Chapter 30
Michael & I had gotten used to being back at home quite quickly! It had seemed a little strange at first, quiet even, with no promises of drama or excitement, but pretty soon everything seemed to click back into place. Mike had been back to Cameron once already in the three months since we came home! Rhett & Jenny were taking Becky over to see Dad so they took Michael too! I wasn't ready to go back & see Jeff quite so soon & it turned out to be the loneliest week I'd ever had in my life! Michael on the other hand had a fantastic time, staying a few days with dad & a few days with Jeff & Gilbert. He told me how Amy had brought 'Ivory' home to see him again & how next time she'd promised to try & bring Big Show if he had some free time!!! Of course he was totally thrilled at that idea 'cause he'd loved Paul the moment he met him in Ohio! I missed Jeff a lot! I spoke to him on the phone almost every day but it wasnt the same, it just made me miss him more! Sometimes I would cry myself to sleep after I'd spoken to him, I just wanted to turn back the clock & make things different! Matt always called, sometimes twice in a day! He cheered me up always making me laugh! I missed him like crazy too! Both he & Jeff kept sending money for Michael even though we didn't need it! I told them to stop but they wouldn't listen so I just put their cheques into Michael's bank account & stopped arguing! My brother Michael had left his family enough to be 'comfortable' when he'd died so Mike was turning out to be quite a little rich guy! Of course he didn't know about it - a four year old doesn't understand the value of the dollar anyway, but one day when I felt he was responsible enough I'd hand him the cheque book & say 'Go get it boy!!' I'd still rather have my brother here by my side than his money in the bank but, as he'd have said himself, when life hands you a lemon, crack open a bottle of tequilla!! I guess that's a phrase my mother took literally! For every lemon she was handed she cracked open a bottle of whatever happened to be lying around! In the end she had been a bitter, spiteful old drunk, with no thought or regard for the people who loved her most - I wasn't about to go down THAT road!! Michael was starting to have some problems at school - he'd told his friedns that his dady was Jeff Hardy & of course kids can be cruel! The ones that believed him made fun of him whenever Jeff lost a match & the ones that didn't believe him made his life a living hell! It took me back to my days growing up in Cameron & how much it had hurt to be the school joke! It cut me in two to know my own little boy was going through the same shit through no fault of his own! I tried to help him, went to see parents, teachers, the headmaster, but the lively little boy I once knew was slowly giving way to this whole other personality! He was quiet, reclusive & moody, nothing I did or said seemed to help the situation! I was worried that he'd end up blaming me for all this & he would be right to do so, maybe even resent Jeff for being who he was! All kinds of thoughts entered my head at some point but I was powerless to help him! All I could do was love him & encourage him & hope that this would all die down eventually! Michael still had a couple of good friends, friends that didn't make fun of him until he cried.....friends that thought having Jeff Hardy as a Dad was the coolest thing on the planet! For them I will be eternally greatful! His fifth birthday came & went. Dad noticed the change in his grandson & begged me to get him away from all of this & come back to Cameron! It was a tempting offer but one I couldn't possibly face, not yet anyway. If it got any worse I promised Dad that I would seriously considder moving back to the farmhouse with him & Kellie! But for now things were staying as they were! Amy made it to Michael's party & she brough Lisa too! The kids were amazed to see Lita & Ivory playing musical chairs & eating jelly & ice cream! They all had a great time! Matt & Jeff couldn't make it due to work commitments but they assured us they were comming over as soon as they could! I thought it would have made life a little easier for him at school if the select few kids that were at his party told all the others that Lita & Ivory were there too! But it was getting worse! He now got stuff like..."Oh yeah well if Jeff Hardy is your Dad how come he didn't show up?" etc etc. I could have gleefully strangled the little shits!! I had a run in with the father of a ten year old who seemed to be the orchestrator of the whole situation! I went to see them one day after school & soon discovered where the kid got his asshole attitude from! "Well if his father is Jeff Hardy then his mother must have been a groupie & I'm the friggin' Rock!!" he'd laughed in my face!! Now I understood how Mike had felt all these months! I aslo understood there was no point in trying to reason with people like him as it just wasn't going to work! So I did the only thing I thought would make a difference........I punched the guy!! He was a big guy, but it was blubber not muscle! The force & surprise of my fist on his jaw (not to mention the beer in his hand!!) knocked him backwards onto his ass!! I stood & started at him as he wobbled around trying to get back to his feet like some sort of mutated bug that had been flipped over & couldn't get up!! (Had I really just done that?!) Before he had the chance to lift his bulk back upright I turned & went back to my car!! "I'll have the cops on you for this! You hear me!? You're some sort of psycho!!" he shouted, still on his fat ass on the porch! I just flipped him the finger, got into my car & drove home! Nobody was going to treat me or any person in my family like a piece of trash, no matter how big & stupid they were!! I couldn't help laughing to myself as I drove home, it reminded me of the time I'd floored Adam at the school gates when I was eight years old! It brought back a lot of memories about Jeff too! That had been the first time I'd spoken to him that day! I smiled when I recalled how young & innocent we were, our whole lives ahead of us & our only concern was our homework deadlines! Man how things change!
