The Lives of Genius
A Boy/Girl Meets World Fanfic
By Auburn Red
Chapter Thirteen: Boy Meets Ladies (Stuart Minkus Age 28; Farkle Minkus Age 6)
Author's Note: Even though I am doing some revisions to these chapters, I decided to keep the girls meeting with Farkle the same as it is in the chapter, because it's a bit hard to incorporate the canon version. There will be slight references to the girls' first meeting from the canon though.
"Good Morning, Father," Farkle said as he entered the kitchen. He moved the Knight one space from his and his father's chess match the previous night. "Check," he said proudly.
Minkus looked at the board and moved his queen forward to take Farkle's king. "Check Mate," he returned.
Farkle laughed. He liked that his father never let him win. It helped him learn different moves. Farkle accepted the waffles and juice from his nanny, Jordan Miller.
Minkus returned to his coffee and laptop, reading the morning news. "Anyway, Father, what happened to Daddy?" he asked in surprise.
"I'm older now and going to start first grade," Farkle explained. "I need to behave more maturely."
Minkus and Jordan exchanged amused grins. "Well, clearly." Minkus said. "By the way, Mr. Parker asked that you please not correct him and say that his teaching methods are puerile and not at all indicative of a child of your age group."
"Well they weren't," Farkle said.
"Farkle, we only talked to him at orientation," Minkus reminded his son. "Today is your first day of school. At least wait a few days, before you decide that his lessons are puerile." Jordan raised his eyebrow in a surprised and slightly bemused expression at the odd exchanges between a genius father and son.
"Are you going to take me to school and home?" Farkle asked.
"We talked about this," Minkus said. "I will take you, but Jordan is going to pick you up. I have to work late until the evening today." Normally, Minkus at least tried to be home when Farkle was home. Even when he wasn't home like on business trips, he tried to call Farkle every night via Skype just to check in, see how he was doing, and go through their nightly reading ritual. He felt that this was particularly important, now that he was the only parent in the house. He wanted to be sure that Farkle didn't feel neglected. However, he had some extra projects to work on that day and didn't anticipate being home until around 7 or 8.
"I'll be there, Farkle, don't worry about it," Jordan offered ruffling his employer's son's hair. Jordan was a 19-year-old NYU student who already had an Associate's Degree in Child Care and was now working towards getting a double degree in Psychology and Child Development. The thin curly dark haired male nanny was very patient and lively with Farkle and also got along well with his father. He also had a good sense of humor, something that Minkus noticed instantly at Jordan's interview when the first thing he said, before the CEO could even begin his questions were, "Yes, I'm a man and I was born one. I'm straight and I have a girlfriend. Now that those two stereotypes are out of the way, I love kids and want to work with them. That's why I'm a manny."
"But it's the first day," Farkle said with a pout.
"I know and I'm sorry," Minkus apologized. "But I have to work. In the meantime, you and Jordan will have fun, won't you?"
"Yeah I guess," Farkle said.
"You can tell me all about it when I get home," Minkus promised.
"Will you help me with my homework?" Farkle asked.
"I'll try, Farkle," Minkus promised. "But we will read Huckleberry Finn and The Phantom Tollbooth tonight."
"Besides if your Dad won't be able to help you with your homework, I will," Jordan suggested. "Hey, I may not be a genius like your dad, but I know that 2+2 is-"He pretended to think for a minute "-5 right?"
Farkle laughed. "It's 4, Jordan."
Jordan slapped his forehead in mock confusion. "Oh of course, I get those two confused."
Farkle laughed again and Minkus rolled his eyes and shook his head in amusement. He switched off the laptop and held out his hand. "Come on, son let's get the lead out," he said as Farkle took his hand.
Mr. Parker watched as his students entered the classroom and hung their backpacks and lunchboxes. "Good morning, class," he said. "I hope you enjoy first grade. When I call your names, I will tell you what group you will be sitting in."
He called several names before he called, Maya Hart!"
A tall blond girl wearing holey blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a blue jacket held up one finger. "Yeah," she said sounding like she would rather be anywhere else.
Mr. Parker called another name. "Riley Matthews!"
