AN: A sincere thank you for those who showed me support. It meant a lot. And thank you to everyone, who is reading this story. I hope you stick with me, till the end.
Callie POV
It has been a month since Lena started to tutor Jude. At the start of this week he had his first math test since the tutoring started. Today, he got his test back. To my and also his own surprise, Jude was only couple of points away from getting a B-. If he hadn't made those two silly inattention mistakes, he would have earned his first B in math ever.
It was fair to say that Jude was ecstatic. I can't remember, when was the last time I saw him so proud of himself. Not even in my wildest dreams had I thought he's math would improve so significantly after such a short time. It's all because of her. Lena did it. If Jude continues to work hard, there was no doubt in my mind, he will get in the school he wanted to so badly.
But little did I know, Jude was hiding another huge accomplishment from me.
It was a late Friday evening. Dad was in the living room, drinking his beer and watching a game, with his feet up to the coffee table. Relaxing after his long day at work. Jude and I were in the bathroom. We were doing laundry so we wouldn't have to do it on the weekend. Jude was sitting on top of the counter next to the washer. Assisting me, by keeping me company, while I took the clothes out one by one, shook them and put them in the basket, which was in Jude's lap.
"Ah, crap!" I exclaimed after I pulled out my black bra from the machine. I had bought it last spring, after I realized that my boobs had grew a bit and the old bra that I used to wear, was starting to get a little bit too tight for me.
"What?" Jude asked curious as he leaned closer to me to see what I was so upset about
"The stupid underwire of my bra has come out," I flicked on the end of it to show it to Jude
"There's a metal strip in bra's?" Jude questioned not knowing anything about bra's and how they work
"Yeah, and sometimes they are pain in the…boob!" I replied as I pushed the metal back in the bra. Jude chuckled at me, but didn't make any comments about the female clothing. Once I had succeeded in that, I put the bra aside so I would remember to sew it up, so it won't come out anymore. It was still a good bra, despite the fact that it could potentiality try and kill me, silently, the next time I decide to ware it.
As I grabbed the next cloth from the washer, I returned my attention to Jude "You were saying something about an essay."
"Oh, yeah…right," Jude liven up as we returned to our previous subject about him "Remember when I told you that there was a small essay contest at school?"
"Mhmm," I hummed back. If I recalled correctly, it had been at the start of this week. Jude had spent the whole weekend writing his essay. There were multiple scrambled up papers, drafts, in the trash bin. At one point of his creative process, I had seen him laying on the floor in the middle of his room. Just when I had thought about going in and asking what he was doing, he had jumped up to his, ran to his desk and scribbled something in his notepad. The next moment, he had sat down at his desk and started to really get into the writing. His pen had moved so fast and he was so concentrated on his task, I decided to let him be. Jude told me the essay theme was family, but I never got to read, what he wrote. I was pretty sure he had written it about mom.
"I won!" Jude announced
I did a double take on Jude, before his words truly registered with me "You won?" I asked not believing what I heard, my eyes grew big
"I won!" He repeated nodding his head. His smile reached from ear to ear "In my age group of course, but I won!" Jude added, trying to downplay his achievement, but it didn't work for me.
"Oh my gosh! You won! You won!" I tossed the clothe I was holding down and hugged my brother, squeezing him so tight, after couple of seconds he begged me to let him breath "Jude, that's so amazing! I'm so proud of you!" I kissed his cheeks multiple times making Jude squirm a little bit
Jude waited a moment, till I calm down a little bit, before he spoke up again "And you know the school event next Friday? The talent show?"
I raised my eyebrows up, having a feeling, where my brother was going with it. Jude mentioned the event couple of weeks ago. A lot of students were going to participate, showcasing their talent, like dancing, singing, playing musical instruments. There was going to be an art show as well. The attendance is 'obligatory forced', so there would be an audience for the students, who participate in the event. Family members are of course welcomed, like any other similar school event.
"I'm going to preform. Read my essay out to everyone." Jude informed me, taking me by surprise again. Jude was on fire at school.
"Okay," I clapped my hands, but then rubbed them together "This calls for celebration! I'm going to the mall to get us a cake!" I told him as I was waking out of the bathroom, heading to my room to get my wallet.
"Can we get one with strawberries on top?" I heard Jude call from the bathroom as I entered my room
"Anything you want!" I shouted as I searched for my wallet in my school bag. Once I had found it, I walked over to my closet and grabbed a jacket, knowing that it was no longer as warm as it was during the day.
"Can I come with?" Jude was waiting for me in the hallway, looking at me with his big, brown pleading eyes, rocking gently back and forth on his feet
"Get your jacket and lets go!" I ruffled his hair. Jude ran to his room to get dressed. Meanwhile I walked over to the living room.
I stopped in the doorway and looked at dad, who hadn't even glanced to me, when I had appeared "Did you hear?"
