AN: Lazytown them song belongs to its respective owners. Also, thank you Pod Meets World and Too Much Shirts. 😉 Also, FFN has changed email alerts. It's now opt-in and the default is not to get any. If you are following AiP or any other story/author and do not opt-in you won't know when updates happen. o_O
The pattern of the prodigal is: rebellion, ruin, repentance, reconciliation, restoration. -Edwin Louis Cole
On Wednesday morning, Jamie woke up with a slight fever, complaining of a headache. This caused some issues as Audrey had been planning to go with Jon to the District Office for the day. When Shawn offered to stay home with his sick brother and Bella, Audrey was quick to take him up on it without asking any questions.
She needed a break from household duties and could no longer stand to be separated from Jon for fear something should happen to him while they were apart. Going into the District Office would also give her something else to focus on as her thoughts since Julia and Shawn brought Jon home had tended towards the morbid.
She'd been looking into hospice care.
For herself.
Jon didn't know, of course. No one did.
Unfortunately, after nearly twenty years of marriage, Jon could read her like a book.
"What's with you?" he asked as they were gathering their belongings for the day. "You look like you've been plannin' a funeral. Or the lead up to one."
Audrey froze as she stared at him in consternation.
He caught her look and gave her a worried frown. "Babe?"
She shook herself and continued packing their lunch. "Nothing, Jonny. I just want my jacket back."
He refrained from rolling his eyes. "I know. I know." He kissed her and gave her bottom an affectionate pat. "I'd get it back for you if I could."
She returned his kiss but said nothing more.
When they arrived at the office, it was quiet. A few employees were there preparing for the day, but most were not in yet. It was the first time Audrey had been at the District Office for more than a moment to drop something off for Jon.
Katherine was not in like she expected her to be.
"Shouldn't she be?" Audrey asked. She had mixed feelings about the woman working with Jon, but she did expect her be professional enough to do her job. As the assistant to the superintendent, it seemed like her day should start at the same time his did.
"Should be, yes," Jon sniffed with a roll of his eyes. "I'm happy if she makes it in before 8:30."
Audrey walked into Jon's office and was greeted by his framed jersey that took up the entire center of the bookcase. Her husband had the bookcase custom built specifically to house that piece of hockey history. She shook her head in amusement and then realized that he didn't have a stick to go with the jersey. Suddenly she needed to talk to Brian Leetch about a birthday gift for Jon.
As she settled into the corner of the office where Julia usually sat, Jon frowned at her.
"You can't sit in a fold up chair all day, Aud." He left the office and came back a few minutes later with an ergonomic office chair which he placed next to his own.
"I don't get a desk of my own?" she teased as she took the seat he offered and opened her laptop.
"I need you close," he said with a cheeky grin.
Unfortunately for them, work started immediately. Jon had emails he wanted her to look at and get printed out with strict orders that the pages were not to be left out where someone could find them. The emails were extensive, and he wanted printouts of all correspondences she'd had with the Remingtons as well.
"Why isn't Katherine doing this for you?" It wasn't that Audrey really wanted Katherine around Jon any more than she had to be, but she didn't like that the woman didn't seem to be doing her job the way he needed her to do it. And this certainly seemed like an executive secretary's job.
Jon frowned. Why isn't Kat doin' this?
The truth was he always had an uneasy feeling around his former girlfriend. And she could be very careless at times. He worried that if she handled these emails, she might leave them out where someone he did not want to see them could find them.
"I need someone I can trust explicitly and who won't get careless," he told her.
This confirmed what Audrey assumed about Katherine's work ethic. She nodded and took care of the emails. After sending them to be printed, she stood to retrieve them from the Xerox machine. Jon intercepted her to get them himself, insisting that she rest.
She rolled her eyes. "I have to go to the bathroom," she informed him with a twinkle in her eyes. "May I walk there or are you going to carry me?"
He laughed at himself. He always underestimated what she was capable of when she was pregnant.
"You have my permission," he said feeling rather foolish.
Audrey grinned at him and shook her head in mock exasperation as she left the room.
"Did Eli call you?" he asked unexpectedly when she returned.
"Yeah, last night after you went to bed," she said dropping heavily into her chair. "He wants us to go out with him and meet his girlfriend."
"Do you feel up to that?"
She shook her head. "I told him I'd rather them come over for dinner."
"That's fine with me. When?"
"Well," she said slowly. She hadn't talked to him yet about Spring Break in Philadelphia and exactly when she wanted to get there. "I said Friday."
"Friday?" Jon groaned. "After work? Couldn't we do it Saturday?"
"I was planning to pack for Philadelphia on Saturday."
"Philly?"
"Spring Break starts Monday. You promised Shawn we'd go."
"Right, right." He put his head between his hands. "I can't believe April is already here. I completely lost track of time."
"We're still going, right?"
Jon looked at her and sighed. Putting a hand on her knee, he nodded. "Yeah, we're goin'. I just don't know if I'll be able to leave Saturday."
"Okay."
"Eli and…" Jon paused. He still didn't know who his best friend was dating. "Whoever on Friday. I'm sure you'll have to remind me."
Audrey squeezed his hand and resumed her work. Jon emailed her a list of names to sort through. They were the names of parents and educators who had previous contact with the new hires. None of the people on the list would talk to Jon when he called, so Audrey was going to see what she could do.
Jon's approach to these calls had been a straightforward introduction of himself which was what shut down his inquiries. Audrey was a bit more creative in her approach. Before making any calls, she opened Facebook and began to search the names for any information that might help her connect to the people on the list and made notes. Jon, who hated all forms of social media, thought this was odd but didn't question her.
Audrey was about to start her first call when the office door swung open, and a cheery Katherine waltzed in asking "Jonny" how he was.
Katherine froze when she saw Audrey. Audrey said nothing and gave her a small wave and a sweet smile. The other woman's grin quickly faded.
Jon looked back and forth between his wife and secretary and decided that whatever was about to happen shouldn't involve him, so he went back to work.
Katherine blinked first. "Jon, can I talk to you?"
Jon, repressing a sigh, arched an eyebrow and pointed to the clock. "It'll have to wait, Kat. You're running the meetin's at Community Involvement Office today."
"I'm aware of that," she said tersely.
"What is it then?"
"I need to speak to you privately."
"You're in my office. Close the door if you want privacy."
She pressed her lips into a thin line but didn't move. Audrey smirked a bit and dropped her gaze to inspect her hands. That was when Jon realized what Katherine wanted.
"Anything you need to say to me you can say in front of Audrey."
Katherine glanced at Audrey and said as neutrally as she could. "Why is she here?"
Jon pursed his lips and considered his response. "There are some things I need her to do for me."
"Work related?"
"Yeah, of course," he snapped not liking the insinuation behind the question.
"Then I should be doing whatever you need done."
"You won't be here most of the day," he reminded her. "I need Audrey's resources specifically, anyway."
"Fine." Katherine shot Audrey a scathing look then turned on her heel and marched out.
Audrey repressed a snicker until after the woman had left.
"Don't say anythin'," Jon warned her trying not to laugh.
She leaned over and kissed him before returning to her work.
Jamie was asleep and had been since Jon and Audrey left for school. Shawn entertained Bella throughout the morning and now had the Lazytown theme song stuck in his head. It was still playing even after the TV was turned off and he put her down for her nap.
Welcome to Lazytown a place where you want to stay.
Shawn opened his laptop and pulled up his notes for his next piece on Jon.
You'll meet Robbie and his rotten plan and Sportacus saving the day
The last two articles he'd published were still drawing in the hits and comments; the latter was overwhelming. Where he'd once tried to respond personally to each comment that was now impossible. So he decided to address reader questions in a special Q & A. He'd spend the better part of his free time compiling frequently asked questions and now had to decide which ones to answer.
Stephanie is new in town, but soon she and Ziggy are friends
Shawn stared at the computer screen.
With Pixel, Stingy, and Trixie too; they're gonna have a blast together!
Shawn shoved his fingers in his hair.
