Jailbreak

"Honey, I love you and only wanted to ensure that you did well in school so you could build good habits and get into a good college." Trying to keep some sense of normalcy, she pleaded with him, "Please stay with me."

"I am planning to stay with you...some. I think those papers spell out all of it. I'm seventeen and have a good head on my shoulders, so I know the court will let me stay where I want. Dad's renting a place in our school district to ensure that nothing for me will change with school. I plan to alternate weeks between you two. Dad's first week started this past Friday, so I'll come here next Friday afternoon and stay the next week with you. My summer job will start the following week. Okay?"

"So you two planned this all out? You didn't even consult me?"

He said, "Mom, you dad, and the lawyers can work out the details, but yeah. That's pretty much the way it's going to be. As far as consulting you, when is the last time you consulted either of us? You usually just dictate everything."

That put her back on her heels.

He continued, "I mean, really. You always ask me what I want for my birthday or Christmas, but if it wasn't something you wanted me to have, you would first try to talk me into what you wanted to give me. Or even worse, you would just give me what you wanted to, and then you would tell me that it was even better than what I asked for. So I don't even try anymore, knowing you are going to do that anyway.

"Dad did the same thing. After years of your ignoring him or simply telling him what to do, he stopped trying to provide input or to please you because it was pointless. You were going to end up telling him what to do or you would make his life miserable if he didn't. You know the only reason he didn't leave sooner was because of me and Sheila."

That was another direct hit.

She said, "He should have told me."

"Knowing you and dad, he probably tried throughout the years, and you kept overriding him until he gave up. Well, now he's gone. Congratulations, you can do whatever the Hell you want now. You don't have to ask anyone's opinion anymore. If you want something done, you can just hire someone."

She wasn't liking that tone. "I think that's enough, young man. I'm still your mother."

"I know that you are, and I love you. But the days of keeping any of us under your thumb are over. I'll always respect you and always love you, but from now on you need to respect me too."

She tried to turn on the charm. She walked up to him and hugged him - her big strong, son. He was six feet tall now and would probably grow another inch or more to be the same size as his father. "I love you, Matt. I'm sorry if I was too hard on you. I was only trying to do what I thought was best."

"I know, Mom, which is why I'm here now. Would you like for me to order some take out, and we'll have dinner together?"

That brought a smile to her face. "I'd like that."

Matt told her about the party, but not much about his girlfriend. Even though she had argued against his going, she was happy to hear he had a good time. They steered clear of any discussion regarding Jason.

By the end of the evening, she was feeling okay. It bothered her a little that she wasn't more depressed, but she had wondered for years when this day was coming. If nothing had changed, she likely would have had Jason served in a year or two after Matt went to college.

When Matt returned to his new home, he hugged his dad and told him how it went.

The next day Jason heard from his lawyer, who said that Mary and her lawyer were reviewing the documents and would be in touch soon. That was fine. There was no rush. He was no longer a prisoner, and Matt had a little more freedom. That was all that mattered to him.

__________________

Chapter 4 - Keeping his nose clean

It was a pretty good first week. Jason had no trouble taking care of himself and Matt. He and Matt discussed chores and who would do what on the weeks that Matt lived there. Matt was a good kid, so Jason didn't expect any problems.

Since Matt's summer job didn't start for another week, Jason took the afternoons off so they could do things together. They went for a run one day and fished another. They went to the pool on Thursday and Matt invited Grace so she could meet Jason. Jason thought she was a very pretty girl, with striking red hair, fair skin, and dazzling blue eyes.

Friday morning, Matt packed his bag to take to his mom's later that day. He had thought about taking Grace and ordering a pizza so she could meet his mom, but she said she couldn't. Matt and Jason were at Pine Township Park throwing the Aerobie across several of their empty baseball/softball fields when Grace joined them. They are easy to throw and can easily go over one hundred yards.

They were having fun together when Matt's phone rang, bringing a halt to the activity. It was Mary.

Matt said, "Hi, Mom. What's up?"

"Hey, Sweetie. I need to work late tonight, so can you come over tomorrow in time for lunch?"

"I can still come tonight, and just see you when you get home."

