Page 69 of Brain Damage

“Charly!” Angela snaps at me. “You saw Jamie’s ex-wife and you didn’t even tell me? What did she look like? Was she hot?”

“Kind of,” I admit, while Jamie rolls his eyes.

“Who does she look like?” Angela asks. “I mean, like, what celebrity?”

I can’t think of any celebrity that Karen resembled. Actually, it’s sort of hard to think of any celebrities in general. Finally, I say, “Morticia Addams.”

Angela bursts out laughing, while Jamie shakes his head. “That’s low, Charly,” he says, although he’s smiling. “Really low.”

“She was also really young,” I add. “I mean, really young.”

“So you like them young, do you, Mr. Knox?” Angela teases him. “Very interesting…”

Jamie groans. “She’s twenty-eight years old, you idiots.”

“Suuuuure she is,” Angela snorts. “So tell me, who’s hotter: Morticia or Charly?”

Jamie’s face turns almost as red as it did last night. “Angie, quit it. Anyway, I can’t even think about Karen that way anymore. She’s evil.”

Angela grins at him. “I take it that you and your ex-wife are not on good terms.”

Jamie winces. “She’s not my ex-wife… we were never married. We were never even dating, not really. We just hooked up a bunch of times after I covered some late shifts at the bar.”

“So I guess it wasn’t a planned pregnancy?” Angela says.

Jamie snorts. “Are you kidding? I didn’t even realize she was pregnant until a year and a half later when I got slapped with a paternity suit.”

“Ouch,” she says.

“Yeah, it wasn’t great,” he sighs. “Actually, it completely messed up my life at the time. I was living with a woman, and that fell apart. She didn’t like that I had a kid she never knew about or the fact that I wanted to be part of his life. But I was adamant about that. I mean, I didn’t want to have a son that I didn’t even know. So we worked it out that Karen had custody, but I got visitation rights.”

“So what happened to make you hate her so much?” Angela asks the question I’ve been dying to know the answer to.

“I came in one day to pick Sam up,” Jamie recalls. “I found him toddling around the floor with uncapped needles lying around. Karen was unconscious in the bathroom. I called the police, and she ended up going to some inpatient drug rehab program. And I got full custody.”

“So you had sole custody of your son for the last five years?” Angela asks him. “Wow, I bet your social life sucks.”

He hesitates. “Okay, yes, it does. I mean, it did. But that’s not the most important thing. I’m not about to compromise Sam’s safety. She’s been wanting joint custody for the last year claiming she’s clean, but I don’t buy it. So I’ve been fighting her.”

“Does Sam like her?” I ask him.

“Well, yeah, of course he does,” he says. “She’s his mom…”

Jamie trails off then, looking into the distance. He bites his lip.

“Does she have proof that she’s clean now?” Angela asks him.

Jamie frowns. “Yes, she does. But… I mean, this is my kid we’re talking about. Even if she’s sober now, what if she doesn’t stay that way?”

“Or what if she falls down a flight of stairs and cracks her head open?” Angela retorts.

Jamie glares at her. “You know what, Angie? You’re being really annoying. Why can’t you just blindly be pissed off on my behalf?”

Angela shrugs. “I speak the truth. If you don’t want to hear it, then don’t listen.”

“I thought she was really just way too skinny, Jamie,” I volunteer. “I bet she gives really uncomfortable hugs. Sam probably won’t like her as much as you.”

Jamie’s face relaxes, and he smiles at me. “Thanks, Charly. I knew I could count on you to be on my side.”