Chapter Seven

Bianca had never been more nervous in her life as she stood with Larry and Balki on the front porch of the large two-story house.

Before she had the chance to flee, however, the front door opened and an older woman with friendly eyes and brown and grey hair smiled at them. "Lawrence! Oh it's so good to see you!" she cried, hugging him.

"Nice to see you, too, Mom," Larry returned the hug.

"Aunt Lois!" Balki shouted, giving the woman a warm hug. "You look amazing!"

"Well, thank you Balki. And who is this young woman here, Lawrence?"

Larry's chest practically swelled with pride and Bianca felt herself blush. "Mom, this is Bianca Pierson; my girlfriend."

"Bianca Pierson," a male voice called from inside the house. "Well, don't just keep her outside, Lawrence; let her in."

"Oh, yes, Dad," Larry replied, quickly grabbing Bianca's hand and leading her into the house. Bianca nearly whistled aloud when she saw it. The living room looked almost exactly like something straight from a Donna Reed-esque sitcom. Everything was neat and tidy and seriously lacked of technology. The massively huge television was from the early nineteen seventies and the black telephone on the wall was still a rotary dial. "Dad, I'd like you to meet Bianca. Bianca? This is my dad, Walter Appleton," Larry continued, snapping her back to reality.

"Lawrence, I think she knows who I am," the tall, grey-headed man said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Bianca, you want something to drink, hon? We have tea, water, and fresh-squeezed lemonade," Lois asked as Bianca, Larry, Balki and Walter took a seat in the living room.

"Lemonade sounds fine, thank you," Bianca replied, wishing the butterflies in her stomach would calm down.

"So, Bianca. Lawrence here tells me you're an inventor," Walter began. "Is this true?"

"Y-yes sir. My grandfather was an inventor and I guess I was also born with the knack."

"So, you're probably going to be the bread-winner if you and my son were to get married, then," Walter said as if he were telling her it was probably going to rain later.

Larry's eyes grew wide. "Dad!"

Walter cleared his throat. "Well, I'm sorry, son, but you don't exactly make enough at that paper you work for to really provide for a family, but with her inventions out on the market, I'm sure she-"

"I don't sell my inventions, sir," Bianca interrupted. "I've actually only sold one invention but the rest are for personal or creative purposes. My source of income comes from my web design business."

Walter looked over his glasses at her distastefully. "What good is inventing things if you have no plans to sell them to the highest bidder?"

Lois handed her the lemonade and sat down next to her husband, but Bianca was beginning to wish she would choke on the lemonade and pass out. "Well, I don't sell because of the point you just made, sir. If I sold to the highest bidder, then how do I know if my inventions were placed into the right or wrong hands? I prefer just to keep them in a secure place with me and stick to my web design business for the money."

"I see," Walter said, obvious disapproval in his voice. "Lawrence, what happened to-what was her name-Jennifer? Now she had a steady income being a flight attendant."

"Dad, I broke up with her. I met Bianca and we fell in love. Now would you please stop being so difficult? Mom, will you please tell Dad to lighten up?"

"Oh, honey; your dad means well," Lois said sweetly. "But Walter, back off a little. She's our son's girlfriend, not someone who we need to interrogate."

Walter sighed. "Perhaps. So, Balki, are you still seeing Mary-Anne?"

Balki beamed with pride. "Well of course I am, don't be ridiculous. She's my little lamb kabob."

Bianca frowned at Larry, knowing where this part of the conversation was headed. It was becoming more clear to her that Larry's dad did not approve of his new girlfriend.

"Lawrence, you don't find that a tad uncomfortable that Balki is dating your ex-girlfriend's best friend? I mean, I can only imagine the awkwardness in those situations," Walter chuckled.

"Well both of them are in Canada right now, so it doesn't matter," Larry replied through gritted teeth.

Bianca stood up abruptly, just about to tell Mr. Walter Appleton exactly what she thought, when she accidentally bumped Larry's bag. "Oops," she said as a bottle of pills fell out and rolled across the floor.

Lois stood up and picked up the bottle. "Why, Larry; this prescription is in your name! Are you ill?"

Bianca watched as Larry turned a bright shade of red and reached to take the pills from her. Unfortunately, Walter grabbed them first, placing his glasses down to the end of his nose to read the label.

"Oh no, Aunt Lois; Cousin Larry's not ill. He's just taking those when he feels he is losing his mind to bad thoughts," Balki explained.

