Yours, Mine, Ours Part 4
Jensen was sort of thrilled to see the promo. He picked up the boys and excitedly told them about it saying, “Tim we need to talk to your dad because your family is so invited. We’re going to have a huge party.” He dropped Tim off along with a sleeping bag for Jamie and asked Jeff, “So you’re covering tomorrow?”
“It’s covered. I will pick Jamie up as well as his Bumblebee figurine tomorrow morning. You guys have a nice night.”
At home he said, “Jared’s going to be home in an hour and a half. So go do your homework, okay? That way you two can cook all night if you like.” Jamie sat down in the living room and Jensen looked through the kitchen to see if they had everything. They didn’t.
He called Annie and she picked up on the first ring saying, “In a meeting is it an emergency?”
“Would you pick me up some beetroots?”
“Sure, see you in an hour.”
Jensen was about to start on grading some quizzes when he heard the doorbell ring. The door didn’t instantly open and he went to see who it was. He popped his head in to look at Jamie who had a math book open and was counting on his fingers and continued on to the door. Chad was standing there looking slightly worried. “Hey, Chad, what’s up?”
“Hey, um, is Jared here?”
“No, why?”
“I just assumed we were going out for fries after work to celebrate the end of the season but then he cleared his schedule and never called me and his cell phone’s off so I wanted to come by and see what was up.”
“Oh, I can explain, come in.” Chad seemed hesitant but Jensen didn’t want to have the conversation so close to Jamie once they were in the kitchen Jensen spoke softly, “Jared’s going to cook for Jamie’s class. And a lot of tabloid guys hang around outside, so the Network is going to out him with a promo about the family barbeque episode being about us. So he’s been working on that all day. I’m sure he’s just so stressed out that he forgot to call you.”
Chad nodded, “That’s fair, I mean it’s not like we discussed going for fries it’s just an old thing we did in college. It’s cool.” Jensen could tell he was disappointed. “I should go, let you get back to that.” He pointed to the stack of tests.
“No, dude, I don’t have fries but I have a variety of juices, sodas, and wines. Jared should be home later to do a taste test dinner. He’s bringing Sandy, and Annie’s coming. We’ll have a little party to celebrate y’all finishing your season. So what’s your poison?”
“Um, Dr. Pepper?”
“We have that,” Jensen opened the fridge and got out the soda.
Jamie came in holding his math book open and said, “Daddy, would you check it?”
Jensen handed the soda and a glass to Chad saying, “Do the ice I don’t know how much you want.” He took the book and the blue leaded pencil from Jamie and said, “Okay.”
The pencil had the words “Leahnant -Parents Are Important” written on it, Chad tilled his head to read it and laughed, “Who came up with that?”
“Oh,” Jensen looked at it. “The school gives us them. They’re blue so that I can correct the homework and go over it before Jamie goes into class and the teacher can see the original mistakes. The slogan’s to remind some parents that teachers aren’t the only people responsible for a child’s education.” He read it over and circled something.
Jamie jumped up onto the counter and looked at it. It was long strings of one and two digit numbers being added and subtracted. “What’s wrong?”
“Okay, so, you got it right at first: twenty-two plus fifteen is thirty-seven, thirty-seven minus ten is twenty-seven, twenty-seven minus eight is nineteen. But what is nineteen plus seventeen? Hint: it’s not thirty-four.”
Jamie sat and thought, “Thirty-six.”
“That’s right. Everything else is good.” Jensen ran his fingers through Jamie’s hair. “Other stuff?”
“Yeah, I have spot the spelling error. I like that game, it’s easy. Be back in a minute.”
He jumped off the counter and Jensen called after him, “Don’t rush!” Turning to Chad he said, “I’m afraid of calculus and geometry. I mean a blue pencil doesn’t help when you have got no idea what the right answer is.” Chad gave him an uncomfortable smile. “Are you nervous here, Chad?”
Chad sort of grimaced and said, “I just don’t want to be in the way of homework checking.”
“That might be part of it. But that’s not it.”
“Well, Tom and really all of Jared’s friends -or I guess your friends- they sort of treat me like the fat kid with the glasses whom Jared makes them hang out with. I know I’m brash, and too direct, and I’ve had Gonaria twice, but I’m nice.”
“I was the fat kid with glasses. My mom said I was pleasantly plump, or cutely cuddly, or big boned, lots of alliterative euphemisms for fat kid.”
“See, I also have a knack for saying the wrong thing.”
“I like you, Chad. And it’s not just because of Milo, he told me,” he added at the surprised look Chad gave him. “I like that you’re direct and I like that you start Conga lines: those are good qualities.”
