Chapter 28 Notes: I just wanted to clear up some confusion regarding Jeremy's adoption since a few readers took the line about Jeremy changing his name to Mariano at city hall to mean that the adoption had happened. This was just the name change that Jeremy had requested in a previous chapter when he had wanted to get his name changed prior to starting school so as not to get lots of questions when it changed later, mid-semester at the time of his actual adoption. The boys still need to go to court for the adoption, which will be coming up soon. Thanks for all your generosity in leaving me reviews for the last chapter. I really appreciate every single one. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own obsession with Gilmore Girls
Jeremy was finishing up sweeping the diner floor and thinking about what he still had left to do that night. He had a physics quiz the next day and while he felt mostly prepared for it, he wanted to go upstairs and review his notes one more time before he went to bed. He also needed to put together a one-page write up on the symbolism in Heart of Darkness. He had already finished the book and had ideas of what he wanted to write about, but he was worried about not having the time to give it the attention it was due and make his essay as good as it could be. He had been at Stars Hollow high for two weeks now, and the workload and expectations were pretty standard. He had definitely been to schools with more rigorous curriculums before, but he had also been to schools with their own slant on the no child left behind act, who had passed anyone who bothered to show up on an even semi-regular basis. Stars Hollow was somewhere in between. Jeremy knew that he could pass the rest of the school year without putting much effort into studying, but he liked the satisfaction he got from doing the best he could at school.
He had always been that way, having taken it to heart every time Ms. Garcia or a counselor or foster parent impressed upon him that his education was going to be his ticket to a better life, college, a decent job, living above the poverty line once he aged out of the system. He had always been diligent and well behaved at school. There had been times, during certain placements, where his elementary school teachers had been the biggest source of positive attention in his life. He wanted to keep up his performance and finish the year strong, but he was feeling a little stressed and over-extended, especially when he got assignments like the write-up for English class that was due the next day on a night when he had a closing shift at the diner. As much as he worried about school, he also didn't want to turn down any work shifts. He briefly wondered if he would be able to play baseball in the spring, and if that was even an appropriate thing to ask for when he should be using his free time to earn money for school. He knew college was very expensive and more than anything else, he didn't want to be a burden on Jess.
Jess was working full-time at the bookstore, and while he seemed to like the job and enjoy working for Andrew, Jeremy knew he was still stressed about money, even if he didn't say it outright. Jess had bought himself a few things, a new pair of jeans, a pair of fleece sweatpants, more underwear and socks, and a couple of shirts and sweaters with the gift card that Luke and Lorelai had given him for Christmas, and when Jeremy asked why he didn't get more clothes, since what he got would barely cover him for a week, Jess had looked uncomfortable for a moment, before telling Jeremy that he had everything he needed and he would put the rest of the gift card aside for an emergency. Jeremy had no idea what an assistant manager at a bookstore made for a salary, but he knew that Jess still felt that they were on shaky ground financially. Jeremy didn't feel like he was going without anything. He didn't mind that they cooked dinner in the apartment based on whatever had been on sale at the grocery store that week, or that they had to wear warm sweaters at home because they kept the heat low to not run up the bill. The utilities in the building were all connected, but Jeremy had walked in on a conversation between Jess and Luke and heard Jess insisting on paying the difference in the bill due to their living in the apartment, claiming he wasn't completely destitute. Jeremy would never care about how little he had as long as he had Jess. But, the day Jess had told him that he had applied to drive for Uber when he wasn't working at the bookstore, the morning after Jeremy had walked by Jess's open laptop when the man had been in the bathroom and seen it open to the tuition and fees page of the Penn State website with some notes jotted on a nearby legal pad, had left Jeremy with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Jess had helped take away the worst kinds of stress that Jeremy had had in his life, just by being there for him and loving him. He didn't want to repay Jess by adding exponentially to his stress levels. So, Jeremy would deal with his own stress and do everything he could to mitigate Jess's. He would work as many shifts as Luke would let him and still get his school work done even if it meant staying up late and doing nothing but working and studying.
Luke flipped off the light in the kitchen and walked into the dining room. "All right. The grill's all set. How are things going out here?"
Jeremy looked up at Luke. "I'm almost done. I just need to finish sweeping and take out the trash." Jeremy tilted his head toward the two large trash bags sitting by the door, ready to go out.
"Just leave the trash. I'll take it out when I leave."
"Oh, no, I can do it. I wasn't trying to get out of doing it."
