Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 10 Dropping the Bomb Pt. 2

Upstairs at the Hammond home Lonnie and Jennie were still arguing in their bedroom while their two daughters painted pictures downstairs in the studio.

"I want to bring Heath over here next weekend, just for supper. I'll cook the meal; you won't even have to worry--" Lonnie said.

"Meadow Thayer...Meadow Thayer," Jenny searched her memory and then snapped her fingers, "Oh, yes, she was that bleached blonde--the corporate executive. Bobbi Jo told me about her when Larry Max and I first moved here. But now I realize I saw her up at Goth's Apparel a couple years ago, I just didn't know it was her."

Then she sniggered a bit,

"She said the woman rode a Harley to her office and was one of those tree huggers; everything had to be natural and she believed in all that new age stuff. She retired with a ton of money while she was still in her early thirties, right?"

He couldn't help thinking that if Meadow was a bleached blonde then she must be bleaching her kids' hair, too.  Every one of them except Heath was nearly platinum blonde. Lonnie was an even-tempered man who was getting ticked off at Jenny's sneering. She did tend to have a mean mouth when she was mad.

"Ya know, I really don't remember discussing her life philosophy or the balance in her bank account. Frankly, I was only with her because I was terrified of fatherhood and marriage and trying to get over you."

"Oh, I'm sure you had much more on your mind than her political views, babe. How do you know for sure he's your child, anyway?"

"She volunteered to have a paternity test done, but the minute I saw his photograph and even more when I met him in person there was no way I could deny him. He looks just like me, Jenny."

Jenny flinched as if she'd been slapped and her eyes filled. She batted her eyelashes swiftly; forcing back the tears,

"Really, Lon? And all this time I thought the girls looked just like you."

Lonnie looked stricken; he didn't know what to say. Of course she was right; they had his black hair and his big brown eyes. They were really a blend of both he and Jenny, having her chin and nose. But Heath looked almost exactly like Lonnie and not at all like Meadow except his complexion was darker like hers. After a few awkward moments of silence Jenny asked in a tired voice,

"And just what is it you want me to do about all this?"

"Well, I didn't know if you'd want to be with me when I told the girls. You know; so we could present a united front."

"Hah! Not likely. You can tell them about your sordid affairs without me being there. Just keep in mind how young Liara still is."

"I'll keep it in mind, but she has to know. I want him to come here to the house--will you meet him?" he went back to feeling like a scumbag.

"No. I don't want any part of him. What do you expect of me, how much do you think I can take? Knowing you slept with that blonde biker chick--how many times? And gave her a son. Does Brian know the boy is not his?"

"Yes, she said he's known all along. He was just a friend until after Heath was born and then they got married when Heath was about six months old."

Jenny mulled that over,

"Well, I guess Brian must be more forgiving than I am. Of course, it didn't come as a surprise to him like it has to me."

"There was nothing to forgive--Meadow says they've been friends since high school. When he found out she was pregnant he began coming by her house to check on her and then she asked him to stay with her until the baby came. Which he did and which I'm glad he was there for Heath when I wasn't."

"So I suppose by then he'd fallen for her," Jenny said cynically, "Ain't love grand?"

Meadow and Brian...and Heath

"Look, you know now there is no big romance between Meadow and me, never WAS a big romance. If I hadn't already been in love with you way down deep, maybe there could have been something, it's true. As it was I was just fighting my feelings for you."

Jenny wanted to believe that, but her former confident ways had begun to disappear soon after meeting Lonnie. Her constant obsession about growing old had eaten away at her former self-assurance. She had never been a jealous or insecure woman until she fell in love with Lonnie.

She shrugged,

"Well, if you are determined to do this I can't stop you but I don't want to see him."

"Babe, I know this is a shock; I truly am sorry about that. And I understand why you're mad at me and maybe even at Meadow although she didn't know about you and me at the time. But why take it out on an innocent kid? He didn't do anything wrong, not any more than Loni Faye can be blamed for the dishonest way she was conceived. You tricked me. I love her and Liara more than anything or anyone but you. Still, you were sneaky about it. But I thought you had more compassion than this," he knew he was digging his own grave but couldn't seem to stop himself.

