Note: Thank-you to Banksiesbabe99, crazy4nc128, and Danish Girl for
reviewing last chapter. Danish Girl I'm glad you liked my depiction of
Jesse's home. I thought it was important so that Jesse's reluctance to have
Adam and his mother see his house can be understood Here's your update and
I hope you enjoy it!
Casey came home from work at the dinner to find that she had beaten both her husband and son home. She quickly changed out of her uniform and then headed to the kitchen to start dinner as she waited for Charlie to come home from school. Angela Banks had called her at work today and asked her to do something for her and she needed Charlie's help to pull it off. It wasn't long before she heard the front door open.
"Charlie, is that you," she called out.
"Yes, mom," came Charlie's voice.
"Can you come in hear please," Casey called out. She was in the middle of mixing the mixture to make meatloaf.
"What's up Mom?" Charlie asked coming into the kitchen.
"Why don't you give Adam a call and invite him over to dinner," Casey said.
Charlie looked at his mom curiously. She had never suggested that he invite one of his friends over for dinner before. "Is something going on?" he couldn't help but ask.
"I'm sorry Charlie but I can't answer that question," Casey told him which told Charlie that something was going on.
"Okay, I'll give him a call," Charlie said going along with whatever his mother was up to.
Charlie took his backpack into his room and then went to the living room to call Adam who agreed to come over. His mother was going to drive him over shortly. After hanging up the phone Charlie went into the kitchen to get plates and silverware. Setting the table for dinner was always his job.
He was almost finished with the table when his stepfather came home. Al sat his briefcase down by front door and then walked over closer to Charlie. He took in the extra plate and asked, "Who's coming to dinner?"
"Adam," Charlie said. He didn't really care for his stepfather. He wasn't sure what his mother saw in him but he seemed to make her happy.
"Is that one of your hockey pals?" Al asked still trying to strike up a conversation.
"Yes," Charlie said. He always tried to answer his stepfather's questions with as few words as possible. He preferred not to have long drawn out conversations with Al.
"Is that the Jewish kid?" Al asked.
"No, that's Goldberg. Adam's is the one from Edina," Charlie said aggravated. As much as he hung out with the Ducks his stepfather still couldn't keep any of them straight.
"Oh," Al said. He then left the dinning room and went into the kitchen to greet his wife. Charlie was happy to end the conversation.
He finished setting the table and then retreated to his room. He took his history book out and started on his homework. He was working on the third review question when he heard the doorbell. He quickly abandoned his desk and rushed for the door. He didn't want Adam to be greeted at the door by his stepfather.
"Come on in," Charlie told Adam as he held the door open for his friend. "What happened to your eye?" he asked as he closed door.
Adam's eye, though no longer swollen, was still bruised.
"I had a run in with McGill, on Friday," Adam told him.
"I take it your father didn't take that too well," Charlie said.
"Actually he thinks I got hit in the face with a basketball in gym class," Adam told him. "It's better if he doesn't know the truth. He's mad enough about all the fights already."
"What if he finds out the truth?" Charlie asked.
"I'm just hoping he doesn't," Adam said. He didn't see the point in telling his friend that it had been his mother who came up with the basketball idea.
"Hello Adam," Casey said coming into the room with Al close behind her. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. This is Charlie's stepfather Al Blackburn," she said indicating her husband.
"Hello, Mr. Blackburn," Adam said politely.
"Hi Adam, please call me Al," he said with a smile which made Charlie think 'This guy is so fake'.
Charlie and Adam took seats at the table as Casey and Al went into the kitchen and brought the food to the table.
When Angela got home from dropping Adam off at the Conway's, Phil was already home from work. Taking a deep breath she got out of the car and headed toward the house. She was not looking forward to what she was about to do but she knew she had to get it over with before she changed her mind about doing it.
She had met with her lawyer earlier that day and discussed the situation. They had even drawn up the divorce papers for Angela to use if it came to that. Angela hoped it didn't. She still loved her husband but she loved her son too. She had always gone along with whatever Phil had wanted but she couldn't do that in this case. She was hoping that she could change his mind without the threat of divorce but she was prepared to use it as a last resort. If all else failed maybe the threat of divorce would bring her husband to his senses. If not she was prepared to carry out her threat. She would take Adam and go stay with her parents until everything got settled.
