Snapshots From A New Strangetown

Chapter Two – The Butterfly Garden Part 2

Vidcund treks down the grand staircase, determined after his talk with Ceres to take a stand. He walks into the foyer, passing by Atom, who is just about to rev up the chainsaw for the second time, while Loki stands cluelessly by the phone. Vidcund reaches down and snatches the chainsaw from Atom and chucks it out of reach at the top of the hall closet. "Go play with your robots," he instructs, giving a sigh of relief as for once, Atom does what he is told.

"Oh yeah? Well, your potato salad sucks, Karen!" Loki barks in the kitchen, clutching onto the sleek, silver handset, "Yeah, I said it," he sasses, swaying his hips, "What are you going to do about it? Hello? Hello?" Loki says once more, the tone of the conversation immediately catching his boyfriend's attention. Loki turns to Vidcund, puzzled. "Huh. She hung up," he states. Loki shrugs and casually places the handset back onto the wall.

"Who was that?" Vidcund wonders.

"Karen Peterson," Loki replies. Vidcund tilts his forehead, "You know, the head of the PTA," he clarifies.

Vidcund groans. "Loki, we already have enough enemies at the school as it is, why do you have to make things worse?"

"She started it!" Loki claims as Vidcund crosses his arms and shoots him a dubious glare, "I mean, what kind of person doesn't serve punch at PTA meetings? If you ask me, she was asking for trouble!" he points out, pacing away from the phone, "I don't get why you wanted the kids to go to that stupid school anyway. They can learn everything they need to know about the world from me!"

Vidcund shakes his head, staring down at the floor slightly. "That's the very statement that keeps me up at night," he mumbles, "Anyway, I'm glad I caught you, because we need to talk."

Loki stops in place, his hand around the refrigerator door handle. "God, nothing good has ever come after that phrase," he mutters. Vidcund watches as moments later, Loki sits down at the table and drinks his milk.

"It's about Ceres," Vidcund begins, approaching the opposite end of the dining table, "You know, your daughter?"

Loki stares up at the ceiling. "I'm familiar with her work, Vid," he affirms, "So what exactly is the problem?"

"The problem is you haven't been spending much time with her lately, and I'm worried that your lack of interest in her life is causing her to resent you."

"Resent me?" Loki shifts his head back, unable to believe what he is hearing, "What are you talking about? I'm her personal hero!" he proclaims, "Remember when she wrote that paper about how I'm Strangetown's greatest citizen?"

"No, she didn't," Vidcund says, "That was a parody article you found online."

"What? Get out of here," Loki jokes, waving Vidcund's words off as he stands up from the table. Loki walks over to the small section of wall adjacent to the refrigerator where the article is framed and mounted right above the telephone. Loki brings his hand up to chin and reads it over, squinting as he takes in every line. A few minutes later, Loki steps away from the wall. "Huh, on second glance, the article does have a strange, sarcastic undertone…"

"Look Loki, that's not the point," Vidcund remarks, walking up behind him, "The point is you're losing Ceres, and if you ever want to have any kind of positive relationship with her, you need to try and fix things."

Loki crosses his arms over his torso. "And how would I do that, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

"Well, spend some time with Ceres and actually get to know her," Vidcund suggests, "If you take an interest in something she enjoys and participate in it with her, she'll probably like you a lot more."

Loki rolls his eyes. "Psh! That's easy for you to say. She's always liked you!"

Six years earlier, Loki is fast asleep in the master bedroom one night, holding Vidcund in an uncomfortably tight embrace. Vidcund groans and attempts to move Loki away from him as the clock behind him turns to midnight. "Loki!" Vidcund whispers heavily into his boyfriend's ear; Loki doesn't budge, "Loki, come on. I have to wake up at five tomorrow!"

"Why yes, I accept this Nobel Prize and all its powers!" Loki sleep talks, tightening his grip on Vidcund as if he is the award, Vidcund's eyes widening in the process. "Take that, Circe!" Loki laughs evilly for a moment, before dying down and letting out a loving sigh. Vidcund groans as Loki cuddles into him once more and starts drooling on his face.

"Hey Dad," a young, squeaky voice sounds from the doorway as a small, six-year-old Ceres steps into the room holding her teddy bear, "I had a nightmare. Can I sleep with you?"

Vidcund sits up, using all his strength to roll Loki off him. Miraculously, he doesn't wake up. Vidcund turns back towards the door, his face softening when he sees her, "Sure, honey. Come here."

Ceres smiles and walks towards him as Atom steps into the room behind his sister. "Sweet! Slumber party!" he cries, racing over and cannonballing onto the bed. A few minutes later, the twins are fast asleep on either side of Vidcund while he hugs them. Ceres's teddy bear is covering Vidcund's face as the trio peacefully slumbers.