How do you make a kid's tv show song stop drilling a hole in your brain?!
Go, go, go get up Lazytown, it's a start of a brand-new day. Things are upside down here in Lazytown.
Adventure's just a moment away!
The doorbell rang suddenly causing Shawn to jump. Thankfully, it also caused the music in his head to stop. Shaking his head, he headed to the front door. With one finger, he pushed back the curtain on the side window and looked out.
An impeccably dressed older couple stood on the stoop, looking extremely uncomfortable. He studied their well-tailored outfits and expensive Canada Goose parkas which seemed excessive for the mid-40s temperature of the day. The woman in particular stood out; she looked like a silver-haired Emily Gilmore.
Shawn wasn't sure why he knew that.
Both she and the man looked very familiar and not because they were ever on any television program. However, he couldn't pair them with names or a place where he could've met them. The three of them were clearly not from the same side of the tracks.
Shawn hit the intercom. "Who is it?"
The man stepped forward to speak. "Blake and Jacklyn Turner. We're here to see Jonathan."
Shawn looked back through the window in shock.
Jon's parents are here?
"Uh, hang on just a minute."
He pulled out his phone and quickly texted Audrey to ask what he should do. This couldn't be right. As far as he knew, they were only allowed to visit at Christmas. That was it.
Audrey's response wasn't very helpful.
Are you sure it's them?
Was he? Anyone could show up and say they were Jon's parents, and he wouldn't know the difference. After all he'd only met them once.
o0o0o
"Feed me, Audrey."
Audrey put her hand on her hip and looked unimpressed. "What is this- the Little Shop of Horrors?"
Shawn grinned. "If it was, I would have said, 'feed me, Seymour'."
"Feed yourself, kid."
He jumped from the couch and joined her in the kitchen. She immediately handed him a handful of brown paper bags and directed him to start packing the weeks' worth of lunches she had just made.
"When's Jon gonna be back?" he asked, stealing a few chips out of one of the bags.
Audrey gave him a reprimanding tap on the shoulder not to eat the food that was being packed. "Not for a while. Parent-teacher conferences run all day today. We'll head to the mall in a little bit and kill some time there."
"Why didn't you go with him? You had to be there yesterday."
"That's why I'm not there today. I was only required to attend one day. Today I'm supposed to write up my paper on the experience."
Shawn smirked as he handed her the filled bags to be put into the refrigerator. "But you haven't."
"I will," she promised with a laugh.
"I bet those meetin's are borin'."
"Yours was fun," she said with a mischievous wink.
"That's because it was just you and Jon alone together in his classroom talkin' about me."
"Ego much?" Audrey grinned and tossed a dish towel at him. "Who says we even mentioned you?"
Shawn laughed. "Sweet, you distracted each other from my bad grades in Feeny's class!"
She shook her head. "Don't bet on it." After giving the countertop a quick wipe down, she headed towards the door. "Come on, let's get ready to head out."
Shawn skipped to his room and grabbed his leather jacket off the floor. He was just returning to the living room when a sharp knock rapped at the door.
Audrey opened the door and both she and Shawn were surprised by the visitors on the other side.
The visitors were an older couple in their mid to late fifties dressed in what Shawn thought was Land's End model clothing. Or whatever might be more expensive than that. They oozed sophistication and wealth.
They must have broken down somewhere, he thought, amused by the idea, and got lost lookin' for a phone.
The couple stared at Audrey and Shawn with intensely critical glares. Before Audrey could ask if she could help them, they pushed their way into the apartment and circled around the place like sharks circling lunch.
"Can you believe this, Blake?!" the woman cried with great disdain. "Can you believe this is where our Jonathan is living? By choice?"
Shawn turned to Audrey and mouthed "our Jonathan?"
Audrey shrugged.
"You, girl," the woman snapped her fingers at the student teacher without looking at her. "Where is Jonathan?"
"At work," she said shortly, not sure what to make of either of the intruders. "May I ask who you are?"
The woman turned her back on her and continued her brutal critique of the apartment. "This so-called apartment looks like a place vagrants would gather."
The man shook his head in disgust as he tried extremely hard to avoid touching anything.
"Look at the filth," she declared, running a ringer over one of the shelves where some of Jon's diecast cars on it. "It looks like this place is never cleaned!"
"I just cleaned it," Audrey said, deeply offended. She knew there was no dust on that shelf.
The woman rounded on her with a scathing glare. "What maid service are you with?"
There was no way anyone could mistake Audrey for being a maid. Shawn watched curiously as Audrey put a hand on her hip and squared up to the woman. "I'm not with any maid service. I'm Audrey. Who. Are. You?"
The woman ignored her and snorted derisively. "You're one of them, aren't you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"One of what?"
"Jonathan's girls. Which one are you? Girl Friday?"
Audrey mouth opened slightly as a look of anger lit up her gray eyes.
Shawn was more offended by this than she was. "She's his only girl!" he snapped hotly. He was not about to put up with anyone coming into his home and insulting it or Audrey.
The woman arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him. The expression struck him as very familiar. "Is she now? Jonathan finally settled down, did he?"
Without warning, she snatched Audrey's left hand and examined it. "No ring, of course," she sniffed in contempt.
Audrey jerked her hand away. "Listen," she said with a forcefulness that surprised everyone, including Shawn. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. If you want to see Jon, he'll done at school by 7. You can call then."
"School?" the man said appearing to be interested what she had to say for the first time. "So he did become a teacher after all. That's nothing short of remarkable."
The woman wasn't done with Audrey. She took her chin between her thumb and forefingers and looked at her closely. She turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at the man.
"She is very pretty, isn't she, Blake?"
Neither Shawn nor Audrey could tell if she was sincere or condescending.
The older man stood and joined her in her scrutiny. "Yes, very."
The man reached out and took a lock of her hair in his fingers. His wife did the same.
"Interesting hair color, child," she said to Audrey as though she was five. "Like fire. Well, it could always be dyed blonde. Jonathan always preferred blondes.
"Really?" the man frowned as he let her hair fall through his fingers. "I thought it was brunettes.
"If she were cleaned up a bit and dressed in clothes that weren't from Goodwill, she would fit in rather well in society don't you think?"
"Yes, very much so."
Audrey, who was trying to maintain some diplomacy with these people who were obviously connected to Jon, had to bite her tongue to avoid a short, saucy retort.
Shawn did not have such inhibitions.
"You can't talk to her like that!" He snapped, pulling her away from the horrid woman. "Who do you people think you are comin' into our home like this? You don't like it here. We don't like you here. So leave."
The couple stared at the boy as though they were absolutely appalled that he spoke to them directly.
Shawn noticed this and it fueled his mouth. "I'll have you know that my mom went to Julliard and danced with the American Ballet Theater. She fits into society just fine. Better than you people."
Audrey put a hand over her face. "Shawn," she hissed. He looked in query at her. "Not helping."
"What a rude child!" the woman huffed in offense. "Your son?"
Audrey sighed. "For better or," she shot Shawn a dirty look, "worse."
Shawn shrugged, unbothered, and crossed his arms over his stomach.
The woman turned back to Audrey. "You went to Julliard? Really? Well, perhaps Jonathan's taste has improved after all."
"Yes," Audrey said tightly. "I am very sorry, but Shawn and I have things to do. Please call Jon later tonight or tomorrow."
The woman stared at her with a sharp, icy glare. Audrey did not flinch nor did she allow her aggravation to show on her face. Eventually, the other woman blinked.
"Both need a course in decorum," the woman could be heard saying as the couple exited the apartment.
"My goodness," the man muttered to her. "A mother that young and a son that old- what has Jonathan gotten himself into?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Shawn asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as Audrey shut the door and slumped against it.
"Tell you what?"
"That we live in the Twilight Zone."
Audrey laughed. "Shawn…"
"Well, how else do you explain-" He threw his hands out towards the door. "That!"
When Jon came home that night, he was immediately jumped by Shawn who gave him a detailed run-down of the visit that had transpired. Jon responded by dropping everything he was holding, including the groceries, to put a hand over his mouth. He looked sick.
