DISCLAIMER: see chapter 1
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CHAPTER 2
Irina turned to Sydney who was still stunned by the harshness of how her parents were talking to each other. Then she heard her mother speak directly to her, "You should have seen how women flirted with your father."
"What are you talking about? I never flirted with women." Jack said, feeling utterly lost about what Irina was accusing him of.
Irina put her hands on the side of her head and clutching her hair she turned and screamed at Jack, "I didn't say you flirted you with them, you idiot! I said they flirted with you. You were just too damn naive to notice." When she used the word naive, yet again, she made sure she said it loud enough for him to not miss it.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Jack was finding it very difficult to keep his emotions under control. .
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Those damn teacher dinners or your neighborhood parties." She turned again and directed her comments to her daughter. "Oh Sydney, you should have seen those backyard parties. They were the worst. All those unhappy American housewives making moves on my husband," she said jabbing her index finger into her chest and then pointing the same finger at Jack she added, "and he was too damn naive to notice."
Jack jumped to his own defense, "I never touched any of them Irina. I told you they were just being social able. That's what you do at parties, for god sake."
"Oh yea. Just being social able, that's why I caught that Bracken women doing a striptease for you."
"Oh no," Jack thought to himself, not that argument again. In as calm a voice as he could muster, he said, "I told you more than once, she wasn't striping. She was taking a belly dance class and she was just showing me what she learned. What was I supposed to do? Tell her I didn't want to see it because my wife wouldn't like it."
Then talking directly to Sydney and hoping to get another woman's understanding of what she had to endure with her husband, Irina said, "See what I had to put up with. Why was she belly dancing for my husband and not her own?"
Sydney quickly realized that she was witnessing the continuation of a very old argument. One that she was sure her father never enjoyed. Wanting to distance herself from this argument she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "I don't know."
Irina continued her verbal assault on Jack, "But, Debbie Bracken wasn't the worse. The worse was that tramp, Bonnie Sullivan. She was real social able, wasn't she Jack?" Bonnie Sullivan was a voluptuous, young woman, living with her divorced sister in a house across the street from the Bristow's.
Jack stood silent as Irina continued her ranting. He wondered how a conversation about Arvin Sloane's whereabouts turned into an argument about old neighbors.
When his attention was brought back to the conversation he heard Irina say something about Bonnie drooling all over him.
"What are you talking about?" He inquired, completely mystified about what she was getting at.
"I'm talking about the day you changed her flat tire."
Jack easily recalled that event. It was something he thought of every time he saw someone changing a flat. To this day he doesn't understand what 'Laura' was so upset about. He found it equally dumbfounding that 'Irina' would be just as upset. "Irina, her tire was flat, it took 10 minutes to change it. What was the big deal?"
"That outfit she was wearing, that's what the big deal was."
"What was wrong with what she was wearing?" Jack wondered.
Again Irina turned her attention to Sydney who hadn't said a word since being silenced by her parents. "You should have seen her Sydney. She 's in a pair of heels, hot pants and a halter-top. Your father, being the Boy Scout that he is, was changing her tire and he had no idea of what she really wanted from him."
Then turning her attention back to Jack, she continued, "I know she timed the whole thing for when I wouldn't be there, but I wrecked her little plan and came home early."
Turning back to Sydney she continued with her recall of the event. "When I drove up I saw her crouched inches from your father's face; she was making sure he knew how she wanted to repay him for the favor."
Before Irina could continue with her version of what happened, Jack recalled a few details himself. He also addressed Sydney, "And you should have seen what your mother did. She squealed the tires into the driveway, making sure everyone in the neighborhood knew she was home. She then got out of the car and stood in the driveway, with you on her hip. You were about three and you were screaming about something and she stood there holding you until I was done and all the while you were screaming."
Irina gave Jack an evil grin. Without taking her eyes off him, she said in the sweetest voice she could, "But don't worry, Sydney, I made sure she got what she deserved."
"What did you do?" Jack demanded.
Still with the evil grin she said, "think about it, Jack."
"Think about? I don't want to think about it. It was almost 25 years ago." Jack thought to himself.
He rubbed his forehead with his left hand and thought back to the event. He then started to list the details that he could recall. "I remember that you wouldn't tell me what you were so mad about. I remember that you didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. That you slept on the couch. Then the next morning you woke me....." He started to describe the method she used to wake him, but being that Sydney was still present, he just said, "you apologized."
He wasn't sure what else happened.
"And," Irina said, encouraging him to think some more.
"And?" Then he remembered. He remembered that the next morning all four of Bonnie Sullivan's tires were flat. Someone had slashed them during the night. Jack had always assumed the same person that caused the original flat, slashed them also. But, he felt he should keep out of it, so he never asked. Now he looked at Irina and for the first time realized that she was the one who slashed the tires. "You're the one that slashed her tires." He said pointing at her.
Irina rolled her eyes and nodded her head in frustration. "Geez Jack, you just now figured that one out, didn't you?" She then smacked the palm of her right hand against the glass wall and said, "Listen, I warned that bitch to stay away from you and she wasn't listening."
He had enough. It was obvious that his original purpose for this meeting was not going to be accomplished today. Without hiding his irritation, he said, "You know, I never liked having this argument with you 20 years ago, when I thought you had a right to it. I sure as hell am not going to stand here now, defending myself all over again." Then glancing at both Irina and Sydney he announced, "This meeting is over."
While Jack was waiting for the guards to open the gates, Irina continued with her verbal tirade at him.
TBC......
