Why They're Important

Why They're Important</b>

"Jack!" a tall, thin woman came down the road, calling out to her son. He stood behind the elm tree, peeking over the wooden trunk. Jack almost went to his mother but found himself held back. It was so unfair! Dad had left, his older sister died by the hands of a drunken man, and he had even lost his blue Nike shoes. He sighed and decided to go to his mom.

"Over here, Laura," Jack called. He never used her real name, not since she made his dad leave.

She turned around rapidly, her mass of blonde curls twirling along with her. "Oh, Jack! Don't scare me like that!"

She went to him, enveloping him in her arms and squeezing his heart out. "Can't… move… or… breathe…"

"Oh," Laura backed away from her son. She admired him thoughtfully, caressing his cheek.

"Please, stop," he hissed.

She sighed, lifting her hand away. "I know you're sad because I threw out your shoes, but they were too small for you. Why are you so attached to them?"

"They're important!" Jack shouted, throwing his hands up. "Don't you remember? Wait, on second thought, of course you don't. It was when Dad was around! You've decided to go and forget about him!"

Laura choked back her stinging retort. They had been through this argument before. "Darling, I know you miss him –"

"How could I not? I, unlike you, have a heart! The shoes were my last memory of him and… Carol…" Jack looked down, tears streaming down his face. "They… wanted to get me a good present… We never had enough money to buy gifts for Christmas… It was my tenth birthday… I finally had hit double-digits…

"Carol… she saw the shoes and knew I would like them… her and Dad scraped up enough dollars to buy them. I can't forget my delight when I unwrapped that present. It was the only one and it was better than anything… Carol then went out to get us some pizza… and then… and then…"

Jack clenched his fists tightly, now barely containing his feelings. "She died! Those shoes were the last thing she bought me and… you just… threw them away! How could you?!"

Laura looked at her weeping son and felt her heart plummet. "I didn't… know that's how you felt… I'm sorry…" she took a breath, crouching and taking Jack's chin in her hand to force him to look at her. "I'll try to be a good Mom… Please just give me a chance. I know Charlie and I didn't make it any better for you… I'll take you to him for Christmas, okay? We'll work something out… isn't that right?"

Jack stared at her, his eyes wet. He thought about all he had been through. It must have been ten times worse for Laura. Losing her daughter and then failing to keep her relationship alive… it was worse than their money problems.

He wiped his sleeve on his eyes, gave the best smile he could, and said lovingly, "Yeah, Mom. It's more right than anything else in the world."

Laura laughed, picking up her son. They twirled around in a tight embrace, chuckling and crying at the same time. Jack thought that maybe… just maybe, they could be a happy family. He looked up at the sky and wondered if Carol thought so too.