He wished he hadn't mentioned the last couple sentences, but he had pushed him to the limit. Her look of shock and then fury at his words made him ashamed for referring to the fact that Jenny had, indeed, deliberately gotten pregnant before they had broken up. She claimed it was so she'd have a child of his to remember him by but he knew her too well; she'd done it to hang on to him. Then she'd kept it a secret for awhile and that had always bothered him. He took a deep breath,

"I'm telling the girls now and then as soon as possible I'm inviting him over here, if he'll come. I've waited so long that I'm pretty sure I've hurt him. I would love you to meet him, but he's coming whether you will or you won't."

"I'm not going to meet him; I'm not going to talk to him. I can't believe you are dragging the girls through all your dirty laundry just to meet a boy who was a mistake and probably has the morals of his hippie mother." she couldn't seem to make up her mind whether Meadow was a biker chick, an executive with too much money, or a hippie.

"Jennifer!" Lonnie's voice was deep and uncharacteristically severe as his temper completely boiled over, "Don't you dare talk to me about mistakes, dirty laundry and morals. Both you and I romped around with half of the people in this town. The girls have half-brothers on your side that they haven't even met because they wouldn't talk to you for years after you cheated on their father."

"You were the one I cheated with!" she replied, stung.

"Yeah, me and how many other guys, babe? And not all of them were before you met me. Now I love you, Jenny, but if I ever hear you say something unkind to this boy or about this boy, I swear," he stopped himself with difficulty, but calmed his voice, "Before he gets here you can either go somewhere or stay upstairs. Do NOT come downstairs unless you can be civil."

"You're saying I'll be confined to my bedroom in my own house?" she laughed, "I don't think so."

"Don't push me any further, Jenny. If you don't want to stay upstairs, then act like an adult and be there when the girls meet him or go across the street for one of your endless gossip sessions with Bobbi Jo or take her out to lunch or just go shopping. I'm going to try to get him to come next weekend."

"But next Saturday is Liara's birthday!"

"I know that, but we won't have her cake and gifts until after supper; he'll be gone by then."

 

He'd thrown down the gauntlet.  It remained to be seen what Jenny would do. Meanwhile, Lonnie had to find the words to tell Loni Faye and Liara.

Jenny watched as he left their bedroom and headed downstairs to explain to their daughters why and how they  had another half-brother they'd never met.

She cried silently for a while and then swallowed a Xanax. Evidently Lonnie still resented things she'd done because she'd thought they were necessary. And it was all so long ago it didn't seem fair to her. She didn't realize that if she'd simply cried and told him her pain without the sarcasm and waspishness he would have been more understanding and supportive. She still never had learned she was usually her own worst enemy. Depression and denial hit and she undressed and got into bed even though it was early. She just wanted to sleep; she just wanted to escape.

Next blog update: Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 11 Lonnie Tells the Girls

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 10 Dropping the Bomb Part 1

Lonnie Hammond, owner and manager of the Le Magnifique Restaurant, was ordinarily not an introspective man. He preferred to keep things easy and simple. He had two young daughters and a pretty wife, Jenny, and he loved all three of them dearly. So when his attention wasn't focused on his restaurant it was on doing things with his family.But over the last four or five years he did have one thing that continually rode him because he had yet to deal with it or the repercussions.

Lonnie and Meadow Thayer had only dated a few times during the period when he and Jenny were struggling with their relationship and had broken up. He dated 3 or 4 other women at the time as well, but Meadow was his favorite. The short affair was soon over and Lonnie had gone back to Jenny, this time permanently.

Six years ago Meadow, now Mrs. Brian Ottomas, had called him out of the blue and asked him to meet her in town. There she proceeded to tell him that he had fathered a son; she was the mother, and the boy was then eleven years old. Any disbelief on his part ended when she showed him a photo. The son, Heath, looked just like his father, there was no mistaking it.