"So," Shawn prodded, poking his shoulder "Who are they?"
Jon ignored him. "Are you sure she called him Blake?"
"Yeah, just like the dude in Dynasty."
Jon stared at him.
"What?" he asked defensively. "Audrey made me watch it."
The English Lit teacher moved around him and walked over to Audrey. He looked distressed. "Did they say anything else?"
"No," she said. "But I would expect a call from them."
Jon leaned against the kitchen table, mumbling more to himself than talking to them. "They don't have my number. But they didn't have my address either. I never told them I moved to Philly." He paled with sudden understanding and stared at her with his mouth slightly unhinged. "They hired a private investigator."
Audrey didn't know how to respond to that, mostly because she wasn't sure what he was talking about. "That's a little extreme don't you think?"
"Not for my parents. That's nothin' for them!"
"So those people are your parents?" Shawn wasn't sure why that never occurred to him. Mostly likely because there was nothing in common between them and Jon that he could see. Except that eyebrow thing Jon and the woman both did. "What do your parents do for a living?" He was incredibly curious about anyone who could send Jon into the tailspin he was in. A thought came to him. "Do they work for the mob?"
Jon frowned and ignored him. "Why did you let them in?" he demanded of Audrey.
"I didn't know who they were!" she exclaimed, taken aback by his intense reactions. "You never told me much about them and it's not like you have pictures to identify them by."
He let out a frustrated sigh and put his hands over his face. Eventually, he removed them and said, "I'm sorry. I never planned on them showin' up here. I thought the neighborhood alone would keep them away."
After that, neither Shawn or Audrey could get Jon to talk for the rest of the night.
The next morning, Shawn found himself staring at his social studies homework with great vexation. While Jon and Audrey may not have discussed his grades during his parent/teacher conference, Mr. Feeny certainly did. Until he was caught up, there was no going out.
"Ughgnh!" he groaned.
Audrey looked unimpressed. "If you'd concentrate, then we could all get out of here, you know."
He squinted at her and made a face before returning to his work.
Shortly before noon, Jon returned from a lunch run and allowed Shawn to take a break. They were about to sit down and eat when a knock interrupted them
"You gotta key, Eli," Jon yelled as he set out his lunch. "You don't gotta knock first!"
A rapid, precise knock tapped at the door. Jon rolled his eyes and got up. He went to the door, opened it, then immediately slammed it shut.
He leaned against the door as though the people on the other side might try to push their way through, "Get your stuff and get to my room. Now!" he ordered in a panic.
Shawn let the bite of sub sandwich in his mouth fall out. "Huh?"
Jon couldn't be bothered to repeat himself and gathered up the teen's food for him. Audrey followed suit without questioning him.
Shawn and Audrey found themselves finishing lunch on Jon's bed with orders not to leave the room until he came to get them. This was incredibly frustrating as Jon's room wasn't the coziest of places to eat. It also irritated him that Jon refused to explain anything to him about his parents and why they bothered him so much.
"What if I have to go to the bathroom?" he complained as Jon started to close the door.
"Hold it!"
Shawn made a face and looked at the window. "Oh well. I guess I can always go out on the fire escape."
"Hold it," Audrey told him as she gave him a reprimanding look.
Shawn shrugged. Jon slammed the door behind him.
"He's so weird about the parent thing," Shawn commented as he took a drink of his soda. "So his parents are filthy rich. What's so terrible about that?"
"I don't think that's the reason."
"He hasn't told you?"
She shook her head. "Obviously, something happened when he was a kid that caused a big rift. I mean I know that much because otherwise Jon wouldn't have lived with my dad for so long."
"And he's never told you what happened?"
"No. He says he will eventually." She frowned and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Whatever it was still really upsets him. Every time he starts to tell me about his parents, he interrupts himself and changes stories, directions, subject. I can't follow him for anything!"
"Wow." Now more than ever Shawn wanted to know what happened that sent Jon to Audrey's dad.
They ate in silence and Shawn wondered how Jon could sleep on a bed so neat. He had to mess up the comforter just to be able to sit comfortably. After a while he said, "You know I wasn't serious about Jon gettin back with Melanie and movin' to Connecticut."
"I know."
"But I really think Jon should reconcile with his parents."
Audrey gave him a funny look. "Why is that?"
"Because it's important to be at peace with blood family," he said thoughtfully.
She arched an eyebrow. "Why?"
"So that when you and Jon die, I'll have a nice inheritance to see me through my grief." He grinned cheekily at her.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "How sweet you are! Planning our funerals before our wedding, are you?"
"Nah, I had the wedding planned the day we met you."
Audrey rolled her eyes again and laughed.
Jon was in a foul mood after his parents left and immediately went into Shawn's room and began to pack his overnight bag.
Shawn watched him from the doorway. "How come when I pack my bags to go to Audrey's I get in trouble, but when you do it, it's okay?"
Jon gave him a dirty look and tossed the bag at him as he left the room.
Shawn opened the bag and inspected it. The contents didn't make any sense. "Great, I won't run outta of shirts, but am I allowed to have a pair of pants?" He complained as he followed Jon into the living room. "Maybe some socks? Underwear?!" He pulled out the contents of the bag and dropped them on the floor. "Why so many shirts!?"
A pair of socks came whizzing through the air and clipped his hair.
"Boy, are you in a bad mood!"
"Shawn," Audrey gave him a warning look. "Go easy on him."
Shawn shrugged, shoved the shirts back in their bag, and plopped down on the couch. "Tell me again why it's suddenly okay for me to spend the night at Audrey's?"
Jon stared to aggressively straighten the throw and pillows on the couch. Repeatedly. "I do not want them around you. They're callous. They're cynical. They're domineering. They're inflexible. They're narrow-minded. They're pompous. They're vain…"
Shawn leaned over and whispered to Audrey. "Is he still talkin' about his parents or is he just goin' through the dictionary pickin' out words?"
Audrey gave his hand a feather-light pop. "Stop that."
"They…they're poisonous!" Jon said, turning suddenly on them. "They taint everythin' they touch. They are not touchin' you!"
"Well, that's fine," Shawn sniffed irritated that Jon wasn't actually telling them anything. Again. "I don't like people I don't know in my personal space anyway!"
"How long will they be in town?" Audrey asked, hoping to put an end to Shawn's cheekiness.
"Two impossibly long days."
Audrey said nothing more and warned Shawn to stay silent as Jon drove them to her place. Once there, Jon came in with them and immediately went to Audrey's bedroom and laid down.
"I'm worried about him," Shawn said sincerely. He was concerned about his teacher. It seemed to him that Jon's relationship with his parents was rockier than the one he had with his parents. This was both surprising and discouraging.
"So am I." She put an arm around him and gave him a squeeze. "Go get yourself settled in while I talk to him, okay?"
"Sure thing, Mama."
Jon was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan as it lazily turned in circles when she walked in. Audrey put her knee on the bed and gently nudged him to move over so that she could sit down. He then put his arm over her lap and sighed heavily.
"You wanna tell me what's going on?"
Jon shook his head in despair. "I don't want them here."
She ran her hand up and down his arm. "Yeah, we figured that much out."
He was quiet for a long time and seemed to be struggling with his thoughts. Finally, he said in hushed voice. "I wish your dad was here."
This surprised Audrey a great deal. "Really?"
"Your dad always helped me deal with them. Especially when things got real bad. I don't know how to deal with them without him."
"What did Daddy do? Could you do that now?"
Jon went silent again. "No," he said after a while. "I don't think I can."
"You could call Daddy."
He gave her a curious look and sat up partially. "You think he'd be up to that?"
"Yeah," she said adjusting her position so she could see him better. "Sometimes he has days so bad he can't talk. But most days he's better when he can. He'd talk to you, Jonny. He misses you so much. You're all he talks about when I go to see him."
"Yeah," Jon said. He pulled his knees up, feeling unanchored and lost. "I wish we could go up and see him."
