Page 46 of Frosty Felicity
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Founding Father
‘Some people have a legion of demons inside of them and they don’t even know it… They appear one way, but come to find out, a whole, entire assemblage of leviathans are working inside of them. All the therapy in the world won’t help until they surrender to a higher power… the one that stands above ALL…’
– Pastor McGregor
Last night’s New Year’s Church service had been interesting, to say the least, and the sermon weighed heavily on him well after the fact. The dark topic touched Brett in ways he couldn’t fathom. He rarely read his Bible when not in church, and was a little turned off by the blatant hypocrisy of organized religion, and yet, he loved attending service at the Grapevine church, where Pastor McGregor spoke. Scriptures were better explained, and people seemed to be more genuine.
Trust.
He needed to be able to trust the folks he brought into his life, and he needed to be able to trust those who proclaimed to be concerned about salvation, and the good of all people. Ulterior motives were a hell of a drug.
Brett sat alone at his kitchen table, bone-tired after having worked a double shift on Saturday, and then taught a self-defense class right after service, but more mentally alert than ever. Alexa played a series of songs—this one, ‘Roxanne,’ by Arizona Zervas.
The doorbell rang. Sighing, he got up and answered it. There Liza stood, her hair in a sleek ponytail, sporting a pair of black leggings, white tennis shoes, and a long-sleeved runner’s jacket with no coat. He looked behind her at the ice on several cars parked along the street, then closed and locked the door.
“Aren’t you cold?”
“Like you care,” she muttered, holding herself.
He didn’t respond to her nudge for attention, pity, and all that entailed. Instead, he turned away, gathered the small box of her items he had collected around his house that had been left over the years—things he now believed she intentionally left in order to have a way back into his life—and handed them to her. Hair items, feminine hygiene products, underwear, an old journal he didn’t read, though he knew deep down, she probably wanted him to. She could be manipulative that way on occasion.
Liza didn’t like to lose. Not in court. Not in life. Not in love.
“Thank you.” She tapped her short white nails against the box as she held it. A shiny silver ring gleamed on her thumb.
“You’re welcome.” There it was. The uncomfortable silence had entered the room.
“So, I’ve got new plans.” She broke the quiet, her chin a bit higher. He knew what that body language meant. She was either going to say something to antagonize him, or perhaps something shocking. He braced himself either way.
“What new plans?”
“Andrew and I are moving. We’re going to California.”
His heart sank. In that moment, he felt the powerful blow in his damn gut, and the lady hadn’t moved an inch. He gathered himself quickly, promising himself to not go off. Just yet.
“So, you mean to tell me that you’re going to leave your practice, rip him out of school, away from his friends, and—”
“It’s my choice. We need a fresh start.”
“You mean YOU need a fresh start.” Pure rage welled up within him. “This doesn’t have anything to do with Andrew, so don’t pretend that it does. Because you didn’t get your way, because I told you no, you—”
“Oh, bullshit, Brett! Don’t make this about you. You always try to make shit about you. I have every right to—”
“Liza, for the past year, you’ve made my life a living hell.” His voice shook with anger, and he tried to control himself but didn’t know for how long he could. Calm was slipping away faster than the seconds marching by. “I said I wanted to see Andrew every other weekend. You initially agreed to it, no problem, but then you started dating that guy, Stewart I think his name was, and I began getting Andrew more often, so you could enjoy your time with your new boyfriend. I was happy about the increased visits, and not once did I get on you about the sudden change in schedule, despite my very busy calendar. You’d cancel visits at the last minute, and you knew I had to go to work. It was disrespectful.” She rolled her eyes. “Regardless, I took it as a gift and worked around it. Then, when you and that guy broke up, I was back to getting our son every other weekend. Then, it was only a few times a month. That turned into one visit every two months, which was unbearable.”
“You have no say in this. Have you forgotten? He’s not your son!”
All he could see was red. His even temper was a thing of the past, and the beast within emerged. Live, and in full force.
“I AM THE ONLY MAN HE KNOWS AS A DAD, and I don’t give a shit if his father is in his life now or not. I was there when nobody else was! I filled the shoes, and I filled them well, damn it!”
She began to clap, mocking him. “Yes, you did. Do you want a trophy for it, Brett?”
“I don’t need a damn thing from you, least of all, any credit. You only do that when it’s convenient! I get credit from him every day, because he embodies so much that I taught him, and I know where I stand in his life, and I understand my influence and purpose in that boy’s life, too! Why in the hell can’t you think of him first?!”
“I am thinking of him first!”
