2020-05-06 Parental Consent - Seamus, Owen, Colleen and John

Seamus Reinhardt sat in his room, looking at the completed resume and application for a job he wanted at the Love Shack.  It didn’t say much, because he’d never had a real job before.  He’d helped with the town’s buildings, working under a real architect, and that had cemented what he wanted to do with his life.  But now … with the world reconnected … sort of … he knew he would need a real job.

He’d already told both of his parents that he wanted to talk to them, but they were both jumpy after the whole telling them about Slaine thing.  So he felt he could use backup.  He blows out a breath and heads for Owen’s room, knocking lightly.

Owen is reading an old book he found in his parents collection called The Baby Book. He calls out “Yeah come in…” His new haircut is still somewhat intact but right now it’s a mess and he’s still in pajama pants and an old ripped camp t-shirt he’s had since junior high. It’s too short on him now but for pjs anything goes right?

Seamus walks in, dressed in nice jeans and a t-shirt that looks new .. but isn’t.  He sits on the bed and looks at the book, which he ignores.  Taking a deep breath, he begins.  “I need your help.  I want to get a job.”  He looks like this may well be impossible without his big brother.

Owen perks up “You want to work at Thrifty’s? I’m sure I could put in a word…..Paul’s super cool. Lydia’s a bit scary but you just need to know not to cross her in certain moods...and we’ve got Ziggy now...and Pixie...I never did get her your number. Even Cory can be cool.” He starts rambling on not even looking at the resume “Cash is always needing more but maybe they could use another deli server…” He  beams. Clearly Owen is loyal to his workplace.

Seamus opened his mouth, but Owen kept on talking.  He lifts up his hand.  “OK, first of all, never mind Pixie.  The lockdown is over, I’m getting laid again.”  he goes into his back pocket.  “I’ve kinda been offered a job.  But .. you know .. I’m underage….”  he hands over the papers .. it’s his application .. for employment at The Love Shack.  “So I need parental consent ….”

Owen stops talking at the hand and listens and then looks down at the papers with wide eyes for  a moment. When he finally looks up he just offers “So you want me to forge one of their signatures? Dad’s I’m ok at but Mom’s is all loopy and I always screwed it up…..I think Fi can pull hers off though…” He ponders.

Seamus blinks.  “Holy shit, I never even thought of that.”  he pats Owen on the back.  “Perfect!  I’ll get a pen and we’ll go over to Fi’s…  her Mom’s forgery is way better than mine.”  he’s thought of doing it the legal way, but the idea that Owem was thinking in such a Shay Way impressed him.

Owen smiles at his idea and then thinks it through “Shay….Shay wait…...we can’t do it that way. This is Alexandra. Someone’s going to see you...someone they know...and how will you hide where you’re going? This is a flawed plan…”

Seamus was half off the bed, but flopped back onto it.  He clearly deflates.  “Ugh .. yea .. Mom’s a nurse … she sees everybody.”  he sighs.  “Well ..  I HAD told Mom and Dad I wanted to talk to them this morning … and wanted you as back up, because …  I’m Shay.”  he sighs.  “And I want to work in a sex shop, so ….”

Owen holds up his baby book and laughs “So you want me in the room to remind them I’m the poster child for birth control and everyone should have lots of condoms?”

Seamus sighs.  “Well …  yea …  at least your kid was conceived indoors …”  he pauses.  “You didn’t do it in public like I did .. did you?”  he sighs.  “And they love you.  Look how fast they hopped on the Owen and Slaine ship.”

Owen starts to speak and then stops to think “Shay…..I don’t want you to feel like they love me more because of that. You remember what else I told them that day right?” He sighs as well “Yeah we did it in a bed…...and now I just need that damned ship to sail the hell over here. You were awesome and there for me. Tell me what I can do to help. Because it is truly the perfect job for you.” He has to admit.

Seamus snorts.  “Of course they do, but I’m used to that.”  he says it casually.  “And they still love you even after telling them about that Rose fuck.  Because that's .. non consensual.  Rape.”  he almost smiles.  “She’s coming on the 1st … that's like only a few weeks.  And in the meantime ….  I honestly think it would help if I at least had you there to say ‘He knows a lot about condoms because he uses them all the time.’ and back me up.”  he listens to himself and drops his head in his hands.  “Well … 2021 isn’t THAT far away …..”

Owen winces and then smiles a bit and then thinks “K...shay...we need to put this in momspeak. We can’t say how much you use condoms. Even though that’s GOOD it pushes buttons….talk about disease prevention. Speak to her nurse brain….” He suggests.

Seamus nods.  “Momspeak.”  he blows out a breath.  “Yea …  I mean .. come on … I know all this…”  he nods to himself trying to convince himself and thinking maybe he could just borrow money from Owen at a low interest rate.

