Girls Don't Know Jack

Late Night Drives

♫ Good Game - Dominic Fike

"So, how do you two know each other?" Kate asks me before sticking a spoonful of macaroni into her mouth.

"Oh, I go to Wilcrest," I explain just as Jack shoots me a look that could kill.

"Wilcrest?" she repeats wrinkling her nose. "My sister is the principal there." Kate turns her scarf wrapped head to her son. "I didn't know you hung out with girls from there."

"I don't," he grumbles just as his socked foot kicks me in the shin beneath the table. He flashes his dark eyes at me, clenching his jaw tightly.

I stare back at the two of them, confused by the dynamic. His mother doesn't know where he goes to school?

But by the look on Jack Moody's face, it's not worth getting into here. So, I play along.

"Oh—yeah, well we met at his school," I ramble. "At a basketball game. We both just love basketball."

With a smug smile, I stare back at the scowling boy hoping he catches my little Steph Curry reference. If he does, he sure doesn't appreciate it as he rolls his eyes and sticks his nose back into his macaroni.

"Really?" his mom says turning to look at him again. "Jack loving basketball? The kids never been a sports fan of any kind."

"Teenagers," I exclaim with a shrug. "Always switching interests. Hard to keep up."

She leans back in her chair, wood creaking beneath her. "No, Jack's always been on his own wave," she explains reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You know when he was a kid, he was obsessed with space. Begged me for weeks for a telescope."

Jack groans, clearly embarrassed by the memory. But I am grinning ear to ear. Jack's always been a bit of a mystery to me, never offering up too much information. So right now, I'm soaking it all in.

Smiling, his mother continues to torture him. "And then when he realized he couldn't see all the planets with the junky thing, he cried for a week."

She throws her colorfully wrapped head back with a laugh as Jack shoots her a look, but I can faintly make out a soft smile on his lips as he watches her.

"Oh, Jack, I'm sorry," she says squeezing onto his arm. "I don't mean to embarrass you in front of your friend, here."

She called me his friend. Oh, if she only knew what he really thought of me.

"So, Molly," Kate says to me. "Tell me about you—it's not very often Jack lets me meet one of his friends."

Jack pokes his fork into his bowl, looking less than pleased at her comment. But I smile back at her, eager to chat away with the woman who raised Jack Moody.

......................

Kate grabs at her stomach, quieting down her infectious laugh as she leans further back into the chair. "Oh my, Molly," she says gathering herself. "This has been so much fun, really."

She reaches out a thin hand to pat my arm. It's grown late and it's clear by her tired eyes she's had enough chatter for the night.

"I should go rest," she mutters. "Before Jack hauls me off against my will."

For a moment, I had almost forgotten he was even here. Kate and I had been so consumed in conversation, I hadn't had a chance to look up until now.

The shaggy haired boy looks back at me with a soft face. It's a welcomed change from the latest hatred and annoyance he'd been shooting my way.