Chapter 4: Ramona Rickettes and Uncle Belvedere
"Come on in!" Ramona and Belvedere ushered us into the front room and we all started talking. Milton immediately ran over to the pool table, and Hatchet followed closely behind.
"Today's a special day for me and your grandmother. We've been together ten whole years!" Belvedere said grabbing onto Ramona's waist. I clapped my hands and everyone looked at me.
"What? I find it touching." I put my head down and Ramona started to talk to the rest of us.
"I'm just so proud of my drape children. Oh, Wanda, you sure is pretty in them tight clothes, all painted up like trash." Wanda smiled back at Ramona.
"I wish you and Belvedere were my parents." No one could blame her. Wanda's parents were total squares. Her dad was a bus driver and her mom was the lady who worked the cross walk.
"Now, Milton, boy, you are everything a man should be. You're young, stupid, and mean." Ramona moved to Milton.
"We're gonna play some cool music for you tonight, Ramona." Milton flipped through a magazine smiling.
"And Hatchet-Face, oh honey, you're just like me. Now you put the 'T' in tough. So hard you could've been eating nails for breakfast."
"I'd kick a square's ass for you in a minute, Mrs. Rickettes." Mona snapped her fingers. Ramona turned to me. I opened up my arms and Ramona pulled me into a hug.
"Traci, dear sweet Traci, it's hard to believe that not a year ago you were a square. I'm happy that you found Cry Baby and now you're a part of the drape family. You're like the daughter I never had." She put her lips to my forehead and whispered in my ear. "Don't you worry, hun. He thinks of you the same way. He may not see it now but he does." She was the only one who knew that I loved Cry Baby.
I just nodded and sniffed. "Oh, this is the best gang my grandson could ever have!" Ramona threw her arms up in the air.
Pepper smiled and walked towards Ramona. "Grandma, I'm so happy all knocked up. I wish I was having triplets." She grabbed her stomach.
"Well, we've got a little surprise for your young un in your oven. You show her, Bell." Belvedere flipped a switch and a black cradle with skulls and crossbones appeared.
"Aw, Pepper, ain't that cute?" Cry Baby said as we walked around it. Ramona pulled Cry Baby off to the side and he took my arm and I came with.
"Cry Baby, when you was a boy, you had to be the man of this family." Ramona said to Wade.
"And I taught you how to dress, didn't I?" Belvedere stated. It was almost as if he was attempting to say 'Hey, I am the man of this family'. I giggled a little.
"Sure did, Uncle Belvedere." Wade smiled. His little grin always made me happy.
"Oh, well, now you're the future now. You're the only future for this godforsaken family. And I want you to go out and sing. I want you to sing your heart out. You can show him, now, Belvedere." She nodded to the skinny man who flipped another switch. "This took a lot of hubcaps, Cry Baby."
The wall spun and a motorcycle appeared on the other side. Immediately, Wade's hand reached down and grabbed mine. Shivers went through my whole body. His mouth dropped and he pulled me onto the bike along with him. Everyone was screaming and making sounds of appreciation towards the motorbike in front of their faces.
"Grandmother, Uncle Belvedere, you've made me the happiest juvenile delinquent in Baltimore. And guess what?" Cry Baby revved the engine and the bike came to life under me. "I met a girl!" He screamed. I sighed a little. Nothing could make him see how I feel.