Meadow and Brian had five other children now besides Heath. She had become involved with and married Brian after Heath was born. She also told Lonnie that Brian had adopted Heath when he was a baby.

For a recap of Heath's birth see  

Brian Ottomas Ch. 2 When Sunny Gets Blue

Lonnie was anxious to meet the boy, but he put off telling his wife. Jenny and their daughters knew nothing about Heath. Meadow introduced to his son at last over at her home where she felt Heath would be relaxed.

 

Lonnie had begun seeing his son monthly and taking him to various places like the park, the movies, the skating rink--all public places. Heath had been cautious at first but they'd become friends as both of them relaxed.

Pressure to tell his wife and daughters built up but Lonnie still dreaded telling Jenny so he continued to delay. At first Heath had peppered him with questions about his half-sisters and Lonnie's life with them but after a while he stopped. After two or three years, as Heath hit his teens, he became withdrawn and moody as many teenagers do and not only quit enquiring about his sisters and even cancelled a few get-togethers with Lonnie. The monthly visits dropped to bi-monthly and then a couple times a year. When Lonnie had been turned down so many times and faced with his only son's seeming apathy he had quit trying.

Heath was in his senior year now and it had been eight months since Lonnie saw him. It had become a painful subject to Lonnie and so he pushed it to the back of his mind. However; he finally realized that he had to tell Jenny and the girls, maybe if Heath felt that Lonnie was proud to have them meet him he might thaw a bit. Besides he owed it to his family to be truthful.

It was late on a Monday afternoon and Lonnie's day off when he said to Jenny,

"I have something to tell you. Let's go upstairs."

Jenny nodded and followed him up to their bedroom, but her forehead creased immediately with concern. They started out calmly enough, sitting on adjacent comfy armchairs in the corner of their bedroom. 

"Well, what is it?" she prompted somewhat impatiently. It didn't fill him confidence.

"Remember when we broke up and then kept going back and forth before Loni Faye was born? You knew I dated some other girls during that period."

Jenny tensed but she put on a bored and cynical act,

"Yes, I did know, but I certainly hope you don't expect me to keep track of all your conquests back then."

Lonnie paused and then rushed ahead,

"I don't know how to tell you this, except to just tell you. It turns out I have a son by another woman. I didn't know, of course, not right away."

Her face froze as she tried to absorb what he was saying,

"What do you mean you have a son by someone else? Who? Who is the little witch?"

He could see Jenny getting ready to blow.

"Now, honey, keep in mind, I didn't know. Her name is Meadow Thayer, well it was Thayer now she's Meadow Ottomas. She's married to Brian Ottomas, you know, he owns Club Dante around the corner from Le Magnifique?

Jenny's mouth dropped open. Talk about a one-two punch; she'd had a fling with Brian just before meeting Lonnie. Not something she had particularly wanted Lonnie to know. She still didn't want him to, especially since she'd have to think about how she might use the information for her own benefit.

"When did you find out, anyway?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Well, a few years ago."

"A few years ago! When were you planning on telling me? In fact, you've hidden it so well, why tell me now?"

He hated it when Jenny got all sarcastic and catty.

"I was going to tell you as soon as I got up my nerve, but obviously that didn't happen until today. I was seeing him fairly often, but the we just sort of drifted apart. It recently occurred to me that he might have been hurt that I'd never introduced him to Loni Faye and Liara and so it's been eight months since I last saw him. I just can't get him off my mind and I miss him."

Jenny narrowed her eyes,

"I. Want.To. Know. About.This. Meadow. Person."

"It was no big thing with us, Jenny. She admitted she just used me like a sperm donor, frankly. She's married and has 5 other kids besides Heath."

"But now she wants you back in her life?"

"No! She's HAPPILY married, I told you. When she told me about Heath I wanted to meet him. Jenny, he's a great kid; you'd like him. I know it's a lot to ask but I want to tell the girls. I want Heath to get to know them and them to know him.