"Here," a dark haired girl with her hair in two purple ponytails raised her hand. She wore a dark purple dress with a picture of a unicorn and rainbow. She had a large smile.
"Farkle Minkus," Mr. Parker called.
Farkle raised his hand. "Present!" Mr. Parker looked at the kid narrowly. He had a feeling at orientation that Farkle was going to be one of those know-it-all problem kids.
Mr. Parker pointed at a cluster of desks in the center of the room. "You three will sit there," he said.
Farkle and Riley ran up to the desk excited while Maya just casually walked towards it.
The desk was soon a jumble of three children putting out their school supplies and getting into slight fights over where to put their stuff.
Maya said to Farkle. "What is this?" She asked holding up a small instrument.
"It's an Ultra MIMS, it's sort of like a calculator and planner," Farkle answered. "My father made it for me at his work."
"Well it's sort of on my part of the desk," Maya answered pushing the device to Farkle's side then she turned to Riley. "Get these horse pencils out of my way too!"
"They aren't horses," Riley countered. "They're unicorns!"
"Well whatever they are, I don't want to see them," Maya said. "I thought you wanted to be my friend when you heard me through the window," Riley said her eyes filling with tears."Shut up about that," Maya glared clenching her fist.
"You're mean," Riley said sticking her tongue out.
"So you noticed," Maya said sarcastically. "And get those kitten stickers off my desk!"
"They're on my desk," Riley reminded her as she stuck the kitten stickers on her side of the desk. "Do you want one?" She asked Farkle.
"Okay," Farkle said surprised that someone wanted to include him in anything. Riley then put a white kitten sticker on Farkle's desk. "Thank you," he said.
"You're welcome," she said. "I like you, you're nice." She then gave him another wide smile. She had one of the best smiles that Farkle had ever seen. He wanted to see the girl smile all the time.
Maya however got mad again as Riley offered the girl a kitten sticker. "I don't want one," she repeated. She then tossed a box of crayons on Riley's lap. The dark haired girl jumped in surprise.
"Riley, Maya, that's enough," Mr. Parker said.
Riley sat back down and held up the sticker. "I thought maybe you would want to be my friend, always not just as the window, so you wouldn't be so mad and so mean."
Farkle was fascinated at the exchange between the two girls. Maya glared at him making her eyes wider to counter Farkle's stare. "What are you staring at?" she demanded.
"Nothing," Farkle said as he hurriedly put away his things.
The blond girl then looked at the dark haired girl and took the sticker from her hand. "Thanks," Maya said as she stuck the black cat sticker on her desk. She then looked inside her own pencil box for something that she could give to Riley and handed her a purple crayon. "You like purple huh?" she asked.
"It's my favorite color," Riley said. She accepted the purple crayon from Maya and cheered. "Yayyy!"
"Riley, I don't want to have to tell you again," Mr. Parker repeated. The dark haired girl
remained silent as the teacher told his students to take out their arithmetic books.
At recess, Farkle was reading his book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn while he was swinging slowly. Over the pages of the book, he could see Riley and Maya run up the slide and slide down. He turned the pages wondering if those girls could be his friends.
He then felt a shove as some bigger boys pushed him off the swing. "These are ours," one of the boys said.
Farkle hit the ground. The force caused his nose to bleed. He weakly stood up on shaky legs putting his hand on his nose to cover the bleeding. One of the boys picked up Huckleberry Finn and began to rip pages from it. "That's mine," Farkle said. "My Father gave it to me for Christmas!"
"Who cares," the boy said.
"I do," a familiar voice said. Farkle looked up to see Maya Hart standing over him. Before the boys could say any more, Maya punched one on the face. Then she shoved another one to the ground. "How do you like that huh?" Maya asked.
"You hit like a girl," one of the boys said.
"Thanks for noticing," Maya said proudly.
She then turned to Farkle and helped him to stand. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Farkle looked at the blond girl and smiled. "Thank you," he said. He then handed her his Ultra MIMS. "This is for you."
Maya held it in her hand. "I thought you said that your father made it."
"He did," Farkle said. "He can always make me another one."
"You are so cool to have a father that does stuff like that," Maya said enviously. "Thanks." She accepted it with another smile. It wasn't as wide as Riley's but it was nice and it was there. Maya was about to join Riley again when she turned to the boy. "Do you want to play with us?"