Audrey put her hand on his arm as he hugged his knees to his chest. She knew Jon had once been very close to her father, but she did not know how heavily he'd leaned on him.
"I miss him so much. I wish..." He dropped his chin to his chest. "I wish I'd gone back sooner. I wish I'd gone back for the funeral. I wish I'd been there for him when he needed me."
"Oh, Jon," she breathed. The regret rolling off him was so strong she could feel it. She leaned her face against his shoulder and held onto him.
"I shoulda been there, Aud. After everything he did for me, I shoulda been there for him."
"Everything happens for a reason," she reminded him. "We might not be here now with Shawn if you had gone back."
Jon nodded. He inhaled a shaky breath but, on the exhalation a coarse sob came out. "I need my dad, Aud." Tears clouded his eyes. "I really need to see my dad again."
"I know, Jonny. We could go see him over Spring Break."
"Spring break?"
"Yeah, the three of us could go up and see him. We could really show Shawn around the Village, too."
Slowly, Jon nodded. The idea felt like a lifesaver had been thrown to him. "Yeah, maybe."
Shawn stood in the doorway of Audrey's bedroom listening with curiosity. He didn't understand why Jon was so upset. His dad was in town, so why didn't he just go see him? Why did they have to wait until Spring Break?
The teen frowned, feeling as though he missed part of the conversation or misunderstood something. He walked over the couple and jumped on the bed next to Jon, landing on his knees.
"We're gonna go to New York for Spring Break?"
Audrey smiled and pulled him over to her.
"Looks like it."
o0o0o
Shawn wasn't sure what to do. The recollection of the first time he met them shook him a bit as details came to the light that had been hidden for years. He had little time to dwell on them, however, as he needed to decide what to do. Audrey was texting back to tell him.
He wasn't thrilled with the idea of letting people he didn't know into the house considering the break-in. "Are my parents expectin' you?" he asked through the intercom.
The couple looked at each other in surprise.
"Shawn?" the man asked in response. "Is that you?"
It always disturbed Shawn when people knew him, but he didn't know them. "Yeah, it is."
He could see them smile which made him feel even stranger. He struggled to recall what Jon's parents looked like but failed to. One thing was certain, the man did look like an older version of Jon. Holding his breath and praying he was making the right decision; Shawn opened the door and greeted them.
"It's been a while," he said in apology.
Blake Turner took his hand in both of his and smiled fondly at him. "Understandable, son."
Son? Well, this was certainly a different greeting that the first time they'd met.
"Come on in. Mom and Dad are at the District Office. Jamie's sick and Bella's asleep."
The woman nodded with a tight smile. She looked worried and uncomfortable. "Is Jamie all right?"
"Just a little fever this morning. He's sleeping it off now. Should be fine in a couple of days."
"That's good." She looked around the foyer. Unlike the last time he'd seen her, she did not appear to be critical of what she was looking at.
"Can I get you anything?" Shawn was not a natural at hosting. In fact, he hated it.
"No, no. I'm sorry, Shawn," the older man said sounding a bit fluttered. "You don't know us. I'm Blake and this is Jacklyn."
"I know," he replied with a smile as he led them to the living room.
"You do?" Blake seemed surprised. "Oh, that's good."
"Would you like to sit down?"
Awkwardly, the trio made it to the living room. No one said anything as the Turners took their places on the couch. Shawn opted to sit on the arm of a reclining chair at the end of the coffee table.
"Dad won't be back until later tonight," he explained trying to fill the silence. "Mom will be back this afternoon."
Blake nodded. "How long have you been back, son?"
"About two months."
He smiled slightly and his wife took hold of his hand. She regarded Shawn with an intense, steady gaze. "Jonathan must be thrilled to have you home."
The statement caught Shawn off guard. Jon once told him his parents periodically hired private investigators to track him. He wondered if this was true of extended family and how much they knew about him. "I think so."
"I can't even imagine what it would be like for your son to come home after being gone so long."
There was a deep melancholy in her words that caught Shawn's interest. It brought to his attention a connection he'd never seen before: both he and Jon suffered from decades-long estrangements.
Only Jon had never come home.
This revelation resonated so strongly with him it made him catch his breath. All these years, he'd wanted to be like Jon and thought it was impossible. But all this time he had been following his mentor's footsteps, just not in a way he intended. And it just highlighted how little he really knew about his father's past.
He let out a breath and regarded the couple in front him seriously. "I should have come home a long time ago."
"Well," the elder Mr. Turner said with a rueful smile. "You're home. That's all that matters." He cleared his throat, then said. "You've had an impressive career, Shawn. I take it you changed to writing about Jonathan so that you could stay in one place for a while."
Shawn was floored that Jon's parents knew anything at all about him. Once again, the private investigator came to mind. "Yeah," he said uneasily. "My company actually asked me to do a series on Dad. I gotta admit I'm surprised you know about the blog."
"Well," the older man held his hands out and shrugged. "You are essentially our grandson. Is it so strange then that we would follow your career?"
Grandson…that's strange one. "I guess not. I guess I'm just surprised you'd think of me like that," he admitted truthfully. "Considering our first meeting was.."
"Unpleasant?"
"Weird."
Blake chuckled. "I'm very impressed with what you've achieved, Shawn. Creative and it seems like you have a good head for business."
"Thank you." Shawn felt oddly embarrassed by the praise and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously.
"Any chance you'd want to join the family business at some point?"
He laughed at the shock of the offer. Not sure whether it was serious or not, he played it off. "Uh, TTT Corporation can't be in that bad of shape, can it?"
"I'd like to leave the legacy to someone," Blake laughed. "If you're not interested perhaps one of the other boys. Julia is too much like Jonathan to be interested, I'm sure."
Shawn arched an eyebrow. "You do know how old they are right? Hope you're prepared to wait."
The men laughed and Shawn found himself about to relax some. They didn't seem so terrible, and he was beginning to like his grandfather. That also worried him.
Jacklyn, who'd been sitting very tense and quiet, finally spoke up. "We're very glad that you are doing this series on Jonathan. We've been able to learn a lot about our son through your stories."
Shawn smiled slightly, feeling awkward again.
"We didn't know you were back home," Blake admitted. "We thought perhaps you were just journaling past events. It's only been brought to our attention recently that you were home."
"How did you find out?"
"A woman name Katherine Tompkins came to see us."
"Are you sure about all this?" Audrey listened intently to the speaker on the phone with a look of horror on her face. "Yes, please, do. Send me anything and everything you have. Yes. Send it directly to my husband. Yes, thank you so much."
She hung up the phone and pushed her chair back from the desk. Her lower back was beginning to ache from sitting so long. She also had to use the bathroom again.
"Aud?" Jon had heard half of her very strange conversation with one of the Remingtons' former employers. "Care to fill me in?"
"Sorry," she said pacing in front of his desk. "Bladder is being compressed."
"Right, I forgot about that." He grimaced that he forgot so much of what being pregnant was like for her.
As soon as she returned, she said, "That was Willard Jorgenson." Audrey didn't sit down right away. Instead, she resumed pacing.
"Principal at Eastland High in Lanesboro, Michigan?"
"Yeah. He's sending over some files about these people and what happened while they were there."
"Which was?" Jon was growing impatient with how long it was taking her to tell him what she knew.
"Eastland is a school of 500." She ignored his displeasure and continued at her own pace. "By the end of the Remingtons' five-year stay, 52 students and 12 staff members were admitted to psychiatric care. Not one of them had prior mental health issues."
Jon pushed his chair back and stared at her. "What?"
She nodded. "Twelve are still hospitalized today."
"How did that happen?"
"No one really knows." Audrey sat on his desk and leaned towards him. "Those who recovered disappeared. Moved away. Changed their names- everything. Jorgenson said that those who are still hospitalized won't speak of anything that happened at the school. They've all made it to the point where they could be released at one time or another, but if someone mentions the Remingtons, they regress terribly." She shook her head. The story she was told seemed too outrageous to be true. "All 64 of those people were either students of or worked under one of the Remingtons."
