Chapter 21
Elijah
I saw Peter head up the driveway from the kitchen window, so I put the kettle on to boil.
“Good morning,” I said to him as he opened the door, with a cup of coffee ready in hand. “What brings you here on a Sunday?” I asked.
“I just thought I would check in on you,” he replied as he took the coffee, and blew on it.
“What are you going to be doing for the rest of the day then?” Peter asked with a smile.
“I’m off to the dog park with Kendall a little later,” I replied. “It should be kind of cool.”
“It’s nice to see that you’re getting to know Kendall a little more,” Peter replied as he grinned and me.
“Yes, she’s a nice person. She’s so attentive and concerned about my memory thing,” I replied.
“I wasn’t sure you were into dogs,” Peter said quizzically. “You always said pets were lame.”
“Nah, dogs are cool and so clever,” I said.
“So why did you really come up here today? I’m sure it’s not to check on me.”
“Damn, you caught me out… I came to ask you something,” Peter said.
“What is it?” I asked plainly in curiosity.
“I’m off to see mom, and I was wondering if you fancied coming with me,” Peter sat on the couch.
“When are you thinking of going? You know I can’t go today. I’m with Kendall,” I replied feeling a bit uneasy about the situation.
“Nah, I was gonna go tomorrow, but, there is one thing you should know before we go,” Peter said.
“What’s that?” I asked looking puzzled. “Is there something wrong with her something?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just the two of you have had a rather strained relationship over the years,” he replied.
“Well, that shouldn’t be a problem now. I won’t even recognize her, so I’ll have nothing to hold against her,” I said as I felt his awkwardness hit me like a brick.
“I know all that. It’s just how she feels about you that might be awkward. That’s what I have concerns over,” Peter said.
“So, what has caused all this friction between me and mom anyway?” I asked hoping he would soon enlighten me on the subject. “And how long is it since I saw her?”
“A long time, a very long time. Put it this way. I haven’t heard you mention her out of choice. It has only been in conversation you have talked about her. It’s like she doesn’t even exist,” Peter explained.
“Hell, that is drastic. I wonder if she will tell me the reasons for what has caused it?”
“I doubt it. It breaks her heart when she even thinks about it. What mom wants her son to disown her? And for something that happened between them many years ago,” Peter added.
“Well, I’ll have to see how it goes, maybe she will tell me, and at the end of the day it could be something stupid,” I feel slightly concerned.
“Maybe you’re right,” Peter said.
Peter explained more about my relationship with my mother and I continued to wonder what could have caused it off the top of my head. There wasn’t anything bad enough that would last nearly a lifetime to cause that much bitterness between two people, especially family.
“Well, we better get going, I have to meet Kendall soon, I don’t want to be late for my date,” I said with a huge grin that changed my mood easily.
“Come on then Mr. Lova, Lova. Let’s get you out of here!” Peter said with a laugh as he walked to his car.
“Very funny. I’ll get my own back one day Mr. Secretive,” I replied, as I closed the garage doors and climbed into the Porsche Cayenne.
“Big car today, I see,” Peter said as he slid into his side.
“It’s a big fucking dog, you should see it!”
“Catch ya later, alligator,” Peter shouted as he waved from the window of his car.
“After a while, crocodile,” I shouted back at him.
I arrived at Kendall’s house and knocked on the door.
“You both ready then?” I asked as I noticed her beauty. A red sweater and denim jeans was magic on her.
“Yeah, been ready for a while,” Kendall replied as I noticed her perfect eyes.
“I must say you look nice,” I commented.
“Bah, what a load of bull, I’m in jeans and a sweatshirt, I’m totally scruffy,” she said with a giggle.
“Nah, it’s your complexion, and your hair, it’s nice tied up, it makes you look different,” I said as I nodded in appreciation.
“It might be because I’m happy?”
“Ah, so our date makes you happy?” I asked patting Bo.
“Don’t be stupid, I’m always happy when I take Bo to the dog park,” she said with a huge grin.
“Now who is mocking?”
We walked toward the car with Bo. I opened the door, and he excitedly leaped from the sidewalk straight onto the rear seat and sat there as he panted, he looked like a king who was waiting for his chariot to take him somewhere.
I opened the door for Kendall, and she slipped into the passenger seat. “Peter came to the house this morning,” I said as I started to head toward the highway.
“What did he visit for on a Sunday?” Kendall asked.
“That is exactly what I asked him, he started to just say he was checking in on me, but that was just a little white lie.”
“What was it? Nothing bad or anything like that, right?” Kendall asked as she watched the all the other cars fly past us.
