The Diary of Jay

3. When everything goes wrong

Despite my mother's reluctance, I manage to escape from home earlier than expected - after all, Catherine was satisfied with the meeting with Mrs. Douglas, so she didn't find an excuse valid enough to forbid me from going out this evening as well.
So, after three bus stops and a few minutes walking, I reach the street where the Benton house is located and, in the air, I already smell the scent of the kebab that Charlie promised me. The aquolina fills the mouth and an immense smile appears on my face. There is a certain pleasure in knowing that I can be treated like a princess by a boy who does not want to try to take off my panties when the dinner is over.

I still make a few happy strides before appearing in front of the familiar blue curtained windows and, there, the mother of my best friend sees me from the kitchen. An enthusiastic expression appears on her round, freckled face and the hand begins to wave in greeting. It almost seems as if she hasn't seen me for weeks, when instead I was there only two afternoons ago, sitting at her dining table.

«Charlie! Jay has arrived! Get your ass out of that damned mattress!» She screams so loudly that her voice even pass the wood of the front door. So I find myself lowering the handle of the house while a movement of hilarity strikes me in the face. I wish I could hold back laughter, but the way Molly and her son communicate is one of the funniest things I've ever heard.
She, who normally appears as a sweet woman with swollen and rosy cheeks, turns into a sort of Marshal struggling with a very not so diligent cadet - and the doubt that she is affected by a split personality becomes real.
Mrs. Benton, who is at the base of the staircase leading to the upper floor, turns in my direction as soon as I appear on the entrance threshold, letting a sparkling breeze come in with me.
She looks at me softly, then runs towards me, grabbing my face in her hands and printing a warm, moist kiss on my forehead: «Look at this splendor!» she says, looking at the beauty of a girl she considers almost like a daughter - yes, because as every mother, even her would have so much wanted a female: instead Charlie happened to her, even if she doesn't complain more than the necessary.

I grab her hands: «Hi, Molly» and before I can add any question of circumstance, a young man's quick step catches our attention. A boy with tousled hair appears in my field of vision, yawning. Ripped jeans and skateboard in hand to complete the figure - the one I'm used to, now.
Quickly, he gives one last settled to the septum piercing he had and then, he raises his head on us, smiling both with his lips and eyes. Here is my best friend in all its beauty!