Rebuild
Chapter 9
"Turkeys."
'Yeah," Fang said, patting Elizabeth on the head. "And what else?"
"Cake."
"Well, I guess. Pie, I think you mean."
"Pumpkins. Leave."
"You mean leafs?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, what else?"
"Mash 'toes."
"Mashed potatoes? Sure. Of course."
"Ham."
"Lots of it."
"Kool Aide?"
"We have that all the time, Ellie." Fang smiled at her. "What else?"
"Corn'cap."
"What?"
"Corn'cap!"
"She's trying to say cornucopia," Max told her boyfriend, not even looking up from her sudoku puzzle.
"Max, don't just make up stupid words to make her feel better."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."
"Now, back to the list. What else do you get on Thanksgiving?"
"You mean white man kill day?" Ethan asked as he came out of the kitchen. "That's what it is. Why don't you go out and kill an Indian instead of turkey, Dad? That's what you really want to do."
"You're white too, stupid."
"Fang, play nice."
"I am! Or at least I'm trying."
Elizabeth patted Fang's nose before jumping off the couch to go play with her toys. Fang was no fun today. All he wanted to do was ask questions. You'd think with as old he and Mommy were, they'd know everything by now, but no.
"Where are you going, Ellie? We're not done!"
"Fang, stop yelling. God. Have you been drinking?"
"…I don't know when you decided that you can just openly question me, Max, but you're wrong."
"So yes," she decided, making him frown at her. "Ethan, did you clean the bathroom?"
"Uh, Mom, I don't know if you noticed, but I'm on break."
"I don't know if you noticed, but I told you to do it, so go do it."
"That's why no one likes you," Ethan said before running off. Max looked at Fang, but he just shrugged. No one liked Max. So what? Truth is truth.
"I scream, you scream, we all scream for what, Ellie?"
"I'c'eam!"
"Yeah." Fang kept scooping out the icy goodness into two bowls. "Too bad for Mom and Ethan. If they hadn't been so rude to us, they could have had some too."
"Yeah," she agreed, hugging his leg. "Fang hairy."
"I am…what did you call me?"
She giggled. "Fang."
"You can say my name!" He smiled down at her before adding a few more scoops, just for her accomplishment. After he finished, he handed her one of the bowls before heading to the living room. "Come on, Ellie."
Happily following behind her friend, she went over to the couch. Once they were sitting down, she looked at Fang and asked, "See Daddy?"
He sighed, turning on the basketball game. "I dunno, El. Ask Max. She'd know."
"Miss Daddy."
"I know." He patted her on the head. "Look! The Heat is getting beat. Say yay."
"Yay," she cheered, though he could tell that she wasn't into it. If Lebron getting beat couldn't cheer someone up, Fang didn't know what could.
"You know, Ellie, I'm sure that your Dad misses you too. You'll probably see him soon."
"Go trip. No take me."
"He couldn't. You had to stay here with Mommy. She can't have you and Bruce gone."
The toddler started to whine, now overcome with grief about her lost brother and father. "Bubba! Me wan' B'uce! An' Daddy."
Fang groaned. "Well, don't whine about it. You're going to get tears in your ice cream."
She sniffled. "Sad."
"You're sad?" He sighed. "What do you want me to do about it? You wanna play? Huh? Puppets? Or something? Color books?"
She glanced at the television before back at him. "My pony?"
"What?"
"My pony?"
"My Little Pony?"
She nodded to the TV. "My pony?"
"You want to watch My Little Pony during the game?"
"Yes."
Fang took a deep breath before turning it on. Elizabeth cuddled against his side, staring at the television while eating her ice cream. Mommy and Ethan went shopping, so it was just her and Fang. She was offered a chance to go, but she couldn't leave Fang all alone by himself. He was so needy.
"Well, just make yourself comfortable, I guess," Fang grumbled, making Elizabeth giggle. "It's okay. Feel better, little one."
"Not little!"
"Of course you are. You're my little friend."
