Meet Me Halfway

Chapter 37

FP lay half naked and exposed in the comfort of his dark blue patterned designed bed linen, his body and limbs tangled in his cotton sheets as he stared blankly up at his spinning ceiling fan. It had been an entire weekend since he and Gladys had, seemingly reconciled, Charles was healthy and happy and ever and his 17th birthday was just around the corner, but despite all these reasons he had to celebrate and occupy his time, the only thing that seemed to occupy his mind these days was Alice Susanna Smith.

Ever since their passionate stolen moment in the hospital, he couldn't get the feel of her pillow soft lips nor the taste of her cherry flavoured lip gloss out of his head. The scene of her strawberry shampoo blended throughout her blonde curls had stayed with him, and the electrifying touch of her nimble fingers around his waist still sent a brush of warmth racing up his spine.

But along with the thrill and rush that was met with her being in his arms, came the sinking feeling of guilt, and how to tell Gladys, if to tell in fact, that the girl he grew up across the park from, the girl he used to catch frogs with, the girl he had a love/hate relationship with since middle school, the girl he had a beautiful baby boy with was no longer occupying his mind day in and day out?

Gladys may have been the girl he was in a committed relationship with, and the one he was loyal to, but Alice was the mother of his child and one playing on an endless loop in his mind day by day, and he couldn't have felt more shitty about it.

The smell of freshly baked waffles and sizzling eggs wafting through his family motor home hit his nostrils, alerting his stomach and firing up his tastebuds and prompting him to spring out of bed.

The sweet scent became much more appetising the further he moved down the hall and into the dining area, coming face to face with his gleeful mother as she cooked up a storm. The kitchen was practically her second home.

"Finally you're up." Fiona playfully scolded, racing around the dining table with a plate of waffles and distributing them onto FP's plate. "I thought these would do the trick."

"Morning to you too Mom." FP grumbled with a hint of a smile as he pulled his seat out and made himself comfortable, immediately grabbing hold of his dining utensils in front of him. Once a meal was placed in front of him there was no curbing his appetite or attention.

"Oh by the way, I was speaking to Father Patrick." Fiona pointed out as she poured out a fresh glass of Orange juice into a glass before laying it onto a coaster. "He was giving his well wishes to Charles, and it got me thinking why don't we have him christened?" She sweetly suggested with a sparkle in her eye, trying her hardest to contain any excitement.

"I guess it's a good idea. I'm cool with it, but Alice isn't even religious, you'll have to talk to her first." FP concluded, bowing his head to casually continue his meal, barely giving his mother any attention and finding his plate of waffles more intriguing.

"Of course I'll talk to her. I just wanted to check with you first of all."

"Cool." FP callously shrugged, remaining calm and collected as he continued to tuck into his meal, completely oblivious to his Mother's sudden silence and the awkward tension that had cloud over the entire room. If only he knew the bombshell she was about to shamelessly drop onto him.

"While we're on the subject of Alice-" Fiona carefully begun, tapping her nails rhythmically against her glass as a mildly more serious and sullen tone. "I saw you two, the other day."

FP's chestnut brown eyes darted his mother's way in a flash, his lips tightening as he sucked his hallow newly paled cheeks in while his sharp dark brows rising into his hairline as he tried not to choke on his food. Now he was definitely alert and willing to give his Mother his undivided attention.

"W-what do you mean?" He stammered, faking a very unconvincing smile in the process.

"Last week? You both looked a little too close for my liking."

"Mom, you're just looking too deeply into this." He playfully dismissed, but the slight crack in his voice and his reluctance to look Fiona directly in the eye gave her everything she needed to know he wasn't being honest with himself.

"Honey?" Fiona tenderly spoke, taking a hold of FP's hand, feeling him slowly unclench as she did. "You can talk to me. Do you have feelings for Alice?"

"I- I don't know." He exhaustedly faltered, exhaling a deep sigh as he leaned back into his seat, carelessly running his fingers through his hair in deep thought, secretly frustrated about being forced to finally ask himself this. "I love Gladys, I'm with Gladys but, there's just something I can't control or get a grip of when it comes to Alice, and to be honest I think I've felt like that for a long time, and having Charlie just brought it all to the surface I guess. What do I do?"

Fiona sympathised with her love struck and romantically confused son, she really did, but she also had to acknowledge that this wasn't her problem to solve, and this wasn't something any parent could just pull their child from.

"Well FP, as much as I love you and want to help you, this isn't an issue for me to fix, I can't tell you what to do or how to handle this, it's just something you're gonna have to figure out in your own. However, I can tell you to be wise and mature about this, and I have faith you'll know what to do when the time is right."

The wisdom of Fiona was unmatched, and with his Mother's thoughtful advice, FP knew exactly what he had to do.

•••

"My place or yours?" Gladys gleefully mused as she walked hand in hand with a very distracted FP by her side, fortunately she hasn't picked up on his mindful absence.

"For what?" He questioned in uncertainty, completely without a clue to what Gladys was referring to, considering he'd barely been listening to her since the two left the trailer park.

"Your party?" Gladys confirmed in a questioning grin. "What else would I be talking about?"

"Oh, that." He dismissed in a slight huff. "Sorry, just got a lot on my mind recently, I haven't even had time to think about my birthday."

"Well it's next weekend, and we've gotta hand out invites as soon as possible."

"Fine, whatever." He reluctantly gave in to Gladys' wishes, not wanting to prolong this any further. The entire party theme was her idea to begin with, meanwhile he was more than content with having a few drinks at the Whyte Wyrm with Fred and Tom. "I guess my place. My parents will be away."

Gladys' beaming expression turned to one of sombre and uncertainty upon seeing the odd change in FP's mood. "You okay?"

He halted his steps, rotating his chiselled jaw in her direction to look her in the eye respectfully. "Yeah, I'm good, it's just- I really need to tell you something, and I don't know how to."

Gladys' glossed lips immediately curled down into a fret filled frown, her mind instantly flooding back to the last time he had shared unexpected news with her. Last time, he was about to become a Father, but this time around, Lord knows, and the uncertainty was playing havoc with her heart rate.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it's not that serious-"

"I kissed Alice."