"Of course, you can. It's your home too. I just thought since I wouldn't be in until late that you could enjoy time with your father."

"Sure, Mom. No problem. See you tomorrow at lunch."

"Thank you, sweetie. You're the best. Bye."

By this time Jason and Grace had made it to Matt who said, "Mom has to work late tonight, so I guess we are a couple of bachelors again."

Grace said, "not too much of a bachelor, Matt," which made the men smile.

Jason asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Can you handle another big steak?"

Jason laughed, "I think I'm still steaked out after last weekend. That was almost two pounds of meat that I grilled."

Grace was stunned looking at him because he was very fit. She had a hard time imagining him eating a steak that large. She said, "I'm not sure where you put it, Mr. Pierce, but this talk of food has me thinking about desserts, which are my weakness. I promised to hang out with my mom tonight, so maybe I'll talk her into going out to get some ice cream or something."

Jason asked, "Is your dad working?"

Matt blanched at that. He hadn't told Jason about her dad.

Grace looked sad for a moment and replied, "No. He died the summer before my seventh grade. It was on Route 8, which you know is a dangerous road at night. A drunk driver crossed over into his lane, hit him head-on, and that was it. Matt and a few other friends helped me through it."

Jason didn't know what to say. "Grace, I'm so sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay. I still miss him, but I've learned to live with it."

Jason said, "If you would like some dessert, why not call your mom and see if the two of you could join me and Matt for dinner -- my treat. I'm sure Matt would prefer that it was just the two of you, but since you were going to be with your mom, why not come with us?"

"I'll do that. Let me call her."

Grace dialed her mother. "Hey, Mom. Matt and his dad have asked us to join them for dinner out. Their treat. Can we? Please! Okay. Hold on." Turning to the two men she asked, "Where are we going?"

Jason chuckled at this because he knew what he was really being asked was what should she wear.

Jason said, "I've not been to Eleven in over a decade. Ask her if that's okay?"

"Mom, please say 'yes.' They want to take us to Eleven. You know I've always wanted to go there.... Really! Okay. Thank you. One sec." She turned to Jason, "Mr. Pierce, what time should we be ready?"

"Why don't we pick you up at six. Tell her I'm not even planning to wear a tie or a jacket. I know a lot of people will be dressed up, but not me. Slacks and a dress shirt should be good enough."

"Six o'clock, Mom. So hurry home."

Grace and Matt were very excited about the evening. Jason was amused but looking forward to it. They played with the Aerobie for another thirty minutes before saying goodbye until that evening.

At 6:00 pm sharp, they arrived at Grace's house. The two men were very pleased when they knocked on the door and were welcomed in by two beautiful women wearing short-sleeved, knee-length dresses. Their hair was up and looked very nice.

"Mr. Pierce, this is my mom, Leanne Murray."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Leanne. You both look lovely." And they did. They were almost carbon copies of each other except Leanne's hair was more dark auburn than Grace's flaming red.

"Thank you. You both look very nice, too. Thank you for the invitation. We're looking forward to Eleven. I've always heard it was good but, I've never been there." Jason was picking up a little southern twang in her voice. He thought it was adorable.

"Well, let's get started. I wish it were on our side of town instead of downtown, but I believe it will be worth the drive."

It was. From Leanne's house, it was a thirty-minute drive to downtown. Their reservation was for 7:00 pm.

Matt rode upfront with Jason, while the ladies sat in the back. On the way, Leanne shared a bit about her background, as did Jason. She said, "Jason, I'm sorry to hear about you and your wife. Most people would be moping around, but you seem to be almost celebrating."

Jason replied, "I hope you won't think too terribly of me. This has been a long time coming. I was miserable for many years, but now it's finally over. This isn't so much me celebrating but feeling relief."

Matt said, "Dad called her the warden because there were times when our house felt like a prison, and we just wanted to escape."

To Jason, it wasn't only sometimes but all the time. Leanne thought that sounded terribly sad.

Matt continued, "I'm hoping that this will be a wake-up call for her to be a little more considerate of other people's feelings, especially her family. I think her heart is usually in the right place, but she can be a tad manipulative and badgering to get her way."

Jason harrumphed at that but didn't comment further. Grace quickly changed the subject to hers and Matt's summer jobs.