"Hello honey," Phil said kissing her as she walked through the front door.
"Hello," she said. "Adam's eating dinner at a friends house tonight," she told him as they walked toward the dinning room. Martha had already set the dinner and was busy setting the food that the cook had prepared on the table.
The two ate dinner with the usual dinner time talk. As Martha was clearing the dinner dishes, Angela brought up the subject that she really wanted to discuss this evening.
"We're not sending Adam away to some boarding school next year," she said.
"Now honey, we already discussed this," Phil said. "Adam needs to get away,"
"No he doesn't. The kids that he has been hanging out with are probably better friends than any of his former teammates were. The trouble at school hasn't been all his fault its just easier getting rid of one kid than a whole bunch of kids which is why it was Adam who got kicked out of school when it probably should have been Ronnie and the others."
"There you go again, blaming others..." Phil said raising his voice again.
"And all you want to do is blame your own son. Can't you see how hard this year has been on him. When he's with Charlie and the others is the only time he has been happy. Why can't you see that."
"He's going away to boarding school and that's all there is to it. There is a good one in upstate New York..."
"You are not sending my son off to New York," Angela said cutting her husband off again. By this time Martha had gathered all the dishes and had retreated to the kitchen.
"Are you actually trying to tell me what to do?" Phil asked incredulously.
"I'm not trying to, I am," Angela said. "I've let you do things your way for too long. Adam is not going away to school next year."
"How are you going to stop me?" Phil asked.
"I talked to a lawyer today. If you insist on sending Adam away then I'm filing for divorce."
"You can't be serious," Phil said laughing.
"Oh, but I am," Angela said. She took the divorce papers out of her pocket and put them on the table. She then stood up and headed out of the dinning room and up to their bedroom. She didn't let the tears fall until she was inside and had locked the door behind her. She couldn't believe that she had actually stood up to her husband.
Downstairs in the dinning room Phil Banks looked in disbelief at the papers in front of him. He couldn't believe that this was happening. His wife had never taken a stand against him before. This was crazy.
With a sigh he got up and headed outside. He needed some fresh air to clear his head so he could think this through. As he walked out the front door though he slammed the door behind him.
"I'll get it," Casey told Al as the phone rang. She and Al had been watching tv while Adam and Charlie had retreated to Charlie's room after dinner. "Hello," Casey said picking up the phone.
"Hi Casey?" said a shaky voice on the other end of the line.
"Yes, Angela is that you?" Casey asked.
"Yeah, I told him," Angela said.
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. I told him that if he was going to insist on sending Adam away to boarding school then I was going to file for divorce and then I gave him the papers. I left before I started crying. I heard the front door slam a few minutes ago so I think he went out."
"I'm sorry it came to this," Casey told her sincerely.
"I don't know what is going to happen when he comes back. Can you keep Adam at your place tonight."
"Sure but what do you want me to tell him?" Casey asked.
"Why don't you let me talk to him," Angela said.
"Okay, let me go get him," Casey said. She went and got Adam and while Adam talked to his mother Casey filled her husband in on what was going.
"She wants to talk to you again," Adam told Casey when he was done talking to his mother. As Casey took the phone from him she could see tears glistening in his eyes. Her heart went out to him. No child should have to go through this.
Casey told Angela that Al would come over and pick up what Adam would need for the night and his school books for the following day. "And I'll make sure he gets to school tomorrow," Casey told her.
"Thank-you," Angela told her.
"I hope everything works out," she told Angela before hanging up the phone. Al left to head over to the Banks residence. Casey started toward Charlie's room but as she got close to the door she could hear Charlie and Adam talking softly. She thought it would be better if she left the two of them alone for right now so instead she headed to the kitchen to start on the dinner dishes.
Not long after Al left from picking up Adam's stuff Phil Banks returned home. Angela was sitting in the living room with the tv on but wasn't really watching it. Phil came in and quietly shut the door behind him. He made his way to the living room. He had come to a decision during his walk. He loved his wife and his children and he didn't want to lose them.
"Angela, can we talk," Phil asked quietly standing in the doorway to the living room. Angela picked up the remote and turned off the tv. She looked up at her husband but she didn't say anything. She had made up her mind that it was up to him to make the next move.