Luke smiled. "I know you weren't, but it's cold out there, and I have to go out anyway. No sense in both of us going outside when only one of us needs to."
Jeremy smiled, thinking about how good it felt to be cared for, even when it was something small like this. To have someone show genuine concern for him and put his comfort and well being before their own. "Ok. Thank you. I really appreciate that." He had learned not to argue with Luke on things that Luke thought were best for him. He never won.
"It's no problem." Jeremy watched Luke walk out from behind the counter and lean tiredly against a stool without actually sitting on it. He thought about how hard Luke worked, at the diner almost every day, a lifetime of working on his feet. And, Luke wasn't exactly old, but he wasn't young either. It hit Jeremy that for the first time in his life, he was happy with his life and his family, and that the thing he feared most was losing someone he loved. It felt odd to find himself in that position, when for most of his life, the worries that had preoccupied him centered around how alone he felt, unconnected to everyone around him.
"So, uh, Jeremy."
Jeremy looked over at Luke as he swept.
"There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about. Do you have a few minutes, or do you need to get upstairs?"
Thoughts of physics quizzes and English write-up's drifted into the background of Jeremy's mind. He would never say no to talking to Luke or spending time with him. The idea wouldn't even occur to him. "I'm not in a rush." The thought struck Jeremy that Luke might want to discuss his job performance and that maybe he wasn't doing as well as he thought he was. "Is everything ok? Am I doing something wrong?"
"What? No! No, you're doing a great job, Jeremy! You've learned everything really quickly and you've got a great attitude. Much better than your father's when he worked for me at your age. I'll tell you that much." Luke smiled fondly at the memory and something in Jeremy's heart twinged at the idea that Luke might someday look back at his time working here with the same fondness. "You're doing fine."
"Ok. Good. But, you'll let me know if I'm not doing something the way you want me to, right? So, I can fix it?"
Jeremy watched Luke smile indulgently, as if the idea of Jeremy doing something wrong in and of itself was foolish, but he was glad when the man humored him anyway. "Yes, I promise, Jeremy. I'll let you know if there's anything I want you to do differently, but right now, I honestly have no complaints."
"Ok." Jeremy felt a rush of relief. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Uh." Luke seemed a little hesitant now, almost nervous. "I was just thinking, with the adoption coming up and everything, and you living in Stars Hollow and us getting closer and spending more time together and everything…..And, I mean, this is just something I've been thinking about. It's just an idea. I don't want you to feel pressured if you don't want to do it. I'll still be your uncle and love you either way. I want you to know that."
Jeremy didn't know where this conversation was headed, but he felt his heart swell at Luke's admission. He loved Luke, too, probably had since the very early days of knowing him. He could still remember following Jess into the diner and meeting Luke for the first time, absorbing the warmth and kindness radiating off the man, and being hit with the deep down feeling that this was the person whose family he was meant to end up in.
"I was just thinking that if you wanted to, of course, I would be open to you calling me Uncle Luke instead of just Luke. I'd really like it a lot actually. But, only if you want to, and if you're comfortable with it. You don't have to. I get that it's a big deal, and I don't want to pressure you. Not at all. No, sir. I was just throwing it out there. Just something I'd been thinking about-"
"Ok." Jeremy didn't normally interrupt other people, especially those older than him, but he felt like the kind thing to do here was help put an end to Luke's ramble.
"Ok?" Luke asked.
Jeremy nodded, broom in one hand, but no longer sweeping. "I would really like to call you Uncle Luke."
"Really? You're ok with it, right?" Luke still looked nervous. "I mean, you don't feel pressured or anything, do you?"
Jeremy laughed. "I don't feel pressured. I'm agreeing of my own free will, completely uncoerced. I love the idea of calling you Uncle Luke, Uncle Luke." Jeremy laughed.
"I like the sound of that, nephew." Jeremy soaked up the warm smile that Luke aimed at him, glad to have made the man happy.
Jeremy's expression became serious. "I've actually been thinking about this, too, ever since Liz and TJ asked me to call them Grandma and Grandpa. But, it's a tough thing to ask…... and I guess I wasn't sure how to bring it up to you, or if you would want me to, or I don't know…...I just felt awkward, I guess."
"You can always bring up anything to me, Jeremy. I want you to know that. I'll always do my best to help you with anything you want to talk about."
"Can I tell you one more thing, then?" Jeremy could feel his face heating up a little bit and hated that emotional stuff made him so embarrassed.
"Of course, you can tell me anything."