The next morning, Ceres and Atom are wide awake driving matchbox cars across Vidcund's chest; the left side of the bed now filled with their toys. Atom quickly parks his bright red car on Vidcund's stomach and grabs Vidcund's glasses from the end table. He puts the green-tinted shades on his face and taps his sister on the shoulder, Vidcund still fast asleep inches away from them. "Look Ceres, I'm Dad! Eat your vegetables and clean up after yourselves!" he cries, giving his best Vidcund impression. Ceres giggles.

Hearing the commotion, Loki stops in the doorway, dressed in his lab coat on his way to work. He raises an eyebrow at the scene. "Eh," he states, waving it off as he glides down the stairs.

Back in the present, Vidcund points his finger in Loki's face. "Try hard, or you're going to lose her!" he claims, driving his point home before catching a look at the clock. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be at work?" he wonders.

"Relax," Loki replies, moving his hand down, "I paid someone to cover for me."

"Loki, you can't keep doing that!" Vidcund cries, "Crystal's already caught on and she's not too happy about it."

Loki laughs, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. "Yeah, like she's going to fire me."

…

"You're firing me?!" Loki shouts the next day, after being immediately called to Crystal's office.

Crystal calmly sits behind her grandiose desk and nods, clasping her hands in front of her signature purple pantsuit, all her various degrees displayed on the wall behind her for the world to see as a framed photo of Lazlo sits nearby on the desk. "You never come in anymore," she reminds him, "For the last month, you've just hired some guy to come in and dress up in your sweater!"

"Uh-huh," Loki replies dubiously, folding his arms over his torso, "And how do you know that?"

One week earlier, Crystal steps into Loki's workplace, a stack of highly-confidential paperwork in her hands. "Hey Loki," she greets, stopping in front of his desk, not bothering to look up from the papers, "Did you get the information for the new investor yet?"

A sim dressed sloppily as Loki turns around, catches sight of Crystal, and screams at the top of his lungs, causing the Crystal to jump up and scream back. Crystal frantically reaches into her pocket, pulls out a can of pepper spray, and sprays the intruder down, causing the fake Loki to shriek and fall to the floor.

"Do you really want me to get into that?" Crystal questions, cocking her eyebrow.

"On second thought, probably not," Loki replies, "I heard it took fifteen hours to clean up the mess," he adds before stroking his chin, "He never really did nail that impression of me."

Crystal brings her hands together and sighs. "Loki, if you're really that unhappy here, why don't you just retire?"

"Cause then I'd have to spend time with my children, and apparently, that's not good for anyone!" he remarks, throwing his arm to the side, "Besides, I already know how awesome I am! What else is there left to discover on Loki Island?"

Crystal groans, reaching into her desk drawer to grab an aspirin. She rubs her aching forehead.

"Look, I know you're disappointed in me, but I'm going through a lot at home right now with the washing machine and I'm pretty sure Vidcund's getting a new glasses prescription soon, so…where was I going with this?"

Crystal sighs, her patience growing thin, "Please get out of my office before I call the cops."

"Ugh, fine," Loki caves, heading towards the door. He turns back to her in the doorway, "But don't say I didn't warn you!"

…

Loki whistles a surprisingly cheery tone as he swings open the doorway, locking eyes with Vidcund, who is playing dollhouse with Ceres in the living room. "Hey Ceres, guess what?" Loki chimes, staring at his daughter, "Daddy got fired…probably," he adds, throwing his hands out.

Vidcund's eyes widen, "Wow, what an introduction…" he mutters.

"So now we can spend all day together!" Loki exclaims, purposely ignoring Vidcund's comment.

Ceres face falls, still hanging onto one of the dollhouse figurines. "Why?"

"Because your dad said something about us forming a father-daughter bond, I don't know," Loki brushes it off, "The point is I'm going to spend the entire day with you doing anything you want."

"Uh…" Ceres begins, looking unsure of this suggestion. She turns to her other father.

"Give it a chance," Vidcund states.

Ceres gives a small smile then turns back to Loki, "Okay," she answers, "Then I want to go to the butterfly garden."

"Wha-? Oh, that's…super," Loki states, his stomach dropping as his greatest fear is mentioned, "Cause who doesn't love butterflies, right? That sounds fantastic," Loki gulps, suddenly feeling rather lightheaded.

"Uh, Loki? Are you feeling okay?" Vidcund wonders, standing up from the carpet to check on him.

"Fine. I'm fine. This is Ceres's day, so we're going to do whatever she wants…even if it kills me," he mutters before forcing an overly enthusiastic smile, "Let's go," Loki declares, grabbing Ceres by the arm and leading her out the entrance.