Larry glared at him. "You're not helping, Balki," he seethed.

"I've heard of this medication before, Lawrence, and Balki has a point. Are you having mental health issues?" Walter asked.

"No, your son is not having mental health issues. They help him sleep because he witnessed a tragic event and he has flashbacks. That's all, okay?" Bianca defended her boyfriend, snatching the pills out of Walter's hand and putting them back in the bag.

"Oh, honey. What sort of tragic event did you see?" Lois asked, concern on her face.

"I-I saw a guy shoot and kill two other people in front of us, Mom. This guy named Quinn was going to kill me, Bianca, Balki and several others when Bianca's cousin shot Quinn and killed both him and a girl he was holding at gunpoint."

"Oh, honey, that's awful! I'm just glad you are okay," Lois walked over and brushed Larry's hair back and hugged him. Bianca was glad at least his mother had some sense about her.

"But taking medicine to try and mask the pain is just…well, it shows weakness. And if Appletons are anything, being weak or showing signs of weakness is not one of them," Lois continued, causing Bianca's jaw to drop.

"Lawrence, I am ashamed and embarrassed. This family doesn't handle life with pills! We suck it up and take it like a man; you know why? Because we are Appletons!"

Walter affirmed.

Larry's face turned ashen. "But Dad; you gotta understand; I saw two people die! And I didn't have a doctor prescribe them for me! Bianca's grandfather gave them to me just for a little while! Mom, please don't think I'm less of a son because I'm having trouble coping."

"Lawrence, if you can't handle your problems without medications, then I'm afraid we have no choice other than to shun you," Lois told him stiffly.

"And getting your girlfriend's family to be your dealer is even more shameful. Goodbye, Lawrence. Please don't darken our doorstep again," Walter stood up, pointing to the door.

"Uncle Walter, am I shinned too?" Balki asked.

"Balki, you and Mary Anne are welcome back anytime," Walter smiled, clapping him on the back.

"But Mom; Dad-," Larry begged. "Please-"

"We are no longer your mom and dad. Goodbye, Lawrence," Lois interrupted him before she slammed the door in Bianca and Larry's face.

Bianca turned to Larry. "I can't believe your parents did that to you! That was single-handedly the most terrible thing I've seen!"

Larry just stared at her, tears forming in his eyes. "If only you hadn't knocked over my bag, B. If only they hadn't seen…"


Balki was eating his Raisin Puffs cereal when he saw the machine appear. He stood up and smiled, but his smile faded as soon as Bianca exited, still in her pajamas and sobbing loudly.

"Oh, Bianca; what's wrong? Sit down and tell Balki all your troubles," he comforted, leading her to the kitchen table.

"He'll never forgive me! I ruined his life! He hates me and I don't know what to do!" she wailed, her head in her hands.

Balki was rubbing her back gently as Larry came out of his room, looking anything but bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Balki opened his mouth, but Larry spoke first.

"Bianca?" Larry asked, rubbing his eyes.

Within seconds, Bianca shot up from the table and ran to him, still sobbing. "Larry, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to spill your bag! I didn't know your parents would disown you!"

Balki watched as Larry took her in his arms and shushed her, but Balki turned around again before his eyes could meet his cousin's. Did Bianca dream the same thing as Balki did again? Balki was having a beautiful dream about Mypos but it quickly changed to visiting Larry's parents and things got ugly. In the dream, Larry's parents disowned their flesh and blood because of some medicine he was on. It was terrible, but Balki knew it had only been a dream.

"Bianca, it's okay. I don't blame you for anything. It was a dream. It was all just a bad dream. My parents don't even know about you," Larry told her.

Balki winced as Bianca made a shrill cry and bolted for the time machine, leaving before Larry could finish uttering "What did I say?"

"Cousin, I think she just wanted to know that it was all a dream and your parents didn't shuck you for taking the medicine. She's having an after-dream nervous breakdance."

Larry looked at him, dumb-founded. "She told you about the dream?"

Balki shook his head. "No, Cousin. I had the dream, too."

Larry reached for his bottle of antacid and took a long gulp. "Why do we keep having the same dreams, Balki? And why are none of them good?"

"Your vest is as good as mine, Cousin," Balki said before rinsing his bowl and spoon in the sink. "Maybe we need to change the channel. I don't think I like watching the same programs as you and Bianca every night."