Getting By

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Jerrod had been thinking about his father's observations on Winona for several weeks now. This was the straw that broke that camel's back probably. Oh, well. He needed to take time to focus on family and getting through the next few days right now. He could think about his relationship with Winona after the services.

Thirty minutes after she hung up on Jerrod Winona stomped into the dining room at the country club. Of course that made her angrier. She knew she hadn't made the entrance she wanted—the regal entrance that let most of the people there know she was above them. She was so angry she was just totally unable to affect the attitude and composure she normally exhibited making an entrance. Instead she 'stomped' and knew she was doing it. Finally she found the table her parents were at, the table she and Jerrod were supposed to share with them and sat at her place. She looked down at the now cold meal and glared. Her mother looked up at her with worry on her face and said, "I'm sorry about the cold food Honey. I was so sure you would be on time I told the waiter to leave it for you when he served us. Where's Jerrod dear? Why were you kids so late?"

"Jerrod's not coming mother. He would rather go home to see his mother than be here with me."

"OH, you poor dear. What excuse did he use this time?"

Winona explained about Jerrod's father's death. Peter, her father looked shocked when she launched into a long complaint about Jerrod's insensitivity to her and her needs. He said, "Now Honey calm down. He couldn't help this and you know it. His father died for God's sake. Why are you here? Why aren't you going home with him Winona?"

Winona looked at her father in shock. She took a deep breath and said, "Yes he could help this Daddy. There's nothing he can do at home tonight. Hell he won't even get there until almost midnight. He could have brought me here to the dance tonight like he promised and then gone home tomorrow. We had this planned for weeks and you know it. As for being there with him for one he didn't even call me to tell me he was going home instead of coming here with me like he was supposed to do. When I called him to find out where he was he said he had been so worried about his mother he had even forgotten our date tonight. Besides, going to that hick town he calls home is absolutely the last thing I have any intention of doing. I wouldn't have gone even if he had remembered to call me and ask."

Her father stared at Winona in shock. He wondered how his sweet loving daughter had managed to grow up into such an uncaring selfish bitch. He began to tell her she was overacting when his wife placed her hand on Winona's forearm and said, "We understand Honey. I've always thought he was a thoughtless man. There was no reason for him to not bring you out here tonight. Now, let's call the waiter and see if they can get you a warm plate. The night's still young. Maybe one of your old friends will be here and you can at least enjoy part of the evening."

Peter sat the rest of the evening and pondered about his family. He had a few too many drinks as he watched first his daughter then later his wife dance with all the shallow womanizers and posers that frequented these galas. In his opinion Winona was allowing way too much familiarity from one of the young men she danced with. He would have been slightly upset had he seen Jerrod doing some of the things to Winona that he saw other men do that evening and he had been expecting Jerrod to be his son in law.

As the evening progressed Peter became even more upset at his wife's attitude. After her second or third dance Peter had once more tried to reason with Winona about her attitude toward what Jerrod had done this night. All he had done was make her angrier. His attempts to make Winona understand Jerrod's actions had angered his wife. They sat and watched Winona dance twice more. She was laughing and flirting as if she had no troubles in the world. Men were almost fighting for a chance to get her out on the dance floor. Peter was glaring at his only daughter when Cynthia leaned across the table and hissed at him, "Are you just going to sit there all night drinking or are we going to dance Peter?"

Peter looked at the anger in Cynthia's eyes and pressed his lips together. He was beginning to see where Winona had gotten her attitude from. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed this in his wife before. When they had married they had been from working class families. He had gone to college then graduate school and worked his way up in the banking industry. Now that he thought about it Cynthia had always demanded more social mixing than he wanted or than was required by his position in the bank. He routinely acquiesced to her demands to attend banquets and social events in order to keep harmony in the household. He now realized at some time Cynthia had forgotten her roots and it saddened him. Worse to him was what she had turned their daughter into—a selfish self centered little society bitch.