Michael & I had gotten used to being back at home quite quickly! It had seemed a little strange at first, quiet even, with no promises of drama or excitement, but pretty soon everything seemed to click back into place. Mike had been back to Cameron once already in the three months since we came home! Rhett & Jenny were taking Becky over to see Dad so they took Michael too! I wasn't ready to go back & see Jeff quite so soon & it turned out to be the loneliest week I'd ever had in my life! Michael on the other hand had a fantastic time, staying a few days with dad & a few days with Jeff & Gilbert. He told me how Amy had brought 'Ivory' home to see him again & how next time she'd promised to try & bring Big Show if he had some free time!!! Of course he was totally thrilled at that idea 'cause he'd loved Paul the moment he met him in Ohio! I missed Jeff a lot! I spoke to him on the phone almost every day but it wasnt the same, it just made me miss him more! Sometimes I would cry myself to sleep after I'd spoken to him, I just wanted to turn back the clock & make things different! Matt always called, sometimes twice in a day! He cheered me up always making me laugh! I missed him like crazy too! Both he & Jeff kept sending money for Michael even though we didn't need it! I told them to stop but they wouldn't listen so I just put their cheques into Michael's bank account & stopped arguing! My brother Michael had left his family enough to be 'comfortable' when he'd died so Mike was turning out to be quite a little rich guy! Of course he didn't know about it - a four year old doesn't understand the value of the dollar anyway, but one day when I felt he was responsible enough I'd hand him the cheque book & say 'Go get it boy!!' I'd still rather have my brother here by my side than his money in the bank but, as he'd have said himself, when life hands you a lemon, crack open a bottle of tequilla!! I guess that's a phrase my mother took literally! For every lemon she was handed she cracked open a bottle of whatever happened to be lying around! In the end she had been a bitter, spiteful old drunk, with no thought or regard for the people who loved her most - I wasn't about to go down THAT road!! Michael was starting to have some problems at school - he'd told his friedns that his dady was Jeff Hardy & of course kids can be cruel! The ones that believed him made fun of him whenever Jeff lost a match & the ones that didn't believe him made his life a living hell! It took me back to my days growing up in Cameron & how much it had hurt to be the school joke! It cut me in two to know my own little boy was going through the same shit through no fault of his own! I tried to help him, went to see parents, teachers, the headmaster, but the lively little boy I once knew was slowly giving way to this whole other personality! He was quiet, reclusive & moody, nothing I did or said seemed to help the situation! I was worried that he'd end up blaming me for all this & he would be right to do so, maybe even resent Jeff for being who he was! All kinds of thoughts entered my head at some point but I was powerless to help him! All I could do was love him & encourage him & hope that this would all die down eventually! Michael still had a couple of good friends, friends that didn't make fun of him until he cried.....friends that thought having Jeff Hardy as a Dad was the coolest thing on the planet! For them I will be eternally greatful! His fifth birthday came & went. Dad noticed the change in his grandson & begged me to get him away from all of this & come back to Cameron! It was a tempting offer but one I couldn't possibly face, not yet anyway. If it got any worse I promised Dad that I would seriously considder moving back to the farmhouse with him & Kellie! But for now things were staying as they were! Amy made it to Michael's party & she brough Lisa too! The kids were amazed to see Lita & Ivory playing musical chairs & eating jelly & ice cream! They all had a great time! Matt & Jeff couldn't make it due to work commitments but they assured us they were comming over as soon as they could! I thought it would have made life a little easier for him at school if the select few kids that were at his party told all the others that Lita & Ivory were there too! But it was getting worse! He now got stuff like..."Oh yeah well if Jeff Hardy is your Dad how come he didn't show up?" etc etc. I could have gleefully strangled the little shits!! I had a run in with the father of a ten year old who seemed to be the orchestrator of the whole situation! I went to see them one day after school & soon discovered where the kid got his asshole attitude from! "Well if his father is Jeff Hardy then his mother must have been a groupie & I'm the friggin' Rock!!" he'd laughed in my face!! Now I understood how Mike had felt all these months! I aslo understood there was no point in trying to reason with people like him as it just wasn't going to work! So I did the only thing I thought would make a difference........I punched the guy!! He was a big guy, but it was blubber not muscle! The force & surprise of my fist on his jaw (not to mention the beer in his hand!!) knocked him backwards onto his ass!! I stood & started at him as he wobbled around trying to get back to his feet like some sort of mutated bug that had been flipped over & couldn't get up!! (Had I really just done that?!) Before he had the chance to lift his bulk back upright I turned & went back to my car!! "I'll have the cops on you for this! You hear me!? You're some sort of psycho!!" he shouted, still on his fat ass on the porch! I just flipped him the finger, got into my car & drove home! Nobody was going to treat me or any person in my family like a piece of trash, no matter how big & stupid they were!! I couldn't help laughing to myself as I drove home, it reminded me of the time I'd floored Adam at the school gates when I was eight years old! It brought back a lot of memories about Jeff too! That had been the first time I'd spoken to him that day! I smiled when I recalled how young & innocent we were, our whole lives ahead of us & our only concern was our homework deadlines! Man how things change!