Jenn and Lydia

Scott grabbed a quick bite and Jenn and he headed off to the bike shop. The start of the day was quiet, Jenn was thinking, Scott was giving her space and both of them had work to do. The sun was getting high and Scott was looking forward to lunch when a truck pulled in and he heard a familiar voice talking to Julio.

“Is Scott Williams here?”

Scott got up and moved quickly, meeting his cousin outside the garage.

“Hey Lydia, what are you doing here.” He was trying to sound polite, friendly even, but was failing.

“Wanted to get my truck tuned up, and since I can’t thank you properly for doing it now, I figured I should pay.”

“Whoa, now that’s a beautiful truck.” This time it was Bob’s voice. Scott’s nightmare was getting worse.

“You like it?”

“Yeah, they don’t make trucks like that anymore, they’re all massive and built like shit. People don’t get pickups to work anymore, boys get them to pretend to be men. Whole country’s going to hell if you ask me.”

Bob was limping over to Lydia, and she went over and shook his hand. Lydia had always loved talking to grumpy older men, and Bob was certainly that.

“Lydia Williams.” She said, extending her hand.

“Angel’s girl?” He asked.

“The one and only.”

‘Shit, you look just like her too. God have mercy on an old heart.”

Lydia laughed.

“So what brings you in?” Bob asked.

“Just wanted to get my truck tuned up.”

“Oh man, I’d do it myself but I’m not allowed anymore, since my hip. Scott will get you fixed up, come into the shop and have a beer, you can tell me how your mom’s been doing, haven’t seen her in years.”

Scott pulled Lydia’s truck into the open bay and gathered up his tools. His stomach was in a knot, he knew the moment Lydia and Jenn ran into each other was coming, and the potential for fireworks was high. He figured the best thing he could do was get Lydia’s truck done as fast as possible. He didn’t have to wait long for the drama though.

“What are you doing here?” He heard Jenn’s voice, loud and angry.

“Jennifer Buzek, you do not yell at a customer!”

“She’s a customer?”

Scott just focused on his work. Going out there was more likely to make things worse than better.

It quieted down quickly, Jenn may have a quick temper, but she wasn’t going to make her business look bad over a personal issue.

He heard the back door open and close, and he went to look out into the shop. Bob was there, his face red, but it was just him.

“I’m sorry Bob.”

“Is that your fault?” Bob asked, pointing to the back door.

“Well, it’s about me.”

“Huh,” Bob said, his scowl turning to a sly smile, “Is she what this morning was about?”

“Yeah.”

Bob laughed. “Well, at least that’s one hell of a way to get into trouble.”

Scott looked out the back window, saw Jenn and Lydia talking, it looked tense. He wanted to go out there, find a way to settle things. He loved Jenn and hoped their relationship would be forever, but he also loved his family, Lydia was important to him, and the two of them needed to find a way to be close as cousins, without the sex.

Scott sighed, thought about what Mr. Carter had said. He would have to trust them to work this out.

When he went back into the garage, Julio had opened a small window on the back wall, and was listening to the ladies.

“Come on man, we need to get this work done, Jenn’s going to be fired up when she comes back in.” Scott didn’t want Julio eavesdropping on his life’s drama.

“Yeah, I hear you.”

Julio’s work was loud enough to drown out any other sounds, and Scott working on the engine timing wasn’t quiet either. When they were both quiet enough though, some words slipped through.

“That’s bullshit Jenn, you blame me for taking Scott away from you but you took him from me.” Scott was stunned, Lydia was heated and yelling. He signaled for Julio to chill for a minute.

“Yeah, he and I would hook up, but I didn’t ditch him because I was done with him, we stopped because no matter what I did he kept looking to you, kept following you like a little puppy. I couldn’t take it, no matter what I did, no matter how many times I showed him how I felt, I was always second place to his friend who strung him along, not willing to commit to him or let him go.”

“Lydia that’s not true.”

“Fuck You Jenn! You know it’s true. Hell, you got him to help Dana with math and then when she liked him you punished him by dating that asshole Jeremy who used to bully him.”

“That’s not why. . .”

“Tell yourself whatever you have to, but why didn’t he join us at the lake Jenn? It wasn’t some fucking Dr. Who marathon, it was because he couldn’t take the way you and Jeremy were all over each other, and don’t tell me it wasn’t about Scott and Dana, I saw the way you’d look at him while making out with Jeremy.”

“That wasn’t about Dana, I wanted him to see how I felt every time you two would get together.”

“You weren’t with him, Jenn! He wasn’t cheating on you. You knew how he felt and you strung him along, not giving him anything but punishing him if he looked anywhere else.”

“How dare you, do you even know what it was like when you ran off and left him Lydia, how awful he felt, how bad it got?”

They were starting to yell, and Scott was afraid it would get physical. He walked out back.

“I know exactly how much it hurt him, but I was hurting too, I didn’t want to hurt him but I couldn’t stay and watch you punish him, knowing that it mattered more than anything I could offer him.”

“Lydia, Jenn.” Scott hoped to de-escalate the situation.

“Get our of here Scott.” Jenn said.

“Yeah, it’s not about him is it, it never is, it’s always about you Jenn.” Lydia’s fists were balled, she was ready for a fight.

“I’m not doing this in front of Scott, Lydia.”

“Jenn, don’t I get a say in this?”

“No.” Jenn was furious, “If you take her side it’s over between us and I don’t want you taking my side just to appease me.”

“Wow, you are such a bitch Jenn.”

“Fuck you Lydia.”

“You don’t deserve him, you never did, and you never will, you’re terrified someday he’ll realize what a manipulative bitch you are and you’ll lose him like you deserve.”

Jenn started towards Lydia, her fists balled up in rage.

“Stop this right now.” Bob Buzek shouted, his voice booming and serious.

Jenn stopped moving. Lydia shut her mouth. But they glared at each other.

“Scott, go inside.” Scott wasn’t going to argue with Bob, his presence had only escalated things.

“You two both care about that young man, and you’ve been fighting over him for years.” Scott walked around the corner of the garage and stopped, leaning on the wall, tears welling up. He was angry, sad, but mostly scared that he would have to choose between Jenn and his family, and he couldn’t make that choice.

“You ladies are going to both lose him if you can’t settle this.” His voice was a bit calmer.

“Jenn, if you marry him Lydia will be your family, and if you ask Scott to abandon his family it will go as well as if Scott asked you to never speak to me again. And Miss Williams, I’m not your dad, you don’t have to listen to me, but you yourself admit that you aren’t going to pull Scott away from Jenn, you are going to have to choose whether you can accept Jenn and Scott or not, but that’s your decision, not Scott or Jenn’s.”

There was a pause. No one spoke.

“Take my car Jenn, you two go somewhere else and fucking settle this, find a way to co-exist, because right now it’s both of you hurting that boy, both of you choosing whatever this is between you over him. And if you ever fight like this at my shop again, I’ll call the cops on both of you.”