Riley also waved the boy forward. "Do you want to play, Farkle?" she asked.
Farkle smiled and said, "Sure." He then joined Maya and Riley and the three slid down the slide and ran up and down the jungle gym laughing and talking with each other.
Jordan Miller arrived in front of the school waiting for Farkle to come through. He politely said "Excuse me," as he sat between two people. One was a pretty blond woman in a waitress uniform and the other was a man in a dark suit with hair that was curlier than his.
"So which one are you waiting for," the man said.
"I'm waiting for my daughter, Maya," the blond woman said.
"I'm waiting for my daughter, Riley," the other man said. He turned to Jordan. "Are you waiting for your kid too?"
Jordan shook his head. "Oh he's not my son."
The man nodded. "Oh your nephew or younger brother, or boyfriend's kid?"
Jordan smiled and laughed. "Yeah I get that a lot. Actually, I'm waiting for my employer's son, Farkle."
"Odd name," the man observed.
"Well my employer's an odd man," Jordan said. "I'm Jordan Miller." He shook the other man's hand.
"Cory Matthews," the man said. Then Jordan turned to the blond. "And you are-?"
The woman shook their hands. "Katy Clu-uh Hart," she said.
"Well nice to meet you too," Cory said. "You must be the famous Bay Window Maya's mother."Katy laughed. "Yeah that's me."
"Our daughter talked a bit about yours," Cory said wryly. "I think she would like to be her friend."
"Well I'm willing if you are," Katy agreed.
The bell rang and practically an army of children exited the school. Cory, Katy, and Jordan stood in unison looking for the youngsters. Riley ran up to her father all smiles and chatters. "Hi Daddy," she said.
"Hi Smiley Riley," Cory said as he hugged his little girl. "How was your first day?"
"It was fun," Riley said. "Can my new friends, Maya and Farkle come over tomorrow?"
Cory turned to Katy who had been talking to her daughter up until then. "Well it's alright with me if it's alright with you?" He prompted.
"Can I Mom?" Maya asked.
Katy shrugged. "I guess so, actually that would help a lot. I have an audition tomorrow, so the only one home would be your father and-"She hesitated. "-Well you know sometimes Daddy isn't in the mood to watch you, Baby Girl."
"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Maya reminded her mother testily.
"Well you'll always be my Baby Girl," Katy said slightly pinching her daughter's cheeks.
"Mom, stop," Maya said embarrassed as she pushed away. "So it's okay?" Maya asked.
"Sure, Maya," Katy said.
Farkle turned to Jordan. "I don't know, as far as I know its okay. I'll have to ask Mr. Minkus' permission first," the nanny said as he picked up his cell phone.
Cory Matthews looked at Jordan in surprise. "Mr. Minkus? Your employer is Stuart Minkus?"
Jordan felt a bit like a name dropper wondering if the man was just thrilled that he was talking to someone working for a famous person. "The very same."
"You're kidding?" Cory said in surprise as Jordan dialed his employer's number.
Farkle was in the middle of filling out several business reports when Jessie interrupted him through her computer. "Mr. Minkus, Bellevue is on Line 3."
Minkus' heart leaped into his throat. It had to be about Jennifer. "I'll get it, thanks Jessie." He then pressed the line expecting to hear Jennifer's psychiatrist call him.
"Stuart," a low sexy but sad voice spoke through the phone.
Stuart's eyes and mouth widened. "Jennifer? Are you alright?" Ever since Christmas, Jennifer had refused to see Minkus or Farkle. They faithfully visited once a week, but always returned home discouraged that they never saw her. Sometimes they sat inside the Visitor's area for the entire hour waiting to her to come out.
The psychiatrist diagnosed Jennifer's condition as "Borderline Personality Disorder" which he admitted was a tricky mental illness. People who suffered from BPD often were incapable of accepting blame and unwilling to change so they often needed a lot of work with medicine and therapy. Minkus wondered how much progress his wife had been making.
"Yes, I'm fine," there was a sadness and vulnerability in her voice. Minkus could tell that she was fighting off tears. "I want to see you. Will tomorrow be okay?"
