Jeffrey Williams, our socially minded
writer is back this issue with a short story. As we've come to expect,
however, it has all the struggle and urgency of his other
contributions...A Mother Betrayed
by Jeffrey Williams
by Jeffrey Williams
A Mother Betrayed
by Jeffrey Lee Williams,
Jr.
Brandon Fisher and his mother Jodie had been best friends for most of his life. They were rarely seen apart and many thought that they had become so close that they were involved in some sort of sordid relationship; but that was not the case at all. Jodie and Brandon just shared the same interests. They were avid readers, relentless shoppers, movie buffs, and fashion enthusiasts. Jodie separated from Brandon’s father when he was very young. Brandon never really knew his father because he hailed from Leeds, England and moved back there shortly after the divorce. Brandon was an only child and when he was growing up he was sort of a mama’s boy. Clinging to his mother at every one of life’s twists and turns, he never really knew what it was like not to have her to depend on. Whether the trouble was a bully at school, or acne, or girl troubles, Jodie was right there to reassure Brandon that he was going to be just fine no matter what the situation was. The closeness of their relationship was so tight that it came as a shock to Brandon when one morning he walked in the house and saw his mother yelling into the telephone at his Aunt Marilyn. Once their eyes met, the shouting then became his problem—and one that was not going to be contained by his mother and former best friend, anytime soon.
“I cannot believe that you would betray me in this way!” Jodie shouted at the top of her lungs, so loudly, in fact, that neighbors and passers by stopped in front of the house for an earful of entertaining degradation. “You are my son, we were best friends, we were, but then you turned on me! You became just another one of those bastards that your father is! I can never forgive you for this, Brandon! What will I tell my mother? What will I tell my father? How could I look anyone in the eye ever again?! You have insulted me, spat on my love and my support and taken advantage of my generosity! What should I do now? What am I to do now?!” Before Brandon could answer, Jodie began to throw his belongings against the wall and rip posters off the wall. Her rampage was then redirected on him as this small framed woman turned to her son and tried with all her might to lift the six foot tall teenager up and toss him to the floor like a rag doll. All Brandon could do was wait until she calmed, and then try to reason with her.
After several hours of uncontrollable crying, her verbal thrashing of Brandon, and destroying his things, Jodie stormed into her room and turned on the radio as loudly as it could possibly go before there was a sudden moment of silence. The silence lasted for about four minutes before she opened her bedroom door and told Brandon that the police were on their way over to arrest him for his betrayal, because it wasn’t just a betrayal, but it was an illegal act that was punishable by law. Brandon was stunned, to say the least. He looked at his mother with disbelief that she could even dare think of calling the police on him. The two had been inseparable for years and now there was this seemingly unstoppable juggernaut of negativity and rage that was overtaking his mother, making her a monster of drastic proportions. He feared that there was no turning back, and that his former relationship with his mother was just going to be a memory from now on.
The police reached the house a couple of hours after Brandon arrived home. The two officers and Jodie spoke for a few minutes in her bedroom and then came out to talk to Brandon. They explained to him that though he was only seventeen years old, it might be a good decision to leave the house and find someplace to stay for a while because his mother may not be totally capable of taking care of him anymore. They explained to him that they believed she may need medical help. When Jodie returned from the bedroom and heard the officers talking to Brandon, she screamed at them to arrest him for his offense. Not only did she demand that they arrest him, but she said she had proof that he had committed this crime. The cops had received all the proof they needed from Brandon himself. He admitted to the crime that his mother spoke of, but the police came to a very real conclusion that Jodie didn’t seem to comprehend. In a very clear voice, Officer Lewis explained why he couldn’t arrest Brandon—he said, “Ms. Fisher, we cannot arrest Brandon because being gay is not a crime.”