"No!"
"Yes!" He ate some of his ice cream before hugging her to his side. "I…like being with you, Ellie. And if Bruce and your dad are too stupid to be with you, then that's their fault."
Fang was in a deep sleep when Max came back home. He and Elizabeth had moved to the bedroom for their nap, both of their stomach's now wishing they had not eaten as much ice cream as they had.
He was woken up when she climbed into bed and kissed his cheek. Groaning, Fang moved his hands up to push her away, but Max mistook it for him trying to cuddle with her.
"I'm back," she whispered in his ear before kissing it. Opening his eyes a little, Fang glanced at Max before turning to his other side and saw Elizabeth cuddled against his side, still sleeping.
"Great," he mumbled sleepily. "You buy all the stuff for Thanksgiving?"
"Yeah."
"You stop by the liquor store for me?"
"No."
"Max," he scolded. "I ask you to do one thing."
"One thing? If I only did one thing a day for you, 98% of this stuff in this house wouldn't get done."
He waved her off before kissing her head. "Be quiet. I'm sleeping."
"Is that what you're doing?" She kissed his lips this time. Fang turned his head, making her frown. "What?"
"The baby was asking about her dad again."
"He's still out of town."
"I know. I just mean…she's so sad."
"She was sad about Bruce being gone at first too and now she's over it. Mostly."
"No. She was crying about that and Ryan earlier."
"He had something to do."
"He went on vacation," Fang corrected.
"Whatever."
"Why do you defend him, Max?"
"He's Elizabeth's father, Fang. Don't talk shit about him, alright?"
"I'm not trying to. I'm just saying, I never went on vacation while we were separated. And I definitely wouldn't go on one when I still don't have a house and am living with my mother. Or leave my kid behind. What's he going on? Two weeks? Has he called? Is he dead? Who knows!"
"Calm down. Go drink something."
"I'm fucking out because you didn't-"
"Stop cursing, Fang."
"You started it!"
"Just go out and get your wine."
"It's fucking whiskey and you know it!"
Elizabeth began to whine as she woke up and they both stopped fighting to tend to the toddler. Fang pulled her up onto his chest, rubbing her back a little. Max leaned over and kissed her head.
"Are you okay, baby? We didn't mean to wake you."
She just moaned, keeping her eyes closed. Fang patted the back of her head. "She can say my name now. I mean really say it."
Max smiled. "You can? Can you say it for me? I wanna hear, Lizzy."
She giggled a little, opening her brown eyes to stare at Fang through her tangled mess of sandy colored hair. "Fang me friend."
"And you can say friend? More ice cream…as soon as my stomach feels better."
Max made a face, staring at her daughter. "You didn't comb her hair today. Did you two brush your teeth?"
"Max, that is a personal question."
"So no?"
"Mommy see Daddy?" Elizabeth asked, pushing up off Fang's chest to stare at her mother. "Daddy?"
"You know that he's out of town. You'll see him soon."
She whined for a second before getting distracted by rubbing her hands on Fang's face. He hadn't shaved in a week and was now stubbly, much to the enjoyment of the toddler.
"Cut it out," he complained, but she just giggled. "I don't like this. It's awkward. Max."
"What?"
"Stop her."
"You're just as capable of putting a stop to it."
Finally, Elizabeth just kissed Fang's nose and moved to lay down on the bed again. Max laid her head on Fang's chest, sighing a little.
"Where's Ethan?" Fang asked.
"In his room." She rubbed his stomach. "I don't think that you guys spend time together anymore."
"What? Nah. We do a lot of things together. You just don't pay attention."
"Fang, he's the one that told me."
"What? No. Max, we play video games, basketball, soccer-"
"Yeah, but you always have Elizabeth with you."
"And?"
"Fang…" She looked over his side to see if Elizabeth was still awake, but found that she wasn't. "She's not your daughter. It's Ryan's job to spend time with her. I like, no, love that you two get along so well, but you need to pay attention to your boys too. I know that you and Bruce aren't going to fix anything any time soon, but you and Ethan still have a chance."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Hangout with him, just the two of you."