"Is Adam home yet?" he asked her.
"No," she told him. "He's staying with Casey Conway tonight. I didn't see the point in putting him through any of this."
Phil just nodded. "Look Angela I love you. I don't want to lose you. If having Adam at home means that much to you then I'll look for another private school nearby."
"No Phil," Angela said quietly. "Don't bother with the private schools. Adam can go to public school next year and be with his friends."
"No son of mine is going to public school," Phil said.
"It's the best thing for Adam. If you really cared about him you would just let him be with his friends until he goes to Eden Hall."
"How can you call those misfits his friends."
"Just because they're not rich doesn't make them misfits," Angela told her husband. "And besides I'd rather have him hanging around with them then those boys he goes to school with who have been beating him up."
Phil let out a sigh. "Fine, if it will make you happy then he can go to public school. Anything else you'd like?" he asked being borderline sarcastic.
"Actually yes." Angela said. "I want you to stay out of anything to do with the league redrawing the district lines. If they end up doing it and Adam is back on the Hawks next year and he wants to play fine but don't go trying to get the league to redraw the lines."
"Okay," Phil said. If that was what it was going to take to save his marriage than he could do it. He didn't like it but he'd go along with it. "So what are we going to do about these," Phil asked holding up the divorce papers.
Angela stood up and took them out of his hand and ripped them in half. The whole divorce had been a last ditch effort to get her way. She really didn't want to leave her husband. She knew he could be a jerk at times but she still loved him despite that.
"You know its not that late. We could go over and pick Adam up," Phil said.
"No," Angela said. "He'll be fine at the Conway's tonight and then tomorrow afternoon you can tell him that he can go to public school next year."
"Why me?" Phil asked. "Can't you tell him."
"No," Angela said. "You're the one who threatened to send him away to boarding school. Just tell him you've changed your mind. It will mean a lot to him," she told her husband. She knew that coming from his father it would mean much more to Adam. Adam tried so hard to make his father happy. He needed to know that going to public school was okay with his father or he wouldn't be happy there.
"Fine," Phil said.
The rest of the evening was quiet. Both of them knew that things had changed. Phil wasn't the one completely in charge anymore. From now on Angela would have more of a say in the decisions regarding their youngest son.
Casey came home from work at the dinner to find that she had beaten both her husband and son home. She quickly changed out of her uniform and then headed to the kitchen to start dinner as she waited for Charlie to come home from school. Angela Banks had called her at work today and asked her to do something for her and she needed Charlie's help to pull it off. It wasn't long before she heard the front door open.
"Charlie, is that you," she called out.
"Yes, mom," came Charlie's voice.
"Can you come in hear please," Casey called out. She was in the middle of mixing the mixture to make meatloaf.
"What's up Mom?" Charlie asked coming into the kitchen.
"Why don't you give Adam a call and invite him over to dinner," Casey said.
Charlie looked at his mom curiously. She had never suggested that he invite one of his friends over for dinner before. "Is something going on?" he couldn't help but ask.
"I'm sorry Charlie but I can't answer that question," Casey told him which told Charlie that something was going on.
"Okay, I'll give him a call," Charlie said going along with whatever his mother was up to.
Charlie took his backpack into his room and then went to the living room to call Adam who agreed to come over. His mother was going to drive him over shortly. After hanging up the phone Charlie went into the kitchen to get plates and silverware. Setting the table for dinner was always his job.
He was almost finished with the table when his stepfather came home. Al sat his briefcase down by front door and then walked over closer to Charlie. He took in the extra plate and asked, "Who's coming to dinner?"
"Adam," Charlie said. He didn't really care for his stepfather. He wasn't sure what his mother saw in him but he seemed to make her happy.
"Is that one of your hockey pals?" Al asked still trying to strike up a conversation.
"Yes," Charlie said. He always tried to answer his stepfather's questions with as few words as possible. He preferred not to have long drawn out conversations with Al.
"Is that the Jewish kid?" Al asked.
"No, that's Goldberg. Adam's is the one from Edina," Charlie said aggravated. As much as he hung out with the Ducks his stepfather still couldn't keep any of them straight.
"Oh," Al said. He then left the dinning room and went into the kitchen to greet his wife. Charlie was happy to end the conversation.
