Status: Completed
Best Thing In Town
Second Hand News
There's something to be said for the one that got away. Everyone has one, no matter if you realize it or not. There's always that someone in your life that left a mark on your life and when you look back, you wonder what went wrong, how could things have been different, what can you do now to fix it?
Billie Joe sat at his kitchen table, the blur of Jakob running away from Joey in his peripheral vision as his main focus lay, well, focused on Mike. The bassist sat across from him with a beer bottle in his hand, swirling the liquid around as he stared at the table top. He'd been like that off and on over the past three months and didn't talk about why. Tre had figured that maybe it was just depression. Billie Joe agreed to some extent. It was obvious Mike was bummed on something. He just didn't know what.
"So, I went to the store today and got raped in the ass by a rodeo clown," Billie Joe said out of the blue.
Mike snapped his head up and looked at his friend. "What?"
"He speaks!" Billie Joe exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and smirking.
"No, wait. What did you say about getting ass-raped?" Mike began to smile.
"You mean ass-raping tickles your pickle? It's the only thing that, uh, raises you attention?" Laughing, the guitarist shook his head and tapped the edge of the table, while tilting his head to the side. "So...Christmas Eve. It's tonight. You bringing anyone over, aside from Estelle?"
Mike shook his head and hesitated his answer. "Nope." He pressed the bottle to his lips and took a swig. "Just Estelle. Tre coming over with Ramona and Frankito."
Billie Joe nodded. "Yep. He's bringing, uh, Claudia, too." He scratched the side of his face as he watched Mike look away and go back to swirling his beer around in its bottle. He frowned. "Uh, Mike, so I was wondering if I could ask you--"
Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of crying thwarted his attention. Jakob came waddling into the kitchen, tears streaming his face, sniffling sobs and holding his elbow. "Daaaaaad..." Billie Joe turned as his youngest son came up to him. He scooped his boy up and sat him on his knee.
"What's wrong, Jake?"
"J-Joey pushed my against the stairs when I was running away from him."
"Why'd he push you?"
"'Cause he's an asshole."
Mike, who had been taking another swig of his beer, heard that and spit out the liquid in a spray as he tried as all hell to keep from cackling like a hyena. Billie Joe's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. For a moment he found himself speechless.
"Uh...okay, first...don't you say that again. You know that's a bad word. Only grown-ups can say that. Second...Joey! Get in here!" Billie Joe growled.
Mike watched with a smirk as the oldest Armstrong boy crept sheepishly into the room and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I didn't do anything."
* * *
At that same moment, on the other side of the country, Audrey walked through the kitchen of her grandmother's house. She opened up the fridge and pulled out a tray of vegetables, cheese and crackers and tiny sausages and moved to place it on the kitchen table along with the other snack foods that had been prepared for the Christmas Eve get together with family later that night.
"You can't hide it forever, you know."
Audrey lifted her head as she moved to take the lid of the ambrosia salad, finding her grandma walking into the kitchen.
"Hide what?"
Her grandma reached a hand around and patted Audrey's stomach. The younger woman looked at the older woman with mild surprise before looking away.
"I'm not hiding anything, I'm just...evading."
"Same difference. How are you planning on taking care of it? You're salary and my social security can't support us all forever. Children cost a lot. Trust me, I know. I raised three on welfare with no help or alimony from grandpa."
"Yeah, but I thought he was a deadbeat."
"He was," Audrey's grandma agreed. She shrugged and scratched her head, brushing her hands through her short, dark brown hair that was frosted blonde to cover up the gray. It amazed Audrey how her grandmother looked nothing like a 68 year old. Maybe 58.
"So, who's coming tonight?" Audrey asked, changing the subject. "Ray and Lisa with the kids, The Golbas, Francis, Val and Joe, right?"
"Yeah, Val said her and Joe would stop by for a while."
"You gonna at least tell her? She's your best friend."
"Grandma," Audrey huffed.
"Well, Aud, if you don't call him, I will."
Staring at her grandma in shock, Audrey turned her back and began to set out paper cups on the counter with the bottles of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. "Can we not have this conversation right now?"
"Mommy..."
Audrey turned her head and looked down as her four-year-old daughter walked into the kitchen and clung to her leg. She had to smile down at that sweet face. "What is it, honey?"
"Can you come watch some cartoons with me?" the little blonde girl asked.
