Chapter 12
Life at the Johnson house sure was a lot different than what I was used to at home. First off, they had a list of "House Rules" that even I was expected to follow. No swearing -- and words like "freakin'," and "that sucks," were considered swearing! There was to be no skipping meals, no loud music -- except maybe for a favorite song, no tossing things in the house, and no calling each other names when you were mad at them. On top of all that, lights out on a school night was ten o'clock, and curfew on weekends without special permission was eleven. When they laid them all out to me Sunday afternoon, I didn't know how I was going to survive.
What I didn't get at the time was that the rules were tolerable because it was all done out of respect for each other. When one of them would get mad, they would just kind of suck it in and then when they weren't quite so ticked off, they would try to explain things without sounding angry. It seemed like hard work to me, but it worked for them.
The first week flew by and I hadn't really missed my parents at all. Saturday, afternoon, I noticed Mr. Johnson was on the phone for quite a while, talking in hushed tones and occasionally looking at me. After he hung the phone up, he called for me and led me outside. I felt like running to the bathroom to get rid of lunch, dreading that I was going to be sent home to face reality again.
"Alex, I was just talking to your dad on the phone. He told me that after seeing the counselor this past week, he and your mom realize they have a lot of things to work on together, and wondered if you would mind staying here for another week. Your dad said to make sure that you understood that you aren't the problem, and that if you wanted to come home, you were welcome to do so." Talking about my home as if I would eventually end up there sent chills up my spine.
"Actually, I was kind of hoping that I could stay here until I graduate from school," I told him, testing the waters.
"I don't think I could afford to feed two hungry horses like you and Phillip for that long, Alex, but we can make it work for a while longer." I stood still as Phil's dad tousled my hair -- totally frozen by his touch, and hungry for more. I think he picked up on it, because he began to massage my shoulders too. When he felt the tension beginning to leave my muscles a minute later, he moved against me, draped his arms around my neck from behind, and laid his cheek against the side of my head.
"Alex, you need to know something. The things that are happening with your parents aren't your doing. Every person has issues in life that get messy from time to time. The trouble with those times is that when they happen to us, they can get everyone around us messy too. I think that's what's happening to your parents right now. You might be tempted to think you're to blame for your mother's problems, but she knows that's not true. She'll come to her senses after a while. Losing your brother is very difficult thing for her to process, and it'll put a lot of stress on all of her other relationships for a long time. You've just got to be patient until things work themselves out, because she's not really herself right now. Both your parents are working hard to figure things out so all of you can be happy again. In the mean time, your dad said they were going out this evening on a date with each other, and that you could come by the house to pick up anything that you needed."
"I'm good. Can I go finish my game?"
Mr. Johnson chuckled as he mussed my hair some more, swatted my butt, and pushed me toward the door.
"Oh, Alex," Ed called before it disappeared. I stopped without turning around, dreading that he had forgotten to tell me something I wouldn't want to hear.
"Thanks for respecting Phillip, Alex. After the first night you were here, I was a little worried about him forgetting his promises to God, but you've been nothing but good since then."
I was glad he couldn't read my thoughts, because if he had, he would have known that it was fear, not respect that kept me from further tempting his son. On a scale of one to ten -- one being not interested, and ten being obsessed -- I'd have to say I was at least a nine in my lust to be alone with Phil to see what I might be able to make happen.
"You're welcome, sir,"
Life here has its drawbacks as well as the obvious benefit of being away from my mom. Their names are Sam and Aaron. Plain and simple, they're pests, continually interrupting what I'm trying to do at the worst possible times. One day after school, I was playing a game on the Wii, and in the middle of the round, Aaron came in and stood right in front of the TV screen.
"Move! I demanded of him a little too loudly. When he didn't move, I repeated the command and pushed him out of the way with my foot before the game time elapsed. Too late! The round was over and I was furious.
"What d'ya freakin think you're doing, ya little jerk?" I spit at him as he looked up at me from the floor.
Phil's mom must have heard him hit the floor because she was now demanding: "Alex Daniel Harper! You get in here this instant." I had no idea she even knew my middle name. Ellen Johnson was in many ways the nicest person that I knew, but I was learning fast that there were some things that she did not tolerate.
"Perhaps you would like to get acquainted with Mr. Clean?" she spoke in clear no nonsense terms. I knew exactly who -- or rather, what she was talking about. Phil had told me Mr. Clean was the 1½ inch wide by ½ inch thick by one foot long wooden paddle that hung in the pantry where she could access it in a moment's notice if the need arose, and I had just forced the moment.
"Don't you think for a moment that just because you're a guest in this house that I won't do what needs to be done to keep order in this house. Even if you are a teenager," she added crisply.
I really doubted she'd hit me with Mr. Clean, but I wasn't taking any chances. Aaron was watching from the doorway, so I apologized for my outburst and even asked him to forgive me -- not that I knew what it actually meant, but because I just knew it was the right thing to say.
As soon as I had apologized to him, he told me why he was standing there. "Phil said that I had to get your attention and remind you that you have to help him clean up your room."
"Please leave the door open, Alex. Thank you," added Mrs. Johnson.