Extraodinary Girl

I asked her.

I came out with it and I just…I…asked her.

"Mom, do you have…do you…uhm…so…you like Uncle Mike…" I fumbled the pass but I made it and she caught it. Oh boy, did she catch it. She turned from the dishwasher and her mouth was wide open, looking at me all goggle-eyed.

"Careful…you don’t wanna catch flies" I half chuckle. I bite my lip in anticipation of the answer. I knew something was up with them.

It has been a while since Mom and Dad divorced. Everything is going back to normal; well as normal as they can be. Mike spent a lot of time with us and Mom was happier whenever he was around. Jake was; well…Jake. That kid never changes.

I was even getting on better with my Dad and Tre. It's not the relationship we had before all this, but at least I didn’t want to throw Tree of the Bay Bridge anymore.
Mike called it 'Baby steps', I prefer 'Man's leisurely pace'.

"Joseph…" She says, facing me. Her voice is soft and I know I shocked her. But she's taking it well. "Mike is a friend. A good friend, who has helped me and you boys recently…" She trailed off, ringing her hands in her shirt.

I knew it! Fuck…

What about Dad? What about Brittany? Did Uncle Mike feel the same? I mean… I saw the way they looked at each other. In the last couple of days, Mike looked at Mom like he used to look at Brittany. It's weird…it's…it's wrong?…

"There is nothing going on between Mike and I. And it's wrong of you to think so." She turned back to the dishwasher after giving me an odd look. She's trying to distract me, but I know her; she never could lie. Always made whatever she was doing seem more interesting then necessary, when she was hiding something. Could never look you in the eye.

"Yeah, right." I roll my eyes. "Bullshit! You like Uncle Mike!" The fact I swore catches her off guard. We can curse, but not directed at either of our parents or close people in our little Green Day bubble.

"Joseph Mariciano Armstrong! -" She whips round, her face pink…I hit a nerve.

"Don’t lie to me Mom! It's all over your face. You like him…admit it already!" I sigh and move from the kitchen door jam to the dining table and take a seat. All the while, Mom's staring at me like a deer caught in full beam.

She hesitates in answering before she crosses the room and sits opposite me at the table. Taking my hand in hers, she shakes her head.
"Baby, I know things haven’t been easy for you or Jake or me…but…I-I…I think I do like your Uncle Mike." She says sadly. Her eyes drop from mine and focus on the wooden table.
"And its wrong, I know it is…I want to explain, but…well…you're too young to fully understand, baby."

"I understand Mom. I do-" I want to her explain. So I can see where this all came from. I knew something was up at dinner the other day. When she dropped the fork and they went to pick it up, they both came back up and had these goofy ass grins on their faces. Kinda like the smile I have when Ramona's around.

I have a thing for Mona. But if our Dad's found out, they'd rip the piss out of me, so let's keep that quiet, shall we?
"Does Mike feel the same?" I ask slowly. If he did, this would be like Tre and my Dad all over again and there would be more people getting hurt.

She takes an age before answering. She looks thoughtful yet still very sad as she tries to think of something to say.
"No, Joey...I don’t think he does…you know…you know how you have a crush on Mona? Well, that’s how I feel about Mike...I'm sure it'll pass…So you have nothing to worry about…I promise."

Fuck! Mom knows about Ramona? That sucks. But I know she won't say anything; I think she hopes that Ramona and I will end up married when we're older. I guess that’s what Mom's do.
But wait…I detect a little hope in her voice there. Oh God…what do I do now?

"Mom, I love you…I want you to be happy…but you know…this Uncle Mike thing is wrong."

"I know honey. That’s why I know it'll pass. It's nothing." She says quickly and waves her free hand, as if sweeping the words away, then sits back in her seat.
"When did you become such an adult? I got so caught up in your Dad and me, I missed that…I'm sorry Joe."

There's that sad smile again.