At any given time, there are at least two other people who live with me. Jack is a lady’s man. Cool, confident, charming, and witty. He likes to spend his time reading books about adventure like the kind the great Jack Kerouac wrote and believes he was named after him. Jack is intelligent and also enjoys learning how to do things and tries to understand how things work. He only leaves the house when he’s needed or when certain friends of mine decide to get together for ladies night. He enjoys being the only male in a sea of estrogen.
He says all the right things and even though his comments can be a bit on the brash side, the women we know have all come to know him well enough that they almost get disappointed when he doesn’t say them.
Then there’s Jenny. She’s kind of like tank girl and has also adopted the nickname “Trineo”. You know like if Trinity and Neo from the Matrix had an offspring it would be her. She can be a little dark and mysterious at times. For the most part she is utterly harmless, unless she is provoked. That’s when she laces up her steel toe boots and kicks the most ass. She’s the ultimate protector; a big sister and best friend all in one.
I’m the 3rd person. Though I was here first. My name is Jamie. I’m in my early30′s though I feel more like an infantile child sometimes who is trapped in a grown woman’s body.
Until Jack & Jenny came along I was all alone.
It was me against the world.
It’s hard to remember which one of the two came along first because we’ve been together for so long now. But, I’m pretty sure it was Jenny. Jenny and I met during one of the worst times in my life. I was living in an abusive household and tired of getting the shit kicked out of me. I was still very much a child and not understanding that I hadn’t actually done anything to deserve what was happening and that there really wasn’t anything I could do to make it better.
At that time I did everything I could to please the people around me especially when I was at home. I didn’t like being there though so I stayed gone as often as I could. I would go through long trek’s through the woods behind my house and pretend that my real family had simply lost me but that they would come looking for me any day. Jenny had been watching me for quite some time before she decided to reveal herself.
She was so much more mature than I was. She seemed ageless. She was so beautiful yet tough. She waltzed out of the shadows like a young female version of James Dean. She assured me that no one would ever hurt me again and that she would protect me. Jenny was very independent and didn’t need anything from anyone but for some reason she liked me. She helped me see that it really was the other people in my life that were fucked and that I would be ok. She handed me my first cigarette with a smile on her face. I trusted her from the moment I met her. I wanted to trust everyone but up until that moment, I hadn’t trusted anyone.
Everyone in my life from my parents to my teachers, so-called friends and siblings all lied to me and took advantage of me. Many of them made fun of me behind my back and Jenny helped me see them for what they were. I didn’t need them either. Jenny would be my new best friend and I knew she would never leave me.
As I grew older, Jenny was the one that began to prepare me for my own independence. She hated that she couldn’t always protect me, though she damn sure tried. When I wasn’t around, she found ways to get even with the assholes that had been hurting me. She made phone calls to government agencies and had a few of them taken away. She was smart and cunning and moved gracefully among the shadows. A few of them had unfortunate accidents and never bothered me again. I always suspected Jenny had something to do with those accidents but I didn’t care. She told me that she loved me and helped me find my own strength. I knew that anything she had done, she had done for me and for that, I was grateful.
When I was 14, I went to a party with some girls that I didn’t know very well. Jenny told me that I shouldn’t go but I didn’t listen. I was excited to be making new friends who were older than me. (High School does that to you.) At this party I found myself locked in a room with a muscle headed redneck who had me pinned as he began raping me. I cried out loud and was sure no one would hear me. I was terrified of his physical strength and so mad at myself for not listening. I begged God to make him stop and low and behold Jenny showed up and kicked his ass. I’ll never forget the look on that ape’s face when she threw him on the floor and dug the heel of her steel toe into his nutsack.
I left with what little dignity I had left and cried all of the way home. I felt so dirty and disgusting. It was like everything that everyone had ever said about me was true. Jenny was comforting and authoritative at the same time. She made me promise to never allow myself to be in a position like that again and not to go to unfamiliar places without her. I agreed. She made me feel safe in a way that no one else ever had before.
A year later, I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I was bisexual or maybe I was a lesbian. I couldn’t commit myself 100% yet so I went with bisexual. Jenny seemed really happy about that and showed me all of the strong and kick ass women who were also openly bisexual. She said that I was “in the club”. It made me feel like a whole new world was opening up. I had never realized that I was gay, or maybe I had but I was afraid to be marked with such a stigma. According to Jenny, I should wear that stigma like a badge and be proud of it. I liked her approach better.
Jenny wanted to help me find my first girlfriend. She helped me become more confident but something was missing.
That’s when I met Jack. Jack was very artsy and literal. He was smooth and witty and he knew how to evoke emotion with just the right words. He was exactly the kind of guy I would’ve wanted to be, if I were a guy. Jack liked old music, dark liquor out of flasks, and smoked cigarettes down to the filter. He made no apologies for who he was or what he said.
I was quite the opposite. I felt like I was always apologizing to someone for something. Jack too was a little older and wiser than I was. I respected that. He taught me about survival skills and back packing. He showed me the right way to use a knife and tie knots for different purposes. He showed me how to take care of a wound and all kinds of really neat things about first aid. Jenny wasn’t sure if she liked him or not so she sat on the sidelines and watched.
Within a few months they had become best friends as well. The three of us were inseparable. Well, almost. We only got close to having a fight once. Jenny had filled Jack in about what went on in my house and he was steaming mad. He asked me how I could put up with that kind of shit from anyone and begged for me to let him take care of it. I had always managed to keep Jenny out of the house when my folks were home but Jack demanded that he come and have a talk with my folks. I couldn’t let him do that. I knew that once he left they would hurt me. I was scared of what they would do. Jenny was on Jack’s side and they made me choose them or my home life. I had become so used to being able to count on them and hang out with them that I couldn’t imagine life without them.
I chose them. The next day, Jenny came home with me. My step-mother started yelling and screaming about something and Jenny went ballistic. She told me to go into my room and start packing my things. Jenny was about to take care of her. I heard a lot of yelling and things being knocked over. I knew that my step-mother had no chance of escaping Jenny’s wrath. It had been a long time coming. I packed furiously as I was too afraid to even think about staying now.
All I could do was throw a few of my most loved possessions in a bag before Jenny announced it was time to leave. I saw my step-mother lying on the couch and really out of it. She was alive but out cold. I tip toed passed her and with my heart pounding in my throat pushed the door open and ran. We ran as fast as we could and as far as we could without stopping until I saw Jack at the end of the road. He showed me where there was already a little tree house. Jack and Jenny even had supplies there for us. They both assured me that I would never be alone again and they were right.
For years we lived secluded from the rest of the world but as a family. Then, a few years ago, I found myself in a serious relationship with a girl I met at the library. My girlfriend at the time was everything I wanted in another human being. I told her all about Jack and Jenny and how we had all lived together since I was a kid. She seemed excited to meet them so I brought her home. They told me they wanted to talk to her privately and sent me away for the afternoon. By the time I came back she was gone and wouldn’t take my calls. The only thing she said was that I had to choose between Jack and Jenny or her. I guess she just wasn’t the girl for me. Anyone who would ask me to choose between Jack and Jenny would never accept me. Jenny assured me that she would always love me, and so did Jack.
We don’t leave the house much these days. I mean why would we? Jack and Jenny are all of the company I will ever need and they will never leave because they are a part of me.
