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believe Claire would ever be jealous of me. She’s
the one who has always had everything go her way. She’s had it all: money, good
looks, great kids, beautiful house, happiness, and a steady man in her life.
Then it dawned on me that maybe her life wasn’t all it had been cracked up to
be. I never thought Carl was good enough for her. I knew he would never treat
her the way she deserved to be treated. He was an asshole. He couldn’t help
himself.
    Billy reached over and put
his hand on her shoulder, his voice soft and caressing. “It’s all right if you
need to cry, Claire. Go ahead and let it out. We understand and we want to help
you get through this hard time.”
    Billy never ceases to amaze
me. He’s so loving and sensitive. He has qualities I would never have expected
in a man like him. He’s the size of a bull elephant and has the same demeanor.
He’s 6’3’’, weighs about 186 lbs. (he says), with a long, braided ponytail down
his back. His hair is so black it looks like it’s been dyed that color. But I
have noticed a few strands of gray recently. At least he still has hair. At
forty-eight years old (the last I heard), all men get fat and bald, don’t they?
But Billy must have good genes because he hasn’t reached that point. He told me
once that he works out some, so I guess that accounts for his muscular body,
strong-arm appearance and butt-kicking attitude when he walks in a room. It’s
so intense it gets everyone’s attention. Nobody would dare mess with him if
they were in their right mind.
    The dam burst. Claire broke
down sobbing, rocking back and forth in her chair, and progressively losing
control of her emotions. Billy tried to comfort her while I sat quietly,
feeling like a rat. I had been pretty mean to her in the past couple of weeks.
    Slowly, Claire regained her
composure and looked at me through teary eyes.  She cleared her throat.
    “Jesse, you know I’m a city
girl. I’d never make it out in the middle of nowhere by myself. I have to think
of the kids. There’s nobody around for miles except Billy’s family, and I can’t
bother them every time I need something.”  She turned her attention towards
Billy. “I’m sorry, Billy, but I can’t move into your house. I appreciate your
offer, but I just can’t live alone in the wilderness with two kids. I wouldn’t
know how. Mom and I discussed it and decided it would be best for the children
if we lived with her. That’s what we’d like to do.” She hesitated before
looking at me. “If you don’t want to do it, Jesse, just say so. We won’t get
mad.”
    “Do what? I don’t even know
what you’re talking about,” I responded.
    “If we’re going to continue
to live here, I think it would be best if I had a room to myself and the kids
could share a room. So we came up with a suggestion, but we need to run it by
you.”
    I could tell I wasn’t going
to like what she had to say. If she thought for one minute she was going to run
me out of my home, she was crazy. I would stand my ground.
    “Honey, it’s only a
suggestion,” Mom added.
    “All right, let’s have it.”
    “What do you think about
moving into Billy’s house?” Claire asked. “I mean, if Billy agrees to it.”
    I was momentarily stunned
by her suggestion. That was a great idea. Why hadn’t I thought of it? I looked
over at Billy to see if I could pick up on his facial expressions. As usual,
all he had on his face was a smile.
    “Well, I never thought
about it,” Billy replied. “But now that you mention it, I think that would be a
great idea. Jesse could have her own place to do whatever she wants to do with
that boyfriend of hers, and you and the kids could have your own space.” He
blew me a kiss.
    Everyone got a good laugh
out of his comment.
    “You’re crazy, Billy
Blackhawk. One day you’re going to pay for being so mean to me.” It was all I
could do to keep from laughing, too.
    “If rent money is a problem,
Jesse, I can help you out