Colleen paces downstairs … another talk .. this time with Seamus.  “I swear John, if he’s gotten someone pregnant …..”  and she doesn’t finish the sentence, she just turns in the direction of the stairs and Mom screams “Seamus, come ON, we don’t have all day.”  even though they do.

John watches his wife pace like one does a lion when one has just discovered the enclosure door is a jar. He baits the dangerous creature with the only thing he’s got “More coffee Babe?” He holds up the carafe pot. He’s worried about Seamus too but if both their sons have knocked up women then well they’d just have to suck it up.

Owen hears their mom and jumps up “Well...looks like you’re on. I’ll come with you...it’ll be ok…”

Seamus sighs and bellows back, proving he is Colleen’s son, at least that way.  “Coming!”  and he stands, nodding to his brother and comes down.

Colleen watches the stairs and when Seamus appears … Owen is right behind him.  She throws up her hands.  “I KNEW IT!” and she collapses on the couch and all but crawls into John’s armpit.

John puts his arm around Colleen and looks tiredly at his boys, zeroing his gaze in on Seamus “Seamus, what’s this about? Remember we’re old and more susceptible to heart attacks now….”

Owen smiles awkwardly at their parents “You survived my news. This isn't like that.” He preludes and then steps aside for Seamus.

Seamus sighs when his mother says she knew it.  Whatever ‘it’ was.  He looks between his father and brother and basically says the same thing he said to Owen.  “I just need parental consent because I’ve been offered a job but can’t take it because I’m only 16.”

Colleen peeks out from under John’s arm.  “A job?  Oh, well …  working with Owen could be GOOD for you.”  She looks hopeful.

John looks confused but relieved “You need a job son? Why didn’t you say so? We’re always hiring at the power plant and you won’t need parental consent….you will need focus. A trained eye to watch the control boards. They don’t do much….but if they do...you’ll be watching.” He taps at his head “Focus…..” The starting jobs at the power plant have a reputation for being extremely boring but John always tries to make them sound like some kind of super secret super hero project.

Owen had done the exact same thing as his dad and had a ripple of oh my god I’m our father as he started to chuckle “Mom, Dad. listen again.” He looks at Seamus.

Seamus almost replies to his mother when his father starts in.  “Oh no .. fuck no .. no .. I’m not working with you Dad .. nothing against you or electricity or water or anything …”  he sighs.  “I’ve been offered a job at the Love Shack.  I’m in there …”  and he looks in Owen’s direction and decides to shut up unless they pump him for information.  He pulls out the forms and holds them out for anyone to take.

Colleen sighs when her husband gets on the father/son working together bandwagon, and then Owen tells them to Listen.  Shay mentions the Love Shack and Colleen just blinks.

John tilts his head like the idea is going in slowly. He lifts up the coffee carafe on the table in front of him and assesses how full it is before walking it to the kitchen. Then he opens the liquor cabinet and pulls out a large bottle of whiskey. Unscrewing the carafe he just tips the bottle, not even measuring what he’s pouring. He casually puts the bottle back and returns to the couch, refilling his and Colleen’s coffee cups “The Love Shack, you were saying? Tell us about that…” He sips deeply.

Owen watches their father and just shakes his head, hoping it all helps Seamus.

Seamus watches their reactions, then puts the papers on the table in front of his parents.  “The Love Shack, Dad.  It’s a sex shop on Water Street.”  he’d have thought everyone knew that, but … when his father put his head in the sand, he didn’t go halfway.  “I’ve been buying condoms there since the ferry got reconnected and they got resupplied, and I review a lot of their products…”  he stops again, wondering if he’s even saying what they want to hear.

Colleen takes her full cup and begins to drink.  One big swallow, and John asks about the Love Shack so she takes two more and then Seamus immediately explains that he is a regular customer who reviews their products … and she drains the cup, leaning forward and setting the cup back on the table.

John sips the cup some more and nods as he comes up for air “I’m aware of the existence and type of shop it is. I was not aware you were such a consoeur….” He watches his wife drink her whole cup down and does the same and then pours them some more.

Owen isn’t sure if he’s feeling tension or he’s being affected by the vapours of the whiskey going airborne so casually he asks “Can I have a coffee?”

To which John simply responds “No.” He picks up the papers and reads, squinting at them. “So they mostly sell condoms? This isn’t like a full on porn shop where they film?” John may be revealing more understanding than he wishes for his sons to be aware of.

