# 8 The story of Yellow Jacket

#8. The story of Yellow Jacket

I have a close friend. We’ll call him Yellow Jacket. Yellow Jacket is one of the most genuine, good guys I know. Similar to me, he’s struggled for years to find miss right. He’s a few years older than me, and although he had no kids of his own, he’s never had that “no kids” rule that I had. In his relationships I noticed these women would take advantage of him. They mistook his kindness for weakness. They would take his time, his money, his, actions for granted. It frustrated him, because the thought of being lovely is something we all dread. So he dealt with it, until the boiling point of the relationships. After a bad breakup, he went through a long period of being single. He was emotionally spent. He was in his early thirties and was tired of the games and the searching. The next woman that he would court would be his last. This would be the woman he married, come hell or high water. Part of me wonders about the rationality of that decision. In my opinion, it’s the equivalent of settling. And I refuse to settle for something less than what I truly deserve. I feel I have earned that. Whoever is in charge of this fuckin world, the gods or whoever, needs to recognize that shit. I’ve paid my dues.

Yellow Jacket eventually did find a woman he clicked with. He dug her so much, that he told me that from the moment he met this woman, he new this was the woman he was going to marry. Again, I ask myself: Was this because he truly loved her, or just settled for what he could get? This woman that caught his attention was a single mother, with a son in his late teens. The boy did have some interaction with his father, but the man wasn’t there for his child like he should’ve been. The son wasn’t a problem child. He didn’t get into criminal activity. However, he did have an issue with staying focused in school. Yellow Jacket wanted to be a father figure for the boy. Be a positive mentor to him and show him the value of education. The boy shunned his advances. Maybe he could not see another man coming into his household and taking his mother away from him, after being the sole male presence for so long. Yellow Jacket and the mother grew closer, but the bond with the son did not. This discontent eventually led to a physical altercation. Who do you think the mother sided with? Her son, of course. That maternal instinct. All Yellow Jacket ever tried to do was be a friend to that bastard. Look at the thanks he got.

That’s why I can’t date women with teenage kids. I have to compete for the love of that woman. At the cusp of 30, I realize that some women my age have children that are nearing their teenage years. That’s fuckin’ mind blowing to me, but its reality. It’s one thing to date a woman with a 5 or 6 year old. But a 15 year old? The fucker is damn near an adult itself.

Anyway, that fight was the start of a downward turn in their courtship. At this point they had become engaged. Yet, she began to second guess things. They began to argue and fight more. And sure enough, she cheated on him. Call it what you will. Maybe she needed one last fling. Maybe she needed to prove to herself that Yellow Jacket was truly the one for her. That shit hurt my dude immensely. He had been nothing but faithful to this woman. She cried and apologized and begged for his forgiveness. Yellow Jacket truly has a heart of gold, because he took her back. After much prayer and contemplation, he took her back. In the same situation, I probably would’ve broken it off. I don’t have faith like that. I believe in reason. Remember, he was determined to make this relationship, his last. In my opinion, even though he forgave her, he has a “free fuck” card to redeem any time he damn well pleases. Use that bitch when he is 55, I don’t give a fuck.

So how are they now? We’ll they are married. Happily as far as I can tell. They even have a son of their own now. What of the teenage son? We’ll he is now a teenage father. That’s right, go figure. Yellow Jacket and his wife were so caught up in their own concerns, that apparently the actions of the son had gone unnoticed. Yellow Jacket had given up on being a father figure to the boy. Yellow Jacket was focused and excited on being a father for the first time. The boy missed his chance to get some we’ll needed advice on fatherhood. Now he as to be a man to his own child. Unemployed. Uneducated. Adolescent. Just like his mother was when he had him. History has a funny way of repeating itself…On second thought. That shit aint funny at all. It’s sad. For Yellow Jacket, he walked into a situation with no children, and ended up with three. And you wonder why I can’t love a woman with kids…