"…Guy time?"
"As much as I hate the way you act like guys need to be together, yeah. Guy time. Bonding. Whatever."
He looked down at Elizabeth. "I guess that you and Ellie can hangout. Girl time. Or whatever."
"Yeah, I guess." She kissed under his chin before settling out again. Fang let the two girls lay against and on him for awhile before gently trying to get up. It woke Max, but she just let him out of the bed before pulling Elizabeth to her. He headed to his son's room.
"Ethan, you wanna go somewhere with me?"
He glanced up from his videogame, but only for a moment. "Busy."
"Well, you can play your PSP in the car. Come on."
"No, D-"
"Now."
Grumbling, Ethan followed his father out to the car. As they were getting into the truck, something dawned on him.
"Where's Elizabeth?"
"Huh?"
"Is she sick?"
"No. Why?" Fang frowned. "You do something to her?"
"No! I just meant, you never go anywhere without her."
Fang shook his head. "I just figured today could be a you and me day."
"Doing what?"
"Well, first, I need to go to the liquior store."
"Of course."
Fang made a face. "What else do you want to do? Huh? Food? I just ate ice cream, but I'm game."
"Whatever."
You try to do one nice thing for your kid one time and they act like a jerk. Wow. From this point on, it was stepkids only for Fang.
"Do you think I'm fat?"
Yes. "Nope."
Max glanced at him. "You're still sober. You're lying."
"Eh, debatable."
Max huffed, crossing her arms. They were both sitting down on the couch, trying to enjoy their alone time, but it wasn't working out so well. Fang was drinking and had it on some sort of horror movie. Talk about a mood killer.
He could say the same for her. Asking him stupid questions when he's trying to drink and get his scare on. The nerve. You'd think she'd have a little more compassion for his situation. His first born hated him, his youngest son didn't want anything to do with him, and his little friend was missing her Daddy. Wasn't Fang good enough for her? Huh? Huh? Who wouldn't want their own Fang? Huh? Huh? Who? No one. That's who. No one at all. She was crazy.
"My stomach still hurts."
"You probably made yourself sick. Don't just gorge on food, Fang. It's not good." She yawned a little before laying her head on his shoulder. "I don't like this movie."
"What? Why?"
"I hate horror movies."
"Since when?"
"They give me nightmares."
"Really? You never wake me up."
"I don't want you to get mad."
"Mad?" He frowned at her, taking a sip of Jack Daniels. "Max, if you need me at night, you know I'm there. Always. Okay?"
"Fang-"
"Okay? Say okay, Max. Now."
"Okay, okay."
Fang gave her a kiss on the head. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Would you still be with me if I went bald?"
She lifted her head off his shoulder for a moment to stare at him. "Would you love me if I were fat?"
"No."
"Ditto."
Laughing, he chugged some more. "Kidding. Kind of."
"Same."
"…But seriously?"
Max closed her brown eyes, sighing a little. "Fang, I already put up with drinking. Besides baldness can be fixed with a good toupee."
"There's no such thing as a good toupee, Max."
"What about you? Would you stop loving me?"
"I'd put you on Weight Watchers, maybe, but I'd still love you. I just wouldn't, like, want to touch on you a lot."
"Fang."
"Max, if it was a sudden thing, then I wouldn't be happy. But if you just put on a few every year like now-"
"You are so pushing it."
He laughed a little. "I'm drunk! You can't be mad."
"Your words are still fine. You're not drunk."
"Eh, debatable." He wrapped an arm around Max. "I need to get Ethan to forgive me."
"For what? It's not that you need forgiveness. The two of you just need to connect again."
"I don't even know when we lost our connection!"
"Let's see. When we were separated, you two were close. When you moved back in and met Elizabeth, you guys drifted. You figure it out."
"…I think that you're the common denominator."
