An Age of Valour
by the Lady of the Mists
Chapter Sixteen: Jesse's Mother
With Cubone and Totodile as their newest companions, Lydia and Jesse started out once again on the road the morning after they met the Lechers. Cubone and Totodile had a tearful goodbye from Maurice and Alice as they headed towards Goldenrod City, the festive city of opulent charm. The moment that they entered into the city, Lydia was stunned into silence for a moment, gaping at the huge city around them, her light brown hair whipping around her as she whirled around, taking in the humongous buildings.
"Whoa," she muttered as Jesse stood, grinning like a Cheshire Cat nearby. "I've never seen so tall buildings in my life!"
"Country girl," he teased her. She glared at him, giving him a threatening look and he backed up a few steps. "All right, all right, I'm done. So I guess we should try and find the Pokémon Centre before we start looking around here, what do you think?"
"Definitely," Lydia said with a small smile. Jennie should already be there, waiting for them at the department store. They had arrived right on schedule, which was unusual for them. Jesse tended to slow things down a bit. "Let's go check out the department store, all right?"
Jesse groaned, looking extremely upset. "I am not carrying anything," he said warningly. "If you buy anything, then you're going to carry it. Under no circumstances will I carry anything."
"Okay, first of all, I don't need a whole lot," she told him. "Second of all, I am not like other girls. After all this time, I would think that you would understand that. Third of all, I actually do need some new clothes." She looked down at the ragged hand-me-downs that she'd gotten from the Pokémon Centre back on Rosemary Isle.
Taking one look at her, Jesse looked back at Lydia and sighed. "Okay, point taken," he said. "But if you buy anything, I'm not carrying it."
Giving up on convincing him otherwise, Lydia walked through the streets with Eevee trailing after her. "Come on already, let's go find the Pokémon Centre, Jess," she sighed. If they didn't hurry, then they were going to be late meeting Jennie. Not that Jesse knew that.
"What's the big hurry for?" Jesse wanted to know, obviously picking up on something. "Honestly, Lydia, we're going to be here for a couple of days, so we've got plenty of time to look around."
Lydia sighed and turned around. "Well, Jess, there's something that I have to tell you," she said seriously. Jesse raised an eyebrow and waited. She grinned. "We are in desperate need of potions and antidotes, okay? And there are a billion other things that we need, so we should probably jump on things before we run out of time."
"Run out of time for what?" Jesse asked, scratching his head in confusion at her. "Lydia, you're talking like a crazy person. What's going on?"
"You'll find out in a little bit," she told him. Jesse shook his head as they walked through the city, finally locating the Pokémon Centre. Lydia was flipping through some Pokémon magazines in the waiting room while they waited as Jesse walked over to her.
"Okay, so what's really going on?" he asked her. She looked up at him curiously; how much had he guessed? she wondered. "You've been jittery ever since we got to Goldenrod, Lydia. You keep biting your lip, looking at your watch, and not to mention, are being downright stubborn about going to the department store right after this. What's going on?"
Lydia sighed; he was right, she should tell him the truth. "Okay, but you have to promise that you're not going to be mad at me."
"Why would I be mad at you?"
"Promise," she reminded him. Jesse narrowed his eyes slightly at her, but relented.
"All right, I promise," he said, holding up his hand. "Scout's honour, I will not get mad at you, no matter what."
Five minutes later . . .
"YOU DID WHAT?"
Lydia winced at his raised voice and glanced towards the curious looks of the other trainers who were wondering what the commotion was about. "Okay, Jess, you promise that you were not going to get mad at me," she reminded him.
"That was before I found out that you were interfering with my private life," Jesse hissed at her. He wasn't just mad; he was furious. "Lydia, what is wrong with you? Did it not occur to you that Jennie might just be coming here to tell me how badly I screwed things up and look around at how I've turned out, telling me I made the wrong decision?"
"She's not going to do that," Lydia said firmly, reaching to take his hand into hers. He yanked his hand away, refusing to look at her. "Jesse, listen to me. I'm sorry, okay? I just . . . you seemed so miserable that I just wanted things to go better for you. And if it was the wrong decision, then I'm sorry. At the very least, let's just go see her. If she's a bad as you say that she is, then I promise you that I will fix the mess that I made, okay?" She tried to make him look at her and reluctantly, Jesse raised his head to turn his green eyes to her blue ones. "Jess, please. Don't do it for me, okay? Do it for yourself. I promise, if I'm wrong about her, I will fix it."
Jesse sighed, placing his head in his hands. "I don't know," he admitted with a sigh. "I cannot believe that you did this."
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I really am. I was just trying to do something for you."
"Right, how about when I do something nice for you, I'll kidnap you and dump you back at Rosewaters Isle?" Jesse said sharply. Lydia flinched; apparently, he was still mad at her. He sighed. "I didn't that mean that."
Lydia nodded once, placing her hands into his. "No, you didn't," she agreed, "but I think I'll let this one slide, considering that I sprung this one on you without notice." Jesse glanced at her and side. "How about I go and talk to Jennie, then we meet up for lunch?" He hesitated. "I'll go inside her mind if you want me to," she offered.
Jesse actually smiled at that. "No, that's okay," he admitted. "I'll go with you, but you can't leave me alone with her, deal?"
She smiled, slapping his hand in truce. "Deal," she agreed.
--
"So, where's she supposed to be at?" Jesse asked nervously as they climbed the stairs through the department store, heading for the roof. He had been a nervous wreck ever since they'd called a cease fire.
"We're supposed to meet her at the food court," she answered, pushing open the door that led to the roof. There were several food stands that had everything from burgers and fries to candy to drinks. "Here, I'll go get us some drinks, all right?"