"I just…...I guess I want you to know that I love you, too. And, that I liked you right away. I mean, I love Jess now, so much, and I'm so grateful for everything he does for me and for giving me a forever family…...but we needed to grow on each other, I guess, me and him. It was different with you. I kind of knew right away, the first time I came to Stars Hollow and met you, that I wanted you to be my family. And, I don't know…..." Jeremy shrugged, feeling a little foolish. "I just wanted you to know that. Does that sound stupid?"
Jeremy watched Luke smile at him warmly and Jeremy could feel himself getting choked up, not to the point that he felt like he would cry, but in a good way, his heart felt warm and full and overflowing with emotion. "That doesn't sound stupid at all. I got a good feeling from you right off the bat, too. That first weekend Jess brought you out here, I remember you helping me make dinner in the kitchen, just the two of us in there talking. And, I knew it then. I remember thinking, this is the kid. He's special. I could love this kid. This is the kid that we need in our family and that Jess needs in his life. This kid right here."
Jeremy didn't know what to say to that, but he loved the idea that Luke thought he was special and had wanted him in his family, too.
"And, I'm very rarely wrong about that kind of thing. I knew that Lorelai was someone I could love the first time I laid eyes on her. I was right about that, too."
Jeremy knew his emotions were showing on his face. He didn't know what to say, so he went with what he was feeling. "I love that I get to be part of this family. You have no idea how much it means to me. Every single day."
Luke nodded at the boy, a small smile on his face. "I spent a lot of years alone. After my parents died and Liz left. Before Lorelai and Rory came along. Before I got Jess. Before I even knew April existed. I think I may have some idea."
Jeremy smiled back, knowing that this right here, getting to be part of Jess's family and have people that he mattered to, made any other stress he had to deal with feel worth it.
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
"Thank you, again. Really, thank you."
Jess ended the call on his cell phone and took a deep breath. He could feel his cheeks aching from the force of his smile. Small flakes of snow were floating down around him, but Jess couldn't feel the cold even though he was only wearing a light sweater, having left his jacket in the bookstore in his haste to take the call when he had seen the number of the attorney's office flash on his phone. He had been waiting for this call for weeks. The attorney's secretary had been apologetic about the delay, claiming a miscommunication with the judge's law clerk, something falling through the cracks in scheduling. He didn't care. He had started smiling even then, because an actual call had to mean something was going to happen now. Then she had given him the date for the adoption, still apologizing for the last minute notice. In less than a week, they would stand in front of a judge and Jeremy would officially become his child. Today was a good day. Jess stood a moment, looking up at the snow and watching his breath fade in the air in front of him. Today was an amazing day.
Jess jogged back inside and found Andrew staring at him with small smile on his face. "Just so you know, I don't typically make my staff take their personal calls outside in 20 degree whether. As long as you keep your voice down, you can use your phone indoors. This isn't the diner. I don't have the strict no cell phone policy that you might be used to."
Jess laughed. "Thanks, Andrew. Good to know." Jess needed to tell someone. He wished that Jeremy's grounding was over so that he could text the boy at school and tell him the news. "That was the attorney's office. We have an adoption date for next week. It's Wednesday. In the morning. Is it ok if I come in late that day?"
Andrew smiled at Jess. "You can take the whole day if you want, Jess. So, that you can do something special with Jeremy to commemorate it."
"Really?" Jess felt hesitant to take Andrew up on it. He thought back to how freely he used to play around with his schedule at Truncheon, when he had appointments or errands or had to wait for a plumber at his apartment, confident that he had already paid his dues. He wondered if he'd be here long enough to ever feel that comfortable.
Andrew smiled. "Yes, really. This is a big deal for your family. It's no problem."
"Ok. If you're sure you don't mind."
"I'm sure. If you start taking a day off to adopt a new kid every week and it becomes a problem, I'll be sure to let you know."
Jess laughed. "Thank you, Andrew, really." Andrew had turned out to be a more relaxed and personable boss than Jess had expected, and he appreciated it. Jess had learned from Luke that Andrew's son, his only child, had been killed by a drunk driver last summer near his apartment in Boston. Jess kept that in mind, constantly marvelling at Andrew's ability to go on, and the man's capacity to carry himself as a kind and generous person in the face of his personal tragedy. The idea that Andrew had been living through his worst nightmare at the same time that Jess's life had started falling apart when Charisse left had been a sobering reminder to keep things in perspective. Even at his worst, running low on money and self-worth and screaming at Jeremy in a shitty motel in the middle of the night, Jess had had family to fall back on. He hadn't lost anything that he couldn't get over with time.