They enjoyed each other's company and had a sumptuous meal, including Grace's desired dessert. The meal was not cheap, but Jason knew that going in. Seeing the smiles on his guests' faces and being able to enjoy it with two attractive women made it worth every penny.

As they were making their way towards the exit, a familiar face was at the hostess stand waiting for a table. Mary was there with her much, much younger date. He was dressed in a sharp suit, but what was more interesting was her dress. It was a black, backless, sleeveless, cowl-neck halter-dress that stopped well short of her knees. Being backless, it was clear that she wasn't wearing a bra, and with the plunging cowl neck, everyone that looked at her could see that she intended for her boyfriend to have long looks down or inside her dress that evening.

What was worse was that she was glowing, with that freshly fucked look that some women have. Even if Grace and Matt didn't pick up on that look, Leanne and Jason sure did.

She didn't see them approach and was startled when Matt said, "Hello, Mother!"

She gasped, "Matt! Jason! What are you doing here?"

Jason, who hadn't planned to say anything to the warden and was close to the exit, stopped and said, "Mary, this is Matt's girlfriend Grace and her mother Leanne." The two ladies weren't certain what to say for that type of occasion, so they mumbled out a "pleased to meet you," though neither of them actually felt that way. They felt more like they had just stepped in something sticky and stinky and wanted to get away.

Matt was on fire, though. Seeing her in that dress, knowing she wouldn't wear something like that to work, and that it really wasn't that late, he quickly put two and two together to realize that his mother blew him off for the evening so she could go on a date with this 'man,' who looked much closer to his age than to Mary's.

The normally cool and collected Mary was flustered and fumbling to think of the proper introduction for her date to her son and soon-to-be ex-husband when Matt beat her to the punch.

Matt was furious, but rather than yell, he asked, with venom, "How is work, Mom? I see you're working late."

Mary paled at that comment because she had obviously been caught in a lie, and the look her son was giving her was not the one of a hurt little boy, but the one of an angry grown man. Then, her relationship with her son was forever changed when Matt asked, "If you're still working then I guess you're being paid by the evening now, or is it by the hour?"

SMACK !!!

Jason and Matt were stunned.

Everyone within ten feet of the hostess stand heard her slap her son, hard. There were several witnesses too, including the hostess, whose eyes were as big as saucers. She picked up the phone to dial 911, not knowing what was about to happen.

Mary had been outraged for him to call her a whore. Then she realized what she had just done, and her own eyes grew in recognition. Jason moved towards her to grab her arm after the fact and get in her face, but Matt seeing his enraged father approaching, blocked him from doing something stupid.

"No! Dad. I'm okay. Let's just go to the car. I believe Mom and I know where we stand." Matt spread his arms out wide to shepherd his companions out the door.

Tears were already forming in Mary's eyes when Matt turned and said, "Remember our talking about what you want versus what I want, and how you always get what you want. Well, you wanted your date tonight instead of your son. From now on, what I want is for you to never touch me again."

Mary was aghast at what he said and what had just happened. The normally cool and collected woman collapsed onto a nearby bench as her husband and son had now both cast her out of their lives.

At the car, Jason said, "hang on Matt. I hate to do this, but I need to take a picture of that handprint on your cheek."

Once finished, Grace pulled Matt into the back with her to comfort him. Upfront, Leanne said, "I'm sorry, Jason. I wish we hadn't agreed to come to Eleven, so that would have been avoided."

He replied, "No need to apologize, Leanne. No one in this vehicle is responsible for what happened tonight. Other than leaving the restaurant, I've had a great day and a fabulous meal and even better company. If Mary had not blown-off Matt, or if she hadn't lied, or if she had simply waited one more week to go on her date, then none of that would have happened. None of us did anything wrong. Please don't let this ruin your night. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves before that."

Grace said, "I did, Mr. Pierce. Thank you. I'm sorry about what happened, but it was a good night." She liked seeing Mr. Pierce with her mom, and she knew her mother was enjoying the evening also.

Trying to change the subject, Jason asked, "Grace are you going to visit any colleges this summer, or have you decided where you want to go after you graduate?"