"Yes tomorrow will be fine," Minkus replied. "About 3:00 sounds good?"
"Yeah, I guess that's alright," Jennifer said.
"Sure I'll pick up Farkle from school and we can-"Minkus began.
"No," Jennifer insisted. "I just want to see you not Farkle. I'm not ready-I don't know if I can face him yet. Please come on your own."
"Okay," Minkus answered. He didn't like it, but he wanted Jennifer to be comfortable. Jordan would probably watch him during that time. "I'll be there." He promised.
"Stuart, I have to go," Jennifer answered. "This is a public phone and other people want to use it. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow then," Minkus agreed. "Good-bye, Jennifer."
"Good-bye Stuart," Jennifer said as she hung up the phone. Minkus listened to the dial tone for a minute and then hung up himself concerned about his wife and what state she would be in the next day.
Less than a few minutes later, Jessie once again contacted him to tell him that he had a phone call, this time Jordan Miller.
Minkus answered the phone. "What's up, Jordan?" he asked.
"Mr. Minkus, I just wanted to let you know that Farkle was invited to a friend's house tomorrow and I told them that it was alright but I wanted to check with you first."
A few emotions went through Minkus' head, happiness that his son found new friends, curiosity about who they were, slight envy that the boy made close friends at a younger age than his father did, but mostly concern about who these people were.
"Well I'm glad you asked first," Minkus said concerned and he was aware obsessively worried. "But I will have to know their names and address first. I want to look them up. For all I know, they could be serial killers or child molesters!"
"He doesn't look like the type," Jordan replied.
"They never do," Minkus reminded the nanny. "So what's this friend's name and can you tell me the parents' names."
There were a few minutes as Jordan appeared to be asking some questions then he returned to the phone. "Actually he said that you do know them. The friend's name is Riley Matthews and there will be another girl there, Maya Hart." Minkus was stunned at the revelation of Riley's last name. Matthews? No, it couldn't be! It's a common enough name. Jordan continued. "Her parents are named Cory and Topanga Matthews. Kind of a weird name, Topanga."
Minkus shook his head. "You're kidding! No they aren't serial killers or child molesters," Minkus said. They're worse, he thought bitterly remembering his former school enemy and former crush-turned-academic rival. He pushed the Internet icon on his computer and looked up the names "Cory Matthews" and "Topanga Lawrence-Matthews." He read that Cory was a history teacher at John Quincy Adams Middle School. Minkus almost wanted to double up with laughter with the thought that Cory, the underachiever was now a teacher. He hoped Farkle would never be one of his students. Topanga he found out was an attorney for a prestigious law firm. Unbelievable that two people that he hadn't seen in years would suddenly live in the same city as him.
He thought, that he could say no, that Farkle shouldn't be friends with their daughter. He could pull his son out of the school and not have him have anything to do with the Matthews. But he realized how foolish and futile the gesture would be. For one thing, these were the first close friends Farkle had ever made. He had never been invited to someone else's house. When would he get another chance?
For another reason, Minkus realized how selfish those feeling would be. They would have nothing to do with his feelings for Farkle and everything to do with his dislike of Riley's father. For all he knew, Cory could have changed quite a bit. Besides if Farkle recognized something special enough in Cory's daughter to be her friend, maybe Minkus could recognize something in her parents.
"Mr. Minkus, what's the verdict?" Jordan asked after a long silence.
"Oh sure, it's fine," Minkus said. "I have to be somewhere tomorrow after 3:00, so tell Cory that I'll pick up Farkle afterwards about 5 or so. What's the address?" Jordan asked Cory and then returned with the address. Minkus stared at the address in disbelief. Not only did the Matthews also live in New York City, but they lived in the same Greenwich Village neighborhood less than one apartment complex away from where the Minkus family lived!
Stuart walked outside the Bellevue grounds agreeing to meet Jennifer in the yard. "Stuart," he heard her voice. He turned to see his wife seated on a wicker chair. Her hair was extremely short cropped to her neck and she wore the white patient's uniform. She was also extremely thin, almost skeletal. Minkus ran over to his wife and handed her the bouquet of flowers, and a sapphire necklace, and kissed her. Jennifer held onto the flowers and put on the necklace. "It's been so long, I almost forgot what you looked like. You still look good."
