Yule Tidings (16 page)

             
Jim hopped down from the ladder when Merle came in.  “You are a piece of work,” he hollered.  “Why didn’t you mention using heaters before?”  For the last week, Jim had struggled to get the mortar to set around the stones as he worked on the fireplace.  He had a picture in his mind of exactly what he wanted it to look like, but every time he tried to put the pieces into place they slid down.  Miraculously, the space heaters were making an immense difference.

             
“Didn’t think about it,” Merle replied, ignoring Jim’s eyes as he looked at the chimney.  “It’s looking good.”

             
“Thanks.”  Jim was always a little embarrassed when Merle mentioned his designs.  He did it without thinking, and it seemed like Merle was giving him credit for work and talent he didn’t really possess.

             
“How are the electricians coming?”  Merle asked quietly.  It was a matter of contention among the construction crew that the electricians didn’t seem to want to finish their jobs.

             
“They should finish today, actually.  The drywall should be finished tomorrow, and you can oversee the painting by Friday, I would think.”

             
“Wonderful.  I knew you could do it.”

             
“Yeah, okay.  It’s you who did it.”

             
“Get back to work.  I bet I could set the stones faster than you at this rate,” Merle harassed.  Jim didn’t waste time debating with him; he just climbed back up the ladder.

             
Merle watched Jim for a few more minutes before going downstairs to check on the electricians.  He wasn’t surprised to see that Jim had forced them to finish one floor at a time rather than jump back and forth between floors.  The work could have been finished two weeks ago, but they weren’t in any rush.  They were getting paid to be on site.  Anderson contracted the electricians out because he wanted the wiring done a certain way, so Merle had to oversee a group of men that were in no particular rush to finish.  The longer they worked, the more they were paid.  Merle finally threatened to call Anderson before he could get the guys to move their asses.  Now they were nearly finished and Merle could call in the drywall crew.   It would be a relief having most of the work done. 

             
Merle went home content.  Jim managed to finish setting the stones in the fireplace, though the finishing touches would have to be completed Thursday and Friday.  A small portion of the drywall was in place, and the rest would be up tomorrow.  By Friday the stucco and plastering would be complete, and painting could begin.  Anderson would be happy to hear that everything was back on schedule. 

             
Merle looked carefully as he drove home, wondering exactly where Anne lived on his road.  There were a few small cottages that she could live in, but he didn’t see her car.  Then again, her car could still be in the shop.  Several large farmhouses sat back from the road further down, but he doubted Anne owned any of those.  He had a feeling she lived alone.  It wouldn’t make sense for her to live in a large place.  He didn’t look for long, eager to get home and get some rest.  Sherlock would be waiting for him, desperate to be put outside, and he had to finish with the deer before it went bad. 

Chapter Fourteen

             
Saturday came much too soon for Jason and Alex.  Jason was determined to talk to his mother.  Alex tried to reason with him, but Jason refused to listen.  He would not let his mother treat Alex so poorly.  Jason lay in bed, watching Alex sleep for a few minutes before slipping out from under the covers as quietly as possible.  He didn’t want to wake her—she’d just try to convince him to let things be with his mother.  She was so uptight about everything that was going on that she was spotting, and the doctor said she needed to take it easy and rest.  Too much stress could cause problems with the fetus, resulting in a variety of issues, not the least of which was miscarriage.  Jason wouldn’t allow Alex to miscarry because of his mother.  If it
wasn’t
meant to be, they would trust God’s judgment; but if his mother caused it, Jason doubted he could ever speak to her again. 

             
He didn’t waste time getting dressed or showering.  Closing the bedroom door quietly behind him, he walked down the dark hallway to the living room.  He sat down on the couch and dialed his mother’s number.  The sun was starting to rise, and the thin rays snuck through the picture window in the kitchen.  It was only six in the morning, but his mother was an early riser.  He was fairly certain she’d be awake.  The phone rang; once, twice, on the third ring his mother answered, sounding slightly groggy.

             
“Hello?”

             
“Mom, it’s Jason.”

             
Anne was a little surprised that Jason was calling her back already.  She thought it would take a week or two for him to calm down and look at the situation rationally.  Maybe he was growing up.  “What’s up?” she asked nonchalantly.  She didn’t want him to know just how uptight she’d been about their confrontation.

             
Jason wasn’t sure what to say.  He thought his mother would defend herself at the very least; instead she was acting like nothing had happened.  It infuriated Jason that she didn’t realize just how cruel she’d been.  “I’m calling to tell you that you were accidentally invited to the wedding shower.  I don’t want you there.”  It wasn’t what Jason had rehearsed, or anything close to what he’d planned on saying, but just hearing her voice, not at all remorseful or apologetic irked him.  He wanted to hurt her, to be petty and mean.

             
“Excuse me?”  Anne’s voice was a whisper.  How dare he call her and act so disrespectfully.

             
“The girls sent out your invitation by mistake.  You’re not actually invited.”  Jason didn’t know what else to say.  As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over.  She had no right or reason to come to the wedding shower when she’d been so malicious to his fiancé.  She made it no secret how she felt about Alex, and he wouldn’t tolerate her being rude or mean for the entirety of his marriage.

             
“I can’t believe you.  I didn’t mean to make a scene.  Alexia was being very rude and demeaning.  I couldn’t just sit there and let her talk to me like that.  You didn’t even defend me!” Anne was nearly crying by the time she finished talking.  She was appalled by Jason’s spitefulness.  She was only trying to protect him from a rather painful and embarrassing divorce. 

