Chapter One - Jefferson

Jefferson sat upright in his bed in the darkened room; his eyes fixated on the cell phone screen. His thumbs worked furiously, creating grotesque shifting shadows on his face. He thought he heard noises coming from the kitchen, probably Mother getting supper ready. He continued playing passionately, throwing punches, kicking, and shooting to subdue his adversary and reach the next level.

Suddenly, light streaming through the doorway caught his attention. His mother stood silhouetted in the room entrance. She had come this far, so Jefferson assumed she was trying to say something to him. He took off his earphones.

“I called from the kitchen three times, and I got no answer.” Mother looked perturbed. “I know I sent the words down the hall, but it’s evident you didn’t hear me with those earphones swallowing your ears. It looks like winter in this room, dark and gloomy, and with you sitting in bed wearing earmuffs.”

Jefferson was used to her rants and quickly turned her off.

Mother continued as though he were still listening. “Oh, there they are. The words I sent down the hall. They look like they’ve gathered themselves at the foot of your bed.” She reached down, picked up three large pieces of cardboard, and flicked the bedroom light switch. Jefferson hadn’t noticed the cardboard pieces when he entered the room, but then he had not turned on the light.

Mother sat on Jefferson’s bed, held the first piece of cardboard in front of him, and turned it around, and Jefferson read, “COME.” The second one read, “FOR.” The third read, “SUPPER!!!!!” in large letters.

Jefferson had to admire her creativity. He replied, “I’m close to being finished this level; give me ten minutes.”

Mother stiffened, and Jefferson wasn’t sure if it was a firm voice or only loud, but there was no misunderstanding the word, “Now!” 

Jefferson returned his ears to the confines of the earphones, and his sixteen-year-old frame trudged down the hall. He slumped in his usual place at the table across from his mother.

Mother brought out the supper, roast beef, baked potato and freshly picked peas from the garden, and set the food in front of her son. “It’s your favorite meal,” she said, trying to smile. Jefferson only had eyes for the small screen in front of him.

Since there was no movement from Jefferson, Mother started to dish out a portion onto her plate.

“I miss having conversations around the table,” she said.

Jefferson grunted to simulate his usual portion of the conversation.

“Help yourself,” she said, trying to sound charitable.

When there was no reply, Mother placed her hand over the cell-phone.

Jefferson lifted his head. “What are you doing?” he grumbled.

“Are you going to eat something?” she asked.

Jefferson removed his earphones. “What?”

“Are you going to eat something?”

“No, my friends and I went for pizza after school,” he replied. “I’m not hungry.”

Jefferson saw a fire in his mother’s eyes. She snapped, “Why didn’t you tell me? I work a twelve-hour shift in a nursing home. I come home; I’m tired. I make your favorite meal, and after I’m through, you have the nerve to tell me you’re not hungry?”

“You didn’t ask,” came the lame reply.

“When are you going to grow up and take some responsibility around here?” Mother continued her tirade. “All you ever do is disappear in your room and play your video war games, killing humans, monsters, and vampires. You know what I think of all the violence in those games and how they depict women. You are anti-social, and your marks were terrible this past year.”

“I’m not anti-social,” Jefferson protested. “I ate pizza with a few guys today. I play many of these games online with others, and I chat with lots of people.”

“Who are they?” Mother asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What are their names?” Mother demanded.

“I think one goes by the name of Warlord, and another calls himself Macho Joe,” Jefferson mumbled.

Mother put all the food on her plate back into the serving dishes. “I’m not hungry, either.” She angrily covered the dishes and stuffed them into the refrigerator. “I’m not cooking for you until you eat all these leftovers. And if you tell me one more time you’re not hungry, there will be a price to pay. I’ll trash your cell-phone. I am at my wit's end. Trashing the phone seems to be the only thing that would affect you, I can’t send to your room anymore. That’s the only place you want to be.”

As Mother seemed to finish her rant, Jefferson put on his earphones and shuffled back to his bedroom.

