Life on Banana Street
Re: Tard
A week later, Billie was free to go (it was hell though). We walked into the parking lot and he breathed in the fresh air, then he looked at my stomach
“Oh my God, you’ve gotten so big…” he knelt down and put his head against my belly and closed his eyes.
“Billie, we’re in public. This isn’t the best time.” He stopped abruptly and stood up. We walked to the viper and drove to Tre’s house. He still didn’t know he’d awakened.
We got out of the car and I leaned against the car while he came over to me. “What if he goes insane?” I asked.
“It’s going to be fine, I’m here.” He smiled and kissed me quickly. All of a sudden I heard the door bust open.
“Dude, step off!” Tre yelled as he barreled closer.
Billie snapped his head around and said, “Excuse me?”
“She wants me, Bill. She told me so.”
“What she told you was…if I were to pass, then she’d be with you. I’m very much alive.”
He steamed. “Whatever.” He stormed back into the house and slammed the door and we left in silence.
“Addie…” Billie started. I looked at him and he continued. “You really need to talk to Tre and set everything right. Tell him so he won’t get so personal all the time.” And I did. I called Tre up when I got home and told him to meet me at the famous coffee shop.
“What do you want Addie?” he asked as he sat down.
“I want you to know something. I want you to know that I love you and I always will. But I also need you to know that you’ll only be a backup to me. Billie is the one I’ve chosen and I am so, so happy with him. You can’t wait your whole life for me, because I know I won’t come through. I can’t love someone as much as I love Billie, and you need to understand that.”
He stared at me, then looked down. “What if I don’t want to be just your backup?”
“Tre, please. Let me go. I love you, I really do, but you have to find someone else. You know how many times I’ve hurt you because I’ve gone back to Billie, and that’s just going to keep happening. Please, for me. Can you move on?”
He reached across the table to touch my hand. “Can I have one last kiss from you?”
“…No. It’s just going to lead to more heart break and you know it. Let’s just be friends and if you can’t handle that, then…I’ll just leave you alone.”
“No, no. I’ll settle for friends. It’d be hell on earth if I could never speak to you again.”
I smiled weakly and got up and left. Thoughts went racing through my head as I thought of what just happened. I can put the Tre file in the drawer, it finally had closure. Now what was my life to be?
Joey soon made my life a whole lot complicated.
****
The phone rang and I answered it on the 4th ring. I didn’t want to sound desperate even though I was in the house alone.
“Hello,” I said like I’d just woken up so it sounded like ‘ella’.
“Hello this is Marilyn Parker, the principal at Jersey Village Elementary. I’m here with your son, apparently, he’s had a little trouble in the classroom. Would you mind dropping by and having a talk with me?”
“No problem. I’ll head right over.”
I drove faster than a cop to get there, I didn’t even realize because I was so mad. I wished I had a cell phone right now…
It wasn’t until I got into the school that I realized that I was wearing a black and teal tank top with ripped jeans and Converse. I looked like his older sister in 11th grade rather than his mom.
“Hi, I’m Mrs. Armstrong.” It still gave me chills every time I said that. I looked at Joey and he flinched away, I guess I’d developed an ‘eye.’ “What’s he done,” I kept my eyes on him for a while then I strayed them away to Mrs…Porker? She was a porker. God, Addie that’s so mean.
“He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention in class and when he is, he’s telling his teacher that she’s wrong. His parents told him otherwise.”
I closed one eye slightly like a ‘wtf’ and said, “Like what…?”
“I haven’t been told the specifics, but I hear he’s the ‘riot’ in the classroom. He keeps telling his teacher that he doesn’t have to do homework because he said he’s a miracle child.”
I turned to him and whispered, “You told me you didn’t have any homework.”
He shrugged. Oh-ho-ho we are going to have a TALK when we get home…
“Would you like me to call your husband so the both of you can take part in this?”
“No…I can handle that on my own, thank you…”
In the car, we sat in silence for about, oh 4 seconds. “Joseph Marciano Armstrong, what do you think you were trying to prove?”
“I don’t like my teacher,” he said simply.
“I don’t give a flying frog if you don’t like her, I dealt with so many douche teachers and I never told them they were wrong.” I felt like hiding some of the truth. Just to make me a hypocrite. “Just tell me what happened.”
“Well, Momma, I never told her she was wrong. I just presented my opinion. Like when she said that 2 + 2 = 4, I told her that it was 22. And I truly believed I was right but all the kids laughed at me and the next thing I know I’m in the principal’s office and I have no flippin’ clue what I done wrong.”
“Joey, when we get home, we’re going to practice some adding, okay? We’re gonna see if everything’s ticking.”
It crossed my mind so many times that day that he might be slow. I pictured my life seeing him off to the bus in his high school years and the other normal kids laughed as he ran to the short bus. Him having a special helper around school and a motivational partner at home. All the times I’d made fun of those kids…Apparently, we’d been home for quite a while and I was still sitting in the car and Joey knocked on my window because he was cold and the door was locked.