Sighing, Max said, "Fang, what happened is the same thing that happens when you get a new dog. Sure, you love the old one, you're loyal to the old one, but the new puppy is so much more fun. So you play with it, teach it new tricks, go on longer walks with it than your old dog. It doesn't mean that you love the old one any less; it just means that you are easily distracted. Now, you need to give the puppy a few toys, put it in its crate, and go play with your old dog. He might not like it at first, but dogs are dogs. They forgive very easily."
"…Max, are you drunk? This is about children! We don't even own a dog!"
Groaning, Max pushed off the couch. "I'm going to bed. You stay out here and figure out what I meant, 'kay? Come to bed soon though. I get cold without you."
He shook his head as she left. Dogs. Was she on pot? Come o…Dogs! That was the exact answer to his problem. Ha ha. So Max was good for something. Who would have known?
"Ethan!" Fang yelled from the living room. "Get your butt out here!"
Huffing the boy walked into the room. "Wh- Wow! A dog! Mom! Mom! There's a dog!"
"A what?" Max came out of the kitchen, where she was trying to make breakfast. "Fang-"
"Is it mine?"
Fang nodded. "I was gonna get you a boy dog, but this one seemed more…energetic."
"Woof?" Elizabeth followed in behind her mother, her sippy cup in her hand. "Woof?"
The dog, who had run to Ethan, now ran to the toddler, accidentally pushing her down. Her cries just made the dog more excited and she tried to lick away Elizabeth's pain.
"Hey!" Max picked up her daughter, pushing the dog away. "Fang, get your damn dog out of here!"
"Don't curse at her!" Ethan grabbed his new dog, frowning. "Dad, make them stop."
"Everyone stop," he said, closing the front door. Sighing, he went over to Max and took Elizabeth from her. "Stop crying, Ellie. You're not hurt. You're just scared. There's nothing to be afraid of. I've got you, don't I?"
"No 'ike woof!" Elizabeth spit at the dog.
"Shhh." He looked to Max. "It's just a dog, Max. We can do a dog. We've done it before with Angel and Total."
"F-"
"No," he said before she could finish. Elizabeth wrapped an arm around Fang's neck, rubbing her head into it.
"Is this thing a pit? If it is-"
"Does it freaking look like one?"
"I don't know! It doesn't look like anything."
"It's a mutt," Fang said, rubbing Elizabeth's back. "She, I mean."
"What's her name?" Ethan asked.
"You name her."
"Is she mine though? Like can she sleep in my room?"
"As long as you housebreak her, feed her, and clean her, yeah."
"But mine? Like…not Elizabeth's? Or Bruce's?"
"Nope. All yours."
"Good." He patted his dog on her head.
"Me?" Elizabeth looked up at Fang.
"I, uh, didn't get you anything this time. Just this once, Ethan got something."
"Me?" She repeated.
Max crossed her arms as Fang began to cave. "Just for Ethan, Fang."
"But…" He bounced Elizabeth a little. "You can't always get something new just because your brother does."
"Me?" She asked, now sounding annoyed.
"No. You didn't get anything."
Rearing back, she hit him in the head with her Teletubbies sippy cup. "Bad! Bad Fang! No 'ike woof! No 'ike Fang! No 'ike Et'an! Daddy! Wan' Daddy! Wan't B'uce! B'uce!"
"You little fucking brat!" He put her on the ground as she continued to assault his head with her cup. "I fucking don't do one fucking thing for you and hit me with the goddamn-"
"Fang!"
He took a deep breath as Ethan and his new dog ran off, probably to his bedroom. By now, Ethan knew that when his dad was mad at one, he was mad at all. The dog, who inevitably will eventually pee or poop on the carpet, would learn that too pretty soon.
Elizabeth began to cry, sitting down on the ground. Fang didn't buy her nothing, he yelled at her, and the big doggie was mean to her! This was horrible! What a horrible day! She hated Thanksgiving now!