             
“Oh can it, Mom.  Her name is Alex, and she didn’t say anything I don’t agree with one hundred and ten percent.  I can’t believe you care so little about me and your unborn grandchild that you would behave that way.”  Jason’s temper was flaring.  “You called MY child a bastard!”  Jason couldn’t believe that she was actually arguing with him.  It was so obvious that she was wrong.  How she didn’t see it was completely beyond his comprehension.  Alex had begged him to be patient and understanding with her, but he couldn’t find it in himself to treat her with such consideration when she obviously didn’t care to treat others thus.

             
“Jason, I can’t believe you’re talking to me like this.  It breaks my heart to hear you say such things to me.”  Anne was crying wholeheartedly now.  When she’d heard Jason’s voice on the phone she thought he was going to apologize and tell her she’d been correct; Alexia wasn’t the girl for him.  Instead, he was being horrible and treating her like some kind of disease-ridden garbage.  It was almost too much to bear.  She’d given everything to make him happy and raise him as well as she was able.

             
“Of course it breaks your heart, because it has to be about you, right?  It doesn’t matter that you hurt me the other night, too.  Or that Alex is so distraught over the situation and how terribly you behaved that she’s having complications.  Nope, all that matters is what you want and how you feel.  I forgot.”  Jason’s anger was getting the best of him.  He usually had impeccable control over his temper, except when dealing with his mother.  Somehow she brought out the worst in him.  “You’re the only one that
ever
matters.”

             
“Jason, you know that isn’t true.  I would never intentionally hurt you.  I was surprised. You didn’t give me any kind of warning.”  Anne soothed.

             
“Mom, I don’t want you at the shower, end of story.  If you can’t treat Alex with even a shred of respect, you don’t deserve to be near her.”

             
“She didn’t treat me with respect!” Anne practically screeched into the phon
e.  How dare Jason accuse her of
being at fault.  She didn’t do anything to Alex.  The witch did it to herself.  She was turning Jason against her already.

             
“Do you think I wasn’t there?  Have you forgotten that I was sitting next to Alex? Maybe you’re just hoping I didn’t hear what happened.  You accused her of trapping me, Mom.”  Jason was trying to control himself, but it was a struggle not to let his tongue fly.

             
“Well she did, didn’t she?” Anne accused.

             
“No, she didn’t.  She wanted to wait until after the baby was born to get married.  I was the one that insisted we get married sooner.”  Jason took a deep breath.  “You were wrong, Mom, and if you can’t see that, I don’t want to be around you; and I certainly don’t want Alex or my child around you either.  I’m sorry.”  Jason looked at the receiver in his hand for a second, hesitating, before saying, “Good bye,” and hanging up.  He felt like a complete ass.  It was a rotten thing for a man to do to his own mother, but what else was there?  If he stayed on the phone he’d be tempted to say even more.  It would be better if he didn’t t
alk to his mother for a while; a long while. 
He turned the ringer off and sat the phone in the charger on the table. 
Well, that didn’t go as well as planned
, he thought.

Jason was so angry with his mother he didn’t really care if he spoke to her again for the next few years.  He knew he’d have to talk to her sometime, but he was determined to wait until she could be more respectful.  He wanted her to have a chance to think about what she was doing and just how poorly she’d treated Alex.  He wouldn’t let her treat Alex the way she treated Brandon.  Rose and Brandon might have the patience for it, but he didn’t.  He wouldn’t live that way; always wondering if it was safe to leave Alex alone in the same room with his mother, second guessing every comment and gesture.  He didn’t want to live his life in constant confrontation.  He and Alex were quite happy with each other; he refused to let his mother ruin their contentment.

             
She really needed to get over the divorce already and meet a nice older man, or woman, for that matter.  Jason wasn’t picky.  He just wanted her to be happy for a change.  It would make life so much easier, for all of them, if she could be happy.  Jason remembered what it was like growing up.  His Mom had been great.  She was happy and friendly.  His friends all loved her.  She was the coolest Mom ever.  Oh how quickly things changed.  Jason looked up to see Alex standing in the doorway, her face a mixture of pain and confusion.

             
“Sweetheart, you’re supposed to be resting.”  Jason said quickly, hurrying to her side and ushering her back down the hall to bed.

Chapter Fifteen

             
Anne couldn’t believe how terribly Jason was treating her.  She hadn’t done anything wrong.  She slammed the kitchen cupboards closed as she made coffee and a bagel.  She had to get ready for work.  Today was the blood drive and there would be way too much for her to do; she couldn’t afford to be late.  Anne climbed the stairs angrily. 
How dare he?
her mind yelled.  She climbed in the shower, fuming.  She was so irritated she broke the showerhead when she pulled it out of the bracket, a little too roughly, to wash her hair.  Water sprayed the entire bathroom, and Anne had to finish washing her hair in the sink just to get the conditioner out. 

             
Her clothes were soaked, and she was forced to find a different outfit for the day.  When she went into her bedroom and slammed the closet door open she broke the knob off, and had to squeeze her fingers inside the hole to pull the slider out.  Then she couldn’t find anything that fit correctly.  She finally settled on a pair of tan dress slacks and a b
lack sweater.  It was a bit more
casual than her normal wardrobe, but she couldn’t seem to find her other slacks. Clearly, it wasn’t going to be a good day for her.

             
Anne went back downstairs and picked up the phone.  She couldn’t just leave things as they were.  It would be too much on her mind if she didn’t at least try to call him back.  She pushed Jason’s number on the phone.  She waited; impatiently listening while the phone rang.  When it finally went to the machine, Anne was livid.  Who did he think he was, not answering her calls?