"Okay." Jon's mind was reeling. He pressed his fingertips together as he tried to make sense of what she was telling him. "So the Remingtons had somethin' to do with that. Why was nothin' done?"
Audrey shifted uncomfortably. "They were never suspects. Apparently, all the other students, teachers, and the community were so in love with these people that they defended the Remingtons and protected them. The police never have any leads to follow where they were concerned."
"So that's it? They just moved onto another school without any pushback?"
"There were a lot of questions being raised by the parents of these kids who wanted answers, especially when word got that this wasn't the first time it had happened."
"Not the first time?" he interrupted incredulously.
She shook her head. "The problem was there was no evidence that they did have anything to do with these breakdowns. The previous schools thing was considered rumor. By the time Jorgenson and the others could convince the police to at least investigate them, they were gone. Vanished into thin air."
Jon had no words. He couldn't even process what Audrey had told him properly.
She walked behind the desk to stand next to him. "Jorgenson is going to send over everything he has from his own school and the others. He's hoping maybe you can stop these people."
Jon nodded, still feeling numb.
"Do you still want me to talk to the parents on the list?"
"No," he said shaking his head. "I need time to think this through. I don't think I can handle any more information right now." He took her hand and guided her to sit on his lap. He held onto her tightly as he leaned his head against her back.
Audrey stared at her phone that sat on the laptop where she'd been sitting and debated on whether to mention Shawn's text. Katherine interrupted her thoughts when she entered unannounced with a lunch they didn't need.
She stopped abruptly when she saw Audrey.
"I brought lunch, Jon," she said warmly while giving Audrey an icy glare as though she had no right to be where she was.
Audrey responded by leaning back against Jon and putting her hands on top of his. She returned Katherine's stare without so much as blinking.
"Thanks, Kat," Jon said, brushing his wife's hair out of his face, "But we brought lunch."
Katherine seemed frozen to the spot. Before she could say anything, the door swung open again and Helen from accounting walked in with a couple of files for the superintendent. She grinned cheekily at the couple.
"Oh, how sweet," she teased with a lilting trill. "Nice to see you two still in love after what 20 years."
"Close to it," Jon grinned.
Audrey gave Katherine a sweet smile and kissed her husband before getting up and moving to her own seat.
"Oh," Helen pouted. "I didn't mean to ruin the moment."
"Oh, you didn't," Audrey said with a slight nod at the secretary.
Helen got her message. Her demeanor shifted to strictly professional. "Oh, Kat. You know the Board needs you at that meeting that starts in five."
"Yes, I know my schedule," Katherine huffed. With a last glance at Jon, she turned on her heel and followed the accountant out of the inner office.
After lunch, Jon was in a better mood. Audrey hated to alter that, but she only had a couple of hours until she had to leave to pick up Grayson from school. Shawn had sent three more texts and she had to tell Jon about them.
"Jonny?"
"Hmm?"
"Shawn texted me earlier."
Jon gave her his full attention. "Oh?"
There was no good way to tell him that his parents were sitting in their living room waiting for him to come home. There was no way to tell him that wouldn't anger him. So she just came straight out with it.
"Your parents are in town."
Jon stared her at though she was speaking a language he didn't understand. "They're what?"
"They're in town."
"Where?"
"Our house."
His expression was flat and so was his voice. "Get them out."
Audrey reached over to take his hand and he pulled out of her reach. "Jon…"
"No, Audrey." He put his hands up defensively. "I'm not dealin' with them now. It's not Christmas- they shouldn't be anywhere near us. You tell them they are not welcome."
She tapped her nails against the desk trying to alleviate her frustration. In all the time, they'd been married, Jon never had much to do with his parents; she was always running interference with them, and he let her because it was easier on him.
It was exhausting.
"No," she said so forcefully that it surprised even her. "I've been dealing with them all these years. You need to be the one to tell them to go."
Jon glared at her. "Now's when you're gonna stop helpin' me with them? Great timin', Aud!"
His words were steeped so thickly in sarcasm that it triggered anger in her. "Don't talk to me like that!" she snapped back. "And there's never a good time for you to deal with them. Not once in twenty years has there been a good time. Just tell them to leave. That's all you have to do."
Jon sighed heavily and stared at his hands. "I'm sorry," he said after a while. He sounded as tired as she felt. "They are just the last people I wanna deal with and that list is pretty long right now."
"I know," she responded softly, regretting her earlier outburst. "I'll be there when you get home. You won't have to face them alone."
"If they're at the house…"
"Shawn's with them. It's okay."
Jon looked appalled by the thought. "If they're alone with Shawn, he's not okay."
Audrey sighed and leaned her elbows against the desk as she watched her husband with great concern. For twenty years, she'd prayed for him to forgive them for his own sake. Instead, she'd just watched his bitterness towards them grow.
"Katherine Tompkins?" Shawn repeated in bewilderment. That was the last name he expected Jon's parents to bring up.
Jacklyn perched on the edge of the couch with a look of displeasure etched in her regal features. "Yes, she said she came out of concern for Jonathan. Shawn, what is going on with him?"
Shawn rubbed the back of his neck deeply troubled that Katherine would make a visit to see them. He never anticipated that.
"Dad's been really stressed out at work lately," he answered, debating how much he should tell them. "This superintendent position is more than he bargained for. And it is a nightmare; I've been at work with him for a month now and it's worse than I thought it could be."
The Turners exchanged worried looks.
"What about at home?" Blake asked. "Is everything all right between him and Audrey?"
"Yeah. I mean the stress comes home with him, unfortunately, because work is almost 24/7. They get in it occasionally, but I think they'll be fine. I'm not worried about them."
"What are you worried about, Shawn?"
Shawn balked. Am I that bad of an actor?
With a sigh, he said, "I'm really worried about Dad's health."
Jacklyn put her hand to her pearl necklace. "How bad is he?"
Shawn pursed his lips. He hadn't even told Audrey the answer to that question. "I dunno know. But he needs a break, or I'm worried somethin' really bad might happen."
"I can only assume Jonathan is still very stubborn and will not take such a break," she stated as she wrung her hands.
"Yeah," he said. "But Spring Break starts next week. He promised to take the family back to Philly. He'll have to take time off then."
Jacklyn seemed to flinch at the mention of Philadelphia.
Shawn was still disturbed that the secretary had made a trip to Connecticut to see them. "What did Katherine want?"
"She claimed," Blake said leaning forward, "that Jonathan was under a tremendous amount of stress both at work and home, implying most of it was at home and faulting Audrey."
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Of course, she did."
"Do you know her?" Jacklyn asked.
"Unfortunately," he sighed. "She was my social studies teacher for a year and made my life miserable as a kid."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, she didn't like me. She's always blamed me for things not working about with her and Dad."
"Shawn, was she ever engaged to Jonathan?"
"Engaged?" Shawn snorted derisively. He could imagine what she told them. "Only in her own mind. She tried to pressure Dad into marrying her over and over. They fought about it all the time. She even tricked him into ring shopping once."
Jacklyn nodded tersely. "That's about what I expected. As far I know, Audrey was the only one Jonathan was ever serious about marrying."
"She was," he confirmed.
Blake frowned and shook his head. "Is she really Jonathan's secretary?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Shawn, has she ever said anything to you about Jonathan before he moved to Philadelphia?"
"No," he said slowly, wondering if there was any chance, he could get some information about Jon as a teenager from them. "But then she doesn't like me any more now than she did then."
"Oh?"
"I'm still in the way of her getting to Dad."
"What do you mean?"
Shawn decided to tell them about Katherine hoping that they'd be more willing to exchange information if he offered his first. Both of the Turners seemed upset by the woman's antics, Jacklyn especially.
"She's wasting her time," Jacklyn scoffed, still looking distraught. "Jonathan would never leave Audrey."
"No," her husband agreed. "Audrey did seem to be sore point with her."
Shawn shifted his position on the arm of the reclining chair. "Can I ask you guys somethin'?"
Jacklyn regarded him curiously as Blake nodded.