Later that evening, Mother entered Jefferson’s room. “I knocked twice; there was no answer,” she said.

Upon noticing his mother’s shadow in the doorway, Jefferson took off his earphones. “What do you want?” he grunted.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I knocked on the door twice and because there was no answer, I let myself in. We need to talk.”

“You’re interrupting the game,” he said, taking off his earphones.

“In the darkness, with the light of the cell-phone etching shadows on your face, you look like you are telling ghost stories at a campfire,” Mother said.

“Is that all?” he asked, turning back to his cell-phone.

“This lighting makes you look sickly and thin,” Mother continued. “It probably doesn’t help by your lack of involvement in sports or anything resembling exercise.”

“My thumbs are in excellent shape,” he said, “that’s all I need.”

Mother flicked the light switch on. “I came to apologize for being angry at supper time,” she said.

Jefferson shrugged his shoulders.

“I was hoping for a better reaction than a shrug,” Mother said with a sigh.

Jefferson said nothing.

“I’ve been thinking.” Mother forced a smile. “I think we need a holiday. Your Uncle Jim has a cabin at Iroquois Lake. He said we could use it in July.  I’ve got some holidays coming, and we could make it work next week. We could go swimming, hiking, fishing. We could have a great time. To date, you’ve spent virtually your whole summer holiday in your bed. You need to get out. What do you think, Jeff?”

Jefferson noticed his mother used the term, “Jeff.” She used it every time she wanted to coax him into doing something to please her.

“I’d prefer to stay home,” he mumbled, his gaze returning to his cell phone.

“We stayed home last year,” Mother protested. “At the end of the holiday, we were all grumpy.”

“Well, if you need a holiday, why don’t you go to the cabin and rest, and I’ll stay at home?” Jefferson offered.

“But I want to go as a family, and you’re all I have,” Mother argued.

“I’ll be all right at home. I can fend for myself,” Jefferson blurted. “I could also stay at Dad’s place.” Jefferson regretted saying this immediately, as he could see the pain in his Mother’s eyes. He knew he had hurt her.

Mother replied, a tear trickling down her cheek. “I’m sorry things went wrong, but your Dad hasn’t been a father to you. He’s taken no interest in you since he left ten years ago. Your father hasn’t seen you, sent cards or gifts for birthdays and Christmas. He’s interested only in the young bimbo he’s living with. Your father is not interested in having you.”

Jefferson couldn’t stand seeing his mother cry. “Okay, okay, I’ll go.”

“One more thing,” Mother said, pushing her luck. “I want you to leave your cell-phone at home.”

“What?” whined Jefferson. “What am I going to do? There is nothing to do at the lake.”

“Well, I don’t want you to come home from a holiday, looking as pale and pasty as a ghost!”

Jefferson could sense Mother’s determination.

“I said I’d go,” he mumbled.

“Without your cell-phone?” Mother queried.

Jefferson muttered something unintelligible to get his mother off his case. She could interpret it however she wanted. He was going to take the cell-phone no matter what she said. He had made as many concessions as he was going to make.

The week went by quickly. Jefferson noticed his mother was in a better mood. He figured she let him spend unlimited time on the cell phone in the belief she could get him to go cold turkey the following week.

Jefferson packed his bags the night before. He placed his cell phone in one of his pants pockets in the middle of the suitcase and tossed in a battery pack. Jefferson helped his mother pack the car trunk and then went to bed. There was nothing else to do.

Both woke up early, and they hit the road by 8:30 am in their blue Honda Civic. The morning sun promised a gorgeous day. Jefferson sat in the front seat on the passenger side. He had taken and passed the written learners test but took no interest in driving. The driving instructor told Jefferson after a particularly hair-raising incident that he was putting his life in jeopardy every time he went out in the car with him. In the end, the instructor signed a card saying Jefferson had completed six hours of in-car experience. He told Jefferson, “You will never pass a driving test unless somebody spent hours with you.” Jefferson’s mother didn’t have much time, and Jefferson had expressed no interest. It took time away from gaming.

