Later that week a couple of Angela’s friends stopped by Justin’s house to help gather some of the things she had left there. They informed Justin that she would have done it herself, but she hated him too much to look at his sorry face. That made Justin feel wonderful, obviously. He had always been raised to not kick someone while they’re down, but apparently Angela didn’t feel like following that rule at that point in time. It pained him to watch her things disappear from his house. It was weird to see his house look so plain after all of her little touches were gone. He’d have to look into fixing it. Maybe he’d call his mom later to help with that.
That reminded Justin that he still hadn’t heard from his mother. He thought it was odd, but didn’t worry. He picked up the telephone in the kitchen as he wandered around aimlessly. Was he hungry? What about thirsty? Did he even have food in his place? Probably not. He’d have to ask his mom to bring something over when she offered to keep him company in this hard time. Justin dialed the all too familiar number and waited until Paul answered. He greeted his step-father with a hello and the basic “I’m good, how are you? Can I talk to my mom?” Of course, Paul handed the phone over to Lynn.
“Hey, Baby,” Lynn exclaimed, her southern accent still strong.
“Hi, Mom,” Justin said, his twang coming out a little more than usual.
“Oh, honey, you don’t sound good at all, what’s the matter?”
“I got some bad news a few days ago.”
Lynn sat down at the kitchen table where Paul brought her a glass of diet coke on ice with a lime, her favorite. She smiled and mouthed thank you. “What happened, baby?”
Justin didn’t feel he could tell his own mother his predicament over the telephone. Unlike facing Angela, he knew his mother would support him and love him unconditionally. He figured she would be shocked at first but then offer to do whatever she could for him. He wasn’t worried she would shout at him for being so careless or be so upset with him she wouldn’t want to stay. He knew his mother and because they had been through so much together, there was nothing he couldn’t face when he had her faith in him.
Justin asked his mother to come over to his house so he could talk to her about it face-to-face. She completely understood but couldn’t help but feel nervous for her baby. She asked if he had eaten anything in the past few hours. When he answered no, he hadn’t, like she had suspected, she offered to bring along the extra homemade lasagna she had made yesterday as well as some of his grandmother’s peach cobbler and some leftovers she had in the refrigerator. She told him she would be there in ten minutes.
Justin heard his mother’s voice down at the gate arguing with the gateman. He used the intercom to tell the man to let his mother in. Lynn said something insulting to the man who apologized profusely and explained that it was his first day and that one can never be too careful. Lynn begged to differ, telling him that he was too careful in this case because she was Justin’s mother and everyone knew who she was. Justin rolled his eyes and shook his head. Typical.
Justin helped his mother, whose arms were full with food. He laughed at her antics. Again, very typical. Lynn, once inside, made her way around the kitchen like it was her own. It didn’t surprise him, since Lynn was the one who helped design the house with the architect and the fact that she was usually the one who re-stocked the pantry and fridge the day before Justin got home from various places, whether it was tours or just recording sessions out of state. She told Justin that she was just going to warm up the leftovers and then he would be able to eat.
When Lynn brought Justin a plate of warm, home cooked food, she sat at the table as well. “What’s going on, honey?”
Justin chewed and swallowed his food before answering his mother. After all, he was raised to be a gentleman. Just because he talked with his mouth full in front of his best friends didn’t mean that he could do that in front of his own mother. “Well, Angie left me.”
Lynn frowned and tilted her head to the side, “Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” she rested her hand on top of his. “Why did she leave you?”
“Because I cheated on her.”
Lynn nodded, “That would give her a reason….” Justin didn’t smile. “Oh honey, I know it hurts, but what you did was wrong.”
“I know,” he nodded. “The woman I cheated on her with is pregnant, Mom.”
Lynn’s eyes widened as she removed her hand from Justin’s. “Justin Randall!” Lynn stood up and walked back into the kitchen where she started opening cupboards. Justin watched as his mom pulled out the a couple eggs from the fridge, the vanilla, measuring cups, butter, sugar (both white and brown), flour and chocolate chips. She went through the motions of making chocolate chip cookies. She was upset.
“Mom, listen, I never meant for it to happen,” he told her, clearing his plate and putting it in the sink.
“Well, I would hope not,” Lynn snapped, throwing an eggshell into the sink.
“I know you’re mad at me, Mom, but I’m sorry.”
Lynn sighed and stopped the Kitchenaid mixer. “Honey, I’m not mad at you. I’m shocked, hurt, and disappointed. J, I feel like I’ve let you down, like I’ve failed you. I feel like I was a bad mother.”
“You’re not a bad mom, Mom,” he said, seeing his mother on the verge of tears. “You’re the best mom I could have ever asked for.”
“Did I not teach you how to be a good person? If I were a good mother, I would have taught you simple morals. You would know more about love and family.”
“You did teach me, Mom,” he said, “I just made a mistake. This isn’t your fault.”
“Do you know this woman well, then?”
Justin sighed and sat on the counter, “Sort of. Her name is Blair. She’s twenty-four.”
“Am I ever going to meet the mother of my future grandchild?” Lynn asked, going back to making cookies.
“Probably,” Justin shrugged.
“What’s with the attitude, J?” Lynn asked, getting two spoons out of the silverware drawer. “Do you not like her?”
“No, it’s not that, I just… I don’t really want to get to know her. I don’t want to have a kid.”
“Get used to it, Buddy,” Lynn said, beginning to place cookie dough on the baking sheet. “You will get to know her, you will like her, and you will be there for her. You will help her with whatever she needs and you will be a good person. Change your attitude because you can’t change the situation. You’re stuck.”
“Mom,” Justin said, “I know.” He ran his hand over his head and shut his eyes. “But how do I know that this is for real? How do I know that she doesn’t sleep around? How do I know if I can trust what she says?”
Lynn looked at her distraught son. “You’ll have to ask her. Build an honest relationship. Just talk to her, Baby. That’s all you can do.” She approached her son and put her hands on both side of his face. She kissed his forehead. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, Sugar.”