Minkus smiled. "You do too. You cut your hair."
Jennifer ran her fingers through it. "Ugh, I look like a boy. One of the patients is studying to be a beautician. That's what they like us to do here, learn some vocational skills so we can do things on the outside. She cut my hair, but I think she cut too much off."
"Well it still looks terrific," Stuart told his wife. "You're so thin now."
"I don't eat as much as I should," she said. "That's what they tell me. Which reminds me, try these and tell me what you think." She gave him a small box and took out a small chocolate truffle.
Minkus tasted one. "This is amazing!" He said. It tasted rich with milk chocolate.
"I learned how to cook while I've been in here," she said shyly.
"Jennifer, why did you want to see me?" Minkus asked.
"I figured that it's been awhile," Jennifer hesitated. "I haven't heard from you in some time and I became curious. How have you been? Has business been going good?"
"Yes, actually it has," Minkus said. "We have a whole line of computer games now. With that and Farkle Phones and MIMS devices among others, we're doing quite well."
"I know," Jennifer said. "They actually have some of your games here. A couple of the guys were playing the historic war games, what are they called-?"
"The Great War and La Resistance," Minkus said remembering the WWI themed trench battle game and the WWII era French Resistance game.
"Yeah," Jennifer said. "I told them that you were my husband and they thought it was another delusion."
"I'm so famous that I'm a delusion," Minkus joked. "YES! I can cross that off my bucket list."
Jennifer laughed. "That's what I miss. You could always make me laugh. How's Farkle?"
"He's doing really well," Minkus said. "He's in first grade now. He learned how to ride a bike, he loves it. Actually he's with some friends, Riley and Maya. He's at Riley's house now."
"He has friends?" Jennifer said amazed. "I just figured that he'd be like you. A total loner for life." Stuart smiled blithely. "So what's this boy Riley like that he's at his house?"
"Actually Riley is a girl," Minkus said confiding in her. "Of course Maya is too. Our son is quite the player."
"Ooh," Jennifer said teasing. "At only 6 and our boy is a heartbreaker with two girlfriends."
Minkus grinned. "He informed me yesterday that Riley and Maya were not girls, they were ladies!" The husband and wife laughed good-naturedly. "You will never believe who Riley's parents are, Cory and Topanga Matthews!"
"You're kidding," Jennifer said. She then made a face. "Ugh that idiot reproduced and with the hippy hair on legs?"
"She wasn't that bad," Minkus objected.
"Well she had no taste that was for sure marrying that Brillo Head," Jennifer rolled her eyes. "I never could see what she or Shawn Hunter saw in him."
"It was a long time ago, Jennifer," Minkus offered. He knew his wife's past history with Shawn Hunter and her animosity for Cory Matthews. His dislike for their former schoolmate paled in comparison to her absolute hatred for him. "Maybe things have changed."
Jennifer sighed. "You're right. I guess we should at least give the daughter the benefit of the doubt no matter how idiotic the parents were. Anyway, I'm not supposed to be thinking things like that here. They want me to curb my negative thoughts towards others." She took a deep breath and relaxed mentally counting to ten. "There I feel better."
"Why did you call me, Jennifer?" Stuart asked.
Jennifer looked downward. "Because I'm scared, Stuart. They say that I will be getting better soon. I could even go home, but I don't know where I'd be going. I could go to Mother and Daddy's house, but how long would I stay there? Mother in particular would get on my nerves." Her voice quivered. "I literally went from my parent's house to yours. I don't know any other life and I want to come home with you."
Stuart was silent. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. The truth was, he and Farkle had been doing rather well the last few months. They had their mutual discussions about education and learning, often still sharing in reading together, discussing puzzles, and spending time with each other. They also adjusted well as a duo. Farkle had metamorphosed into a bright outgoing kid who was less nervous and clingy. While Minkus himself had his moments of neurotic worrying over his son, he had begun to relax his hold over him. He missed Jennifer it was true, but he didn't miss the mood swings, the fights, the accusations, and above all he didn't miss her verbal abuse towards Farkle.