Seamus is aware that he needs to keep the parents buttered like a fine loaf of French Bread, but he can’t help himself.  The words slip out of his mouth.  “Yea, Dad.  I’ve come a long way from fucking in the Forest.”  and then he realizes what he’s said, but then his father continues and Seamus can only hope his words went unheeded.  “They sell condoms, dildoes and vibes, magazines and a few movies…” and then his father’s words hit him in the face.  “You think Megan Brate wants to film me having sex?”  he looks at the carafe and wonders … what exactly is IN there…

Colleen picks up her newly refilled coffee cup.  “Thank you, babe.”  she replies as the conversation continues between her husband and their son.  Connoisseur .. one gulp.  Porn shop where they film.  Two gulps.  A long way from fucking in the Forest.  Three gulps.  Megan Brate; Porn producer.  Cup once again drained, but she giggles a little as she puts the cup back on the table.

John exhales, his moustache bristling and his nose getting a little red like it does when he’s been drinking “No I don’t think Megan wants to film you having sex but Seamus this is going to be on your resume for your next job…..I’m not a prude….but think ahead kid.” He squints at the pages again “What fuckin font are you using...it’s so small…”

Owen walks back into the kitchen and starts making non spiked coffee in the regular coffee maker. He peers at his mother giggling and thinks they might just be getting drunk. He steps up to the counter and says “It is a job that cuts down on” He gestures at himself taking a hit in the line of fire “unplanned pregnancy…..and” he adds what he mentioned earlier as momspeak “reduces diseases like STIs and stuff…..”

Seamus could hug Owen, which is not something he does where other humans might see it.  “I’m not ashamed of anyone knowing I worked in a place like the Love Shack.”  he explains.  “And Owen is right.”  more words that rarely come out of his mouth where anyone can hear.  “Plus there is education at places like that.  Pamphlets and books detailing not only that you should wear condoms, but why.  They don’t just protect against AIDS, for example.”  he doesn’t hesitate, but simply tells them.  “Condoms are 98% effective at protecting against most STIs like chlamydia and gonorrhoea. But, condoms don't protect you from all STIs such as herpes, genital warts and syphilis which can be spread from skin-to-skin contact.”  he shrugs.  “I don’t do a lot, but working there I think I’d feel like I was actually doing something.”  It's as if he’s forgotten that he helped maintain the town's infrastructure between the ages of 14 and 16.

Colleen sighs and looks at her husband.  “Oh for fucks sake John, you need glasses.”  she announces and then looks at Seamus with raised eyebrows.  He was right … he was absolutely right. “Shay … you helped the town when it needed you.  Doesn’t this feel like … a step down?”  she is drunk … but she isn’t out for the count.

John can’t argue with either of his son’s points and has now been called out by his wife for ignoring his old man eyesight. He grumbles and sips more whiskey coffee and eyes Seamus over his cup.

Owen looks touched by his brother’s acknowledgement and sets the coffee maker to brew, hitting the button and then grabs a bowl and spoon and rattles around in the cereal cupboard. He returns to the counter after to observe but he’s starting to feel like this is going well for Seamus. He was expanding on the basic idea with good solid facts. Mom threw a little curveball though so he watched Shay up to bat.

Seamus looks at his mother and sighs.  “Maybe I did.” he demures.  “But if not for the Earthquake and fog it never would have happened.”  he points out.  “Now back in the real world I’m nothing but a 16 year old kid with a talent for sports and an A average.  We've been gone too long for the college teams to come looking at me.  Any school I get into will have to be based on my grades .. which are great.  I’m not top of the class cause Covid-19 knocked me out of the running for two weeks.  I’ll try and get that #1 spot back, but no promises.”  he sighs.  “So it’s not really a step down.   It’s just me going for my first job … and I think I have the confidence to look any future employer in the face and tell them that my first job at least did some good in this world.”

Colleen listens to Seamus and sits back.  Her youngest son always seemed to be trying to make his name in the family, one way or another.  A college scholarship for hockey would have gone a long way, but he was right .. that wasn’t going to happen now.  Then Covid was threatening to take away his chance at valedictorian.  He couldn’t catch a break.  “We’re still proud of you, Seamus.  And we still love you.”

John toasted Seamus with his cup. The kid was smart, always had been. And he was always a little ahead of his age maturity wise. Maybe it was keeping up with the conversation and habits of his older siblings all the years, maybe it was just him. John looked at the papers and then to Colleen “Alright….give it a shot. I’ll support it. And we do love you.”

Owen leaned forward on his elbows now, picking at his cereal with his fingers and eating. He had forgotten about the milk. He was just watching the show. Seamus appeared to have pulled it off.

Seamus looked almost as if he couldn’t believe they were about to sign.  He nods.  “Thanks…”

Colleen nods and moves some of the papers on the table aside to find a pen.  She looks at the paper as she does so and speaks.  “You have our support, Seamus.”  she tells him as she signs ‘Colleen’.  As she sighs ‘Reinhardt’ she adds.  “You will use your employee discount to get me some decent lube, won't you?”