Spending a day at his uncle is sometime's the best treat.
Jake - 5 years old.
"Jake!" Paul called upstairs as he rubbed his temples in frustration. Jake was not gonna make him late for his meeting again. "JAKE!" Paul called even louder. He was about to go up and find his son, when he heard Jake coming down the long stairwell.
"Sowry daddy, I was looking for this." Jake said as he held up a small bag of Pokemon treats. Paul sighed, he knew if he didn't leave now, he'd be late. It was a good thing Jake had his jacket on and his small backpack on because Paul hurried the boy out to the car.
As they were riding in the car, Jake started to play with two of his toy cars he had brought. When he heard his dad sigh angrily, he wanted to help. "Daddy, why you mad?" The boy asked as Paul looked at him through the rear view mirror and smiled at the boy. He really did love his son, even if he had a hard time showing it.
"Daddy really can't be late for this meeting." Paul said, as he returned to the task of driving. Being a curious child, although still very young, Jake thought about this. He love his Uncle Reggie and was excited to go to his house. At the same time though, he really missed his dad.
It wasn't a long drive to Reggie's. As Paul pulled into the driveway, Reggie was already outside to meet them. Jake jumped out of the car excited and ran to his uncle. Reggie scooped the boy up as Paul got out of the car to thank his brother.
"Thanks for this bro." Paul said as he approached Reggie and Bibarel. "Now I better go, I can't be late for this." Paul rushed to his car and started the ignition.
Jake called to his father, running out of his uncle's arms. "Love you daddy." Paul nodded as he backed out of the driveway. Jake's face fell, his own dad didn't even love him. He started to whimper as Reggie, once again, picked the boy up. Paul caught a glance of Reggie's scowl at his poor parenting. Nevertheless, Paul drove away, leaving his brother to mend the damage he did.
Once the two were inside, Jake quickly ran to the living room to find Maylene, sitting on the couch, watching the cooking channel. She looked and saw Jake. "Hi Jake, how are you?" The girl's pink eyes look at her nephew in curiosity.
"Fine. Do you think we could, maybe make some cookies today?" Jake asked his aunt. He loved his aunt's cookies, and loved helping to make them even more. Maylene laughed at the boy's enthusiasm. He was such a good kid, especially for who was raising him. There were times the boy mirrored his father, especially when he was angry.
"Sure little man! But it'll have to wait until after lunch. I'm using the oven right now. When I heard you were coming, I made your favorite." Maylene told the boy, who's face lit up.
"Thwee cheese 'sanga!" The boy shrieked in excitement. The boy still couldn't pronounce Lasagna right. Maylene giggled as she got off the couch and went to check on the dish in the oven.
Coming into the room, Reggie grinned at Jake's excitement. "Hey buddy, wanna help me feed the pokemon?" Reggie asked as Jake ran to his backpack and pulled out the small bag of Pokemon treats. The pair then headed outside to feed all the pokemon in the field.
After lunch, Maylene and Jake started preparing the cookie batter. The two decided to make Peanut butter cookies with a cream cheese frosting. Jake never ate cookies without icing, especially his aunt's cookies. Though, with Jake's food allergy, she had to learn to make them without eggs. It didn't take her long to modify the recipe for Jake's needs.
After the cookies were baked, Reggie saw Jake mindfully put three aside. He figured they were for Paul, not that the man would appreciate them at all. Reggie really felt bad for the boy. He loved his brother, and Paul had gotten a bit better with his attitude since Jake was born. But it wasn't enough, Paul was still a cold brick wall. Though, Reggie wasn't gonna try to prevent the boy from at least trying. If anyone could get through to Paul, maybe Jake could. Maybe.
The boy then skipped upstairs with his pack and started to play with his toy cars. He loved to imagine the cars were racing each other. Jake would set them up on Reggie's desk, and watched them roll and sometimes crash into each other. Oddly enough, Jake couldn't decide whether he wanted to be a race car driver or a member of the Elite four when he grew up.
As he raced his cars on the desk, a photo fell off as one of the toy cars flipped off the desk, at high speed. Jake picked the fallen photo up. He instantly recognized his father. The woman beside him was unknown to the boy. Although, she seemed kinda familiar. Almost from a dream or something. His father was holding a small baby and smiling.
It seemed odd to Jake, he barely ever saw his dad smile. Jake sat on the floor, holding the picture. For a while, just admiring and looking curiously at the couple. Who was that baby? Jake was going to find out. He ran downstairs and outside where he found his uncle, polishing a Regirock. He ran over to his man, holding the picture up. "Uncle Rweggie, who's the lady and baby in this picture."
Reggie, looking at the picture, sighed and put down the cloth he was using to polish the pokemon. The man carried the boy as he located a lawn chair, and sat down placing the boy on his lap. Reggie figured to get the woman out of the way first. "Well Jake, the lady is your mother." Reggie said, wishing he hadn't told him at all. If Paul found out he had told his son the truth, he was gonna be in trouble.
