Toby's Journal

Author's Note: I use Google Translate to translate some of the dialogue between Toby and his mother in their true native tongue to give the story a more authentic feeling so any errors of my use of the Irish language are not mine but Google's translation of it.

I just wish to honor a great and rarely spoken language outside of its native country.

---

I finished up eating breakfast and quickly drove home.  Mom was there while Ted was still out at the gym.  She said to me “Doctor Rosenberg sent over the papers Sean Tobias to clear you and I signed the papers as well, as for everything you said to me last night was true about Maureen. Most of her kids are fuck ups so I am glad that you are not one.

I said to her, “I don’t want to be one mom.  I did everything to make you proud of me by getting good grades so one day I can learn the family business and keep dad's vision alive but I'm good at lacrosse as well but its not like hockey or football and a pro sport so once I'm done with it after college that's it.  After that I start getting involved in the family business.  I swear ‘Máthair’.¨

She just said to me, ¨ I know you do, but only if you choose to do so Toby. You are your own man now.  I have to accept that so now since you are here I have the urge to spend some of Ted´s money, so take me out shopping and lunch.¨

I said, ¨sure but on one condition. No smoking in my car.¨

She laughed a bit and said agreed.

Mom and I had a good time on our mother and son outing and for once she was a pleasant person to be around with.

As I drove her around she did ask me certain personal questions about if I was seeing girls.  I told her that it was kind of tough at the moment with a new school and all but said I had a potential prom date for next Saturday and that Ted got me set up for it ahead of time.  Mom insisted that I bring her by the house so she could take a few pictures of me putting the corsage on her.  I just said that I have to ask her first, if not I´m going “stag” to it. 

She added in if that the girl I have in mind doesn’t work out there are a few young ladies she knows of that she could set me up with in that she attends Sunday Mass with their mothers and slightly reprimanded me that I should 8thattend it some more.

I just said “sure mom, I'll get back to church when I can.”

I drove mom to her favorite restaurant where she ordered a Bloody Mary while I got an unsweet iced tea. While we waited for our drinks to arrive I asked her for a small favor. She said that I was pushing the favor bank a bit but what was it.

I told her about the conversation I had with Coach Wilson and if she could come to the school with me tomorrow because there was a incident that occurred on the team’s road game that I wasn’t on but the head coach who was on paternity leave, the athletic director, and the school administrators want to talk to the players and if possible their parents as well.

Mom being mom said, it that the son of a bitch that made you run laps in the heat.  I want to give him a piece of my mind about the torture he put my poor baby through.”

I had to calm her down a bit to say it was my fault for being late to the team bus back home and that he apologize to me but eventually she agreed to coming with me to school tomorrow.

We had lunch and went back home.  Once we got there Ted was watching baseball in his office while on his computer.  He gave mom a kiss on the cheek and asked how our mother-son outing went.  She said it went well and thanked Ted for getting me the car and the tuxedo in that that is something a father should do with a son.

I smiled a bit in that for the first time in a few days maybe some normalcy will occur in my home for once.

Mom said that she is going to try on her new outfits and shoes in that she hates using the store’s changing rooms so she takes her shopping bags up to her bedroom.

I awkwardly stand there for a moment and I was about to go to my room when Ted asked me if I wanted to watch the game with him.  I said sure.  He asked me if I was going out any more today. I said, “no.  Just do homework and crash.”

Ted then invited me to watch the game with him and I could grab a beer if I wanted to and if I could bring him one as well.

I took Ted up on his offer and did.

Ted was still working on his computer but he was still able to know what was going with the game.

Watching baseball to me was always boring: paint drying is more exciting to me.  To me if I’m not watching college lacrosse it’s usually ice hockey and that Dad was a big Boston Bruins fan.

Ted and I watched the game some and I he let me have another beer but no more. I said sure. After a few minutes Ted asked me if I could just sit by his computer some so it doesn’t go to sleep while he goes take a dump. I said sure.

Ted said to me “just jiggle the mouse some and hit the space bar key and don’t go looking for internet porn.

I told him I wouldn’t.

Ted got up so he could shit while I sat down at Patrick’s desk and office chair and I immediately minimized the window that Ted had opened and quickly decided to look into his PC’s file drive.  I didn’t know what I was looking for but I just wanted to take a peek on what he has on it.

I saw that he has a lot files on it.  One said Security Cameras.  I opened it.  Then I see sub file.  I read the names. They just have three letters to them. One was “KRO”, one was “JMP” and another labeled “PSO”, then the one named “STO”, stood out to me and I whispered, “no fucking way, those are my initials.”

I opened up the “STO” file and Holy Mary and Jesus I saw a bunch of video files in it.

I opened up the most recent one and it was of me, in my bedroom doing what every guy my age does in the privacy of their own bedroom.

I just said “what a fucking pervert” before hearing the toilet flush in that Ted was done shitting, so I exited out the file search and restored his original screen.

Ted came into his office and said “find anything interesting on there?”

I nervously said yeah “the Nikkei Average is falling and so is the Japanese Yen while the Dollar and Pound Sterling are holding strong. The Tokyo market is open now and it will be a few hours before London opens up so now would be a good time to buy up some Yen and to sell off when it gets high again.”