"I don't know Jennifer," Minkus said warily.
"I know that you have no reason to trust me," Jennifer said. "You shouldn't. I had multiple affairs. I drank. I spent your money. I yelled and hit both you and Farkle, but things are different now. I learned a lot about myself and my behaviors. I want to get rid of these destructive patterns and I need you to help me do that."
"How can I help you?" Minkus asked.
Jennifer started crying. "You were always stronger than me. You put up with a lot more than you had any right to and you pulled me out when I needed it." She began to cry harder and Minkus wrapped his arms around his wife. "I just need you to pull me out again. I just want to come home. Please let me come home."
Stuart held onto his wife. He wanted to believe her, but she had manipulated him so many times in the past. Could he afford to believe her again? "I do miss you and I love you Jennifer," he said as he kissed her. He purposely left the rest hanging in the air. "I want you to come home if I could believe that you could change."
"Please let me show you," Jennifer said. "You always were so scientific basing all of your decisions on logic. How can you come to a conclusion without testing it first?"
Stuart considered. "Well alright. I'll think about it."
"I promise you won't be disappointed," Jennifer insisted.
Minkus entered the hallway of the Matthews' apartment. It had been sometime since he had seen either Cory or Topanga, that time after his grandfather's funeral when he saw them through the window of Cory's parent's house in fact. He wondered what he would say to them. Would he have anything to say? He passed by a blond woman and a little girl, her daughter he guessed. He accidentally bumped into her. "Sorry," he said politely.
"Sorry," she answered back as they left. He idly wondered if the girl was the other friend, what was her name-Maya?
He knocked on the door of the number that Jordan gave him. The door was opened by a familiar looking face. "Yeeeesss?" he jokingly said.
Minkus couldn't believe it. Cory Matthews hadn't changed a bit. He could still recognize the curly haired skinny kid that he knew in high school. From behind him, he could see Topanga. She hadn't changed either-still looked as sharp and as beautiful as always. "Topanga," he couldn't resist greeting with a smile and he turned to Cory. "Cory."
"Stuart," Topanga greeted before her husband answered. "Minkus!"
Minkus couldn't resist. "Right on both counts," he said. "I'm here because you have something of mine."
Cory put his hand to his chin. "Let's see 6 years old, yay big-"He put his hand at knee level "-Talks like a scientist? Answers to Farkle? Haven't seen him."
Minkus gave his former rival a smirk. "I would believe that if I clearly didn't see him coming into the living room."
Farkle ran up to his father. "Hi Father," he said.
"Hi ready to go?" Minkus asked. Farkle answered as he took his father's hand.
"Stuart wait," Topanga said and she approached him. "Farkle is welcome to come see Riley anytime."
"He is?" Minkus asked.
"He is?" Cory asked. Upon Topanga's stare, he answered. "He is! Actually, he's a great kid. He, Maya, and Riley had a lot of fun together."
Minkus nodded. "Well that's good and thank you for the invitation," he spoke to his son. "Do you want to hang out with them more?"
Farkle nodded. "Yes I want to be with my ladies!"
Minkus motioned towards his son. "I think you have your answer. I think it will be good for them to be friends."
"Yeah we do too," Cory said nodding at Topanga who nodded back.
Minkus motioned for his son to come forward. "Well come on we have to get home alright?" Farkle followed his father as they walked down the hallway and approached the elevator.
Farkle and Minkus walked towards their apartment hand-in-hand. "Daddy, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews said that they knew you," Farkle said.
"Yes they did, Farkle," Minkus answered. "I went to school with them."
"They seem nice," Farkle said. "Though Mr. Matthews said that you were a geek." He giggled.
Minkus smirked. "Yes, he would say that. Mr. Matthews and I didn't get along."
"Why?" Farkle asked.
"Well we were…different," Minkus said tactfully. "I was a genius and Mr. Matthews liked to tease me for being a genius."
"He was a bully?" Farkle asked stunned. How could he visit the home of someone who was a bully?
Minkus shook his head. He wanted to set the record straight about Cory and he certainly didn't want Farkle to be afraid of him and not visit his daughter. "Not quite, more of he would say things or do things to me without thinking about it. He was just thoughtless at times. But he had some very good friends and was very loyal to his friends and his family. I imagine he's probably a very good father and would be very good to you."