Jake nodded his head. "I no have a momma." He said, with assurance in his voice. "Daddy told me I not have a momma." Jake was utterly confused. Reggie was shocked that Paul would try to deny his ex's own existence. Actually, he wasn't too shocked. After Hadley left Paul and Jake though, Reggie really couldn't blame his brother for alluding her existence.
This fact aside, Reggie continued. "That baby is someone that has changed your father's life, for the better."
"Who is it?" Jake tried again to get an answer out of his uncle.
"Don't you know buddy?" Reggie chuckled at the boy's innocent curiosity. "That's you, Jake. That picture is of your family."
"So, if that lady's my momma, where is she now?" Jake asked as Reggie bit his tongue, clueless of how to answer the boy. He couldn't tell Jake that, and yet he couldn't lie to the boy. Arcues, he and Maylene were the only ones that didn't lie to him. Reggie swallowed nervously.
"When you're older, I'll tell you." Reggie said as the boy's face fell. "I'm sorry buddy, but I really can't tell you now. By the time you start on your pokemon journey, you'll know." Jake sighed. Whatever it was, it was big. Somehow he knew, though, he couldn't ask his dad. This being said, he decided to let it go, for now.
After Reggie finished taking care of the Pokemon, he came inside and sat down to play games with Jake. Jake loved the came closet. All his uncle's games were stored there, some older than others. There were decks of cards, dice, board games, sports equipment, craft supplies, coloring books, and so much more.
There was only one problem, anger. Jake certainly inherited Paul's temperament. Jake was a pretty sore loser, but this didn't stop Reggie or Maylene from playing with him. Apparently, today was a bad day. As the three were playing Candy Valley, Jake lost a turn.
This was fine, it was just part of the game. The next car Jake drew forced him to go back to the Candy Apple Valley. It wasn't too far from where he was. But as the boy drew the next card, he flipped.
"This isn't fair!" Jake yelled as Reggie calmly tried to address the problem. Jake was too upset to be calm. The small boy slammed his fists on the table, gaining a yelp from Maylene. "I'll never win now!" Jake jumped from his chair, running outside to the shed. He started to kick and punch the wall relentlessly.
Reggie ran outside, looking for the boy and calling his name. As he was searching, he heard banging coming from the shed. He knew he had to calm Jake down slowly, because of the boy's temperament. He knew yelling at Jake would only infuriate the situation more. He approached the boy cautiously.
Jake heard his uncle coming from behind him and turned around, purple bangs scattered in his face. He was still angry, no doubt, but he never was mad at his uncle. Still, his tone was fierce. "What?" Jake asked, anger laced in his voice. Reggie bent down to the boy's level.
Reggie had invented a strategyfor dealing with Jake's tantrums. He actually designed it from hearing stories from Paul about what Ash would do when Chimchar's blaze became out of control. Reggie opened his arms wide as Jake entered. Then, Reggie would hold the boy until he was calm, or at least until he could hear Jake's heartbeat settle.
It worked pretty well, except when Reggie got punched in the stomach. But even those times, Reggie never yelled at the boy. Because when Paul was young, even time he misbehaved, Reggie would yell at Paul. And look how Paul turned out. It wasn't all Paul's fault through, the pair lost their parents pretty young.
Subsequently, Jake calmed down pretty quickly. As Reggie and Jake came back inside, Maylene had reset the game. The woman always did have a photographic memory, so resetting the board had been easy. The trio finished the game, surprisingly having Jake as the winner. Jake felt instantly bad for having a tantrum when he would have won anyway.
As Reggie was putting away the game, Jake came up and pulled the man's pant leg. Returning the game to the shelf, Reggie turned around to find a disheartened Jake bellow him. "What's up buddy?" Reggie asked, picking the boy up.
Jake never liked apologizing, but he loved his uncle too much to be so stubborn. "I'm so sowry. I no wanna hurt you; I love you." Jake said as he hugged Reggie affectionately. Reggie never expected an apology. To say he was shocked, would be an understatement. Nevertheless, he hugged the boy tight.
That evening, Jake fell asleep while watching a movie. Just then, there was a knock at the door. Reggie scooted past the boy without waking him up. Paul stood at the door, surprisingly wearing a smile. This sure was starting to become a night of surprises for Reggie. "What's up bro?" Reggie asked as Paul came inside the dimly lit house.
Paul was eager to share, another surprise. "The meeting turned into battle training and although I didn't win today, I got a raise!" Paul said, a sense of pride in his voice. Reggie knew what this meant.
"Your new Aipom evolved, didn't it?" Reggie asked excitingly. Paul nodded. Considering how pleasant Paul was being, maybe he would like Jake's cookies after all. Reggie went out to the kitchen and brought out the small paper bag that contained the three cookies. "Here." Reggie said as Paul took the bag and looked inside. He smiled and ate a cookie.
Paul looked at Jake who was fast asleep, and smiled even brighter. "Thanks for watching him bro." Paul gently picked the boy up, being careful not to wake him up. As Paul left with Jake, Reggie smiled. Jake really did make Paul a better person.