"Fang, you do not yell at-"
"She hit me, Max. She always hits me or whines or cries or something." He looked hard down at Elizabeth. He needed a drink bad and was now going to take it out on her. "For once, I did something for one of my kids. Then your little brat started crying like a baby. Guess what, Max? She's your problem. Not my problem. She's Ryan's daughter. I don't have one."
Max looked off to the side for a second. "No one ever said you did, Fang. Ever. And you've gone and got yourself worked up, like the little drama queen you always are. Now you have her worked up too. You should have just told her that you didn't get her anything and-"
"I don't have to tell her anything, Max. She's your kid."
"Yeah, that's right, she is my kid. She's my daughter. Not my problem. My daughter. Maybe you think of your kids as a problem, but I don't." Max picked up the toddler off the ground, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "But you, Fang, are my boyfriend. That means that you live in this house with my daughter. You're going to be good to her. The end."
"Whatever," he said, walking off to the kitchen to get some Jameson.
"Hey, E.T." Fang walked into his youngest son's bedroom and saw him on the floor with the dog, rubbing her stomach. "What are you doing?"
"Playing with Casino."
"What kind of-"
"You said I could name her."
"…Fine. Alright. Whatever." Fang leaned against the doorframe. "You wanna go out to eat? It's Thanksgiving."
"Nah, I'll just eat a sandwich."
"Okay. Casino has a food bowl in the kitchen and a water bowl. There's a bag of hard food in there too. Feed her and then take her out on the leash to pee and poop. Has she already?"
"Yeah, but Mom showed me how to clean it up."
"Be sure to hit her too."
"Dad."
"I'm serious. That's how dogs learn."
"Okay," Ethan agreed, though he knew he'd never hurt his dog. Fang left the room and then the house, in search of something to eat. And maybe he went over to a friend's and drank a little. Maybe. Anyways, when he got back home, the house was dead. Yawning, he stumbled around to his bedroom.
When he got there, Max and Elizabeth were both in the bed. The baby was sleeping, but her mother was up, visibly upset.
"What's wrong?" He slurred out as he collapsed onto the bed. He reached out to touch Elizabeth, but Max stopped him.
"Don't wake her back up. She's been flipping out because you were mean to her."
Fang laid down on his back, closing his eyes. "What's wrong with ya?"
"Ryan called me."
Breathing slowly, he asked, "What'd he say?"
"…He's…not coming back."
Fang frowned. "What do ya mean?"
"He's not coming back, Fang."
"Here? Home?"
"Yeah."
"…So…You…Like...When he needs to see Ellie, you're gonna take 'er to see 'im?"
"…He wants to…He met someone."
"Oh."
"He always, like, wanted a son. He and Ethan got along, remember?"
"Yeah."
"Elizabeth is good, but…she's not."
"Right."
"This woman has sons. They don't hate him like Bruce did."
"Then…What about Elizabeth?"
"She's here. With me." Max ran a hand down her baby's stomach. "He doesn't…want her. Now. Right now."
"What'd 'bout support?"
"Child support? I don't know. I'm really not concerned with that right now."
Fang opened his eyes a looked down at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah."
Groaning, he forced himself to sit up. "We…didn't have…parents. We're fine. And she has you."
"Yeah."
Pulling his shirt off, Fang added, "She's so young. She'll forget him."
"That is if he doesn't change his mind."
He wouldn't. Fang knew he wouldn't. This had to be a hard decision for him. One that it's just easier to not look back. Maybe if Fang wasn't so drunk, he'd find it in him to be angry. Even though he was the one that said Elizabeth wasn't his problem, she was.
"Maybe," Fang agreed, just to make sure Max didn't flip out on him.
"And, it's not like she needs him. She has me. Always."
"Yeah."
Max let out a breath slowly. "This is by far the worst Thanksgiving ever."
"Yeah," he mumbled as she reached out to touch his arm. Fang looked down at the baby between them and forced a smile for her, even though she couldn't see it.
"I'm going to see Bruce tomorrow."
"Cool."