For the first time in 20 years, Jenny wished she had a cigaret.

"Lon, I'm trying to stay calm here. You tell me that you have a son by some other woman. She got pregnant, you say, while we were broken up. I was already carrying Loni Faye then, right?"

"That's right. It was while you and I were apart. You knew I was seeing other women, then. Said you didn't care."

That made Jenny furious because, of course, Lonnie was right. She'd known he was seeing other women again and had told herself she didn't care.

For a recap of the Jenny and Lonnie's courtship and leading up to Loni Faye's birth, see this

Jenny Lomax Ch. 1 Amour Fou

"Okay," she replied, "If you want to continue seeing him--what's his name again--Keith?"

Lonnie gave her the stink-eye which Jenny ignored,

"It's Heath."

"If you want to continue seeing 'Heath' I can't stop you, but I don't want the girls dragged into this."

"Jenny, if we don't tell them they'll find out somehow--as it is, they're going to be upset they didn't know sooner--I mean Loni Faye must see him in school all the time."

Meanwhile, downstairs in the tiny studio, Loni Faye and Liara were home from school and painting. They could bear their parents' voices getting more agitated but they couldn't tell what was being said.

"Think Daddy wants Momma to stay home from the restaurant like he asked you to do?" Liara finally ventured.

Loni Faye frowned. She hated that her little sister had to hear her parents fighting.

"No. At least I don't think  so. He wants me to quit working there until after graduation. He said I need to be able to attend all the senior events that are coming up and to work hard on my classes so I can go to University. But why would he want Momma to stay home?"

Liara looked around the room fearfully as though checking for listening devices,

"Well, he might do it because Momma gets so mad if there's a pretty woman there at the restaurant and Daddy is even friendly to her. And you know Daddy has to be nice to all the people who come there. I wish Momma would be happy more often. She's so pretty and when she smiles--"

"Liara, honey, I know she does get jealous and I know Daddy isn't doing anything except being the owner of a fancy restaurant. He's pretty goodlooking for an older man so I see women do flirt with him, but he's always just polite to everyone. He has to kind of schmooze with customers you know. But I think the reason she worries so much is because she's older than Daddy and she told me that before they got married he had like a gazillion girlfriends."

"When I get married it will be to a man who has never had any girlfriends at all before he met me," Liara pouted darkly.

"Good luck with that," Loni Faye laughed, "You're too young to worry about that anyway."

"Well, my birthday will be here soon and--oh, no my French blue got dried out. Do we have any more of that?" Liara asked.

"Yes, here's another tube. But you need to be more careful about putting the top on tight, Li."

Liara shrugged and sighed,

"I know," she sounded a bit fatalistic and then the voices upstairs got even more vehement and she turned to her sister, tension clouding her face, "They're getting louder, Loni."

"I'll put my new CD on--you haven't heard it yet anyway--and we'll crank up the volume."

Next blog update: Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch 10 Dropping the Bomb Part 2

Jenny Lomax-Hammond Ch. 9 Family Vacation

When we last visited the Hammonds, Jenny was growing bored with being a housewife. She complained about the long hours Lonnie worked in his popular restaurant and she was increasingly insecure about aging. Being 15 years older than her former playboy husband only exacerbated the problem. Their oldest daughter, Loni Faye, had become a teenager and Lonnie had promised her should could soon work at the restaurant with him.

It began to seem to Lonnie that the best idea would be to install Jenny as his restaurant hostess and Loni Faye as a waitress. Then at least Jenny would be with him during his long hours and he could groom Loni Faye part-time, teaching her gradually what he knew about the culinary field, food service, and running a business. By the time she went to college she might know if she was interested in any or all of those careers. Le Magnifique! was open all weekend and closed on Mondays. Lonnie did not want Loni Faye's schoolwork to suffer nor her burgeoning social life with her young friends, so he preferred she not work after school and only every other weekend. It would be enough for now, at least until maybe summer, which was a year away. And they'd need her to supervise Liara after school anyway with Jenny working afternoons and evenings. So the first weekend came and while Loni Faye learned to wait tables, Liara went upstairs to play in the small living unit upstairs.

