The Fight Within (73 page)

“Respectable. The last time you did it I took the phone from her and you and I got into it, as usual. I’m sick and tired of arguing with you.”

“Right, I understand, and that won’t happen anymore, Sean. I assure you.”

“Good, because I was going to take legal measures if you came over here tonight with some more bullshit. I was going to file harassment charges.”

Jackson couldn’t believe his damn ears. “Here I am, making an amends with you and you—”

Sean raised his hand to stop him in midsentence. “Listen, I appreciate this, Jackson, I do. I’m just letting you know my patience had already run out five arguments with you ago. I can’t beat the shit out of you like I wanted to, like I
could
have, because you’re my stepchildren’s father… How would it make Asia feel to know I’d done that to her dad? Your kids
saved
you from me. Anyway, I refused to get into arguments with Treasure about your behavior, either. It wasn’t her fault, and she’d asked you countless times to stop calling at all hours of the night. We couldn’t tell you to stop calling altogether—you two have children with one another—but what I
could
do, is let the courts know that you were demonstrating provocation behaviors, and you, being an attorney, well, that just wouldn’t have looked good.”

The man had undeniably threatened him.

A tiny smirk cracked the guy’s stoic face, making him want to scream, ‘Fuck you!’ and begin the war again. But…Sean was right…and he knew what he’d been doing, and that he’d gone too far, one too many times. He’d let his emotions get the best of him, and mixed with late nights, alcohol, stress and losing everyone he loved had turned his world upside down.

“Look, Jackson, I’m gonna lay off ya, give you a chance. We don’t have to like one another, just like you said, but we need to have a decent relationship, if possible, for the kids’ sake. We can either work together or tear everything apart. I’d prefer to put the children’s needs first.”

Jackson slowly rose from his chair and extended his hand. Sean stared at his fingers for what seemed like an eternity, then finally followed suit and offered his hand, meeting him half way. They shook firm and hard. He chuckled when the guy gave him a pound.

“Alright, Mr. Mahoney.” He pressed his hand along his jacket pocket, feeling the jingle from his house keys. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon. Take care.” He turned to walk away but soon heard what sounded like a chair sliding across the floor. He looked over his shoulder, a bit paranoid his damn self that the big bear had plucked the thing from the ground and was preparing to haul it at the back of his head. But that never happened.

What did happen was that Sean walked to his side. “Let me walk you out,” he said.

Jackson nodded as they made the trek to the front door of the estate. Each step Jackson took seemed to echo, so much louder than before. Though he was walking down a straight hall, it felt like he’d turned a corner. Things were different, new, confusing and fresh. A door had closed, but a window had opened and out came the sweet, cool breeze of redemption and forgiveness.

“Alright, see you soon.” Sean unlocked the thing and swung it wide open, causing the motion detector light to shine upon the front porch and the neighbor’s dog to begin his howling and barking ritual.

“Yeah, see you soon.” He began to walk away, then paused, catching Sean just in time before he closed and locked the door. “Hey, uh, Sean!”

“Yeah?” The guy gripped the edge of the door and leisurely crossed his ankles.

“Something about you strikes me as strange, but in a good way.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t have children but from my investigation, you—”

“Your investigation?” Sean interrupted, sealing his words with a light chuckle. “That’s right…you double as a self-appointed detective.”

“Yeah.” Jackson laughed uneasily. “But uh, my findings showed that you seem to have a way with kids; they really take to you. I think that’s admirable and it makes me feel a little more comfortable. You’ve got something special I guess one could say…thanks.” And then, he turned and walked away without a backward glance, although he could feel Sean’s eyes still on him. That was the closest he’d come to a compliment toward the guy…

Baby steps, man…gotta take baby steps…

He wouldn’t dare to admit to the man that he’d grown even more jealous over the past few months—not only in regards to Treasure’s complete disinterest in him, and her being in love with another man. There was one more factor at play, namely the fact that his children didn’t seem to like him anymore… but they
loved
Sean. That proved worse than a kick in the gut, causing a plan of action to bud in his mind. It didn’t matter how the whole matter began; it only counted that he was sincere in his journey to win his children’s hearts back.