"Yeah. He's getting out soon."
"I know."
"He hasn't gotten into any trouble while he was there. That means that the judge will probably release him with some community service."
"Yep."
"He kept up his grades too."
"I know."
"Just thought I'd remind you," Max mumbled, removing her hand from him and laying down. Fang ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head.
"Fang?"
"What?"
"She…Do you think…You could…"
"What, Max?"
"She needs a dad."
"Yeah."
"I mean, Ryan'll come back eventually, so I don't want you to, like, try and make her call you Dad or anything, you should just leave it at Fang, but…Would you?"
"Thought I already was?"
Max smiled before pulling Elizabeth to her and going to sleep. Fang watched them for awhile before getting up and going to get some more to drink before going to bed.
"What are you doing here?"
Fang made a face at Bruce. "To visit the bar. What do you think, Bruce?"
He huffed, moving aside so his father could come into his room. Fang looked around, trying to think of something to say, but knowing that whatever he did would come up short.
"You know, I didn't expect them to just let me waltz in here. All they did was check my license and tell me your room number. Ain't very safe."
"They're more concerned with people getting out, not the ones coming in."
"Just figured-"
"What do you want?"
Fang looked at the wall. "Pictures. Where'd you get these?"
"Ethan. Now why are you here?"
"Look at that. I've never seen these," Fang said, staring at the photos of his family. "You even have some of Ellie. Thought she was the spawn?"
"I've grown up, okay?"
In a few months? Fang shook his head. "So I guess your mother told you what happened on Thanksgiving."
"What? That Ethan got a dog?"
Frowning, Fang turned to face him. "No. About Ryan."
"What about him?"
"He left. Like permanently."
"That…sucks for Elizabeth."
"Yes. Yes, it does."
"But why are you here?"
Taking a deep breath, Fang said, "You're not coming home when you get out."
"I know."
"And it's not your mother's decision, so don't blame her."
"I don't."
"Right."
"Look, this isn't any shit that I haven't heard from here, so why don't you just leave?"
Fang breathed deeply before letting it out slowly. "Bruce, I am trying to connect to you, alright? When you get out, I probably won't see you much, so-"
"And whose fault is that?"
"Gee, maybe the person that can't keep his anger under control?"
"So we agree that it's you?"
Clinching his fists, Fang spoke through gritted teeth. "Look, kid, I'm trying to patch things up, but you have to work with me."
"I don't have to do anything."
"You act like such a little bitch sometimes, you know that?" Fang wanted to spit on the ground so that he could get his word venom out some way else. "I'm trying, Bruce. I really am."
"Just like you're trying with Ethan? Where's my fucking dog?"
"You want a dog? I'll buy you a dog, a cat, and a horse if you want. That what you want? Huh? Huh? You want all those things, little boy?" Fang shook his head. "Grow up."
"Why don't you?"
"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about. You act like your still ten years old."
"Is that what I act like?" Bruce crossed his arms. "How would you know? This is the first time I've seen you in months."
"You told me to stay away!"
"And you listened."
"I always listen, Bruce."
"Whatever." He went and laid down on his bed, closing his eyes. "Just leave."
"No. I'm not going to just leave, Bruce. I want…I need you to stop acting like you hate me."
"…I never said that I hate you."
"You say it all the time."
"Well, I don't mean it!"
"Bruce, I'm not here for me. I'm hardly even here for you. I'm here for Max. Whether you like it or not, you're going to have her in your life for the long haul. And since I'm with her, I'll be right there. Always. Not to even mention you're my son. You realize that, right? You're my son. Okay?"
"What does this change, huh? Nothing. You're just here to look good in front of Mom. Just fess up."
"Bruce, I just…I don't know, alright?"
"Well, I do know."
Fang looked around, not knowing what to say.
"…I have to go to therapy." Bruce stood up. "You have to leave now."
"Bruce-"
"You have to. Bye."
Shaking his head, Fang just walked out. No one can ever say that he doesn't try. Ever.