Things went well, in general, although Jenny couldn't help but notice that there were always more female patrons who flocked to the restaurant than male. Lonnie had not lost his natural charm and appeal, it seemed.

The rest of spring went by and when summer came Loni Faye wanted to work longer hours--making her own money was fun--so Lonnie took her off weekends and gave her regular workday hours, but only 4 days a week.

In the fall Lonnie announced he would close the restaurant for a few days and they would take a well-deserved vacation in Three Lakes, up in the mountains. The family had never even been on holiday since Lonnie opened the restaurant. He told them he'd already rented a large cabin. Liara worried about her kitten,

"But what about Tangerina? Will she go with us? And if not, who will feed and play with her? 

"Not to worry, little one," Lonnie told her, "I've already engaged a house-sitter who was recommended especially for people whose pets remain behind and need care. It's actually better for Tangerina than boarding her with the vet, she'll stay in familiar surroundings. Cats don't like to travel or leave home very much, you know."

This placated Liara and she began to get really excited about going to the mountains. Meanwhile, Loni Faye was none too happy, as she talked on the phone to her friend, Simone Wilson.

 

"Yeah, it's a cabin I guess. Probably some shack out in the middle of the deep woods, I'm sure there will be nothing to do! After all, I'm practically grown up and taking a vacation with my family is kind of babyish. And now I have to postpone my date with Robby, too. But there's nothing I can do; I'll be stuck with my baby sister, my parents and 20 billion trees!"

Simone was not very sympathetic,

"Yeah, hate it for ya, Loni girl. If only I could go on a vacation--even if with my family, even in the wilderness. My parents are always so absorbed with their produce market and now with the new baby, I'll never get them 'away from the farm'. Just be glad you're getting out of ole' Unpleasantview for a change."

"I guess I should be grateful," Loni Faye admitted glumly, "But I'm sure just because I can't be there in town all kinds of exciting things will happen. Just be sure to tell me what I missed when I get back, Simone."

"Yep. Let's see...exciting things that could happen in this town, hmm, that would be like, um...nothing. Unless you want to count Bubba and Junior Krebbs doing their Saturday night try at cow-tipping," then Simone laughed, "Well, have a good time up there with Bambi, Bigfoot and marauding bears. Rarrrrr!"

That left Loni Faye having nightmares about a man-eating bear crashing through the flimsy front door of their rental shack.

Lonnie decided he didn't want to oversell the trip,

"It's really only a mini-vacation," he told the family the night before they left, just a long weekend. But if it goes well I'm hoping to take one or two more trips over the next year, maybe at the beach, or even somewhere farther afield."

Jenny and the girls were pleased and amazed when they arrived; the "cabin" was immense, more like a lodge. The first day they enjoyed games on the back porch and that evening they sat around the campfire roasting marshmallows.

Loni Faye had already let slip from her memory her complaints from the day before. She'd forgotten how much fun she'd always had with her sister before she became a teenager and was enjoying her now. Surprisingly, the same could be said for her parents who, so far, had not embarrassed her in any way. Of course there were three more days to go.

The cabin boasted a large kitchen and the first morning Lonnie played chef and made bacon and eggs for the family while they discussed their plans for the day. They'd picked up brochures of the local interests and activities available and their first adventure would be at the Lumber Mill.

Little Liara checked out the cutaway section from a huge tree that detailed what had happened in history over the years the tree was alive, while her parents and Loni Faye tried their hands at axe-throwing. Loni Faye had always been good at archery in her Phys. Ed. classes and was gratified that her aim remained true with an axe as well. 

They were having a wonderful time and planned on trying the log-rolling next but then it started to rain. There was really nowhere to take cover there except in the washrooms so they left. But as their taxi approached the Smooth Rock Spa, the rain let up and Lonnie asked the driver to let them out there at the spa.