He finished setting the table and then retreated to his room. He took his history book out and started on his homework. He was working on the third review question when he heard the doorbell. He quickly abandoned his desk and rushed for the door. He didn't want Adam to be greeted at the door by his stepfather.
"Come on in," Charlie told Adam as he held the door open for his friend. "What happened to your eye?" he asked as he closed door.
Adam's eye, though no longer swollen, was still bruised.
"I had a run in with McGill, on Friday," Adam told him.
"I take it your father didn't take that too well," Charlie said.
"Actually he thinks I got hit in the face with a basketball in gym class," Adam told him. "It's better if he doesn't know the truth. He's mad enough about all the fights already."
"What if he finds out the truth?" Charlie asked.
"I'm just hoping he doesn't," Adam said. He didn't see the point in telling his friend that it had been his mother who came up with the basketball idea.
"Hello Adam," Casey said coming into the room with Al close behind her. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. This is Charlie's stepfather Al Blackburn," she said indicating her husband.
"Hello, Mr. Blackburn," Adam said politely.
"Hi Adam, please call me Al," he said with a smile which made Charlie think 'This guy is so fake'.
Charlie and Adam took seats at the table as Casey and Al went into the kitchen and brought the food to the table.
When Angela got home from dropping Adam off at the Conway's, Phil was already home from work. Taking a deep breath she got out of the car and headed toward the house. She was not looking forward to what she was about to do but she knew she had to get it over with before she changed her mind about doing it.
She had met with her lawyer earlier that day and discussed the situation. They had even drawn up the divorce papers for Angela to use if it came to that. Angela hoped it didn't. She still loved her husband but she loved her son too. She had always gone along with whatever Phil had wanted but she couldn't do that in this case. She was hoping that she could change his mind without the threat of divorce but she was prepared to use it as a last resort. If all else failed maybe the threat of divorce would bring her husband to his senses. If not she was prepared to carry out her threat. She would take Adam and go stay with her parents until everything got settled.
"Hello honey," Phil said kissing her as she walked through the front door.
"Hello," she said. "Adam's eating dinner at a friends house tonight," she told him as they walked toward the dinning room. Martha had already set the dinner and was busy setting the food that the cook had prepared on the table.
The two ate dinner with the usual dinner time talk. As Martha was clearing the dinner dishes, Angela brought up the subject that she really wanted to discuss this evening.
"We're not sending Adam away to some boarding school next year," she said.
"Now honey, we already discussed this," Phil said. "Adam needs to get away,"
"No he doesn't. The kids that he has been hanging out with are probably better friends than any of his former teammates were. The trouble at school hasn't been all his fault its just easier getting rid of one kid than a whole bunch of kids which is why it was Adam who got kicked out of school when it probably should have been Ronnie and the others."
"There you go again, blaming others..." Phil said raising his voice again.
"And all you want to do is blame your own son. Can't you see how hard this year has been on him. When he's with Charlie and the others is the only time he has been happy. Why can't you see that."
"He's going away to boarding school and that's all there is to it. There is a good one in upstate New York..."
"You are not sending my son off to New York," Angela said cutting her husband off again. By this time Martha had gathered all the dishes and had retreated to the kitchen.
"Are you actually trying to tell me what to do?" Phil asked incredulously.
"I'm not trying to, I am," Angela said. "I've let you do things your way for too long. Adam is not going away to school next year."
"How are you going to stop me?" Phil asked.
"I talked to a lawyer today. If you insist on sending Adam away then I'm filing for divorce."
"You can't be serious," Phil said laughing.
"Oh, but I am," Angela said. She took the divorce papers out of her pocket and put them on the table. She then stood up and headed out of the dinning room and up to their bedroom. She didn't let the tears fall until she was inside and had locked the door behind her. She couldn't believe that she had actually stood up to her husband.
Downstairs in the dinning room Phil Banks looked in disbelief at the papers in front of him. He couldn't believe that this was happening. His wife had never taken a stand against him before. This was crazy.
With a sigh he got up and headed outside. He needed some fresh air to clear his head so he could think this through. As he walked out the front door though he slammed the door behind him.
