Vanilla
Heinz Doofensmirtz stood crying at the edge of his daughters hospital bedside. She'd walked in to the crosshairs between Perry and himself. He'd tried to divert the ray, to turn it off or make it randomly explode but it was too late by then. Sherryl was in Hawaii at the moment, but she had called from the cruise ship and was boarding a plane to the inner states after getting to Khonalulu tomorrow afternoon.
Heinz sunk to his knees, praying his 'Vanilla' would be okay. A memory surfaced as Heinz sunk down into a chair, holding his child's hand.
"Daddy, daddy!" Vanessa screamed from inside the car as the man who had stolen it -and by extension, her- drove away at sixty miles per hour. She screamed in the evening light as she saw her father run from the store with a bag of diapers in his hand. He threw the package down instantly, grabbing a young man's shoulders and shoving him off the motorcycle the boy was on.
An hour-long chase brought the stolen car and motorcycle to a stop as one ran out of gas and the cycle hit a stone dividing wall. Vanessa screamed as the vehicle holding her father threw him off and he got up bloody.
Heinz eyes flashed as he grabbed the thief and socked him in the nose, then in the gut. The other man brought his head up and hit Heinz's nose hard enough it broke. Heinz screeched and threw the man a good few feet away. Vanessa met loving arms as he took her away, leaving the vehicle for another day.
"No matter how long it had taken I would have chased after you, Vanilla. To the ends of the earth. I'll always be there for you." Mispronouncing her name because of his nose, she had giggled as only a three year old can and her nickname had stuck.
Heinz smoothed her sweaty forehead and thought how mad she'd be -No, drop dead insanely furious- when she saw the bright green and pink gown the orderlies had dressed her in.
After Jamie Heinzstaff Doofensmirtz had died she swore never to wear anything other than black again, an insult to her little brothers memory, and a warning for cancer to stay away from the rest of her family.
Sherryl had disapproved, but Heinz had given it a right-on, accompanying her in her 'fashion' for weeks. After all, if they could have afforded chemo his boy would still be alive. And they couldn't afford chemo because Heinz had lost his job. And Heinz had lost his job because he'd been too busy drinking and laughing to make sure the chemicals in the mixture were right.
Five thousand people had died that day because of that explosion.
He included his son when later tallying that up.
Her cellphone rang out, making Heinz jump and he hesitated as his hand hovered over it, at least until OWCA showed up on caller ID.
"H... Hello?" "Woah, Vannie! You got a cold or something? You gonna meet me at the Pole tonight or is it a no-go?"
"Pole? An who is this?"
"...It's Monty, Vannie. Ya know your... Boyfriend?"
Boyfriend...Boyfriend...Boyfriend
"Uhh..."
"Man ya must be sick something awful. Well, our date can wait. Have asked your dad yet?"
"Bout what?"
"About us getting married. You said you wanted to before you started... You know... Showing."
"Showing? From what?" Heinz was starting to feel his blood both boil and freeze at the same time.
"From the baby, remember? Our big fight two months ago? You decided to keep it and I didn't. I said I'd call you if I wanted to be a part of the child's life... And I do. Vannie, I already told dad about us and he was none too happy but he gave me his blessing. Did yours?"
Heinz was dead quiet.
"Vannie? What did he-"
"I haven't asked him yet but I have a feeling he'll say yes. Look, I gotta go. Bye Matthew."
"My names Monty.."
As Heinz put down the phone he burst into tears. How much had his little girl kept from him? He knew she'd never shown him her boy, the one she often came home sighing and grinning and dreamily smiling about.
And yes, since she'd stayed with him for four months now while his ex was on her honeymoon with a new hubby, he'd seen how upset she had been one particular night, coming home crying after sneaking out.
She had pushed him away both times he'd tried to comfort her.
Heinz felt a sharp pang in his chest, and with a wince brought his hand to meet it.
A sudden movement by the door caught his attention and he looked up to see...
"Rodger? Mother!? What are you both doing here?"
His younger brother smiled tightly and his mother averted her eyes.
"Your... Building. It caught on fire. Some sort of explosion. I heard a Doofensmirtz was hospitalized and I had to make sure you were still..."
"I'm fine. Goodbye Rodger."
"DO NOT DISMISS YOUR BROTHER LIKE THAT HEINZ!"
Heinz stared at his mother. "Mama? I-"
He stopped as he saw Vanessa starting to stir. The red call button found his bandaged up fist and he grasped his daughters hand as she opened her eyes.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here, princess. You're okay"
"What happened?"
"Well, you walked in right when I fired the Inator and you were caught in the crosshairs. I set it off-course a few seconds later to prevent further harm but it had already caused some damage. I took you to the hospital as fast as I could but had some trouble getting out of the building. But you're going to be okay, Vanilla. I promise."
"What did the Inator do Daddy?"
Heinz gulped and slid the bandages off his left hand to show the one and two degree burns.
"Burned things. You only got a small blast thank God. No lasting damage. The smoke was thick enough to knock you out within the first three seconds though so they'll keep you here a few nights just in case. Okay?"