Jenny and Lonnie headed immediately to the two therapeutic massage huts to get acupressure done and learn how to do it themselves. While Loni Faye and Liara relaxed in one of the natural mineral springs. Afterwards Liara tried her hand at fishing the tiny pond while Loni Faye checked out the sauna.

The next morning Lonnie woke up early and put his arms around the still sleeping Jenny. A respite from the restaurant's long hours and a change of scenery had definitely boosted their love life. The girls were getting along amazingly well, too. So now he made up his mind--definitely--to take the family on a longer vacation to the beach. There were some really nice upscale hotels there but it might be fun to rent a house again. It would depend on what they had to offer in the way of amenities and convenience.

There was a nice pond at the rental cabin and so they tried a little night fishing that evening. It was fall and the nights could often get quite cold up in the mountains, but they'd been blessed, at least after the first day, with lovely weather and very mild temperatures for the time of year so far. After the fishing Jenny fixed everyone a late night dessert of banana splits.

"I think we should try the Lumber Mill again today," Lonnie said at their breakfast of Fruit Loops cereal the next morning, "We didn't get a chance to try our luck at log-rolling, what you do say?"

"Fine by me," Jenny agreed.

"Yippy!" Liara laughed.

"And can we try some of the local food for supper tonight, Dad?" Loni Faye asked, "I love what you and Mom have been cooking here for us, but I'd like to try some hotcakes or chicken pot pie."

Lonnie smiled, "Sure, you should try new foods all the time, especially if you work in the culinary field, honey. But even if you don't, you should be ready to try new experiences whenever you can--as long as they're legal!"

The family spent quite some time on the logs, laughing and teasing each other when one or the other lost balance and plopped into the water. Actually was a pretty good workout climbing out of the water to get back on the log each time.

When they got dressed again again they did a little fishing at the big pond there at the Lumber Mill.

When evening fell they did, indeed, order supper at the shack there. Jenny and the girls ordered the hotcakes with the locally made maple syrup, but Lonnie ordered the grilled catfish and then proceeded to disgust them all when he pour syrup all over the grilled fish.

"Euww, Dad! That's so gross!" Loni Faye exclaimed in horror and glanced around, embarrassed to see what other tourists might have been nearby to notice this offensive behavior. No young people her age, at least, and thank goodness. Ever since she was born Loni Faye had adored and admired her dad, but the teen years were hard on the parent/child relationship as a rule. Lonnie was no longer perfect in her eyes since she'd become a teenager.

"Yuck, Daddy, that's sicko!" snickered Liara, wrinkling her nose, but actually was delighted with what she assumed was her father's sense of humor.

"Alonzo Hammond!" Jenny said in a scandalized voice, "What in the world?"

"What? This syrup is home grown and I wanted to try it, as for the fish--sweet and savory--works for me. Haven't you ever eaten maple-glazed salmon?" Lonnie shrugged. He was serious.

All three females looked at each other for a few seconds. Hmm, he had a point.

"Can we all have just a bite?" Jenny ventured.

He nodded and passed it over to watch them each grab a forkful. They made sure there was syrup on it. Then Jenny took another bite. By the time they all grabbed 2 or 3 bites there wasn't much left for a hungry man so Lonnie ordered a second plate. Then had to share that one, too...

The evening was winding to a close as they talked a local into showing them how to do the slap dance that was so popular in the mountains. They were leaving late that night and Loni Faye was surprised to realize how she almost hated to go. The rental house had felt like a home. The good thing was, her dad was now saying they would take another vacation in a few months. This time she would be happy to take a vacation with her sister and parents. She couldn't wait to see Robby Blackford again, though, once she got home. He couldn't even call her when they were in the mountains, no reception on cell phones there for the most part. She hoped he'd ask her for another date since she'd had to cancel their last one for this vacation, but she had no idea. Men were frequently hard to figure.

Next blog update: 
Everhart Brothers - Pres Ch. 4 Procastinating


Next update on the Hammond family:
Jenny-Lomax Hammond Ch. 10 Dropping the Bomb Pt. 1