"Excuse me, Jess. I would like to purchase this book if you're done taking personal calls and working out your vacation schedule."
Jess turned to see Kirk standing behind him, expression blank, holding a book in one hand. The term blank-faced town simpleton rose, unbidden, in Jess's mind as though Matthew's reminder of the old nickname had cursed him to hear it every time he laid eyes on Kirk. Jess smiled, but held in his laughter.
"You do work here, don't you?" Kirk asked.
"Yes, Kirk, I work here." Jess started to walk behind the counter to take care of the sale.
"Do you do actual work at this establishment? Or is it like when you worked at the diner, and you mostly just stood around snarling at everyone, letting people's eggs touch their pancakes, and generally making things worse?"
Jess heard Andrew chuckling as he walked away from the counter toward his office at the back of the store.
"I really work here, Kirk." Jess kept a smile on his face, even Kirk wasn't going to ruin his good mood today. "Give me the book and I'll ring it up for you."
Kirk handed it over and avoided Jess's eye, taking his time looking down at his wallet as he idly dug through it for money. Jess read the title, What to Expect When You're Expecting. He paused, looked back up at Kirk.
Kirk finally looked up and met his eye. "It's for Lulu. Petal's going to have a little brother or sister."
Jess broke into a grin, laughing. "Holy shit, Kirk! Congratulations! That's amazing."
"Thank you." Kirk smiled shyly, but Jess could see the anxiety there. The man giggled once, high pitched and nervous. "I'm going to be a dad. Isn't that crazy?"
"Hey, crazier things happen every day." Jess tried to picture Kirk as a parent and failed. But, he knew that didn't mean anything. He couldn't have pictured himself as a dad even a year ago and now it was the part of his life that made him the happiest. Kirk definitely marched to his own drummer, but he was kind. And, he had Lulu and lots of people in town who would help him. Jess had no doubt that Kirk's kid would be weird but loved, and in the end that was really all that mattered. "I think you're going to be a great dad, Kirk."
"Really?" Kirk sounded unsure, a little scared, and in need of reassurance.
Jess smiled the warm, encouraging smile he usually reserved for Jeremy. "Yeah, I do. I think you have everything you need."
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Jess walked into the apartment, trying to hold in a grin. Jeremy was sitting at the table, his laptop in front of him and a textbook laying open next to it. Jess crouched to pet Winston, who rose from his bed by Jeremy's feet to greet Jess, his tail wagging excitedly. "Hey, Winston! How's my pup? How's my good little boy?" Jess pet the dog's head and scratched behind his ears before standing back up and moving toward the table.
Jeremy looked up briefly with a smile before looking back at his computer. "Hi, Dad." Jess knew the boy's focus on his screen likely had more to do with self-consciousness over calling Jess 'dad' than it did with his level of concentration. They were still in what Jess had come to think of as the pilot program of the whole dad thing. Jeremy used it more frequently now, some times more comfortably than others, sometimes spontaneously and sometimes because he had made the decision to. Jess could tell this one had been pre-planned and had left Jeremy feeling insecure. Jess felt a happy warmth every time the boy called him dad, but he had learned to minimize his reaction during moments like these, knowing it would never become a normal part of their everyday life if he called attention to it whenever he heard it.
"Hi, Jeremy." Jess ruffled the hair on top of Jeremy's head like he had just done to Winston, before bending to drop a kiss on the boy's head. "How's my other good little boy?" He started scratching quickly and gently on the side of Jeremy's head, until the boy laughed and batted his hand away.
"Stop, that's so annoying!" Jeremy's smile belied his words.
"Really?" Jess feigned surprise. "Winston likes it."
"Winston doesn't care if you mess up his hair. He doesn't spend as much time on his as I do on mine." Jess watched Jeremy run a hand through his shaggy dirty-blond hair to restore it to how it looked before Jess had touched it.
"Awww." Jess pretended to be choked up with emotion, putting one hand to his chest. "You really are my son!" Jess knows he's grinning all out of proportion to his own joke, but he can't control himself.
Jeremy's smile grew in response to Jess's. "What are you so happy about anyway? Did something happen at work?"
"Can't a guy just be happy to see his kids?"
Jeremy smiled. "I like that you call Winston your kid, too."
"Hey." Jess shrugged. "If I'm not the little guy's parent, then who is?"
"You seem particularly happy to see us today, and more…...playful than usual." Jeremy's voice was colored with playfulness of its own, mixed with suspicion that led Jess to believe the boy might be on to the reason for his good mood.
