My parents had been divorced since I was six. I didn't see my dad much. He lived on the other side of the continent. He never had much time for me. I had just turned 16 and my mother had been dating the same guy for over a year. His name was Nick, and I liked the way he treated my mom. He was respectful of me too. He would often invite both my mom and me out to a movie or to a resturant. He even helped me rebuild an old Ford Mustang I bought from a wrecking company. At times, I felt we were like a family. One incident, shortly before they were married, gave me some concern though. It was during a cookout we were having in our back yard. My mom and Nick had spent a lot of time setting up the cookout and everything was going smoothly, until some friends of mine and I got a little too rowdy. We were horsing around and got into a food fight on the porch. I guess things got a little out of hand. Before I knew it, I felt a hand grab me by the neck tightly. I heard a voice that sounded familiar, but I couldn't see who was steering me by my neck off the porch and into the back door of the garage. When I was able to turn around, I was stunned to see it was Nick. I looked at him like he was crazy. He caught my attention by talking low to me, but real stern. "If you think I won't put you across my knee, you're wrong boy!" For a moment we just looked at each other. Me giving him an I-dare-you look and he giving me a don't-press-your-luck look. He told me to get out there and clean up my mess. I was uncomfortable about this whole incident and thought it best I do as he said. That was the first time I remember being afraid of Nick. I mean he had scolded me before, but it never concerned me, he wasn't my dad. < p>
After Mom and Nick were married, they went on a honeymoon to Las Vegas. They had been gone for 10 days. I tried keeping the house clean, but with school, the swim team, homework and my new girlfriend Mellany, who had time to clean.< p>
I had been wondering during the honeymood what it would be like to have Nick living under the same roof with me and Mom. They got back on a Sunday morning, I helped carry their bags into the house. I could tell Mom was a little upset at seeing the kitchen. I was going to clean it better, but hadn't had time to finish cleaning. Nick laughingly asked if I had opened a repair shop in the front yard. I had left some car parts in the driveway and the garage door was still open. I told him some friends had brought their cars over last week and we had to work on them in the driveway. He just shook his head. For the rest of the day as Mom cleaned the kitchen, she told me how great their honeymoon went. Nick on the other hand couldn't find much to say, but kept an attitude for most of that afternoon. I couldn't figure out his problem, but thought geez, he's going to be a barrel of fun to live with.< p>