right now, I'm taking the boys, and getting them out of here. They don't need to be here."

There's a long pause. A long, tense pause. Dad hasn't left the room, but no one is saying anything. I hear shuffling next to me, and I turn around and see Joey.

"Joey, back upstairs!" I whisper-yell. He can't hear this.

"No, JayJay. What's going on?"

My heart pounds against my rib cage so hard it could crack. But I get distracted by the blond lady coming around the corner, running right past us and out the door.

"Who was that?" Joey asks. I don't answer.

"Just tell me one thing, Saige. Are you gay? Was our entire relationship a cover to you? Were you ever even invested in this?"

Mommy sniffles before answering.

"I'm bisexual. I'm attracted to both men and women."

Daddy doesn't say anything in response to Mom's confession. I hear footsteps coming towards the corner, and I try to usher Joey back up the stairs, but it's too late.

"Jason? Joey? Can y— Dammit," he whispers when he sees us idle on the staircase. His eyes are all shiny and his face is pink. "Can you guys do Daddy a favor and get some clothes in a suitcase? We're going to Grammy B's house for a visit."

His gaze rips into mine, pleading with me. To cooperate. To get Joey through the storm to come. I nod, and wrap my arm around my little brother, and direct him upstairs.

—

[Sunday, September 23rd, 2008]

"Are you guys good?" Dad checks, one last time before we go into the lobby. I nod my head, for both me and Joey, and squeeze my brother's hand.

"And you guys remember where the condo is?"

"Sixth floor, unit 602," I assure him. He smiles, just a little, and it accentuates the new wrinkles that crease his skin.

"Okay. Ask Mom to call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Mhmm," I hum. He gives us both smacking kisses on our foreheads, and gets back into the car, driving away. My little brother and I go through the lobby doors and I smile and wave at Miss Jessica, the lady at the front desk. Her face lights up.

"Hey you two! Long time no see."

"Hi Miss Jessica," Joey and I say in unison, continuing our journey to the elevators. With a ding, the doors open and we shuffle in, starting the steady and silent journey to the sixth floor. Another ding and the doors reveal the sixth floor hallway, and we don't walk far before finding the door with the stainless steel 602 on it.

My fist hits the wood three times, and a few seconds after, our mom opens the door.

She looks tired like Daddy. The bright red of her hair has faded, and under her eyes there are small, darker half-circles. She gasps at the sight of us.

"Oh, I've missed you boys so much!" She declares, gathering us in a tight hug.

"We just saw you a couple of weeks ago, Mom," I offer, but she shakes her head.

"Not the same. I'm so glad you're here for the night, and you get to eat dinner with me and Loraine!"

As if on cue, the blond woman from that day joins us in the entryway, with a soft smile on her face. She squats down in front of us to be at our eye level.

"Hi, you two." Her voice has a slight Southern drawl. Clearly not from Seattle. "I'm so glad I get to finally meet you. You're all your momma talks about."

Joey bows his head. He hasn't talked much since we moved out with Dad.

"You're Joey, yeah? I'm Loraine. But you can call me whatever you want." Her hand reaches out in front of my little brother, and he stares at it.

I don't know it right now, but the fact that she spoke to Joey first builds a connection with him that only grows.

"Go on," I whisper in his ear. His hand raises to meet hers. Loraine looks like she just won the lottery.

"Your name has 'Rain' in it," Joey pipes up. "I like rain."

"I do too," she responds, still holding his hand. Mom offers to bring Joey into the kitchen to help with dinner, leaving just Loraine and I.

"Hi, Jason." We shake hands, like she did with Joey. "Your mom said you love spaghetti, so we made that for dinner. We hope you'll like it."

My head rapidly whips back and forth.

"Do you like spaghetti?" I ask. She nods, standing up and bringing me in the kitchen.

"I love it, too. My grandma used to make the biggest pot of spaghetti for me and all of my cousins. I used her recipe for tonight."

We eat, and the food is delicious. That night, while Mommy cleans up, Loraine plays Mario Cart with us. They both tuck us into bed.

And after that, Joey and I don't think about what Mom did, or what Loraine did. We're just happy to have our mom back. And having Loraine be apart of that deal doesn't bother us in the slightest.