A Man and His Memories. Chapter Two.

Chapter 1: http://jelliott115.hubpages.com/_h7tjjfme2qu9/hub/A-Man-and-His-Memories

High School: http://jelliott115.hubpages.com/_h7tjjfme2qu9/hub/A-Man-and-His-Memories-Highschool

Find me on Facebook! Jay.Elliott@earthlink.net
Follow me on Twitter! @jayelliott115

After leaving my father, my mother became enthralled by another man. I had no idea how they had met, all I knew is that he had suddenly become a part of our lives. My brother and I disliked him from the start, but mom was happy. That's what matters. Before we knew it, we had moved from Pickle Lake to a different trailer in a town called Hudson (not to be confused with Hudson Bay). Life, as I had known it to that point, was gone. I didn't know any better, so I had naturally assumed that moving was a normal thing that families just did.

The trailer wasn't anything special. I'm quite certain we were just renting it from someone at the time. There isn't much to say about it other than someone had built a tree fort in the woods behind it, but it wasn't maintained and looked quite shabby. The yard was large and encased in woods with the exception of the road, of course. I do, however, remember throwing a cat tail at a car as it drove by. The car came to a screeching halt, and I took off inside the house thinking that was a safe haven. Apparently not.

Within weeks of moving, I was outside playing with my dog, Bruiser, who was a little black cocker spaniel that loved to play fetch. At this time, he was my only friend, so I made the most of it. Across the street there was a small patch of forest separating our property from what was my closest neighbor. Bruiser loved the woods, so we went there to play. I'm not sure how I had lost him in there, but I did. I remember calling out his name after he didn't come back when I had thrown whatever I throwing for him. Soon after a boy comes walking down the street with my dog. Naturally, at this point, I'm excited to see my dog again.. but this is my first encounter with Bobby.

He very quickly became my best friend. I remember staying over at his house and drinking every can we could from the giant 24-pack of Pepsi. His mom and dad had bought him a super Nintendo also, which made it easy to relate. It was easy-street as far as compatibility was concerned. We were like brothers, playing with our legos and micro-machines. Our back yard was our combined imagination.. and it was very, very vast. There were other kids I would play with that I had met at school. Of course they would always let me be the bad guy that they killed, but I didn't think anything of it. I was playing with people. Now that I really think about it, I'm not entirely sure why I was always the bad guy. Even while playing legos with Bobby, I always assumed the role of the villain. One reoccurring name was "Guardian". Not sure the significance that has on my life, but it's something I remember.

I had met another person as well. Graeme. I think it may have been at school when I first encountered him. I was invited to his house one day, so I went. Much to my enjoyment, he too, had a super Nintendo. I was striking gold with these kids. He was the first person to turn me on to RPGs. Hooked ever since. Of course, I had a severe allergy to the cats in his house and would be wheezing after 20 minutes, but there is no way I could let that stop me from beating that boss.

Speaking of the school.. I don't wish that on anyone. I have no recollection as to the level of education that I was being provided, all I remember is the 'sacking'. Boys would run around and randomly punch other boys in the testicles. Now, Hudson is a poor town where the only major job was the saw mill. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these kids lacked the imagination that Bobby and I shared.

Weeks turned into months.. and after a period of time I can not recall, my mom had told me something that I definitely did not want to hear again. "We are moving." You can imagine the terror in my young heart when those words once again hit my ears. Fortunately for me, it was to a larger house across town that my unemployed soon-to-be step father thought that we could afford. My mom was an accountant though, so I assumed we were doing alright for ourselves. Not that I cared. I would still be able to play with Bobby!

The new house had two basements (one, but separated by a wall) and a main floor. It had a small back yard with a garage at the end of the driveway. I'm quite certain that the crude little 'memory box' I buried there is still there. No idea of the exact location.. but that might be something for me to do when I get older now that I think about it.

Time flows quickly for me here with small visions of riding my bike in the rain.. and the wedding of my step-father to my mother. A bitter-sweet time in my life where things were so simple and complicated all at once. Without going into too much detail, things I knew in my life began to spiral out of control, as if I had any control over it at all to begin with. My step-father and mother break up. Bobby's parents do also. It was hard time for both of us. I was old enough to make some sense of what was going on, but my little brother was more the victim than I. At this point in our lives, we had seen two men that my mother loved come and go due to their actions and selfishness. I swore that I would never.. ever.. be like either of those two when I grew up...

One of the hardest things I had to watch as a child was my mother. Knowing how badly she felt for my brother and I. She didn't need to. Our love never faltered.