"Huh...what?" Dad responded indifferently, keeping his eyes on the TV.
"Jude won the essay contest at school. And he's going to perform at the school talent show the next Friday!" I informed dad, excited and eager to see him react to the good news. This event was something we could attend together, as a family.
Dad turned to look at me, with the same void facial expression "Nice," he answered blankly, showing no sign that he was proud of Jude. He acted like nothing had happened. I blamed his nonchalance on the booze. The next moment, he raised the beer can up to his lips and drank it dry. He burped afterwards and set the empty can next to the other 5 empty cans on the ground by the couch. Dad then reached for the last beer can from the six-pack he had bought.
He popped the can open.
I felt a strong urge to grab the can out of his hands and pour it's content down the drain. These drinks, this booze - it was taking away our father from us. It was painful to witness, how we were slowly, piece by piece, loosing him. There was nothing I could do. I've tried talking to him. I've told him how his drinking is affecting our life. I've expressed my opinion about his drinking habits. About the amounts he's consuming. He doesn't listen, he doesn't care what I think, he doesn't see how his drinking is affecting Jude and I. Dad sees no problem with what he's doing.
"We're going to the mall to buy cake. To celebrate Jude's accomplishments. You want to come with?" I offered, hoping that dad agrees and comes with us
"No!" Dad replied dryly "I'm watching the game. Can't you see?" He raised his voice slightly and gestured to the TV as he glared at me
Putting my hands in my jackets pockets, I contorted my mouth to one side and averted my eyes down as I was one again let down by him. I knew what his answer was going to be, even before I asked him. I knew it, yet I still asked and got disappointment and hut in the end. Honestly, I don't understand why I'm still trying, why I'm torturing myself like this.
All I wanted, was for him to acknowledge us. To not ignore us. It's not that hard to pat Jude's back and say "Hey, good job, bud!" Right now, all dad did, was make us feel unwanted and unloved. We were not worth his time. It wasn't much different from how I felt most of the time in foster care. In time like these, I couldn't help but to stop thought like - we're the problem, we're unlovable - coming to my mind.
"I'm ready," I heard Jude coming out from his room
I took one last look at our dad, before I took a step back and left with Jude, without saying another word to dad.
"When did we get a cake?" dad asked the second I walked in the kitchen the next morning. His face looked slightly swelled, but his eyes were a bit red. I noticed an empty glass by the sink, so I'm guessing, he took something for the headache he was having because of yesterdays drinking. It appears, that he had fell asleep with his clothes on, because this outfit looked wrinkled. I bet his breath smelled like alcohol as well, but I kept my distance from him, not wanting to find out.
There was no -good morning- or - how did you sleep. He just went straight to the business "We didn't have a cake at dinner yesterday."
"Jude and I bought it," I kept an indifferent tone intentionally, wanting to show him some attitude for how he was treating us yesterday. Once I was by the counter, I started to make myself a cup of coffee to help me get through this morning.
"Why?" Donald stepped aside as I reached, when I walked up to the fridge to get ingredients for my breakfast, which was going to be a simple cheese sandwich I was going to eat on the way to work.
"We were celebrating," I replied, keeping my eyes on my task - smearing the butter on the bread "Jude won the essay contest."
"He did?" wow, he actually sounded genuine "That's so great! Really amazing!"
"Don't need to tell me," I muttered back as I started to cut the cheese "I celebrate with him, remember...oh, my bad...you don't remember."
"What's with that attitude?" Dad questioned coming closer to me after my snarky comment that I had added at the end
"What attitude?" I briefly glanced to him, pretending to now know what he was talking about.
"That!" He gestured to me "What did I ever do to you? Why are you always so…angry with me. Like I have done something to hurt you."
I ran my hand over my face in frustration and let out a long breath. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for this talk right now. It's too exhausting. There is so much I wanted to tell him, but if I do start, I knew I would end up yelling at him. That's not what I wanted.
"Maybe because you don't give a damn about me or Jude," I answered as calmly as I could, with as little attitude as I could. Still, I think I came out sounding pissed off.
"Don't say that, Cal!" He argued back, taking another step closer to me, which made me want to get my breakfast ready faster so I could leave "I love both of you!"
"Well, sorry, but sometimes it's hard to see it!" I admitted truthfully as I briefly turned to him
Dad was silent for a long time, enough for me to finish my sandwich "What do I need to do to prove it you?" His voice had become more softer
I looked down to the floor between us as I took a second to gather my thoughts and put the anger away for a while.
"Tell me!" Donald pressed on
As I thought about what to answer him, I poured coffee in my thermos and washed the knife "Jude's going to perform at a talent show next Friday at school," I said as I put the lid on the thermos and picked up my sandwich "He's going to be reading his essay. I think you should attend the event with me."
"What time?"