Peter grimaced more than smiled and held his hand out to his wife. She primly took it and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. Cynthia smiled and nodded to a few people as they walked past them on the way to the dance floor. Cynthia was stiff, still angry through the first dance. Midway through the second one she began to relax. Peter saw her staring across his shoulder and turned to see what she was staring at. Winona was plastered against one of her old boyfriends, her head on his chest while one of his hands rubbed the cheek of her ass and the other was resting on the outside of her breast.

Peter muttered, "That girl."

"What?" Cynthia saw where he was looking and smiled up at Peter then continued, "Oh, yes." She giggled and continued, "It didn't take her long to find someone more suited did it? I'm glad. He's so much better for her than Jerrod was."

"Cynthia how can you say that? Jerrod treated Winona like royalty and if I remember correctly that young man treated her like crap. Jerrod is an Engineer for Christ's sake and that boy barely made it through college. He only has a BS in General Studies. How much more useless a degree can you get? You need to talk some sense into that girl if it isn't too late already. If you don't I will."

"You'll do no such thing Peter. I know what's best for Winona and it sure isn't Mr. High and Mighty Jerrod. He's always running off for one reason or another and leaving Winona hanging. Tonight is just another instance of his high handed attitude. I'm going to do everything I can to see she keeps her backbone this time. That young man comes from a good family, a moneyed family and Jerrod's father is a damn carpenter for God's sake! Winona can do much better than a blue collar worker's son even if he is an engineer."

"Bullshit. Have you forgotten what OUR parents did for a living? Like I said, if you don't talk to her I will. I've had it with that girl."

Cynthia pulled away from Peter and said, "You'll do no such thing Peter. If you so much as say one more word in support of Jerrod you will be very sorry. And no, I haven't forgotten what our parents had to do to survive. We're above that now though and I won't see Winona lower herself to those levels if I can help it." She glared at Peter then stomped off toward the restrooms leaving him standing on the dance floor. After she had gone down the hallway out of sight Peter walked angrily back to his chair. He had finished two more drinks before Cynthia came back into sight. She looked around the room until she saw Winona and smiled. Winona was sitting at a table with her old boyfriend. Cynthia walked over to her daughter. She took a seat at the table with them and talked a few minutes. Cynthia gave Winona a gentle kiss on the cheek, stood and started toward the table she and Peter were using. Partway across the floor she was stopped by one of the other members and whisked onto the dance floor. For the next 30 minutes Cynthia danced with first one man and then another never returning to her husband's table. Peter continued to drink and glare at his wife and daughter.

Finally Cynthia returned to their table. She scowled at Peter and said, "You're drunk! Honestly, I don't know why I married you sometimes. How could you? You embarrass your daughter taking sides against her in favor of Jerrod and then you embarrass me by getting drunk here in public."

Peter looked up at Cynthia through bleary eyes. "Well Fuck You. You're just like her aren't you? Or should I say she's just like you? I can't believe I've been married to you almost 25 years and I'm just now realizing how heartless and self centered you are. Cynthia you've turned into a snob! I liked you much better when you were just plain Cindy!"

Peter stood and swayed back and forth. He looked at Cynthia and said, "I'm going home. If you're going with me come on." Cynthia stood and watched him stagger across the floor. She was shocked. She wondered what in the world had happened this evening. Jerrod wasn't even in the room and he had caused trouble. She really hated that man. Now he had even caused problems between her and Peter. It would take her weeks to get him back under her thumb again if she wasn't careful.

Cynthia scurried off after Peter seething inside. She caught up with him at the Valet Parking area. When he saw her approaching the Valet heaved a sigh of relief. He had decided Peter was too drunk to drive and was going to refuse to let him have his keys. He smiled at Cynthia and handed the car keys to her. "Looks like you had better drive Ma'am. Here are your keys."

Cynthia stomped toward the driver's door as the attendant helped Peter into the passenger seat. After the doors were closed she hissed, "You've done it again. How could you embarrass me in front of the help? This has been an evening from hell."

