Page 103 of Love In The Spotlight

He ground his teeth. “You didn’t give to them, did you? I’ve got a patent on it.”

“No,” his mother said. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Good,” he said. “I can send you more. It’s fine.”

He’d only sent a few cases of it. Not a lot when you consider people might want to use it daily, but most times you wouldn’t need to if it was mild enough of an issue.

“Thank you,” his mother said.

That’s it. Nothing more.

He knew damn well if he didn’t say anything else his mother would just hang up on him.

“Does Dad know you’re calling?” he asked.

“I told him I was. He didn’t say not to,” his mother said.

He ground his teeth. “You can’t do anything on your own?”

“It’s not that,” his mother said.

“How much are you being bothered by what is going on?” he asked. He knew she wouldn’t say and he wanted to know. Why not torture himself over this and get it over with?

“We actually aren’t,” his mother said. “At first a lot of people had questions, but there were more comments over the fact that we raised you well to step up and be a great father and put your child first.”

His mouth opened and closed. “You needed other people to say that to you,” he said.

His mother sighed. “I don’t need the lecture, Jamie. I get enough of that from Deanna.”

“Deanna is defending me?” he asked. His sister should, but he’d never ask her to do that. His sister didn’t have a problem accepting help.

She didn’t take a lot but enough of the right things. His niece and nephew had college funds set up in their names already and he’d send them all good gifts for birthdays and holidays. He figured it was more than his parents accepted.

“She is,” his mother said. “We aren’t getting judged like your father feared.”

“Because it’s all about that, isn’t it?” he asked. “Dad always hated to have eyes on him and be judged for what I did. My actions aren’t your actions and you guys could have easily said that at any point. But instead you just hid behind having this hatred for me.”

“We don’t hate you,” his mother said. “I’m not sure why you would ever think that.”

“You don’t approve of anything I do. You don’t stand up for me. You judge me just like you fear other people are doing to you.”

His mother was silent on the other end. “I didn’t realize you felt that way.”

He knew if his eyes could pop out of his head and land on the grass at his feet it would happen. “Where have I ever said anything that made you think that I didn’t feel that way? I know I’ve said it that you guys have never been there for me. That you put the church before me.”

“Your father has an obligation to those he leads,” his mother said.

“What about the children he has?” he asked. “Doesn’t he have an obligation to them too?”

“He does,” his mother said. “I’ll talk to him about it.”

“Don’t do it if you don’t mean it,” he said. “It’s been over thirty years. I’ve lived like this for a long time, I can continue to.”

He hung up after that and went to get his daughter.

When he walked into Laken’s office, Penelope came running to him to show the pictures she’d colored. His girlfriend didn’t look frazzled in the least.

“You’re back early,” Laken said. She looked at her watch. “Or maybe on time, but it didn’t seem that long.”

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