"What, like I usually come home mean and grumpy and beat you?" Jess pulled out the chair next to Jeremy and sat down.
Jeremy laughed. "No, but you seem extra happy right now and I was just curious as to why." Jeremy shrugged. "I'm just interested in your life, that's all."
"Aw, what a sweet and thoughtful kid I have." Jess listened to Jeremy laugh again, and he smiled. When he spoke again he aimed for nonchalance. "It's nothing really...I was just going over my schedule with Andrew at work today."
"Yeah?" Jeremy looked curious, but Jess was enjoying himself and wanted to drag it out.
"And, I was thinking that I would take next Wednesday off. Maybe pick up another shift to make up for it."
"Uh, ok." Jeremy's expression turned slightly confused.
"And, I wanted to see what you were up to on Wednesday."
"Um, nothing special. Just school and the diner, like usual."
"Huh. You already have plans." Jess feigned disappointment. "Bummer for me."
"Why are you asking?" Jeremy was smiling again now, expectantly, and Jess could tell he knew what was coming.
"Well, if you don't mind missing school on Wednesday, I was thinking maybe I would adopt you."
Jeremy grinned. "Are you serious? We have a date for the adoption?"
"That we do, my friend. The lawyer's office called today. But, if you're too busy with school and hanging out with Luke at the diner….."
Jeremy shot out of his chair and hugged a still seated Jess so fiercely that he almost knocked him out of his chair. Jess gripped the table for balance with one hand and wrapped his other arm around his son, speaking into the boy's hair. "Is that a 'yes, Dad, I'll play hooky with you on Wednesday'?" Jess felt the boy nod his head against his shoulder before pulling back and sitting back down in his own chair, a huge smile of his face.
"Yes. Yes, I'll definitely play hooky with you on Wednesday." Jeremy was still grinning, but Jess could see that his eyes were a little wet.
"Good. I would have felt pretty silly showing up at the courthouse by myself. It's in the morning, but I figure we could take the whole day off and grab lunch afterwards and maybe come up with something fun to do in the afternoon. I can have you back for your shift at the diner it you don't want to miss that, but I'm sure Luke would understand if you did."
"Either way. I don't mind missing my shift if you wanted to do something." Jeremy paused. "Hey, do you think it would be ok if we invite Luke, too?"
"To your adoption?" Jess felt a little deflated.
"Yeah. Is that ok? I knew other kids who did that, had their whole new families at their adoption. Is that weird? Do you think he'd even want to go? He never misses work. He might not want to for this….."
Jess thought back to Ms. Garcia telling him that some adoptive parents made it a big thing and invited extended family to the courthouse. Ever since he'd brought up the idea of adopting Jeremy he had been picturing the day being just the two of them, making a private memory of the origin of their family that they alone would share, as close to that of a new parent holding their baby in the hospital as they could get. But, it hit him that Jeremy had been picturing this day for years before Jess had even met him. Jeremy had his own idea of how he wanted his adoption to go and Jess wanted the day to meet the boy's expectations in every way possible.
"I think Luke would definitely be willing to miss work for this. I think he would love to be there for your adoption."
Jeremy smiled and Jess knew he had given the right response.
"If we invite Luke, do you want to invite your grandparents and the Gilmores, too? Maybe even April if she wants to come down, although I don't know if she'd be able to make it back down here so soon again after Christmas."
"Sure, if you think we should." Jeremy didn't look convinced.
"I don't think there's any 'should' here. This is your adoption and I want it to be exactly what you want."
"Then, I guess, I've kind of been picturing it not being such a big thing, like more, I don't know, intimate, I guess. Just you, me and Luke. If that's ok. And, then maybe we could go for lunch after, just the three of us."
"That sounds like a plan." Jess smiled warmly at Jeremy.
Jeremy looked away for a moment, toward his textbook, then back up at Jess. "It's not rude, right? To not ask everybody else?"
"It's fine, really, Jeremy."
"I just have a closer relationship with Luke."
"I know you do. Honestly, it's ok." Jess knew Liz would likely get her feelings hurt and that he might hear it from TJ that Luke was invited and Liz wasn't, but this was about Jeremy, not them. They would just have to deal.
Jeremy's lowered his gaze to the table again. "Did you know that he loves me? He told me last night when we were closing up."
Jess smiled, grateful that he had been able to give his son someone like his uncle, and his uncle someone like his son. "I did know that. He didn't say anything to me, but it's been pretty obvious for a while now."