He now had to share them with another man, but he knew a child’s love was endless, and there was plenty of room for the both of them to fit in their hearts just fine. Jackson smiled inwardly; the self-imposed weight was finally off his shoulder. He’d thought all along that the heaviness upon his heart and mind was from an enormous Irish guy that had crushed his dreams, taking all that he ever cared for and loved away from him. No, it was he and he alone that held the sledgehammer and destroyed it all, and now the painful truth was revealed. Jackson lost the case. He gave up for the first time in his life, threw in the towel. He let go for his children, and now he also let go for himself. He’d conquered the fight within…

*

One year later…

His hands traced
over hers as the rain slowly beat against the window, mixing with the fresh snowflakes and making a wintery stew of icy sleet. The house felt cooler than usual, despite two roaring fires, baking bread in the oven, and amped up heat. He pushed his body against hers, pressing her against the window as he bent low, his lips unhurriedly exploring the back of her delicate neck. The coolness of her silver chain brought him back in the moment for his chin grazed the thing, catching it ever so slightly in his jaw stubble.

Brian and Asia moved about the place. The New Year had come and gone and they lounged about, enjoying their last days of Christmas vacation. The poignant sounds of video game machine guns roared ever so often, bringing a strange silliness to a very serious matter at hand. Suddenly, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it.” He reluctantly pulled away from her and walked to the parlor to take the call. Placing the receiver against his ear with one hand, he pulled at the front of his ribbed white sweater with the other. “Hello?”

“Sean, it’s your mother.”

“Oh hi, Ma.”

“Are you still comin’ by for dinner? It’s getting late.”

Oh shit!

It had completely slipped his mind and now Ma was on the horn, asking for his presence. Worst of all, he was certain the lady had cooked a feast with all the trimmings…but he simply couldn’t go. The timing was all wrong. Before he could worm his way out of it, place an excuse at his mother’s feet and promise to make it up to her, he felt the warm embrace of his sweetheart as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Pushing her head into his back, she soothed him, made him relax where tense muscles had turned into spiny, sharp things, making him uncomfortable in his own skin, yet prickly with fear laden excitement.

“Tell her we’re coming,” Treasure whispered.

“A Ma, we’ll be leaving here soon, okay?”

“Okay, drive carefully!”

“I will. Love ya.”

Treasure released him, turned off music, and called out to her children before going into the kitchen to put her half prepared meal in the fridge for storage. Sean dashed to the living room and parlor room fireplaces and extinguished the flames. Coats on, keys in hand, and a bottle of wine as a peace offering for tardiness, they headed out into the cold winter evening.

Once they’d arrived at his parents’ home, he was pleasantly surprised to see his father sitting in the living room holding his customary bottle of Coors beer.

“Hey, Dad!” He laughed wholeheartedly as he tumbled toward the guy, pretending to fall on top of him.

“Watch where you’re going, you big lug!” Grinning, the older man placed his drink down beside him. He leaned forward, serving the kids with a keen eye.

“Brian, when do you take your next college tour?”

“This upcoming Tuesday.”

The older man nodded, trying to make conversation, engage him, and that pleased Sean to the point of a grin.

“It’s the kiiiing son of a bitch!” yelled Colin, bursting out of the bathroom.

“Don’t curse in front of your mother! You’re gettin’ as bad as Sean here!” their father barked, causing stifled laughter.

“I just need to heat everything back up, will only take a minute,” his mother interjected as she made her way into her deluxe kitchen, Treasure following closely behind. He stared at the two for a long time until he couldn’t hear or see them any longer. The television was turned up so loudly, he could barely hear himself think as he plopped down on the couch, sprawling his legs like so.

“Where’s Lydia?”

“Work.” Colin sat beside him and Brian, while Asia sat closest to his father.

“So, young lady.” His father folded his hands over his gut and gleamed down at the girl. “Would you like to hear an exciting tale about beer bottle cap collecting?”

‡

“I
can toss
the salad if you like,” Treasure offered as she watched the hard working woman move around like a lightning bolt, grabbing a pan here and a bowl there.

“No no, dear. Don’t worry about it.” She smiled wide, her kitchen smelling like a slice of warm heaven. “Have a seat. How’s work been going?”

“Well! It finally slowed down. This is my dry season, I like to call it.” Treasure gave a light chuckle. “From about January to March, I get trickle jobs, but it’s still enough, you know. Once the end of March rolls in, things pick up speed, fast.”

“I bet! People like to beautify their homes when the weather breaks, I take it.”

“Exactly.” Treasure ran her fingers along the glossy mahogany table. She looked around the place, pleased with her assistance in helping her mother-in-law pick out a new kitchen. If she said so herself, a good job had been done within the small working space. It looked welcoming yet modern, and even boasted of a small sitting area for her father-in-law. The two were quiet for a moment or two.