Amped Up: Why Is My Name Jason?

When I woke up the following morning, I found that my mother’s ghost was in my room. I could only wonder why. There was really no need for her to be in here. Yeah, I wanted to talk with her, but there were other things that I had to do. It was Friday and I had school. Plus, if I knew my siblings, I was probably going to have to go to the stupid football game because Garrett played football and Madison was a cheerleader. “Mom, what is it?” I asked her sitting up and looking out in the hall to see if anyone was out there.

“Look, Jason, I know you don’t want to talk to your father, but you have to do it,” my mother said quietly. “There was a reason I appeared before you prior to when I initially intended on doing so. Just as Betsy said, I didn’t plan on appearing before you until your eighteenth birthday. Things changed. Your father and his refusal to play the one song I want him to caused me to come to you. Jason, you may be the one person who can convince him to play the song. If he doesn’t agree to play Lovebug by the end of this year, he is never going to see me. I know Kevin doesn’t want that; he wants to see me again. Of course, what he doesn’t seem to realize is that the key to seeing me is that song. The moment he begins playing that song will be the very same moment that I will appear before him. Unfortunately, he’s refused to play the song because he doesn’t want be reminded of the fact that I died. For the first few years of your life, your father was extremely emotional; he loved me far too much to even play the song. I had hoped that, as time passed, your father wouldn’t stay true to his word: that Lovebug would never be played again, but he did. Now, if I don’t hear your father playing my favorite song of theirs by the end of the year, any chance of him seeing me ever again will be gone forever.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I won’t be able to watch over you guys anymore if he doesn’t,” my mother said. “Betsy has already tried and failed to convince him to do so, but Kevin has been adamant about staying true to his word. When I found out that Lizz showed you my mandolin, I realized that I needed to see if you could force him to do this. Maybe if he realizes that you’re playing my favorite song, he’ll do what he swore never to do again. So, I’m going to need you to learn how to play Lovebug before the end of the year; it’s the only way to ensure that your father will do what I want. I can’t communicate with him and it bothers me that I can’t. You must help me with this, Jason. You’re the only one who can.”

“But, Mom,” I complained. “I don’t want to. Dad has ignored me far too much for me to do anything that might help him. If you’ve been watching over us, you should know that. So, please don’t force me to talk with Dad. I WON’T do it!” Though I knew how much Mom wanted to speak with Dad, she’d just have to wait until my father realized just how dense he was being and play the damn song. He obviously knew how much Mom liked the song so he should have been playing it; he was just being a stubborn ass.

Mom shook her head and disappeared. Not wanting to have to deal with this, I went downstairs and immediately spotted Uncle Nick and Uncle Joe sitting in the living room. What are they doing here? I wondered as I sat down. Normally, the only day they were here before school was on birthdays. Today was definitely different though; they were here. “Uncle Nick, Uncle Joe, what are you guys doing here?” I asked them curiously.

“Beth told us that Manda’s ghost came to see you yesterday,” Uncle Nick said. “We just wanted to let you know that you can always talk to us about it; we’ve known for years about the ability your mother’s side of the family has. In fact, we’re the only ones who do know.”

“Do you happen to know why she appeared?” I asked.

“Something to do with Kevin probably,” Uncle Joe said.

“What else would it be?” Uncle Nick reminded him. “Manda has been watching over Kevin from the moment she died, hoping that she would, once again, be able to speak with him.”

I nodded. “That’s exactly why.”

“She wants you to talk to your father and convince him to play Lovebug again, right?” Uncle Joe asked with a smile. “She probably does. Kevin hasn’t played Panda’s favorite song since the funeral because the song reminded him too much of her. Now, every time a fan requests that Lovebug be played, we have to refuse since Kevin won’t play it. He never plans on listening to that song again; I just don’t think that’s fair to the fans.”

“Well, duh!” Aunt Lizz called.

A few moments later, I saw that my father had walked into the room. He stared at his brothers and sister-in-law. “What in the world are you three talking about?” he asked them.

“Nothing,” they said.

“Yeah, right,” Dad scoffed. “Don’t you dare lie to me about all of this. The last time you three did that was when you were covering up Mandolin’s pregnancy. And we all know how that turned out.” He glared at me, almost as if he was talking about my mother’s death.

“That was not my fault!” I yelled at him angrily.

My father eyed me. “Oh really?”

“Of course it wasn’t Jason’s fault that his mother died!” Aunt Lizz yelled. “Kevin, what you don’t seem to realize it that my older sister knew exactly why she died. I only ever told Nick and Joe about it. See, Kevin, Amanda was visited by our father in a dream she had about mid-way through the pregnancy. She was told by our father that she wasn’t strong enough to give birth to all three kids and survive. Now, before you once again blame your son for all of this, I can tell you that it was not Jason’s fault…or even Amanda’s. Neither of them had any control over the egg splitting and giving you both Garrett and Jason.”

“Oh, whatever!” my father grumbled before leaving the room. “I still blame Jason for this happening. He knows he was the last one born and that his mother died on the very day he was born. How would he have been born unless Mandolin died after giving birth to him? Betsy, don’t try to change my mind because I can tell you right now that I won’t. It would take a miracle for me to stop blaming Jason for what happened to his mother.”

“Yeah,” Uncle Joe said as his elder brother walked away, “that miracle would be Kevin playing Lovebug. Everyone in the world knows that Kevin refuses to play that song and they know why. Panda’s death caused him to refuse to play that song and ultimately forced me and Nick to refuse the fans’ requests for it to be played. People know just how much Kevin hates that song. That’s why Lizard gave you the mandolin, JJ; once Kevin realizes that his son has learned the one song that he refuses to play, maybe he will play it himself.”

“Yeah, and it doesn’t help that Mom just informed me of the fact that, if I don’t convince my father to play Lovebug, she won’t ever be able to watch over us ever again. I have by the end of the year to convince me father to play the song or else Mom’s ghost won’t ever be around again,” I told my aunt and uncles, knowing that they would want to know.

My uncles looked at each other. “You need to learn how to play the song by then, right? Well, don’t worry, Jason,” Uncle Nick told me, “We’ll help you learn the song. Maybe then, your father will realize just how stubborn he’s being in regards to this song and playing it.”

“He better!” Aunt Lizz yelled. “Kevin needs to understand that he can’t blame Jason for everything that happened seventeen years ago. It’s not his fault; it’s just that Amanda wasn’t strong enough to give birth to all three of them. Everyone here knows about that…well, everyone except for Kevin, Garrett, and Madison. None of them have realized that and I really don’t think that they ever will. Garrett and Madison are too consumed in their own lives to care about you while your father only wishes to ignore you.”

I knew Aunt Lizz was right. My father only wished to ignore me. And my siblings; they definitely were too consumed in their own lives to care about me. Dad, somehow, you’ve got to put all of this aside and stop being so stubborn. Mom wants to see you; she can’t do that though unless you play her favorite song. You’ve got to play it for her.