"I told him that I felt the same way about him." Jeremy looked back up at Jess. "Was that obvious, too?"
Jess nodded. "It was to me. But, I am a pretty astute observer of human nature."
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Even as Jess sat at the table waiting for his son's phone to charge, he debated with himself as to whether he should really do this. On one hand, it felt like a violation of Jeremy's privacy, but on the other, he knew that you didn't get many chances in life to learn how other people really felt about you, and he wanted to know whether his son respected him enough to not go behind his back and use his phone while he had been grounded. Jess had thought about checking Jeremy's phone several times over the course of the boy's punishment, but he always managed to talk himself out of it over worry about what exactly he would do with the information if he found out something he didn't want to know.
Jeremy was officially un-grounded in three days, and Jess already knew he was going to miss it. It wasn't that he wanted to see Jeremy suffer, and it honestly hadn't seemed like the kid had been that miserable other than a few complaints over not getting to text Melissa, but Jess had loved the last month of getting so much time with his son, with the boy confined to the apartment aside from school, work and family stuff. He knew it was a selfish thought, but he had liked having Jeremy available whenever he had wanted to do something. He thought about all the time they had spent playing scrabble, or cooking dinner together, or watching television, or just talking about their days over dinner. And, how willing Jeremy had been to go to the mall or run errands with Jess, since it had been his one route to the outside world. He wondered how much that would change when Jeremy was free to socialize with the kids he was meeting at school. Jess knew his own social life would likely stay the same, with Jeremy and Luke at the center of it, for as long as remained in Stars Hollow. He couldn't see himself making friends or dating here. But, he knew people were being welcoming to Jeremy. There were already a few names of classmates that Jess recognized from their frequency in Jeremy's stories. Jess thought back to how much time Jeremy had spent at Melissa's house, back in Philly, and as much as Jess wanted his kid to be well-adjusted and make friends in Stars Hollow, he wasn't ready to give him up like that again, especially with the idea of Jeremy going off to college in the not-so-distant future. Thinking about Jeremy leaving for college always made Jess feel like someone was reaching a freezing cold hand into his chest and squeezing his heart. Jess felt like they had eighteen years of bonding to make up for and this past month had felt like a good start. He was going to miss it.
Jess picked up the phone in front of him, still plugged in to the wall outlet and turned it on, 38% charged. That was good enough for his purposes. He opened the text message app and scrolled through the conversations. There were only four names that appeared, Luke's, Melissa's, April's and his own. Jess briefly thought about what a good kid April was and how much more she had done to welcome Jeremy into their family than he had done for her when he had been the age she was now. Jess was nervous, knowing that he might find something that he wouldn't like. He clicked to open Jeremy's most recent conversation with Melissa, promising himself he would only look at the date of their latest exchange, not read the content of the messages. The date of the last text conversation between Jeremy and Melissa was…..December 21. The day they had left Philly. Jeremy must have been texting Melissa at school that day. Jess felt his face break into a wide grin as he stared down at the absence of proof that his son had been lying or sneaking around behind his back. The New York thing had been a one-time fluke, a teenage boy trying to impress the girl he liked. Jeremy really was the good kid Jess thought he was. He knew it.
It hit Jess a second later that not finding incriminating texts wasn't exactly conclusive proof of Jeremy's innocence since the boy could have deleted any messages sent during the past month, but it was enough for Jess. It was better than finding actual evidence to the contrary. Jess hadn't been looking for a reason to confront the kid. He had been looking for facts that supported the benefit of the doubt that he had already been giving Jeremy. He was a good kid. He wouldn't lie and sneak around while he was grounded for the very same activities. Jess might have done that when he was Jeremy's age, if Luke had tried to discipline him in any way, but Jeremy wasn't like that. Jess was sure of it. Jess was startled from his thoughts by Winston's nails tapping sharply on the hardwood floor as the dog hurried toward the door, tail wagging fast as though it were trying to propel his little body into flight, a soft whine coming from deep in his throat. This meant only one thing. Shit! Jess turned to rush toward Luke's old desk across the room to return the phone to its hiding spot. He felt a split second of resistance from the forgotten power cord before the phone was tugged out of his loose grip and landed on the floor with a loud rattle before it skidded to a stop under the table just as the door opened. Jess felt his heart beating quickly as he lunged toward the fallen phone. He looked up from his crouched position by the table, phone in hand, to find Jeremy standing over him, his expression hurt and confused, Winston still tapping around Jeremy in excitement to get his attention.
"What are you doing with my phone?"