Ted just stood there and said “wow.  I had no idea that you knew that stuff Toby.”

I just coldly and calmly said to Ted, “you never asked and it’s amazing what information a child’s brain can absorb at a young age; mom taught me Irish and Patrick taught me these things as I sat on his lap while he was working.  I’ll let you get back to work. Thanks for the beers. I'm gonna take a nap now and by the way Ted, thanks for everything you have done for me these past few days (while thinking to myself, you are such a fucking pervert).”

I first went by the kitchen, snagged the last beer that Ted had in the fridge and grabbed it because now I have absolutely no idea of what his is watching on his hidden security cameras or not so I might as well make the most of it, what’s he gonna do, tell my mom?  I’ll just tell her that he has video files of me spanking my monkey in my own bedroom and that certain government agencies should be called to take a look at Ted’s computer.

 

As I went into my bedroom I was nervous and cautious because I now know that Ted could be watching or at least recording what I am doing inside of it so I just went inside of it, grabbed some clothes and went into my private bathroom to quickly change and prayed that Ted didn’t have a camera in there as well and if he did he was a sicker fuck than I thought.

Once dressed I got into my bed to just take a nap or at least try to but my mind just kept wandering and yes probably paranoid that my stepfather is watching me so I just laid in my bed, focused and thought until I dozed off.

I eventually woke up and my bedroom was totally dark. I stared up at the ceiling fan to pull back a the covers of my bed and I saw a very small red light go off from within it.  It was something that I had never noticed before.  I did some more movements in the dark and it flashed more. 

Now I know where Ted has the camera hidden in my room and wondered how many video files of me doing my own “personal business” in them.

I get out of my bed, turn on the light and pull out the lacrosse stick that I have in my closet.  I did my usual warm up drills with the stick on top of my shoulders, doing some stretches a bit, taking a hold of the stick to pretend I was catching the ball and throw it and I “accidentally” let back end of the stick hit the ceiling fan right at where the red light was glowing from.  I hit I so hard that the metallic housing broke off so the wires were hanging off of it and so was a small box with a flashing red light.

I heard my mother shout out “Sean Tobias what was that racket!! Did you break something again with your sport’s stick!! I told you not in the house, that is what the yard is for!!  Ted just had the last ceiling you broke fan replaced only a few months ago!”

I yelled back “I was just practicing!” as I dug at the exposed wired to see the mini camera installed in there and said, “I’m so sorry mom, I’ll be right down.”

She shouted back at me “you better Sean Tobias Ted and I are very upset with you right now!”

I just thought to myself ‘no shit’ as I picked up the hidden camera from the ceiling fan and went down stairs.

Mom and Ted were in the dining room having dinner when the ruckus in my bedroom occurred. 

Mom tried to bless me out again for breaking the ceiling fan for which I apologized to her in our native tongue and Ted had to chime in by saying by playing the stepdad role to try to shame me by saying “I’m a bit disappointed in you Toby, your mother and I are trying to teach you responsibility for once and when we allow you to have it you go about and show how irresponsible you are. 

“Since the car is in my name it’s probably better that I take it back and accept the loss, your nor ready for it.”

I just said “my ass Ted.  You had the all the ceiling fans in the house replaced recently after I broke the last one, supposedly for more ‘energy efficient ones and all’ but managed to have one of these installed in there as well in my own private fucking bedroom!” as I tossed it on the dining room table and right in front of Ted food plate for my mom to see.

The room went silent for a moment before mom said “Ted are you video recording my son in his own bedroom? And us in this house? Right now?”

Ted got a bit nervous and apprehensive and said look Kathleen and Toby I know this looks bad and all, yeah, I had a camera put in his room to make sure that Toby wasn’t doing drugs and all.  Concerned parents need to keep a close eye on their kids these days and since he is in public school now god knows what illegal drugs he will get hooked on.”

Mom just shouts at Ted, “Sean Tobias does not do drugs!! 

Mom went on more by saying, “I taught him better that that and he knows of his cousins that did it and are either in jail or can only flip burgers so how fucking dare you Ted that you made that presumption of him!  He gets good grades, perfect attendance at school unless he is really sick and has no wish to be a fuck unlike his cousins!”

Kathleen was on a roll by adding “for the past twelve years you never really shown any interest in Toby, it that he was just Patrick’s and mine kid but now you are showing interest in his life Ted!  Why is that!?  You just bought him a car and a tuxedo.”

Ted just gets up from the dinner table and says “It seems that we need a bit of a cooling off period Kathleen so I’ll spend a few days at my lake house but trust me when I say I do have yours and Toby’s best interest at heart, I just don’t show it.”

Ted then left the dining room and left the house and he didn’t even to pack a bag.

Once Ted left the house mom said to me, “I love you Toby and if it is between Ted and you, I’ll always choose you.”

I said “’tá aithne agam ar mháthair’,”

Mom smiled at me and said “I need a smoke and a drink and then let’s go look at all the ceiling fans that Ted had installed in here.  This is our house Toby and never Ted’s so we can legally do it.”

I just said “let’s fucking do it mom.” . . .