…

"Welcome parents, children, and loners to the Strangetown Butterfly Garden!" Ashley, the sixteen-year-old, auburn-haired tour guide, states, standing in the center of the beautiful glass dome and holding her hands up to the heavens. Ceres looks up at the colorful foliage and takes a picture. "This garden, built in 1993, is home to over seventy-three different varieties of butterflies."

"Yeah, lady, you said that seven times already, don't you have any new information?" Loki barks, dressed from head to toe in a solid black, rubber protective suit as he cautiously scans the area.

"Sir, I keep telling you, you can't shout in the garden. This is a peaceful place," Ashley reminds the paranoid father, "Now in a few moments, we'll see what many refer to as the most glorious sunset in the world. We just have to wait eight minutes," she states, gesturing towards the wall clock.

Loki walks over and nudges the tour guide in the side. "Pst…I'll give you fifty bucks if you speed this tour along," he states.

Ashley sighs, "I can't speed up the Sun, sir."

"Now I know you're not a scientist."

"Look, Dad," Ceres whispers, tagging on Loki's sleeve, "I'm so still, one of the butterflies is sitting on my shoulder."

Loki abruptly turns around, eyeing the pink butterfly resting on Ceres's yellow shirt sleeve. He shrieks and hides behind a fountain, causing several other members of the tour to flash him bizarre looks.

Ashley stares down at Ceres and pats her sympathetically. "I'm so sorry," she says. Ceres shrugs and looks across the room at Loki, who is terrified out of his mind. Ashley steps forward and claps her hands together, turning towards the rest of the guests as she sports the biggest smile she can muster. "Alright, everyone. Before I let all of you freely explore the garden, I'm going to need a volunteer for a special demonstration."

Behind the water fountain, Loki watches as Ceres stands by herself on the left side of the room, crowds of happy families standing on the other. "What are you doing, idiot? You're going to lose her!" he screams in his mind.

"I'll do it!" Loki exclaims, stepping out from behind the fountain to rejoin the group, causing several onlookers to stare up in shock. "Whatever it is, I'll do it."

"Dad, no," Ceres speaks up, stepping towards him and grabbing ahold of his arm, "You don't have to do this. I already know that you love me."

"Yes, but I want to prove to everyone that I love you more than I hate butterflies," Loki replies, giving a small gulp before turning to Ashley, who is now busy on her phone checking her text messages, "So lay whatever it is on me before I change my mind."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Ashley replies, slipping her phone back into her pocket and glaring up at Loki, "In fact, I'm going to have to ask you and your daughter to leave now, Mr. Beaker."

Loki cocks his forehead in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Cause, I just got word that you hated on Karen Peterson's potato salad," Ashley replies, crossing her arms in a huff as Loki continues to appear confused, "Karen's my mother!" she barks, getting up in the scientist's face. Loki steps back slightly. His fists are clenched, but he doesn't want to embarrass his daughter, who is watching the entire confrontation from a few feet away.

Mere seconds later, Ceres steps in front of her father, "Then tell her that her potato salad still sucks!" she cries, embracing her inner sass.

"What?!" Ashley squeaks.

"You heard my daughter," Loki smirks, wrapping his arm around Ceres and patting her shoulder, "It's only thing she's ever made that was more disappointing than you," he quips, "Now give me my eleven fifty back so I can take this kid out for ice cream!" Loki barks, gesturing to Ceres, who is sporting a smug smile next to him.

Ashley shakes her head, finally picking her mouth up from off the floor. "No," she replies, "I'm not giving you a cent, so you better get out of here now!"

"We're not leaving!" Loki shouts, glaring the young woman in the eyes, "And there's nothing you can do to make us!"

Ashley smiles and picks up her walkie-talkie, "Security!" she chimes.

Loki's eyes widen as the tour guide holds down the call button. He grabs Ceres's hand, "Okay, let's go!" Loki chimes, leading her out the door.

…

Twenty-five minutes later, Loki and Ceres race through the front entrance of the Beaker estate and slam the double doors, the pair trying to catch their breaths as they both lean up against the wooden doors.

"So, how'd it go?" Vidcund asks, standing up from his place on the living room sofa, his face filled with concern.

"Well, we got banned," Loki states as Ceres departs for the living room.

Vidcund rolls his eyes, "Of course."

"But she loves me, and I feel like the greatest parent in the world," Loki adds, giving a smile, "And the best part is I'll never have to go to that terrible place again!" he exclaims, moving his hands down his sides. Loki glides down his waist once more, his pockets feeling surprising empty. "Shit, I forgot my wallet," he curses, moseying over to the staircase, "Atom!" he shouts, "Can you go to the butterfly garden and get my wallet back from that crazy tour guide?"

"Sure!" Atom screams down the stairs.

"Yep," Loki grins with a sigh, "the best father ever," he repeats as Vidcund groans and facepalms next to him.