Audrey stopped what she was doing and bent her knees as she leaned forward to pick her daughter up in her arms. "Sure, Kat. I'll watch some cartoons with you for a little bit. Then mommy has to help Grandma Meem set up for tonight, okay?"
The little girl nodded her head as Audrey carried her daughter from the room. Before she did so, though, she looked at her grandma and smiled. "We'll talk later."
However, Grandma Meem's face remained a bit sour.
* * *
"Jingle BALLS, Jingle BALLS, Jingle all the waaaaaaaaaay," Tre sang as he shimmied around Billie Joe's living room with a glass of champagne in his hand. His daughter Ramona scooted past him with a Barbie doll as Mike's Estelle followed soon after with her own Barbie doll.
Adrienne sat on the couch, raising an eyebrow at Tre's rendition of the song, nudging Mike who sat beside her with a glass of something alcoholic in his hands. He smiled and shook his head. Everyone was truly in the holiday spirit. Billie Joe was sitting on the arm of the couch, leaning down to whisper something to someone who'd been invited to the party when Mike shuddered a little, grabbing the attention of a few people around him. He reached his hand down to his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone which he'd placed on vibrate.
He looked at the number that had come over the little screen and frowned because he wasn't even familiar with the area code. Excusing himself, he answered the phone as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen where the noise was muffled.
"Hello?"
"Is this Mike?"
"Uh, yeah. Who's this?"
"Gloria. I'm Audrey's grandmother. I got your number from her cell phone."
Mike stopped dead in his tracks. He straightened his posture, looked around and decided to move this call to outside. "Wait...did you say Audrey? Audrey Lehsten?"
"Yeah."
As Mike shut the back door to Billie Joe's house, he stepped out onto the back patio and looked out at the yard. "Um...uh, okay. What's up? Is she, uh...is she okay?"
"Well, that's up for debate," came the reply. "She won't call you on her own so I thought I'd do it for her because I don't want her to go this alone, and honestly, you should know anyway."
Furrowing his brow, Mike became increasingly concerned. "What should I know?"
"She's three months pregnant."
Eyes going wide, jaw dropping, his drink slipped from his hand and crashed to the patio floor, shattering glass and champagne everywhere.
Billie Joe sat at his kitchen table, the blur of Jakob running away from Joey in his peripheral vision as his main focus lay, well, focused on Mike. The bassist sat across from him with a beer bottle in his hand, swirling the liquid around as he stared at the table top. He'd been like that off and on over the past three months and didn't talk about why. Tre had figured that maybe it was just depression. Billie Joe agreed to some extent. It was obvious Mike was bummed on something. He just didn't know what.
"So, I went to the store today and got raped in the ass by a rodeo clown," Billie Joe said out of the blue.
Mike snapped his head up and looked at his friend. "What?"
"He speaks!" Billie Joe exclaimed, leaning back in his chair and smirking.
"No, wait. What did you say about getting ass-raped?" Mike began to smile.
"You mean ass-raping tickles your pickle? It's the only thing that, uh, raises you attention?" Laughing, the guitarist shook his head and tapped the edge of the table, while tilting his head to the side. "So...Christmas Eve. It's tonight. You bringing anyone over, aside from Estelle?"
Mike shook his head and hesitated his answer. "Nope." He pressed the bottle to his lips and took a swig. "Just Estelle. Tre coming over with Ramona and Frankito."
Billie Joe nodded. "Yep. He's bringing, uh, Claudia, too." He scratched the side of his face as he watched Mike look away and go back to swirling his beer around in its bottle. He frowned. "Uh, Mike, so I was wondering if I could ask you--"
Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of crying thwarted his attention. Jakob came waddling into the kitchen, tears streaming his face, sniffling sobs and holding his elbow. "Daaaaaad..." Billie Joe turned as his youngest son came up to him. He scooped his boy up and sat him on his knee.
"What's wrong, Jake?"
"J-Joey pushed my against the stairs when I was running away from him."
"Why'd he push you?"
"'Cause he's an asshole."
Mike, who had been taking another swig of his beer, heard that and spit out the liquid in a spray as he tried as all hell to keep from cackling like a hyena. Billie Joe's eyes widened and his mouth dropped. For a moment he found himself speechless.