"What happened that Dad ended up stayin' with Pops when he was a kid?"
A look of deep pain shot across both of their faces. Jacklyn stood up and went over to the mantle of the fireplace where the family photos were lined up. Distractedly, she picked up one, sat it down, and picked up another one.
Blake inhaled a shaky breath and stood as well. He walked over to Shawn and put a fatherly hand on his shoulder. "Somethings are best left in the past, son."
Shawn nodded. He wasn't really surprised that they wouldn't talk about it.
Eventually, Jacklyn turned back to the men and gave Shawn an affectionate smile. "You call Jonathan Dad. Did things finally turn out the way you both wanted?"
Shawn was surprised she knew anything about that. "Not exactly. I mean, nothing legal. How did you know?"
"Audrey."
"Oh." Shawn was quiet for a moment then curiosity got the better of him. "After the first time we met, I was under the impression you didn't really approve of her."
Jacklyn smiled ruefully. "Your first impression of us was accurate, albeit not very flattering, I'm afraid."
"We liked Audrey herself very much," Blake said fondly, but he would not elaborate on what that meant.
"I'm rather glad now that Jonathan did not choose the girl I had picked out for him," Jacklyn added with a small laugh. "Audrey has been very good for him."
Shawn was relieved to hear this.
"How is Audrey doing? The baby will be due soon."
"Pretty good," he told her. "I mean, she's pretty busy takin' care of Dad, but health wise she's good."
"How are the children?" Blake asked, joining his wife at the mantle to look at the photographs.
Shawn told them, but he wasn't exactly sure if they were genuinely interested or making small talk to kill time. It was hard for him to draw any conclusions about who they were as all he really knew was what Jon had told him. None of what he said was complimentary. But these people didn't seem to match up to what he was told about them.
At 1 pm, Shawn's phone went off and he excused himself to check on Jamie. When he returned a short time later, he brought Bella who was up from her nap and hungry with him.
Bella was not thrilled with strangers in her home and made sure they knew it. She clung to Shawn, refusing to be put down long enough for him to fix her something to eat. The Turners joined him in the kitchen but seemed extremely uncomfortable now that the youngest child was up.
"You're very good with her, Shawn," Jacklyn remarked as she watched him wrangle the little girl into her highchair and distract her from the visitors with food.
"Thanks," he said, trying to free his sweater from his sister's hold. "She's a handful but I love her."
Jacklyn smiled sadly. As she watched her granddaughter tears began to fill her eyes and without thinking she reached out to touch the child's curls.
"Jonathan's hair used to curl just like this." A funny look crossed her face as she looped the curls around her fingers. "At least I think it did. I can't even remember." She gave a harsh laugh. "I can't remember what my only child's hair was like when he was this age."
Blake looked down at the floor and said nothing.
Shawn wasn't sure how to respond to the awkwardness that was building. "Well," he said, trying to lighten the mood. "That was a long time ago."
"It wasn't that long," Jacklyn told him shortly. "And I wouldn't remember if it had been five years ago."
The abrupt change to a no-nonsense business tone caught Shawn off guard. "Oh?"
"We were rather busy then," Blake explained somberly. He could no longer make eye contact with Shawn.
"Yes," Jacklyn said tersely, "The nannies Jonathan had would remember his hair. They were the ones who were always with him. I don't remember first steps or first words. I don't remember birthdays or Christmases. I don't remember when he became a teenager or when he got his driver's license. I just remember the day he said he was done being a Turner." The bitterness in her voice was interwoven with deep regret.
Shawn lifted Bella out of her chair when she was done eating, which saved him from trying to come up with something to say. It was hard to understand or sympathize with anything she'd admitted to. Maybe he wasn't supposed to. He found it incomprehensible not to remember what your kid was like as a baby. Even Chet, who was not much of a parent, could remember what he was like as a baby. Various members of his family had confirmed that what Chet recalled was true.
So how can Jacklyn Turner not remember anythin'?
It occurred to him that neglect was a sliding scale on which nannies could absolve you in the eyes of the public.
But never in the eyes of your child.
Shawn was beginning to understand where Jon's bitterness against his parents began. Knowing all too well what it was like to be abandoned by parental units, Shawn suddenly felt very protective of Jon.
As he thought about this a sudden boldness overcame him and he looked Jacklyn directly in the eyes. "You could do something about that you know."'
She was stunned by this. "What could I do now?"
Before he could respond Jamie called from the top of the stairs for him. Shawn looked at Bella then back at Jacklyn.
"You could get involved with your grandkids." With that he handed Bella to her grandmother and bolted out of the kitchen to take care of his little brother.
The scene that greeted Audrey when she came home was not one, she ever expected to see. Her mother-in-law was walking around her home holding her youngest daughter and talking to her. Her father-in-law sat on a chair next to Jamie who was lying on the couch.
Never in all her marriage had her in-laws ever done anything remotely grandparent-ish. She didn't know what to make of it.
When Jacklyn saw her, she walked over and greeted her with a warm smile and hug, not the formal air kisses that were her norm.
"Hello, Audrey, dear. How are you and the little one?"
"G-g-good," she stammered in surprise.
Bella held out her arms to her mother.
"Let her get her coat off first," Jacklyn cooed to the little girl. Bella grinned at her and wrapped her arms around her grandmother's neck.
Blake Turner greeted her just as warmly when she came in to check on Jamie.
"He's a little trooper," he commented fondly as bounced one of the boy's many dinosaur toys across the cushion of the couch.
Dumbfounded, Audrey could only nod.
"Hey, I like these grandparents," Jamie told her as she tried to check his temperature. "Can we keep these ones and give the old unfun ones of Dad's to someone else?"
Blake laughed and ruffled his hair.
"Sure," Audrey said with a small smile.
"How are you, sweetheart?"
"Good," she said although she wasn't too sure if she was anymore. After engaging in small talk with her father-in-law for a while, Audrey excused herself to begin dinner.
Jacklyn stopped her from going into the kitchen. "Oh, Audrey, why don't you take a break tonight? Let us handle dinner. We'll have something brought in from one of the Italian restaurants nearby."
As tempting as the offer was, Jon was already in a bad mood and that mood would worsen significantly if his parents took over dinner. "I told Jon I'd fix his favorites tonight. He's had such a hard day- I don't want to disappoint him."
Surprisingly, they let this go and did not try to force their will as they typically did.
"Where's Grayson?" Blake asked as he stood up and returned his chair to the dining room.
"In the garage shooting pucks before Jon gets home."
"Oh, is he still playing hockey? That's wonderful!" He turned to his wife. "Jackie, we need to attend one of his games."
"Yes, we do," she said more to Bella than Blake "It would be wonderful to see the athletic talent he inherited from his parents."
Blake and Jacklyn Turner would lower themselves to attending a hockey game? The very game they despised and tried to ban Jon from playing because it was barbaric? Audrey was no longer confused, but convinced she was in Shawn's Twilight Zone.
She found Shawn in the kitchen.
"Hey, Mama," he said with a grin as he rummaged in the refrigerator.
Audrey stared at him and pointed behind her to the living room. "What did you do to them?"
Shawn laughed as he closed the fridge's door. "Are they that different?"
"I don't know who those people are in my living room, but they are not my husband's parents. What did you do to them?"
"I made," Shawn stumbled over the next word, which was completely foreign to him, but Jacklyn insisted that he use it. "Grandmother take Bella while I took care of Jamie."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah."
Audrey leaned against the sink and shook her head. "Well, the kids are happy to have semi-normal grandparents…"
"But?"
"Jon won't be happy about this."
"Why not?"
Audrey frowned and shook her head in despair. "Oh, Shawn, the hurt runs deep and long. There were things that happened…" her voice trailed off and she shook her head as though she was in pain. "I worry this will be too much for him. He doesn't want them here."
"What happened between them exactly?"
She grimaced and put a hand to her forehead. "That's not my story to…"
"Tell," Shawn finished. Whatever it was had to do with that event in Jon's life that he refused to talk about. "Okay, I'll stop askin' for now."