"The start is at 4PM," I answered as I looked to him
"I'll be there!" He promised without missing a beat
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I'm going to be there!" he stated firmly
"Great," I said not fully believing he will keep it. It will be a pain in the ass to explain it to Jude, if he won't. After all, I'm going to have to be the one to explain it to Jude, if dad will be a no show. It would probably be smart to not get my hopes up and to tell Jude the same thing.
"What was the essay about?" Lena asked curiously as she waited for Jude to show up at his tutoring session. Jude wasn't late, it was Lena, who had come here too early. So I made her coffee and now we were making small talk as we sat on one of the couches in the main hall.
The more I had gotten the chance to talk to her, the more I liked her and the more I wanted to get to know her. No matter what we talked about, she always showed great interest and listened, unlike dad. Conversations with here were always pleasant and truthfully, I didn't want them to end. It was very easy to talk to her, about anything. When I was around her, it felt like I could trust her my deepest secrets. I also started to feel slightly envious of Stef and Lena's kids. They are so lucky to have parents like this. I doubt they even realize it.
Her sense of humor is very interesting as well. Last Sunday, Jude's pencil had broken, so I quickly sharpened it for him. When I had given the pencil back to Jude, I said this god-awful joke to both of them.
"Why should you not write with a dull pencil? Because it's pointless!"
Any normal person, would have given me a look and then pretend they didn't hear the bad joke. Actually, that's exactly what Jude did, but Lena had laughed at that joke more sincere than I think anyone had ever laughed about a joke I've told. As it turned out, bad jokes are Stef's expertise and Lena hears them daily. She said that after couple of months of dating Stef, those jokes grew on her and she learned to appreciate them. They make her laugh. Apparently, people like that exists.
"I'm sure Jude will love to tell you everything about it," I replied
"I'll make sure to ask him about it. You got me really intrigued," Lena took a small pause and sipped her drink "How did Jude do on his math test he had this week?"
"He got an C+, but..." I paused for dramatic moment "Jude was just few points away from getting a B-! You should have seen his face. He was so proud of himself. I'm sure he will show you the test today, so you can go over the mistakes."
"His hard work paid off! If he keeps it up, he will soon be earning A's! Once he believes he can achieve that-" she moved her eyebrows up, suggesting that Jude could be unstoppable then. I couldn't agree with her more.
"You helped!" I smiled at the woman. It was strange, seeing that she didn't ask for any kind of recognition for her work. She was the responsible for Jude's grades improving. Without her, Jude would have still struggled to get a D. Yet there was no comment about - I'm such a good teacher, praise me for my hard work, look at the part I played in Jude's newest achievement.
"Heey!" we heard Jude call out from the hallway. My attention was on the white flower pot that Jude was carrying in front of him. It was a purple orchid. Still quite small.
"Hey, Jude!" Lena beamed seeing the my brother, when he was up to us "What's that you got there?" she eyed the object in his hands just as curiously as I was. I had no idea, what Jude was planning, so Lena's guess as to what it was, was as good as mine.
"It's for you!" Jude handed the flower pot over to Lena
"Me?" Lena was clearly stunned. Briefly, she glanced to me, asking me with her eyes - did you know he was getting me something? When she saw me shrug my shoulder and my clueless look, she quickly put her cup of coffee down to free her hands and took the flower pot from Jude.
"I got a C+ in the last test and that's...all because you helped me. I wanted to get you something," Jude explained, his cheeks were starting to turn a little bit pink, he was nervous "Turn it around," Jude nudged looking at how Lena took in the gift.
As Lena turned the flower pot around, it reveled a text on the other side of the pot. It looked like Jude had written on the white pot with a black marker. The text read - Thank you for helping me grow. Jude had drawn a yellow flower next to it. It was absolutely stunning gift.
I couldn't believe how creative Jude had gotten and how much effort and thought he had put into this gift. We had spent days trying to figure out what to get our dad for his birthday two months ago. In the end, the best we came up with had been a gift card so he could buy whatever he wanted to buy for himself. This gift, Jude had gotten Lena, just for helping him math, was much more personal than our gift to dad. That to me, spoke volumes.
"Jude..." Lena seemed to be loss of words for a while "This is beautiful. I love it!" The sincere and genuine tone, along with the teary eyes made it absolutely clear to me - she meant it and she was touched to the depth of her heart by his gift.
Jude grinned back at her, clearly pleased that Lena liked his gift. Lena set the flower pot down and gave my brother a hug, who definitely liked the affection Lena gave him. That's not surprising actually, because he hasn't gotten any affection form his father in months.
But underneath my smile, I started to have doubts and fears as well. What if Jude will get too attached to Lena? Possibly seeing her as mother figure. What will happen, once Lena stops tutoring him and giving him the attention he so desperately needs and craves for? Should I be telling him, not to get attached, like I have told him every time we got placed in a new foster home?
For the time being, I didn't want to ruin the moment between them. So I got back to work, allowing Jude and Lena to get to the tutoring part.