My son, the special.
“Oh my God, you’ve gotten so big…” he knelt down and put his head against my belly and closed his eyes.
“Billie, we’re in public. This isn’t the best time.” He stopped abruptly and stood up. We walked to the viper and drove to Tre’s house. He still didn’t know he’d awakened.
We got out of the car and I leaned against the car while he came over to me. “What if he goes insane?” I asked.
“It’s going to be fine, I’m here.” He smiled and kissed me quickly. All of a sudden I heard the door bust open.
“Dude, step off!” Tre yelled as he barreled closer.
Billie snapped his head around and said, “Excuse me?”
“She wants me, Bill. She told me so.”
“What she told you was…if I were to pass, then she’d be with you. I’m very much alive.”
He steamed. “Whatever.” He stormed back into the house and slammed the door and we left in silence.
“Addie…” Billie started. I looked at him and he continued. “You really need to talk to Tre and set everything right. Tell him so he won’t get so personal all the time.” And I did. I called Tre up when I got home and told him to meet me at the famous coffee shop.
“What do you want Addie?” he asked as he sat down.
“I want you to know something. I want you to know that I love you and I always will. But I also need you to know that you’ll only be a backup to me. Billie is the one I’ve chosen and I am so, so happy with him. You can’t wait your whole life for me, because I know I won’t come through. I can’t love someone as much as I love Billie, and you need to understand that.”
He stared at me, then looked down. “What if I don’t want to be just your backup?”
“Tre, please. Let me go. I love you, I really do, but you have to find someone else. You know how many times I’ve hurt you because I’ve gone back to Billie, and that’s just going to keep happening. Please, for me. Can you move on?”
He reached across the table to touch my hand. “Can I have one last kiss from you?”
“…No. It’s just going to lead to more heart break and you know it. Let’s just be friends and if you can’t handle that, then…I’ll just leave you alone.”
“No, no. I’ll settle for friends. It’d be hell on earth if I could never speak to you again.”
I smiled weakly and got up and left. Thoughts went racing through my head as I thought of what just happened. I can put the Tre file in the drawer, it finally had closure. Now what was my life to be?
Joey soon made my life a whole lot complicated.
****
The phone rang and I answered it on the 4th ring. I didn’t want to sound desperate even though I was in the house alone.
“Hello,” I said like I’d just woken up so it sounded like ‘ella’.
“Hello this is Marilyn Parker, the principal at Jersey Village Elementary. I’m here with your son, apparently, he’s had a little trouble in the classroom. Would you mind dropping by and having a talk with me?”
“No problem. I’ll head right over.”
I drove faster than a cop to get there, I didn’t even realize because I was so mad. I wished I had a cell phone right now…
It wasn’t until I got into the school that I realized that I was wearing a black and teal tank top with ripped jeans and Converse. I looked like his older sister in 11th grade rather than his mom.
“Hi, I’m Mrs. Armstrong.” It still gave me chills every time I said that. I looked at Joey and he flinched away, I guess I’d developed an ‘eye.’ “What’s he done,” I kept my eyes on him for a while then I strayed them away to Mrs…Porker? She was a porker. God, Addie that’s so mean.
“He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention in class and when he is, he’s telling his teacher that she’s wrong. His parents told him otherwise.”
I closed one eye slightly like a ‘wtf’ and said, “Like what…?”
“I haven’t been told the specifics, but I hear he’s the ‘riot’ in the classroom. He keeps telling his teacher that he doesn’t have to do homework because he said he’s a miracle child.”
I turned to him and whispered, “You told me you didn’t have any homework.”
He shrugged. Oh-ho-ho we are going to have a TALK when we get home…
“Would you like me to call your husband so the both of you can take part in this?”
“No…I can handle that on my own, thank you…”
In the car, we sat in silence for about, oh 4 seconds. “Joseph Marciano Armstrong, what do you think you were trying to prove?”
“I don’t like my teacher,” he said simply.
“I don’t give a flying frog if you don’t like her, I dealt with so many douche teachers and I never told them they were wrong.” I felt like hiding some of the truth. Just to make me a hypocrite. “Just tell me what happened.”
“Well, Momma, I never told her she was wrong. I just presented my opinion. Like when she said that 2 + 2 = 4, I told her that it was 22. And I truly believed I was right but all the kids laughed at me and the next thing I know I’m in the principal’s office and I have no flippin’ clue what I done wrong.”
“Joey, when we get home, we’re going to practice some adding, okay? We’re gonna see if everything’s ticking.”
It crossed my mind so many times that day that he might be slow. I pictured my life seeing him off to the bus in his high school years and the other normal kids laughed as he ran to the short bus. Him having a special helper around school and a motivational partner at home. All the times I’d made fun of those kids…Apparently, we’d been home for quite a while and I was still sitting in the car and Joey knocked on my window because he was cold and the door was locked.
My son, the special.