“Here’s some more directness for you: you’re mean and you’re cold. But they like you.”
“Well, maybe it’s because I’m a little more relaxed, low key. You could try turning it down. You actually remind me of Tom when he was younger, before he mellowed a little. He might resent you for stealing his role. But as my mother likes to say when someone’s not nice to me: fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke. Turn up, drink their beer, eat their food, and don’t give a shit if they don’t like you. What do they matter? Mike, Jared, and I like you so y’know,” Jamie walked into the room, “forget them,” Jensen said quickly making it more innocent.
“Who?” asked Jamie.
“Chad has some friends who aren’t nice to him.”
Jamie turned to Chad and said, sagely, “Just because you say you’re friends doesn’t mean you’re friends. People who aren’t nice to you don’t count.” He handed his English workbook to Jensen and said, “I’m done.”
Jensen glanced it over, “Correct. Done with everything?”
“Yeah, I’m gonna go play Styx.”
“Baby, what about the summer recital? It’s in two weeks. Are your two songs ready?”
“Mostly.”
“Mostly isn’t all-ly. Go play them, twice each, and once your done you can play as much Styx as you like.” Jamie gave him a dirty look and Jensen said, “Do you want to look silly and get up on that stage and get lost halfway through or do you want to be good?”
“Good,” Jamie replied petulantly and sulked his way out of the room.
Turning to Chad Jensen said, “A parent’s place is in the wrong.”
“You’re sure I’m not in the way?” asked Chad.
“I’ll make you a deal: if you ever stop by and it’s inconvenient or the household isn’t in the mood for guests I will tell you straight out.”
“Okay then. It’s just… You seem like such a private person, and then at Mike’s barbeque and last night there were so many people around and I wasn’t sure if you really liked it or were just coping.”
Jensen thought it was jump time as far as their tentative friendship was concerned and said, “I bought this place shortly after I proposed to Tricia. We were already planning on getting a place together because we toured together so much. And I wanted a really nice house for our family. I know that common belief, at least around here, is that we weren’t in love. But I know an awful lot of straight married couples who don’t have sex. We loved each other very much and this house was always filled with people, always. And then we had Jamie and we were new parents and we were always tired but people were still in and out, helping out, cooing over the baby. And he got a little older and neither of us really wanted to share him with other people, we wanted to be alone with our boy and have some quiet time because there was always so many people here and we were so scared about his allergies. And then she died and I needed that quiet time. So it was me, and him, and Annie. But I want it to be the old way.”
“You know, if you’re doing this for Jared you don’t need to. He likes the angry you and he wouldn’t care if you stuck to the plan where you only see people on the weekend.”
“Chad, you are rapidly becoming one of my favorites. I know that Jared wouldn’t be upset. But it’s a better life. And I’m working at it, getting back there. It’s hard when I stop and think. We wanted two more kids; we were planning two more kids. So right now, I’m trying to not think too much because thinking doesn’t get me anywhere. But you’re right. We do need a bit more down time. I’m thinking we could do a schedule: Tuesdays and Thursday could be open nights, then Friday is Jamie’s date night, Saturday is grownup date night if we can grab it, and Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday could just be family nights. Excepting important sports events, and occasional Sunday afternoon barbeques.”
Chad tilted his glass at Jensen like a toast and said, “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
“So what are you doing with your break now that the season’s over?”
Chad snorted derisively, “I’m on location for a movie next Thursday.”
“What do you do on movies?” asked Jensen.
“I’m a Director of Photography.”
“No way, anything I’ve seen?”
“Calypso’s Journey?” Chad offered.
“For serious? You’re Chad Michael Murray? That opening, God, it’s one single shot for eighteen minutes, panning through that house and pausing in each room to look at the person there and then keeps moving. And for the rest of the film there’s not one shot for more than four minutes. And the colors and the lighting. That was you.”
“I should tell you, it may be an honor to be nominated but it is so much better to win an Oscar or three.”
“Why do you work on a cable cooking show?”
“When Jared jokingly offered me the job I knew he’d be shocked if I took. Besides, he’s my best friend, I like working with him.”
Jensen just laughed and he heard Annie call, “I have your beetroots!”
“Kitchen,” Jensen called back. As she walked in he said, “Chad is Chad Michael Murray.”
A shocked look passed over her face and then a flash of remembering. “I knew I knew your face! You’re the guy who apologized to his girlfriend for giving her Chlamydia during his acceptance speech at the Oscars.”
“She told me the only way she would forgive me was for me to make a public apology. But it turns out she was being hyperbolic and was not pleased as her family was watching.” He smiled at Jensen, “I have a knack for saying the wrong thing.”
~~~
Part 5
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