"How did you get burned? You okay?"
Heinz blinked.
"I dove in front of you to keep you safe. And I'm fine."
"Excuse me, Mr. Doofensmirtz? I need to talk to you about test results that came up with you. Please, step outside."
Heinz ran his hand through his hair and shook his head.
"I already know what you are going to say, Doc and the answer is no. My funds are limited and I have bills to pay- heck, I'm still paying your bill from four years ago and it didn't do any good. So get lost."
"But sir your life-"
"Is to be spent with my daughter as much as possible. Goodbye!"
Vanessa Elizabeth Marie Doofensmirtz whimpered. "What was that about Daddy?"
Smoothing her forehead and kissing her cheek, Heinz smiled. "You just never mind. Daddy had business to take care of and if he's smart he'll stay away. Now go back to sleep Vanilla."
He led his brother and mother out of the room as her eyelids closed and he slid against the private door with a sigh.
He took hold of the sofa arm and unfolded a small cane from the closet. Out of his shirt front pocket he took a small needle of morphine and injected it into his arm with a wince.
While his pain level returned to normal his brother look afraid.
"Are you... Healthy, Heinz?"
"Nope. Heart conditions. Getting kinda bad. Reared up four years ago. The meds didn't get rid of it completely. So why did you accompany Rodger here, mother? Didn't want your precious baby boy to be in the company of your eldest eh?"
"Vanessa doesn't know?"
"Honestly Rodger! No she doesn't. She lost Jamie twelve years ago to cancer, if course I'm not telling her about me! Are you mad?!"
"Who ees thees Jay-Mei? A., how do Amaricans say, boi friend?"
"No mother. My son. He died of leukemia when he was four and Vanessa was five. He had light brown hair, bright green eyes and my nose."
"Yuu hat a szon?! Vye did yu not tell me?!"
"Why should I have? You pretended all my life you only had one son- and it wasn't me. Why should I include you in ANYTHING?!"
Heinz's angry outburst drove his mother to tears.
"Ach, Heinzel. I vas jest a teenager venever yu were born, yu know dis, ya? By coostum, yur father and I vere made to marry. Yu were unexpected... An ack-cident. By now yu know tis, ya?"
"I had figured, yeah."
"Vell, Heinz, eight years passed und yur father und I fell een luv. Ve had Rodger. And ve... Loved him. Yu.. Ach Heinz. Yur father und I.. We blamed yu for hulting our lives und making us marry.
That's vy right after yur birth I left, still in bloody birthing rags. Yur father vas right behind me. Had only ve both left upon my expectancee and returned to Gimmelshtump after your birth you vould have been cared for right, ya.
But I vas too afraid. Und your father hated yu for tying him down to a family. Eet vas us, neva yu.
Und eet vas I that sent yu away at sixteen. I vanted yu to live a better life- but I hat to lie to yur father und act like I vanted rid of yu for him to permit it."
"Well, grand, mother. But father couldn't have possibly been your reason for disowning me and being raised partly by ocelots.
Or for being made to be a lawn nome for all those years. And you could have waited until Rodger was born to make clothes! So I wouldn't have had to wear dresses those two years. Don't act like Dad was the reason for the torture you put me through for sixteen years."
Elga's eyes filled with tears and she looked away. "My Heinzel. Yu are so much like my father. He vas so quick to blame me for things I deed not hav the cuur-age to do. I loved yur father, and I luvved having two sons. Deed eet neva occur to yu maybe I deed nut hav the 'right' to luv yu both?
Yur father was so controlling, Heinzel. He neva let me hav friends or see my parents, ya know dis, ya?"
Both Heinz and Rodger nodded and she continued.
"Gelbuur made me choose, Heinzel. Und I knew eef I choose yu yur father vould kick me out of our house. He vas a tyrant and I vanted to vatch yu both grow up."
"After Gelbuur died last year, why didn't you tell me these things?"
"I- I had spent so long hiding the truth from yu Heinzel. I figuured eet deed nut mattur any more"
With her response Heinz slammed his fist down on the table. "Well, verdammt Mother! Isn't that just grand! I hate the world because of you and your Scheiß love for HIM!"
"HEINZEL DOOFENSMIRTZ! You vatch yuur tongue. You ah een the presence of yur mother!"
"Verdammt you are not my mother. You never have been. The only family I have is my DAUGHTER in that room so I'm going to go to her."
Heinz turned, and collapsed.
"HEINZEL!" As his mother screeched his name Rodger checked his older brothers' pulse.
"He's dead!"
_
Vanessa Elizabeth Marie sniffed as she stood in front of her father's grave stone. He had not been dead that day in the hospital- not for long at least. They had resuscitated him long enough for him to give her his blessing for marriage and for the child which she carried. He had had another heart attack right after and had died holding Vanessa's hand with the word 'Vanilla' on his lips.
A warm hand slid into hers and clutched it tight.
Monty...
"We'll name him Heinzel, right?"
Her fiancé nodded and kissed her cheek.
Then she left, clutching her stomach with one hand and a vanilla ice cream cone with her other.