Page 19 of Teddy Tea Time

Mom:

oh he needs work in the factory

Fucking hell. This woman expects me to move twelve hours away from the life I built here in Wrenshaw to go sling forty pound bags of dog food for ten hours a day?

Instead of going off on the woman, I dig through my contacts to locate my uncle. The last exchange we had was the obligatory Happy New Year text – from two years ago.

Me:

this is Ash. Did my mom ask u to find me a job?

I’m not surprised he answers right away. The man has been glued to his phone for years.

Uncle Mike:

she asked if i was hiring. didn’t kno it was 4 u. if i had, i wudve said no

Me:

Gee thanks. I feel so loved.

Uncle Mike:

u kno what i mean. U aint never been made 4 manual labor

After a few more texts back and forth, I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and restart the music. I just don’t understand why family members I talk to twice a decade know me better than my own mother. Even a redneck asshole – and I mean that in the lovingest of ways – like Uncle Mike doesn’t misgender me, so why do I have to put up with it from the woman who shot me out of her vagina?

Instead of searching for more jobs like a responsible adult, I decide to take shower… again. I’m not filthy. I’m not horny. I just want to be truly alone with what that woman makes me feel. I wasn’t enough as her son. I can’t be her perfect daughter. Hopefully the hot water lets me clear my head enough to figure out my next steps.

“Move in with us.”

I crank the music up higher before I step into the scalding downpour, only to jump back onto the tile, nearly ending up on the floor. The icy spray depriving me of my release is bad enough, but my forearm making contact with the edge of the sink is what has the primal scream ripping from my throat.

Fuck.

Do I even have enough to cover a trip to urgent care?

17

JACE

Ash has been off since I made a fool of myself asking them to move in. Not only did they refuse to accept any money from me, despite being the one who brought it up in the first place, but they also have not been willing to stick around long enough to have any kind of conversation unless it’s just a recap of what they had done with Gerry while I was at work.

Even though it’s only been a few days in the grand scheme of things, I miss them. I miss the way they take control of situations without being overbearing like the guys in the house. They coax and steer situations to run smoothly instead of forcing a response. Half of the time, people don’t even see how they have arranged things to go according to their plan.

“Do you think Ash likes chocolate or strawberry cheesecake?” Gerry asks me while we are waiting in line to order some takeout from a new Korean barbecue place that just opened up last month. He decided that he wants to treat his favorite adult-ish person – his exact words – to something tasty. I wholeheartedly agreed when he told me that Ash hasn’t been eating with him during the day. That’s at least eight hours without food. It’s not healthy.

“The cheesecake here is different from what you’re used to,” I explain based on what I can see on the menu and we move up in the line. “But we can absolutely use the caramel or chocolate at home on it if you’d like.”

He sighs but agrees to get plain cheesecake as long as we get an extra one for both him and Ash to try out different flavor sauces at home.

Like I’m gonna say no to that…

After ordering my usual go to for Korean food – bulgogi with sticky rice – I smile at the way Gerry bombards the kid at the counter with a zillion questions before settling on boring egg fried rice. For Ash, I order crispy tofu and some tteokbokki and some other sides to share, along with half a dozen cheesecakes. After all, we are going to have a tasting session with half of them.

The first thing I notice upon pulling onto the little parking slab next to my trailer is the music blasting from next door. While it isn’t unusual for people to turn their music up a bit louder sometimes, Ash is not one of the usual culprits… at least not this loud. Despite knowing that Gerry would have a better chance of getting them to accept the lunch invitation, my gut is telling me that Ash’s first reaction to opening the door today should not be witnessed by my little brother.

I’m about to knock when I hear a scream of pain coming from the open bathroom window. Before it even registers in my active thoughts, I am inside and heading for the back of the trailer where I know his bathroom is located.