My cousin Jack, when I picked him up from the bus station, turned out to be a little shorter then I was, thin and athletic looking. I couldn’t exactly say what it was that I had been expecting, but he wasn’t it. I think I have been allowed to fall into movie stereotypes for too long where all criminals with a prison record are big, muscular, ill educated tattooed guys. Jack was far from any of those.
“Don’t worry; I’m not going to stay for long. I’m going to look for a job starting tomorrow and as soon as I find on get out of your hair. You have no idea how grateful I am for you taking me in like this on such short notice,” he said as he got into my car.
“No luggage?” I asked.
“My parents got rid of all of my stuff after I was arrested, I don’t have anything except what I’m wearing. I’ll buy some other stuff after I get a job, don’t worry about it,” Jack said casually. I thought of my closet filled with designer suites that that I wore to work and I was filled with guilt.
“If you’re looking for a job you’ll need more then one outfit, it doesn’t look professional if you wear the same thing you wore to the first interview to the second. I can afford to get you some clothes, I’m doing pretty well for myself these days, and I can afford it. I don’t look like you even have a comb or a tooth brush,” I added. He hadn’t been exaggerating that all he had was what he was wearing; he didn’t even have a small bag of luggage. No wonder he had sounded desperate, I thought to myself, I couldn’t imagine being that close to homelessness.
“You’re already giving me a place to stay, I’m 26, I don’t need someone to take care of me,” Jack said defensively.
“You can pay me back after you get a job if you want,” I said, shrugging to show my indifference. “But if you want to get back on your feet you have to invest some stuff first. I mean my parents had to pay my way through college for me, there was no way I could have gotten through without their help.” I instantly felt like a horrible person for bringing up parents and my successfulness but Jack didn’t seem to mind.
“I’m still just a stranger though, and not one with a good reputation,” was all he said. It was too awkward to respond to that, mostly because it was a very honest self evaluation, so we drove back to my house in silence. After I had installed Jack in the spare room in my house, and sworn to take him shopping for a toothbrush at least the next day, I called my mother.
“So you did end up taking in Jack, I wasn’t sure how you would take it when he called you. I hope I didn’t force you into an uncomfortable situation,” my mother said rather sheepishly.
“No, nothing like that, but he is family after all and I couldn’t think of a reason to turn him down when he was in need of help. I mean charity starts at home and all of that.”
“Yes, just don’t tell your father that Jack is staying with you, he’ll have a fit,” my mother warned. “You should have heard what he said to Jack over the phone, and Jack didn’t say anything in response, if I was him I would have hung up on your father, but he just listened.”
“I know better then you say anything about Jack to any member of the family, you don’t have to worry Mother.”
To be continued...
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