The Crazy Thing Part 2
Thanksgiving Day 2009
Eric slept in on Thanksgiving Day. Serena and Chuck had come home two nights before, back for their first break from college. The three siblings stayed up all night sharing stories and drinking and eating. Then Eric had to make an appearance at school the next day so by Wednesday afternoon the boy was exhausted, but he remanained awake through the whole night again for more of the same from his sister and brother.
The penthouse was quiet on this particular Thanksgiving Day morning. He suspected that his mother and Serena were at the parade, a tradition they had shared since they moved back to the city. Eric had always hated the parade. Not really the parade itself, but the throngs of people and tourists and today especially, he knew he couldn't handle it all.
He looked around for his phone. It had been tossed around in Serena's vain efforts to sneak a peak at Eric's new boyfriend. Serena finally gave up their game of monkey in the middle when Chuck took the phone and Eric tackled her so Chuck could stash it somewhere. Chuck had been unusually available since his breakup with Blair. Their long distance relationship hadn't lasted past freshman orientation. Chuck's phone calls to Eric had become more frequent, usually twice a week or more. Of course they would text almost every day.
Serena had been her flighty self the whole time. Eric would go weeks without hearing from her, but then he would get a phone call every day for a month. He never mentioned the constant fighting, the awkwardness in the Bass household. He didn't want to worry them, didn't want things to get worse. If Serena became involved, inevitably it would hasten the dissolution of the marriage, making it occur ten times faster. Of course, maybe that was a better alternative to watching their mother play the whore with Rufus Humphrey.
Yes, Lily was still making frequent trips to Brooklyn, but for the last month or so, Bart had stopped asking about it. He had instead taken to completely and out right ignoring Lily whenever she came into a room. Especially when he hadn't heard from her in days. But then he was hardly ever home either. His "business trips" had become more frequent and longer than usual. He claimed that he working to acquire another hotel in Miami, but Eric knew that he had simply gone back to the Palace to get away from the tension in the penthouse. He wondered if his mother knew of her husband's deceit or if she would even care if she did.
Eric found his phone and plugged it in to charge it. He quickly showered and went downstairs to find Bart and Chuck in a deep conversation over brunch. It sounded like business but Bart waved him in so Eric quietly took a seat and started eating. He hid a smile in his orange juice as he thought about the change in relationship between his stepfather and his son. Bart had almost been welcoming to Chuck when he and Serena arrived home Tuesday night. Before their little party in Chuck's bedroom, Chuck and Bart had a long talk in Bart's office. For once, Chuck didn't look like a kicked puppy when he emerged from the office. He was almost smiling.
Suddenly the conversation shifted to less serious matters and Bart made a sound Eric had never heard form him. He laughed. Chuck seemd surprised too, he wasn't even able to hide his shock. Bart asked Eric what his plans were for the day although Eric knew that Bart was well aware of what he had planned. Eric was leaving the apartment as soon as Lily and Serena returned, and he planned to take Serena and Chuck with him to give their parents privacy to "talk." But Eric knew his role was to make it seem like he was doing something nice for his siblings to get them out of the house so, he quickly agreed when Bart had asked him for this a few days before.
Eric didn't know why Bart wanted to hide their constant fighting form Serena and Chuck but he suspected it was because involving them would only make things worse.
Once Lily and Serena arrived home, as promised Eric grabbed Serena and Chuck and took them out to wonder about the city. There were still tourists afoot but Eric was sure he could deal with them now. Lily was none too pleased at her son's departure along with his siblings, but only because it left her alone with her husband. Chuck and Serena didn't seem to notice as Bart mouthed a thank you to Eric as they piled into the elevator. Eric only hoped that his mother wouldn't run away this time as she had all the other times Bart had tried to talk to her.