Jefferson viewed the passing scenery through his sunglasses. He had never been to Iroquois Lake before, so he noted the towns along Highway 12. They passed by Martensville. The brightness of the yellow-flowered fields his mother called canola surprised him. He even raised his sunglasses to appreciate the vibrancy of the yellow against the blueness of the sky. Jefferson noted the access signs to the towns of Hepburn and Waldheim and then they crossed the Petrofka Bridge spanning the North Saskatchewan River. Later, they passed through Blaine Lake before they turned into the Iroquois Lake site.

Uncle Jim’s small cabin was the most unspectacular of the cabins they passed. Jefferson imagined it could keep the rain out but was uncertain it could do much more. The sparsely furnished interior had only the bare necessities. A few pans, cups, and plates crammed a tiny cupboard. The kitchen seemed crowded with an old microwave, a hot plate, and a table with two chairs. A dilapidated couch with sagging cushions furnished the living area, and curtains masquerading as walls hid a couple of beds. A small bathroom, equipped with a sink, shower, and toilet, completed the cabin. The cabin had no insulation, but it did have a small woodstove centered in the middle of the living room. It was going to be difficult to conceal any time on his cell phone from Mother.

Jefferson helped Mother unpack the car, then sat in one of the chairs staring out the window, his suitcase by his side. It looked like a bleak holiday with nothing but a lake and bush in view. After fifteen minutes, he picked up his luggage, made his way to his bedroom, drew back the curtains, and threw the bag onto his bed. Then he returned to the table to gaze out the window. Mother had already dusted off a few shelves to set out the contents of her suitcase.

“Isn’t this going to be fun?” Mother chirped.

Jefferson shrugged his shoulders.

“Come on, let’s go sit on the bench and enjoy the scenery,” Mother continued in her cheery tone.

“Nah, I think I’ll enjoy it from here,” Jefferson replied.

“Now, don’t be a stick in the mud.”

“My feet are dry in the cabin,” Jefferson countered.

Mother chuckled. Her laughter had a way of weakening his resolve, and he followed her out to the bench. He hadn’t seen her so cheery for a long time.

“Isn’t this air wonderful?” Mother said as she breathed deeply. “Listen to the sounds!” Small waves lapped the shore in a quiet rhythm. The sound of warblers filled the trees behind them. From the middle of the lake, came the haunting cry. “Did you hear that?” Mother enthused. “It’s a loon. You know, the bird on the back of the loonie? When we came to the lake when I was young, we could hardly wait to hear the sound of the loon.”

“Well, it doesn’t look like the bird on the coin to me,” Jefferson said. “From here, it looks black and white. On the coin, it’s brown.”

“It’s an engraving, silly,” Mother said with a laugh.

A few buzzing mosquitoes later, Jefferson was ready to go back to the cabin.

“Don’t you want to go for a cooling swim?” Mother asked. “The long ride in the car should have you ready for some exercise.”

“The mosquitoes are bad out here.” Jefferson stood up and made his way back to the cabin.

“Well, I think I’ll go for a swim,” Mother said, following him. “Are you sure you don’t want to join me?”

“I don’t know how to swim,” Jefferson responded. “I’ll watch you from inside the cabin.”

“That’s because whenever I offered to take you to swimming lessons, you never wanted to go,” Mother said. “You said you wanted to stay home.”

“If you get into trouble in the lake,” Jefferson assured his mother, “I’ll find a log and toss it your way.”

Mother retired to her bedroom and came back out in her bathing suit. She was pretty for a mother and an older woman. Jefferson wondered why she had never latched onto another guy. His father had to be a jerk leaving her.

Jefferson watched his mother swim for a while. She seemed to know what she was doing, so he decided not to rush out and find a log. He went to the bedroom and retrieved his cell-phone, and then sat down at the window to play. It didn’t last long because Mother soon returned to the shore and dried off with the towel she had left on the bench. Jefferson returned the cell-phone to the suitcase. The short times on his cell-phone were not going to be satisfactory. He would have to make a better plan.