Page 28 of Bad Star

“I think so too,” Jack agreed but he was only doing it to try and end the conversation.

“So how would you describe your relationship with your parents?” Rainn asked. She had already picked up her fork and was only being loyal to her hunger at that time.

“Distant”

“With both parents?”

“I don’t blame my mother for her mistakes,” Jack replied. Rainn could tell that he too had started eating from the way he was talking between mouthfuls. The food was delicious and she liked how the different flavors all exploded in her mouth.

“Who do you blame for her mistakes?” Rainn asked curiously. She never believed in the shifting of burden and thought that every human being should be able to take their own responsibilities when need arose.

“My father.”

“How so?”

“He drove her insane and she was never really stable to be the good parent that she ought to have been,” Jack explained. Rainn detected a hint of deep and intense emotion in his words.

“You sound like you hate him?”

What followed after shocked Rainn; for a moment, fear overwhelmed her and she held her breath.

Jack slammed down his fist on the table hard. All she could hear was the cutlery clutter around the table.

“I don’t hate him”, he said after his fist had landed on the glass coffee table “I loathe him and maybe dislike him slightly”.

Rainn remained still, her nostrils caught the metallic whiff of blood and she knew that Jack must have cut himself in his rage.

“You should disinfect that.” she advised.

“I don’t think this food is safe to eat now,” he sighed and got the two plates from the table. “Let me order some pizza right after I clean this”.

He walked to the kitchen then headed over to the bathroom to look for disinfectant and a bandage. Rainn was left by herself guessing and confirming the usual sounds of water running and the scent of disinfectant. She was slightly disappointed about the meal but was nevertheless happy about that revelation. She knew that it was a breakthrough for him and it was something she could work on with him to help his healing process.

“This talk just made me have a grand idea!” Jack exclaimed after walking into the living room and swiftly sitting next to Rainn.

“Let’s hear it.” Rainn answered. She felt a comfortable feeling sweep over her when he approached him and sat next to her.

“I would like you to meet my mother,” he announced.

Rainn could feel her blood freeze at the mention of this and hugged herself in a tight embrace.

“Are you sure about that?” Rainn asked shocked and nearly dumbfounded.

“I am.” Jack replied “I want her to meet the woman who makes me happy and smile.”

“This is a huge step you know?”

“Yes I know that and I want to take it with you, nobody else”, Jack replied.

Rainn loved how he placed an assuring hand over hers and she didn’t worry anymore.

“Ok” she said before melting into his embrace and letting him have his way with her. She felt all her doubts melt away and her fears dissolved. She wondered what Jack’s mother would be like; in her mind she painted a picture of an elderly woman who was as tall as Jack. Rainn pictured her stylish and fashionable with a pleasant personality.

“It will all be alright”, she said to herself a few times. The words soothed her and made her hopeful.