PROLOGUE
Finest Kind
This story and its subsequent follow-ons are a work of pure fiction. This is merely a story and should be treated as such.
I could in a way be forgiven for not noticing Jenna at a glance. She looked nothing alike the girl I used to know. Way back then when her and T would run around the back garden, if you could call it that… well, she was different now.
To steer at her you could be forgiven for thinking she was younger than she was. Despite her little 'comment' about being seventeen she was in fact older than Rachel by atleast a few years, closer in fact to my son sitting somwhere around her early twenties. Still she had the face of a teenager. She wore a slender figure, petite in both stature and demeanour.
**********
In our early days out here on the east coast, after moving from the beautiful countryside of northern Italy, Tommy and I were virtually alone. In our new home, the fifth of Tommy's young life we struggled at first. Not money wise, after selling the vinyard in Italy we had a pretty penny to sit back on. In truth, I probably never needed to work again. But with firvilous spending like the villa on the hill, I'd have to be back at work in a year or two.
I liked the villa, in a way it brought a little Italy with us here to the US. It helped with the ealry days and settling in. The struggle came in waves. From the fact I'd promised T this would be the last move to finally haivng t settle down my whirlwind life and make… well a life here.
We were both in the midst of new beginnings here. Not just a new country, but a new start, for both of us. It was a littlle easier to settle when T was little, moving schools and countries was a huge adventure for him. But now as he was getting older, all he thought now was of lose. Lose of friends, family, lifestyle. It had been cruel of me to do it to him so often. So as promised, this would be our last, lwtting us set up roots where we could. As an award winning vintner I knew that for a fruit to thrive and give its full potential it needed to lay a godd set of roots along with the proper nuture and care. The latter of which I had always given my little man, now it was time to make true on the first part.
At the young age of only thirteen, on the cusp of manhod, my T was large for his age. He stood almost my height already. Given I wasn't the tallest man alive. He had the beginnings of wisp lapping at his tp lip and he was starting to show a shadow on his chin.
Together we were an odd pair to say the least. I didn't actually think my son looked even remotely likeme save for a few of his ticks or that face I had when he was trying to hide something from me.
I in contrast was a man barely thirty with a shaggy mop of blonde hair tied back in a tight pony. I was in my prime phsyically, but to look T ddin't really resmeble me. It was i his mannerisims I saw myself.
The hardest thing for him growing up, although hes never said it to me, was forming lasting relationships. Growing up on the move constantly he never really had friends. That fact hit me hardest at his twelth birthday almost a year before to the day. I thought I'd do somehting special for him, setting up a little party. I had one of the abuela from town make him a birthday cake and invited all the local students from T's class along as a surprise. I was the ine in for a surprise when I saw the light in my little boy's eyes die as the hour grew later and later. By nine he was still sitting there alone at his birthday banquet with only me and the workers there. I never wanted to see that look again. I was determined to never see that again.
**********
A month or two had passed with T enrolled for school and me laying leasuirely in the hot Californian sun. It was a Wednesday I think, not really sure. I was laying in my pool house with a clear view out to the backyard and fruther to the mountains craddling the city of Los Angeles. City of angels they say, I'd often laugh about that to myself.
That afternoon T came home from school but I heard more than his little two footsteps. I readied my stern face thinking he may be trying to skip out on intrductions. "T." I called out, remaining in my pool chair.
"Ah… yeah dad, I… I have a friend I want you to meet."
Meet. Friend. I figured by the slight high pitch in his tone by the sex of this 'friend' already. "Friend. Who is she?"
"Dad how did you… oh nevermind her names…"
"Jenna." She said abrutply. She pushed passed my brickwall of a son and made her way to me with a determined look on her face.
1.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
She pushed my legs off the end of the chair and plonked herself down. She was brazen in her convesation. "So your T's dad? Where's his mom? Or are you two divorced? My mom and dad are divorced. He cheated on her with his eceptionist. Mom says shes a 'homewrecker'. What's that? Did you cheat on Tommy's mom or did she cheat on you? Are you a homewrecker Mister Hayes?"
"Whoa whoa nelly. Jesus Christ take a breath girl. Jeez you talk a lot don't you." I laughed for a moment before seeing her bubbly exterior shatter and tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Dad." Tommy rushed over.
"I'm sorry." I said sitting up in an instant to see if she was okay. "I didn't mean anything by it." I felt like a bully. Jenna was tiny, I mean I could pick her up wth one arm kinda small. I hoped off f my chair and helped her up. "Hey look I'm really sorry."
She sniffed back a smal sob. "It's just… I get told to shut up a lot. Tommy's the first person who hasn't told me to be quiet."
I couldn't help but smile a little. I had raised a gentleman. "Well, I apologize. You can talk all you want here. It's nice to see Tommy has a friend. He doesn't really.."
"Dad!" His voice louder still than before.
"Sorry son." I looked to her. "I'm sorry, I got so much information in a short period of time. What was your name again?"
"Jenna." She said with a bright smile on her face.