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CHAPTER 2
Irina turned to Sydney who was still stunned by the harshness of how her parents were talking to each other. Then she heard her mother speak directly to her, "You should have seen how women flirted with your father."
"What are you talking about? I never flirted with women." Jack said, feeling utterly lost about what Irina was accusing him of.
Irina put her hands on the side of her head and clutching her hair she turned and screamed at Jack, "I didn't say you flirted you with them, you idiot! I said they flirted with you. You were just too damn naive to notice." When she used the word naive, yet again, she made sure she said it loud enough for him to not miss it.
"What is that suppose to mean?" Jack was finding it very difficult to keep his emotions under control. .
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. Those damn teacher dinners or your neighborhood parties." She turned again and directed her comments to her daughter. "Oh Sydney, you should have seen those backyard parties. They were the worst. All those unhappy American housewives making moves on my husband," she said jabbing her index finger into her chest and then pointing the same finger at Jack she added, "and he was too damn naive to notice."
Jack jumped to his own defense, "I never touched any of them Irina. I told you they were just being social able. That's what you do at parties, for god sake."
"Oh yea. Just being social able, that's why I caught that Bracken women doing a striptease for you."
"Oh no," Jack thought to himself, not that argument again. In as calm a voice as he could muster, he said, "I told you more than once, she wasn't striping. She was taking a belly dance class and she was just showing me what she learned. What was I supposed to do? Tell her I didn't want to see it because my wife wouldn't like it."
Then talking directly to Sydney and hoping to get another woman's understanding of what she had to endure with her husband, Irina said, "See what I had to put up with. Why was she belly dancing for my husband and not her own?"
Sydney quickly realized that she was witnessing the continuation of a very old argument. One that she was sure her father never enjoyed. Wanting to distance herself from this argument she just shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "I don't know."
Irina continued her verbal assault on Jack, "But, Debbie Bracken wasn't the worse. The worse was that tramp, Bonnie Sullivan. She was real social able, wasn't she Jack?" Bonnie Sullivan was a voluptuous, young woman, living with her divorced sister in a house across the street from the Bristow's.
Jack stood silent as Irina continued her ranting. He wondered how a conversation about Arvin Sloane's whereabouts turned into an argument about old neighbors.
When his attention was brought back to the conversation he heard Irina say something about Bonnie drooling all over him.
"What are you talking about?" He inquired, completely mystified about what she was getting at.
"I'm talking about the day you changed her flat tire."
Jack easily recalled that event. It was something he thought of every time he saw someone changing a flat. To this day he doesn't understand what 'Laura' was so upset about. He found it equally dumbfounding that 'Irina' would be just as upset. "Irina, her tire was flat, it took 10 minutes to change it. What was the big deal?"
"That outfit she was wearing, that's what the big deal was."
"What was wrong with what she was wearing?" Jack wondered.
Again Irina turned her attention to Sydney who hadn't said a word since being silenced by her parents. "You should have seen her Sydney. She 's in a pair of heels, hot pants and a halter-top. Your father, being the Boy Scout that he is, was changing her tire and he had no idea of what she really wanted from him."
Then turning her attention back to Jack, she continued, "I know she timed the whole thing for when I wouldn't be there, but I wrecked her little plan and came home early."
Turning back to Sydney she continued with her recall of the event. "When I drove up I saw her crouched inches from your father's face; she was making sure he knew how she wanted to repay him for the favor."
Before Irina could continue with her version of what happened, Jack recalled a few details himself. He also addressed Sydney, "And you should have seen what your mother did. She squealed the tires into the driveway, making sure everyone in the neighborhood knew she was home. She then got out of the car and stood in the driveway, with you on her hip. You were about three and you were screaming about something and she stood there holding you until I was done and all the while you were screaming."
Irina gave Jack an evil grin. Without taking her eyes off him, she said in the sweetest voice she could, "But don't worry, Sydney, I made sure she got what she deserved."
"What did you do?" Jack demanded.
Still with the evil grin she said, "think about it, Jack."
"Think about? I don't want to think about it. It was almost 25 years ago." Jack thought to himself.
He rubbed his forehead with his left hand and thought back to the event. He then started to list the details that he could recall. "I remember that you wouldn't tell me what you were so mad about. I remember that you didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. That you slept on the couch. Then the next morning you woke me....." He started to describe the method she used to wake him, but being that Sydney was still present, he just said, "you apologized."
He wasn't sure what else happened.
"And," Irina said, encouraging him to think some more.
"And?" Then he remembered. He remembered that the next morning all four of Bonnie Sullivan's tires were flat. Someone had slashed them during the night. Jack had always assumed the same person that caused the original flat, slashed them also. But, he felt he should keep out of it, so he never asked. Now he looked at Irina and for the first time realized that she was the one who slashed the tires. "You're the one that slashed her tires." He said pointing at her.
Irina rolled her eyes and nodded her head in frustration. "Geez Jack, you just now figured that one out, didn't you?" She then smacked the palm of her right hand against the glass wall and said, "Listen, I warned that bitch to stay away from you and she wasn't listening."
He had enough. It was obvious that his original purpose for this meeting was not going to be accomplished today. Without hiding his irritation, he said, "You know, I never liked having this argument with you 20 years ago, when I thought you had a right to it. I sure as hell am not going to stand here now, defending myself all over again." Then glancing at both Irina and Sydney he announced, "This meeting is over."
While Jack was waiting for the guards to open the gates, Irina continued with her verbal tirade at him.
TBC......