"Uh...okay, first...don't you say that again. You know that's a bad word. Only grown-ups can say that. Second...Joey! Get in here!" Billie Joe growled.
Mike watched with a smirk as the oldest Armstrong boy crept sheepishly into the room and the first thing out of his mouth was, "I didn't do anything."
* * *
At that same moment, on the other side of the country, Audrey walked through the kitchen of her grandmother's house. She opened up the fridge and pulled out a tray of vegetables, cheese and crackers and tiny sausages and moved to place it on the kitchen table along with the other snack foods that had been prepared for the Christmas Eve get together with family later that night.
"You can't hide it forever, you know."
Audrey lifted her head as she moved to take the lid of the ambrosia salad, finding her grandma walking into the kitchen.
"Hide what?"
Her grandma reached a hand around and patted Audrey's stomach. The younger woman looked at the older woman with mild surprise before looking away.
"I'm not hiding anything, I'm just...evading."
"Same difference. How are you planning on taking care of it? You're salary and my social security can't support us all forever. Children cost a lot. Trust me, I know. I raised three on welfare with no help or alimony from grandpa."
"Yeah, but I thought he was a deadbeat."
"He was," Audrey's grandma agreed. She shrugged and scratched her head, brushing her hands through her short, dark brown hair that was frosted blonde to cover up the gray. It amazed Audrey how her grandmother looked nothing like a 68 year old. Maybe 58.
"So, who's coming tonight?" Audrey asked, changing the subject. "Ray and Lisa with the kids, The Golbas, Francis, Val and Joe, right?"
"Yeah, Val said her and Joe would stop by for a while."
"You gonna at least tell her? She's your best friend."
"Grandma," Audrey huffed.
"Well, Aud, if you don't call him, I will."
Staring at her grandma in shock, Audrey turned her back and began to set out paper cups on the counter with the bottles of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. "Can we not have this conversation right now?"
"Mommy..."
Audrey turned her head and looked down as her four-year-old daughter walked into the kitchen and clung to her leg. She had to smile down at that sweet face. "What is it, honey?"
"Can you come watch some cartoons with me?" the little blonde girl asked.
Audrey stopped what she was doing and bent her knees as she leaned forward to pick her daughter up in her arms. "Sure, Kat. I'll watch some cartoons with you for a little bit. Then mommy has to help Grandma Meem set up for tonight, okay?"
The little girl nodded her head as Audrey carried her daughter from the room. Before she did so, though, she looked at her grandma and smiled. "We'll talk later."
However, Grandma Meem's face remained a bit sour.
* * *
"Jingle BALLS, Jingle BALLS, Jingle all the waaaaaaaaaay," Tre sang as he shimmied around Billie Joe's living room with a glass of champagne in his hand. His daughter Ramona scooted past him with a Barbie doll as Mike's Estelle followed soon after with her own Barbie doll.
Adrienne sat on the couch, raising an eyebrow at Tre's rendition of the song, nudging Mike who sat beside her with a glass of something alcoholic in his hands. He smiled and shook his head. Everyone was truly in the holiday spirit. Billie Joe was sitting on the arm of the couch, leaning down to whisper something to someone who'd been invited to the party when Mike shuddered a little, grabbing the attention of a few people around him. He reached his hand down to his pocket. He pulled out his cell phone which he'd placed on vibrate.
He looked at the number that had come over the little screen and frowned because he wasn't even familiar with the area code. Excusing himself, he answered the phone as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen where the noise was muffled.
"Hello?"
"Is this Mike?"
"Uh, yeah. Who's this?"
"Gloria. I'm Audrey's grandmother. I got your number from her cell phone."
Mike stopped dead in his tracks. He straightened his posture, looked around and decided to move this call to outside. "Wait...did you say Audrey? Audrey Lehsten?"
"Yeah."
As Mike shut the back door to Billie Joe's house, he stepped out onto the back patio and looked out at the yard. "Um...uh, okay. What's up? Is she, uh...is she okay?"
"Well, that's up for debate," came the reply. "She won't call you on her own so I thought I'd do it for her because I don't want her to go this alone, and honestly, you should know anyway."
Furrowing his brow, Mike became increasingly concerned. "What should I know?"
"She's three months pregnant."
Eyes going wide, jaw dropping, his drink slipped from his hand and crashed to the patio floor, shattering glass and champagne everywhere.