“He brought up my mom. He’s going to see her tomorrow and asked if I wanted to go?”
“So why was that worth a visit to your house on a Sunday?” she asked in curiosity.
I was just about to answer when we arrived at the dog park, I looked for a car space, and pulled the car to a halt. I opened the car door, and Bo leaped from the car and immediately started sniffing all the wheels on the other cars, he came running when Kendall called him.
“Come here Bo, come to mommy,” she said as she patted her legs.
Bo obediently came to Kendall and sat as she fastened his leash to his collar. We walked toward the park entrance and could see a lot of people walking their dogs already. Bo got a little excited at the sight of all the other dogs that were running around.
“So, you were telling me…” Kendall said as she got dragged by Bo.
“Telling you what?” I asked as I laughed at her. She struggled to hold him.
“Want me to hold him?” I asked.
“If you could, he’s too strong for me now,” Kendall replied.
I took the leash from Kendall, and our hands touched. I could feel the warmth in her fingers, I lifted my head and gazed into her eyes and smiled.
“Ah, yes I was telling you about my conversation with Peter this morning,” I said.
“Yes, and you cut it short. I thought you wanted to ignore it.” Her breath was quick from Bo.
“Of course not, there is nothing for me to cut short, well not that I know of.” Bo dragged me along as we walked together.
“Well, Peter told me I haven’t seen my mother for quite a few years that there is a lot of bitterness between us, mostly from my side,” I explained.
“Why is that then?” Kendall asked as she watched Bo pull me.
“I have no idea, Peter said that only me and mom know the reasons, even Peter has no clue what went on between us,” I explained. “He did say that it started when I was a kid, so that is nearly 20 years we’ve had the feud between us.”
“God, that is such a long time, it was probably like growing up with no mother if you had that much resentment for her,” Kendall said with a concerned look on her face.
We continued to walk in silence for a while. and I thought about the situation with my mom, Peter told me that the company and everything were left to me. Now maybe that was the reason I spent so much time with dad when I was younger. Perhaps Dad had looked at Peter as siding with mom, and like I was supporting him… or maybe I was totally off the mark on that score.
“Hello?!” Kendall shouted at me.
“What?”
“I have been calling you, and you have been in a world of your own,” Kendall pressed.
“Sorry, I was miles away, I was thinking about my mom,” I explained.
“Well, if it concerns you that much, maybe you want me to come with you tomorrow?” Kendall asked compassionately.
“I would love you to come, but it may be an awkward situation, I should go alone, at least until I find out what has caused this animosity between us,” I explained with a furrowed expression.
“Okay, no problem, but I’m always there is you need me, don’t forget that,” Kendall replied. She looked amazing as she walked in the sunshine.
“I appreciate that very much, thank you. Do you want a hot dog?” I asked with a big grin on my face.
“I shouldn’t, I have to watch my figure, but we are exercising, so alright, you’ve swayed me,” Kendall replied.
“Two dogs. And by the way Kendall, your figure looks fine to me,” I replied with a wink.
“Don’t be silly, one is for Bo, and he doesn’t like mustard or onions,” she said as she skipped toward the hotdog stall.
“Come on Bo, let's race mommy,” I said as I ran past Kendall with Bo taking up my rear.
I ordered three hot dogs so Kendall could eat. And we sat on the bench and munched away at our jumbo dogs. Bo was first to finish as we expected. We chatted some more about my relationship with my mom and what could have caused it, but we both had no idea what the reason could be.
“Well, after all that excitement, we should be leaving, it looks like it might rain in a while,” I said.
“Yes, Bo looks knackered, he doesn’t get this much exercise normally, he just potters around or sleeps usually.
We arrived back at Kendall’s house, and I explained I would be out of the office all day visiting my mom, and if Kendall wanted anything, just to call and I would be available. Kendall, unfastened her seat belt as if to get out of the car, but leaned in my direction. She leaned close and kissed my cheek and smiled.
“Thanks for today, it was really nice,” she said as she clambered out of the car with Bo.
They walked up the drive and then headed home. I had a full day and was starting to feel my head becoming heavy. I returned home and decided to have an early night.
Later in the evening I opened my eyes and looked at the clock, it was 1:15 a.m. I was covered in sweat and had just awoken from another bad flashback. But this time it was a vision of Dad beating Peter when we were younger, there was no sound so I couldn’t understand it fully.
This image had panicked me and was quite graphic compared to the others I usually endured. I laid in bed and wondered what it all meant. Why was I was only having bad flashbacks? I looked again at the clock… it was 1:29, and I knew now, I wasn’t getting back to sleep anytime soon.