Junior Year Box Set

“I bet you feel the same way when a woman cries for any reason,” Uncle John said and then answered my question. “Jan wasn’t reacting in the way you would expect. What confuses you is you’ve never run across a woman like her before. It surprises me you haven’t had to deal with this yet. Your personality will attract certain types of women that you’ll have to be careful with. Some women need a strong partner to help control their life. When you told Jan that she’d only be yours, it was what she desperately needs, someone to protect and guide her. In return, she would need to serve you in some way.”

“I barely have time to do everything now with all of my commitments. There’s no way I’d have time to help guide her,” I said.

“David, it’s more than that, even. Jan needs someone to help her and keep her out of trouble. It would be a full-time job, and you’d have to commit to helping her make better decisions.” Uncle John asked.

“Would it be like training Duke not to beg for table scraps?” I asked.

“In a way, yes. The key to understanding the relationship Jan needs is tradeoffs. It doesn’t necessarily involve love or emotions you would expect in a normal relationship. She would need to support whoever helps structure her life in whatever manner she can. Jan would be obedient and have a willingness to do anything in service to this person. What she’d get in return is someone to set and enforce clear boundaries and provide protection as much for herself as others. Jan would also want attention and appreciation. Here’s the hard part: she would want to be used, to see herself as being useful, and to know she’s appreciated for her usefulness. Right now, the only way Jan knows how to do that is through sex. She’d have to learn other ways to be useful and to feel that she’s appreciated.

“For you, the biggest problem I see is Jan sounds like she’s unstable. Her inability to set limits troubles me. She’d also need a lot of attention. If you decided to help her, you’d be making a long-term commitment. In your case, it would be a major mistake for you to take on that responsibility. While this might be something you want to explore later in life, I expect with everything else you have going on, you couldn’t give Jan the time she needs. I’d suggest you find someone else to take on the role of her protector,” Uncle John said.

“Are you kidding me?” I asked.

“I’m dead serious. It needs to be someone who’ll take care of her. If you put Jan in the wrong hands, she could get messed up and hurt. It has to be someone with a strong personality who won’t back off. Jan needs someone to take her in hand and do what’s best for her, even when she fights it. And then they need to allow her to serve them in some significant way.”

“For a teenage boy, getting laid is pretty significant,” I suggested.

“For an old man like me, it is too, but getting sex is not a long-term solution. If you want, I can come over and talk to her. I could also talk to whomever you think might take her off your hands. She might need more than just someone to be her protector. She might have some deeper issues to work out,” Uncle John suggested.

“Of course I’d like you to fix this for me. I would have no idea what to do,” I admitted, and then thought of something. “Were you ever in a relationship like this?”

He became quiet for a moment. I waited him out.

“I was. Let’s just say I didn’t know what I was doing, and it almost ended in tragedy. Luckily, I had a professor who got involved and eventually took her off my hands,” he said, and then paused again to collect his thoughts. “I’m glad you came to me with this. I’ll make sure Jan gets the help she needs, but I’ll need you to assist me.”

“Okay. Let me see if she’ll allow me to help her, and I’ll let you know.”

I hoped my uncle was wrong, but he had more life experience than I did.

◊◊◊

I received a text from Cassidy that she was having a party. Of course, I said I would come. She sent me one back that I needed to show up early and help her set up. I sent one to Mona, because she was the queen of parties, and asked if she would help too.

When I arrived at Cassidy’s, she told me she wanted all the furniture moved. I rolled my eyes at her and then texted Yuri, Roc, and Phil, and told them to get their butts to Cassidy’s house. I picked those three for different reasons. Phil was obvious; Roc would need a ride from his big sister; and Yuri because I’d not hung out enough with my little Russian gangster. That’s wrong; he wasn’t little anymore. Between a growth spurt, Cassidy’s workouts, and football, he’d become a strapping young man.