"Sure," Jesse said, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I'll take a root beer. Or a Coke, if they don't have that." Lydia nodded as she headed to a stand that sold drinks, purchasing a root beer for Jesse and a Sprite for herself.
When she got back to Jesse, he was standing exactly where she had left him, his gaze hard and fixed as a woman stood there, talking. Lydia's heart stopped as she realised who this was.
" . . . it's bad enough that you had to completely ruin the plan that we had set out for you, young man, but to drag Jennifer down with you is completely unacceptable," Mrs. Turner was saying as she hurried forward, rejoining Jesse.
"Hey," she said breathlessly. "What's going on?" Jesse looked up at her as she pressed the drink onto him. "How do you do, ma'am? I'm Ly—"
"I really could care less who you are, girl," Mrs. Turner said coldly before turning her head back to her son. "You have humiliated this family twice over, Jesse, and now you just expect me to just lie down and take it when you've tried to corrupt your sister?"
"He didn't—"
"Stay out of this, you interfering little brat!" Mrs. Turner snapped, rounding on her. "This is a family matter and you would understand that if you had one!"
The blood drained from Lydia's face so dramatically that she thought that she was going to faint. She froze on the spot, staring up Mrs. Turner's cruel, hateful face as tears started to form in her eyes. It wasn't until she felt Jesse's hand touch her shoulder that she realised that he was glaring at his mother with utmost fury.
"Hey," he said in a cold, threatening voice, "don't talk to her like that." Mrs. Turner scoffed and turned away. "I mean it."
"Yes, and I suppose this girl is the reason why you threw everything away?" Mrs. Turner said, surveying her critically. "I shall talk to her how I see fit. Honestly, Jesse, I never understood you, not even once. You were born into a family that has given you everything that you could have ever wanted and all we asked for in return was a little respect. Which you gave us until this girl warped and twisted your mind."
"I left before I even met Lydia!" Jesse was glaring at his mother, as if standing up to her for the first time. And maybe it was. "Besides, you didn't give me everything, Mother! You just pushed everything off on your uncle after Dad left, ignoring all of us! Mom, you don't even know me, if you did then you wouldn't be accusing me of corrupting my sister!"
"How dare—?"
"Yeah, I dare," Jesse snarled. "I dare a lot. Listen, Mom, we are never going to settle our differences. I understood that a long time ago. But sooner or later, Jennie is going to figure out that if she goes along with the plan you've got for her, then she's not going to be living her life anymore. And when she does, then she's going to stand up for herself. You might want to try letting her live her own life."
"You miserable, pathetic excuse for a son," Mrs. Turner hissed. "I was right when I disowned you. If you ever come near my daughters, then I will personally have you arrested. Both you and that stupid girl of yours," she added, glancing sideways at Lydia, who stood staring at this exchange in shock. "Be grateful that I'm not doing that now."
"Don't call her that!" Jesse was shouting now. "Listen, Mom, you can call me pathetic if you want to. You can say that I'm corrupting my sisters and that I was never worth any of your time if you want. But don't ever call Lydia stupid, do you hear me?" Mrs. Turner stared at him. "She has been more kind-hearted and more compassionate than you have ever been to me in my whole life."
Mrs. Turner stood there, gaping like a Magicarp for a few minutes, then shook her head. "I should have let your father take you with him, like he wanted to," she muttered. Jesse froze. Lydia stared at her. "Do not try and call my daughters again, do you hear me? If you do, you'll only make things worse for yourself, boy. As for you, girl," she added, turning towards Lydia. "This is my only warning to you."
Before either Jesse or Lydia could move, Mrs. Turner struck her across the face so hard that Lydia actually stumbled back into some tables.
"LYDIA!" Jesse ran to her, kneeling down beside her and looking terrified. "Are you all right?" She nodded, accepting his help. Eevee was growling at Mrs. Turner, his back arched as a few people crowded around her, shouting for someone to call the police.
Mrs. Turner yanked free from the crowd, turning her back on her son and his friend as she walked away, leaving Jesse and Lydia alone again. Lydia touched her cheek before looking at Jesse.
"I'm sorry," Jesse said quietly.
"Don't," Lydia said just as quietly as Eevee returned to them. She bent down and picked him up, petting him. "It was my fault, anyway. I was the one who called Jennie." Unable to look at Jesse as she said this, Lydia looked away, sitting down at the table.
Jesse picked up the Sprite she'd dropped and sat it in front of her before taking the seat across from her. "But you didn't deserve that," he said softly, looking at her. "Lydia, nobody deserves that. Mom's just being the miserable, bitter woman that she usually is." She looked up at him and saw the look on his face. "I'm glad that you called Jennie. Granted, I would loved for her to be here instead of with Mom, but . . . at least I know she still cares."
Lydia nodded, smiling at Jesse. "Well, at least one good thing came from today," she remarked. Jesse chuckled and nodded. "And thank you."
"For what?"
"For defending me like you did," Lydia answered. "Your mom was in a little bit of a shock when you did, though. You would think it was the first time somebody stood up to her."
"It's the first time I ever have," Jesse admitted. "But you're the first real friend I've ever had, Lydia. And my mother is not going to treat you like that." He stood up. "Come on," he said, extending his hand. "Don't you need some new clothes."
"No," Lydia said, shaking her head. "I've already put you through enough today, Jess. We can do it another time."
"Lydia." Jesse looked at her severely. "Come on, we're here. What's done is done. Let's just get this over worth so we can have some fun in this town." She smiled and laughed. "Let's go."