"He is," Farkle said. "What was Mrs. Matthews like when she was in school?"
Minkus smiled. "Well she was someone who if things had been different could have been your mother. When we were younger in school, she was the first girl that I had emotional feelings for."
"You loved her?" Farkle said not believing that his father was in love. "Did you know Mother then?"
Minkus shook his head. "No, I met Mother much later. I met her once in high school, but we didn't get together until we were in college. But with Topanga, Mrs. Matthews, it was different. We went to elementary school together. We were both smart intellectual types. She was sort of bizarre but it worked on her."
"Why didn't you marry Mrs. Matthews then," Farkle asked. "I'm not really upset, just curious. I mean if you and Mrs. Matthews got married, I would not have been born nor Riley. Or maybe we would have been brother and sister. That would be really weird. Is Riley really my sister?"
"No, Farkle, she's not your sister," Minkus said with a smile. "Actually I haven't seen Topanga or Cory in a long time before today. Sometimes when people get older, they change. They aren't always the same people. They may look different or have different interests, and wear completely new clothes. It may happen to you one day."
"It will never happen to me," Farkle said determined. "Farkle Minkus will always be Farkle Minkus!"
Minkus chuckled at his son's already building ego. "Why do I have a feeling that I should record this conversation as a reminder?" He teased. Then he returned to the original subject about him and Topanga. "Sometimes you lose touch with people. That's what happened between me and Mrs. Matthews. She went one way and I went another way. Once you go your separate ways, you can't really come back."
"So why did you marry Mother?" Farkle asked. "Did you love her too?"
"Yes, I did, Farkle," Minkus answered. "I married your mother because we got along well. Her family liked me and they helped me get started with my company so we became a match because of that. We were both looking for something and we found it in each other. She was beautiful and well connected and I wanted a wife like that. I took care of her and helped her meet many people and she wanted a husband like that. We realized that we needed and loved each other."
"Do you still love Mother?" Farkle asked.
Sometimes Minkus cursed all of the learning that he gave his son when the result was his precociousness. He was like Ginsburg in that way, always able to see right through him. "Of course I do, Farkle," Minkus answered he realized all too quickly. "I wouldn't still be married to her if I didn't. Don't you love Mother?"
Farkle nodded. "Yes, I do." He answered also very quickly.
Jordan picked up Farkle at school a few days later. "Good news about your mom," he said.
"We're going to visit her?" Farkle asked.
"Yep you're going to see her," the nanny said.
"When?" Farkle asked.
"Well your dad is coming home early and you're going to have an early supper," Jordan replied. "As soon as you two are done, you'll go."
"Okay," Farkle answered as he followed Jordan.
When Jordan and Farkle entered the apartment, Farkle was dismayed. "There isn't anyone here," he said. "Where's Father?"
Jordan looked around. "I don't know," he said. "Maybe he's in his room." He knocked on the door.
They heard Stuart say, "Come in," through the door. Jordan opened the door and Farkle was surprised to see not only his father but his mother seated on the bed!
Jennifer had her arms outstretched and Farkle hesitated walking slowly. "Hello Mother," he said warily. Jordan realizing the family needed time alone, stepped outside the room.
"Mother?" Jennifer asked her husband.
"He's maturing now," Minkus answered.
"How are you feeling?" Farkle asked.
"Much better," Jennifer answered. "I'm sorry for the things that I said to you. I want to be a better person and a better Mom- uh Mother to you, Farkle. I miss you Honey. Did you miss me?"
"Yes, I did and I'm glad you're home," Farkle said as he ran to his mother to give her a big hug. "You look different Mother! Your hair is shorter."
"Well you look different too," Jennifer observed. "You've gotten taller!"
Minkus smiled at his wife and son talking to each other. He looked down at his wife lying on the bed. "By the way, if you are still interested in the position, it's still open." He held out his wife's rings.
Jennifer smiled. "I accept," she said as her husband put the rings back on his wife's finger.
Farkle then jumped into bed to meet his parents in a family hug. Stuart smiled as he embraced his wife and son. Maybe this would be a new start after all.