The day of his Father's service Jerrod got a text message from Winona. "Mother and I have taken all my belongings from your condo. Key is on the table. It's over. I can't put up with your uncaring attitude and insensitivity any longer."

He was sitting in his favorite chair at his parent's home when he read the message. There were still family and friends around visiting after the services. His mother saw him staring at his phone and walked up to him. "It's ok Honey. Call her. I'm sure she didn't mean to upset you the other night."

Jerrod looked up at Kelly and wordlessly handed her the phone. His mother gasped and dropped the phone. She wrapped her arms around Jerrod and hugged him to her breasts. "Oh, I'm so sorry Honey. This is awful."

Jerrod hugged his mother back and said, "No problem Mom. I'm not really surprised. I thought I would probably have to break up with her when I got home. This just saves me the trouble. We'd been having trouble for several weeks. Like Dad said when he met her she's really high maintenance and self centered. The only things in the world that are important to her are things she wants. No one else is important to her at all. I'm not sure she even believes most other humans are real people. I just can't socialize and party like she wants and heaven knows I don't have the social standing she thinks she deserves. It's probably for the best but it's just another kick in the ass in a hell of a week."

Over the next week Jerrod helped his mother begin the process of closing out his father's business. On Friday he wandered through his father's shop and sat in one of the chairs in the corner of the building his father used for a lounge. He had called it his man cave. His father used to rest in that corner while he took a break from his work. If his friends or a customer came in he sat there to visit unless he needed to do computer or paperwork then he used the office. During winter the old living room chairs surrounded a wood stove. In the summer they were turned and people sat looking out the sliding doors into the back yard of Jerrod's old home. Of course the woodshop was farther back in a different room for cleanliness. There was even a separate room for finishing the woodwork.

Jerrod looked around the business with nostalgia. He had learned a lot here helping his father. He had many happy times here. His father was primarily a cabinet maker and his cabinet shop was filled with the latest equipment. At one time he had employed 20 people in the cabinet shop. As he aged he cut back and went into semi retirement, working only enough to supplement his income.

His father had started out working as a welder. He had occasionally done some welding for his friends and neighbors up until his death. He only did welding and metal work for a friend when they had an emergency but that is what had killed him. Jerrod had learned both trades from his father and at one time thought that he wanted to operate the cabinet shop or work as a self employed welder and machinist. His love of machines had turned him away from those first loves though.

Jerrod decided to finish his father's last project in the cabinet shop before he returned to work. He called his boss to make arrangements for a few more days off. The asshole said, "No. You've already been down there longer than we can afford. Five days is more than we can really afford to spare you right now. We need you back here bright and early tomorrow morning. I have had to schedule mandatory Saturday overtime tomorrow to do the work you have missed. I expect several hours of overtime from you until you've caught up again."

"Look, I have to stay a while longer. If I don't finish this job my mother will have to hire it done and may have to pay several hundred dollars in late penalties. I think I can finish it in a week or ten days."

"Tomorrow Jerrod," Patricia said then hung up the phone without saying more. Jerrod stood staring at his cell. His anger was boiling once more. He looked around and threw the phone on the desk in the small office. Jerrod booted up his notebook computer and opened MS Word. He spent the next hour writing and fine tuning a scathing resignation letter. After he was happy with the letter he connected to the business Wireless Router and went online. He prepared a transmittal message and attached the letter to it as a file. The letter went to the president of the company, the personnel office, and Patricia, his Manager. In the letter he not only resigned but he explained why he had done so. Jerrod named names. He named times and submitted documentation showing how many times his ideas had been stolen by his ex girlfriend Patricia, now his Manager.

Jerrod had sent the e-mail at 1830. He did not expect any action on it at least until the next morning. At 1840 his cell phone rang. It was the President of the company. After the pleasantries were out of the way they discussed the resignation and the information Jerrod had sent about his two bosses. "Jerrod I'll look into your complaints and see what I can do. I really don't want to lose your talent. Are you sure there's no way I can talk you into staying?"

