They were young when they met. People were a little skeptical. It was the end of the year, and she was finishing up her freshman year, he his junior year. One more year and then he'd be off to college, and she was just getting started. It didn't matter to them. The future wasn't yet on their minds. They were teenagers living in the moment, something characteristic of kids their age. And what Jon wanted in the moment, was someone to listen. He needed someone in his life to love, and who would love him back.
Jon's childhood was not unlike so many others. He had always been close with his mom, but the recent divorce with his dad was putting a lot of stress on her. Things just hadn't been the same. His dad had an accident a few years back and gradually became addicted to painkillers. Painkillers and drinking can really get in the way of working and raising a family. Tom was numbing his own pain and leaving the rest of the family in a world of hurt. Jon's sister got pregnant and moved out of the house, and though no one expected it of him, Jon took on the responsibility of caring for his mom and the family home. She worked and cared for her kids, but she had been emotionally broken over her husband's downward spiral and the demise of their marriage. She had allowed it to go on long enough, and eventually Tom drained her finances and her emotional wellness so she asked him to leave. From that day forward, Jon struggled to remain a relevant part of his dad's life. Unfortunate really, because Jon wanted nothing more than to have a dad. He craved a male role model, someone in his life to teach him to become a man.
Over the years, there had been a couple of men who tried to take the place of his dad in the form of guides and mentors. Jon's Boy Scout leaders tried to fill the void. Having once known and been friends with his dad, they felt a healthy obligation to help one of their boys develop into the man they knew he could become. They picked him up for meetings, helped pay for him to go on scouting events, and they were always available for a ride or an ear to listen. Though the absence of a boy's dad will always have a lasting impact, Jon managed to grow up into a respectable and kind young man. He even started to bring Nicki around to the dinners and holiday parties with the scout troop. It was an unspoken assumption he wanted his extended family's approval, and they to give it.
As the two continued dating, things started to get serious. Jon gave everything to the relationship, heart and wallet. It was as though he was the man of both households. Nicki's mom was a single mom too. Everyone started to wonder if Jon was getting in too deep. He and his girlfriend were still very young, and he would be graduating at the end of the year. She would still have two more years to go. But they insisted they were in love and they would work it out as they went along. This is when his stand-in dads really struggled with their boundaries. None of them after all, was his parent.
Jon started to flounder a bit. Though he had tried to recover his GPA, he was still paying the price from a difficult freshman year. He had a difficult time adjusting to high school and his grades suffered. He gradually started to climb his way back up, taking less challenging courses in an effort to bring up his grades. Now, as a senior, he was trying to figure things out. Once he was convinced he would be going to college, maybe even on a scholarship. Now, he didn't know what he wanted. He could feel himself losing focus, and nothing seemed certain anymore.
Midway through his senior year, word spread pretty fast when Jon made a sudden announcement. "I signed up with the Navy. I'm shipping off to basic training right after graduation."
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