She patted his shoulder. "Will you keep an eye on the kids? Jon and Julia will be home soon, and I want to get dinner on before the war begins again."
"Sure, Mama," he said troubled by her word choice.
Audrey was through talking and busied herself in the kitchen. Shawn wandered back into the living room and watched the people in it. Grayson had come up from the garage and was timidly talking with the grandparents he barely knew. Jamie showed off his video game skills while Bella showed her grandmother her favorite puppy toy.
Shawn folded his arms over his chest and studied the scene before him. He didn't see how this could be bad. After all, isn't this what Jon should want- reconciliation?
Chet drifted into his consciousness. Chet was a master at making people believe he was a harmless teddy bear. Few knew what he was like behind closed doors. Most people questioned why he had such issues with his biological father. Most thought he was callous and cruel to disown the man in the years following his death.
But that was because they didn't know the man.
Shawn wondered if this was a similar situation. He knew Jon to be fair and if he held unforgiveness against his parents there had to be a serious reason for it. Especially for this long.
If there was a lesson to be learned here, he supposed it was that the past had a way of controlling the present and future when left undealt with. He twitched his nose. That sounded very Mr. Feeny like. He'd have to ask Cory what event preceded that lesson because he couldn't remember.
Julia ran into the house ahead of her father and slammed right into Shawn, nearly knocking him over the back of the couch.
"Somethin' on fire, Sis?" he asked sarcastically as he set himself upright.
"Are they still here?" she demanded in full panic.
"Yeah."
"Why?" At the look on his face, she explained. "Daddy had a really bad time after Mom left. Almost as bad as Monday. They're gonna make him worse."
"Let's hope not," he said. "Where's Dad?"
Shawn's question was answered by Jon slamming his briefcase onto the table by the front door. His face was dark and angry. He did not acknowledge either of them.
Julia pressed up against Shawn as their father passed by. Involuntarily, Shawn put his arms around her. He'd never seen such a mood from Jon before and it was just a little frightening.
The superintendent walked into the living room and curtly informed his parents that he wished to see them in his study immediately. Just after they left, Audrey rushed into the living room, out of breath.
"Is Jon home?"
"Yeah," Shawn pointed up the stairs.
"Are they with him?"
He nodded.
Color drained from her face. "He was supposed to wait for me."
"I'm not sure I've ever seen him so angry with them, Mama," Julia said worriedly.
"That's because they never, ever show up uninvited," she said. A deep frown creased her face. "This is not good."
Shawn gave her a worried look. "Should I go up there?"
"No. No. We all need to stay out of it and pray this blows over quickly." Audrey looked sick. "I'm going to try to get Jon to leave for Philadelphia Saturday morning. I've already called Alan and Amy about us coming this weekend."
It surprised Shawn that Audrey seemed as eager as he was to get back to their first home.
"Two more days," he said trying to sound upbeat.
"Two more days," Audrey echoed.
She looked terrified.
When Jon's parents returned to the living room, they were somber and silent. They did not leave as Audrey expected them to and she wasn't sure if this was good or bad. She was not able to leave her cooking to check on Jon, so she asked Shawn to do it since Blake and Jacklyn were with the younger children.
As Shawn climbed the stairs, a feeling of apprehension overtook him. He had no idea what kind of mood his former teacher might be in. He had no idea what to say to him. Gingerly, he knocked on the office door.
No response.
He knocked louder.
No response.
Finally, he opened the door just enough to stick his head into the room.
Jon sat at his desk, facing his wall of books, staring straight ahead at nothing with a hand over his mouth.
Shawn stepped inside and closed the door.
It felt as though heavy clouds hung in the room, ready to drown the room in misery.
If Jon heard him approach the desk, he gave no indication that he did. Shawn watched him for a while then called, "Dad?"
Jon moved his hand away from his mouth slightly but said nothing.
"Mom's worried about you. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said quietly.
Shawn stepped into the room and shut the door. "You willin' to talk to me at all about…them?"
Jon turned slightly toward him and looked up. "Whaddya want to know?"
This surprised Shawn as he didn't expect him to be agreeable to anything. He sat on the desk and tried to figure out the best way to present his questions.
"Why haven't you ever gone home?"
Blunt as possible was apparently best. Shawn cringed and hoped Jon wouldn't shut down before he began.
The superintendent looked up at him in surprise, then he turned his chair back to face the book wall. "There's nothin to go home to."
"They seem to wanna be a part of your life."
Jon pushed out his bottom lip and nodded. "Sure, they do."
Shawn sighed and tried again. "You were always closer to Mom's parents, weren't you?"
"Yeah, I was."
"Why?"
Jon turned back to him. His expression was gloomy and his eyes sorrowful. "Because I wanted be someone's son. Not their prop."
"I don't understand."
"I wasn't book smart, Shawn," Jon said with a shrug. "I didn't start enjoyin' school until college when I could do what I was interested in. I could be an above average student if I had to but it didn't come naturally. I was no Topanga," he smiled ruefully. "What I was good at, what I was always good at, was readin' people."
"Readin' people?" Shawn wasn't sure he'd ever heard of such a skill before.
Jon nodded. There was a faraway look in his eyes. "I was an excellent judge of character, and I could get people to open up and talk. Spill all their secrets. That can be very advantageous in the business world."
"Is that what your parents made you do?"
Jon nodded. "From the time I was six years old."
"Six?" That was how old Jamie was. Shawn couldn't imagine a scenario where adults could employ a kid so young to do a job like that.
"I ceased bein' a son at six," he confirmed. "And became a business associate instead. When I fulfilled my duties, the nannies came in and took over. I rarely saw my parents outside of the office."
"Whoa, seriously?"
"When I did all, they talked about was business." A hard edge entered Jon's voice. "What do you think of this person? Are they trustworthy? Are they sellin' business plans to rivals? At seven, I could tell you all about insider tradin'."
Jacklyn's regret over missing all her son's milestones was beginning to make sense. "So, they never did any kid stuff with you?"
"Nope. And they didn't want the nannies to do any kid stuff with me either because it might dull my ability. The trade-off was that I got whatever I wanted, when I wanted it. But whatever isn't all that appealing when what you really want is a parent."
Jon could have been speaking directly for him; he'd even said almost those exact words to Jon once when he tried to take his motorcycle to move in with Audrey. "Yeah, I know that feelin'."
"When Uncle Mike showed up unannounced to take me to my first hockey game, he gave me a taste of what life was like beyond my very wealthy prison walls. When I was twelve, he took me to Venus for the first time. That's where I met Richie."
"So, you knew Pops for a long time then."
"Yeah, he treated me like his kid from the start," Jon smiled but there was nothing behind the smile. Shawn had never seen Jon look so empty before. The superintendent looked past Shawn and continued, "I went off with Mike as much as I could get away with, but he was unreliable. Had a thing for coke and would often take off with his buddies to back room somewhere that I wasn't allowed to go. So, I'd take off to Venus and hang with Richie."
"I take the 'rents didn't like that too much."
Jon gave a snort of laughter. "No. They despised Richie and Venus and the Village. All of it. It was beneath us. Turners didn't hang out in squalor. Honestly, I preferred squalor. I ran off to Richie without Mike as much as I could get away with. My parents thought sendin' me to boardin' school was the answer and I managed to convince them to send me to one on the Upper West Side. They played right into that. Thought they were moving me aways from Richie, but instead they moved me much closer. I stayed with him instead of at school. Still not sure how I managed the convince the headmaster of that, but I did."
"And you stayed with him until college?"
He nodded. "I desperately wanted a real father. Richie loved me like I was his and made sure to tell me. I've never heard I love you from Blake," he nodded towards the door. "I don't remember if Jacklyn ever said it. I remember Lizzy sayin' it all the time, but not her."
This hit Shawn hard and he felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. That was exactly what he'd experienced from his own "parents" and that was exactly how he felt when Jon offered him a place to stay: he wanted a real father and to be loved.
This was also the first time Shawn heard how Jon referred to his parents. Blake and Jacklyn.