"I'll get it," Casey told Al as the phone rang. She and Al had been watching tv while Adam and Charlie had retreated to Charlie's room after dinner. "Hello," Casey said picking up the phone.
"Hi Casey?" said a shaky voice on the other end of the line.
"Yes, Angela is that you?" Casey asked.
"Yeah, I told him," Angela said.
"What did he say?"
"I don't know. I told him that if he was going to insist on sending Adam away to boarding school then I was going to file for divorce and then I gave him the papers. I left before I started crying. I heard the front door slam a few minutes ago so I think he went out."
"I'm sorry it came to this," Casey told her sincerely.
"I don't know what is going to happen when he comes back. Can you keep Adam at your place tonight."
"Sure but what do you want me to tell him?" Casey asked.
"Why don't you let me talk to him," Angela said.
"Okay, let me go get him," Casey said. She went and got Adam and while Adam talked to his mother Casey filled her husband in on what was going.
"She wants to talk to you again," Adam told Casey when he was done talking to his mother. As Casey took the phone from him she could see tears glistening in his eyes. Her heart went out to him. No child should have to go through this.
Casey told Angela that Al would come over and pick up what Adam would need for the night and his school books for the following day. "And I'll make sure he gets to school tomorrow," Casey told her.
"Thank-you," Angela told her.
"I hope everything works out," she told Angela before hanging up the phone. Al left to head over to the Banks residence. Casey started toward Charlie's room but as she got close to the door she could hear Charlie and Adam talking softly. She thought it would be better if she left the two of them alone for right now so instead she headed to the kitchen to start on the dinner dishes.
Not long after Al left from picking up Adam's stuff Phil Banks returned home. Angela was sitting in the living room with the tv on but wasn't really watching it. Phil came in and quietly shut the door behind him. He made his way to the living room. He had come to a decision during his walk. He loved his wife and his children and he didn't want to lose them.
"Angela, can we talk," Phil asked quietly standing in the doorway to the living room. Angela picked up the remote and turned off the tv. She looked up at her husband but she didn't say anything. She had made up her mind that it was up to him to make the next move.
"Is Adam home yet?" he asked her.
"No," she told him. "He's staying with Casey Conway tonight. I didn't see the point in putting him through any of this."
Phil just nodded. "Look Angela I love you. I don't want to lose you. If having Adam at home means that much to you then I'll look for another private school nearby."
"No Phil," Angela said quietly. "Don't bother with the private schools. Adam can go to public school next year and be with his friends."
"No son of mine is going to public school," Phil said.
"It's the best thing for Adam. If you really cared about him you would just let him be with his friends until he goes to Eden Hall."
"How can you call those misfits his friends."
"Just because they're not rich doesn't make them misfits," Angela told her husband. "And besides I'd rather have him hanging around with them then those boys he goes to school with who have been beating him up."
Phil let out a sigh. "Fine, if it will make you happy then he can go to public school. Anything else you'd like?" he asked being borderline sarcastic.
"Actually yes." Angela said. "I want you to stay out of anything to do with the league redrawing the district lines. If they end up doing it and Adam is back on the Hawks next year and he wants to play fine but don't go trying to get the league to redraw the lines."
"Okay," Phil said. If that was what it was going to take to save his marriage than he could do it. He didn't like it but he'd go along with it. "So what are we going to do about these," Phil asked holding up the divorce papers.
Angela stood up and took them out of his hand and ripped them in half. The whole divorce had been a last ditch effort to get her way. She really didn't want to leave her husband. She knew he could be a jerk at times but she still loved him despite that.
"You know its not that late. We could go over and pick Adam up," Phil said.
"No," Angela said. "He'll be fine at the Conway's tonight and then tomorrow afternoon you can tell him that he can go to public school next year."
"Why me?" Phil asked. "Can't you tell him."
"No," Angela said. "You're the one who threatened to send him away to boarding school. Just tell him you've changed your mind. It will mean a lot to him," she told her husband. She knew that coming from his father it would mean much more to Adam. Adam tried so hard to make his father happy. He needed to know that going to public school was okay with his father or he wouldn't be happy there.
"Fine," Phil said.
The rest of the evening was quiet. Both of them knew that things had changed. Phil wasn't the one completely in charge anymore. From now on Angela would have more of a say in the decisions regarding their youngest son.