"No Sir. I'm sorry but this was the last straw. I'm not the only one they treat like this. A lot of your mid managers treat employees like those two do. I was probably going to resign before long anyway but after the way I was treated when I tried to get a little more time off to help my mother there is no way I can keep working there. I'm sorry. I'll be in to complete the paperwork in a couple of weeks at the latest. I think I may stay here and help Mom for a while before I find other work in the industry."

Jerrod's mother was upset when she found out he had resigned because of her. "Well Mom it's too late to change now but it was coming anyway. I'll get you caught up and then I'll find something else."

Instead of finishing the cabinets first Jerrod decided to return to St. Louis and finish his resignation paperwork. The evening after he finished his termination paperwork he was once again collapsed in his favorite chair having a drink. He looked around the room at the mess Winona had left. He became angry once more. "Fuck it," he snarled.

Jerrod went down to the business office of the Condo association. Misty, the office girl looked up and smiled. She said, "Good afternoon Jerrod. What can I do for you today?"

"I want to sell out Misty. I'm moving back home to help Mom. Dad died a couple weeks ago and I'm fed up with the city so I'm moving back home. I want to sell the condo. Do you have an agency you recommend?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Jerrod. We'll sure miss you." She rummaged in her desk drawer then smiled. She pulled a folder out and took some papers from it. She handed them to Jerrod. "Here is some paperwork on three agencies that work with us. Any of them is fine or you can find one on your own."

"Which one would you recommend?"

Misty looked up at Jerrod and said, "Oh, I'm not allowed to recommend anyone. I'm sorry." She reached out and took the papers back from Jerrod. She shuffled them around then smiled and handed them back to him. A different one was on top of the stack now. "I'm sure you can find your top pick if you're careful." She winked then leaned back in her chair.

Jerrod smiled and said, "Thank you Misty. I appreciate it. And I'll miss you too. You've always been very nice to work with."

Misty sighed and watched as Jerrod strode briskly from her office. She thought 'damn why do all the good ones always move on?'

A few weeks later Jerrod finished cleaning his spray gun and replaced it in its proper spot. He stood back and looked at his latest creation with pride. Finally he walked up to the dolly the new book cases were on and carefully pushed them into his special drying room. After that was completed Jerrod walked tiredly out of the wood shop and toward his mother's home. It had been almost four months now since his father had passed away. Jerrod was settled into his new life very well. He still missed his engineering job occasionally but he did not miss the deadlines or obnoxious people he worked for at all. His mother had turned the business completely over to him. He still lived with her but was thinking about finding a place of his own.

Jerrod carefully locked the door to his shop and walked toward the house. There were more lights on than usual. When he got in the kitchen he heard a large number of female voices laughing and talking loudly in the den. Crap, he thought. He had forgotten his mother was having some of her bereavement support group over this evening for a meeting. There were a couple of new widows in the area that had been convinced to attend and the group was gathered around. Jerrod didn't have anything against the group. In fact, he rather thought it was a good idea. He was just upset he had forgotten. He had been looking forward to relaxing with some good booze and kicking back tonight. This was just another reason he wanted his own place. He wasn't too pleased to have to walk through the den to get to the bathroom he used. He was filthy with wood dust and smelled like the varnish he had been spraying. Even though he worked with his hands now he still had the office worker's dread of being seen in public as dirty as he was this evening.

The noise level dropped drastically when Jerrod walked into sight. His mother looked up and smiled when she saw him. "Girls," she said. "This is my son Jerrod. When his father died he quit his job in St. Louis and moved back home to take over the business. He has been almost as much help to me as you all have."

Kelly made Jerrod come fully into the room and introduced all the women to him. He remembered a couple of them from seeing them around before or seeing them in town. As quickly as he could he escaped and took his shower. A few minutes later he was sitting in his room drinking his Glenlivet when his mother came looking for him. She insisted he come back to the den for snacks since he hadn't eaten yet.

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