"I'm going to UT in Knoxville. All of our family is from there. Mom has a good job here and we really like the school district which is why we stayed. After I graduate though, we're going home to Knoxville. I'm guessing you'll be taking Matt to Notre Dame and Georgia Tech to visit their architecture schools."

This caused all sorts of thoughts to run through Jason's head, but primarily how Grace's leaving would affect Matt. That would be a conversation they could have later.

"That's the plan. Mary is supposed to join us, but we'll have to see how that goes."

Matt said, "No! I don't want any input from her on my college choice. The only people I'm interested in listening to are in this car and Sheila. Nobody else, Dad."

Oh boy. This was shaping up to be an interesting summer.

When they dropped off the ladies, each man received a hug and kiss on the cheek for the evening. Matt received a quick one on the lips from Grace. Jason was thanked for his generosity.

Upon reaching their new home, Matt received a text from Mary. "Can you come over? I'm home and would like to apologize to you?"

Not really in the mood for an apology at the moment, he replied, "Is your date there with you?"

Ouch. "No. I'm all alone."

"Congratulations. You brought that on yourself. Good night." Then he turned off his phone.

Mary was in anguish over how the evening had turned out. After the best sex she'd had in nearly a decade, and the first sex she'd had in many, many months, the whole night was now in shambles. She genuinely feared for what was to become of her relationship with her son. She had no one to blame but herself.

For Jason, it was a tough night also. He really struggled between trying to be a responsible adult and encourage his son to forgive his mother for his son's benefit versus very, very easily using the picture of the handprint on his son's face, which infuriated him, to extract some measure of revenge through the divorce.

Maybe he would do a bit of both.

Chapter 5 - Exactly who was on the lam?

It turned out to be an interesting summer for everyone, as it seemed everyone was running from or towards something.

Matt didn't want anything to do with his mother. She begged and pleaded for him to come to see her and stay with her, but he refused any communication with her other than the occasional gruff reply to her texts.

Jason had his lawyer revise the divorce papers so that his residence was the primary residence for Matt and for her to pay child support, which for their level income was minimal, but he wanted her reminded of the reason for the change. She didn't argue nor request any changes to the new papers. She knew that handprint could hurt her badly should Jason choose to wield it against her. He didn't have that desire. The less interaction with the warden the better. What he wanted was to be free of her and have his son with him, and he had mostly achieved that.

His continuing internal struggle would be, should he step in to try and broker some peace deal between his children and their mother? The answer he kept finding was "No. Not unless she changes. He didn't hold out much hope of that."

With Mary out of their lives and Jason standing up to Mary, Sheila began calling her father more. She seemed more open to hearing from him, and he was glad to reconnect with his daughter. Matt and she always talked on the phone regularly. Sheila had been stunned to hear about what happened at the restaurant. With her father having moved out, she hoped the two of them could be close again.

Jason talked with Matt, and they invited Grace and Leanne to join them on their trips to Notre Dame and Atlanta so Grace could see those colleges also. Jason offered to cover their expenses as well. They accepted the trip to Notre Dame but declined the trip to Atlanta.

While driving back from Notre Dame, Grace made a suggestion that would have long term impacts on the Pierce family. Matt was in on the suggestion when she asked, "Mr. Pierce, mom and I are going to Knoxville next month. Why don't you guys come with us, and Matt can visit their architecture school? Knoxville is really nice, and not too hot in the summertime. If we stay an extra day, we could go hiking in the Smokies or go see the Biltmore in Asheville. What do you think?"

Jason knew he didn't have to ask Matt his opinion because he was certain the two of them had discussed this extensively. He looked at Leanne and asked, "What's your opinion? I don't want to intrude on a family trip or vacation."

She replied, "We'd love for both of you to come. Even if you cannot make it, I hope you'll let Matt come along. He may like Knoxville."

Jason laughed, "I'm almost afraid that he will."

______________

Mary was having a very difficult time with the loss of her family. It was inconceivable to her that they could be out on their own and have the audacity to actually succeed and thrive without her guidance. Then in the next minute, she was miserable being so alone and feeling separated from them. She kept trying to get Matt to come over so she could apologize for slapping him, but he refused.