Chet and Virna.
Somehow, he and Jon had lived such similar lives two decades apart.
No wonder Jon always held a door home open to him: he knew exactly what he was going through and that he would come back.
The superintendent folded his hands on the desk and sat silently in his thoughts. Shawn knew that wasn't the end of the story. He knew that a significant event happened that drove Jon to renounce his last name. As much as he wanted to know what that story was, he left it alone.
"Nothin' changed after you and Mom got married?"
Jon shook his head. He rested his cheek against his fist. "They loved her, but they hated that she was Richie's daughter. They blamed him for the problems between us and never once took responsibility for what they did. That's why I didn't tell 'em I was married. Every few years they sent a private investigator after me so eventually they found out."
"Was it that bad?"
"Jacklyn treated Audrey like a living doll. Always bringin' her stupidly expensive clothes and shoes and jewlery. Jacklyn played dress up with her like she was Barbie doll she'd bought at the store," he spat out angrily. "I hated the way she treated Audrey. She was my wife and my kids' mother, not her plaything to be thrown away when she got bored. When the subtle criticism of my wife as a mother started that's when I said goodbye. Neither one of them knew anything about bein' parents. Audrey did and Jacklyn had no right to say anythin' when she was completely hands off with her own kid. I wasn't about to let her break Audrey down."
The passionate outrage this sparked in Jon surprised Shawn. "I didn't know any of this, Dad. Man, I'm sorry."
"Ah," Jon said with a dismissing wave of his hand, "You've got nothin' to be sorry about. They do."
Jon was quiet for a long time. So long that Shawn wondered if he should leave him to his thoughts.
He started to stand up when the superintendent said, "You know before you came to live with me, I was feelin' that same way I did when I was fifteen. Lost, driftin', no purpose, worthless. I thought takin' you in would help bring me back to earth and give me purpose. I thought I could be Richie to you," he gave a short self-deprecating laugh. "I always wanted to be just like him and do what he did."
Shawn put his knee up on the desk and turned so he could be closer to Jon. This was one more thing he'd never heard before.
"When I realized that I couldn't do for you what he did for me, I fell apart. That summer we spent travelin' I thought everythin' would go so smooth, just like everythin' always went with Richie. But it didn't. Yeah, there were some good times, but I thought you hated me by the end of it."
Shawn gave him a confused look- that wasn't how he remembered the summer. There were a lot of good times and some spectacular arguments before more good times. "I think we pretty much called it quits on each other somewhere on the Jersey Shore," he said lightly, hoping Jon would realize that things were never that serious. And hating him certainly never crossed his mind.
Jon couldn't see any humor in it. "I felt like I failed Richie. It such a simple thing to take care of you and I couldn't."
"What are you talkin' about?" Shawn asked seriously. He and Jon really did not see those events in the same way, and he was incredibly surprised by this. "You always took care of me whether I wanted you to or not. I recall some speech about gettin' real old fashioned one of the times I got home by the cops."
The parenting trend of the 90s was to be your child's friend not their parent. Shawn thought he was getting a full-time buddy in Jon. The reality was that Jon could go from buddy to Mr. Matthews on steriods in half a second.
"Maybe," he said doubtfully. "But I messed up so much. I don't remember Richie ever messin' up."
There was only one time Shawn could recall that Jon messed up and that was it. "Other than that whole weddin' thing, I don't remember you messin' up."
"That's because Audrey came along." Jon tapped his fingers slowly on the desk as he swiveled back and forth in his chair. His countenance softened at her name. "When I saw her name and where she was from on that resume George gave me before we met, I just knew Richie had sent her to me even though I didn't find out until that class trip that she was his daughter. Being with her reconnected me to the past and Richie, who I hadn't seen since I left for college. I hadn't talked to him since Lizzy died."
Shawn felt great compassion for his father and a deep regret that he never knew his story before now.
"I'll always regret not goin' home sooner," Jon said, his voice was thick with remorse. "I shoulda gone back long before that class trip."
"I don't think Pops would approve of all this regret stuff, ya know?"
Jon smiled but the smile was still hollow. "That summer you were travelin' with your dad, after Aud and I got married, I spent every minute that I could with Richie tryin' to make up for lost time. I think I spent more time with him than my new wife." He glanced at Shawn but couldn't maintain eye contact. He returned to staring at the bookcase. "I told Alan and Amy where I was and why. Gave 'em my number and address, you know, just in case you needed me. But, uh, I didn't go back to Philly until a few days before school started. Feeny wasn't too happy with me for missin' those teacher meetin's held before the students came back."
"You saw Pops before he died, didn't you?" Shawn asked. Jon seemed like he wanted to talk, and he wanted to encourage him to do so.
"I did. When I realized that you didn't want me around, I started spendin' every weekend and school holiday with Audrey in the City. I held his hand when he died."
Shawn watched Jon's eyes become glassy with unshed tears.
"That's how the motorcycle accident happened."
Now there was another story Shawn had not heard before. "Say what?"
"Aud and I were pretty overwhelmed; in way we both lost our dad," he said somberly. "She had only been in recovery from bulimia for a few months and I was worried about her relapsin' so I stayed as long as I could to help her with all the arrangements. I used up every sick day and personal day I had until I had to go back to Philly." Jon began to swivel back and forth in his chair as anxiety over recalling the accident hit him. "
"I didn't leave her until after 10 pm and it's almost a two-hour drive," he went on. "I was exhausted and emotional, so I thought it'd be smart to take the back roads once I hit Pennsylvania; didn't wanna deal with traffic. I was outside of Philly crossing a one-lane bridge goin' faster than I should have. I was about half-way across when this truck came over the bridge outta nowhere. There was nowhere to go, no room to move over. The guy said afterwards that he never saw me."
"Wow," Shawn breathed. All the years he'd wondered how the accident happened, but he never asked for details. He always knew Jon couldn't have been at fault for it; he was just too careful. Still the story wasn't what he was expecting and left him feeling shaky as the image of Jon lying in the hospital bed and not knowing if he was going to make flashed into his mind.
"Yeah. And of course, I missed Richie's funeral because of it."
Shawn was quiet for a while then asked, "You ride at all anymore?"
"Not really," he replied, turning to face him. "Audrey had the bike restored for me by the time I finished rehab. We've been on it a handful of times since then. She'd never ask me not to ride, but I know she'd prefer it if I didn't. Don't have time for it now."
"Is it under that tarp in the garage?"
Jon nodded. He turned back to the book wall and sighed.
Shawn knew he was done talking and stood to leave. Slowly, he walked to the door, deep in thought over what Jon had told him. There was one thing that bothered him more than anything and that was how Jon had referred to Chet when he mentioned the summer after he came back. Before he reached the door, he turned on his heel abruptly and went back to the desk. He put his hands on the desk and leaned over.
"Let's get one thing clear."
The forceful tone of his voice caused Jon to look up at him with concern.
"Chet is not my dad. You are."
The elder Turners stayed for dinner. The conversation was polite. Jamie, who was feeling much better, happily filled up any empty air with joyful chatter. Grayson sat as close to Shawn as he could as he sensed something was wrong. Julia held her father's hand as much as he would allow her to while he ate.
While Jon's parents praised Audrey's cooking and spoke at length to her and Shawn, they were very careful not to address their son. And he did not address them.
As dessert was brought out, Shawn looked down to the head of the table and saw Jon staring into his empty salad bowl. The look in his eyes was one Shawn knew all too well. He had that haunted, exhausted look a person tends to get when they've spent decades running from a past that has finally caught up to them.
The Christmas story is being posted throughout this month and next. Flashbacks will resume after Christmas.
Did I mention that Jon and Shawn are coming to life in form of 1/6th scale figures? No? Well, they are complete with Jon's Harley. See my bio for details.
And you know how much hearing from means to me, but I get not everyone is comfortable doing that publicly. You can always DM me either on FFN or Tumblr or DeviantArt and let me know what you think of AiP (info in profile).
Take care and thanks so much for reading.