Chapter 29

Double Dee ran down the stairs at the sound of his doorbell and walked up to the front door. With a quick fix of his collar while looking into the mirror next to his staircase, he proceeded to open the door.

As the door opened with an audible creek, Double Dees girlfriend came into view. If it wasn't attached to his face, Double Dees jaw would have literally dropped. She was wearing the brown high heeled boots that she had worn to dinner at Double Dees house a few nights ago, on top of gray stockings. However, the feature that stunned Double Dee was her dress. Marie wore a black dress that ended slightly above her knees. Thin black straps passed over her shoulders, connecting the back of the dress to the front, which had a v neck that slightly exposed her cleavage.

"Hi cutie, did ya miss me?" said Marie smiling

Even Double Dee who was an dedicated gentleman, couldn't help but check Marie out from head to toe, speechless. Marie took notice.

"I guess Lee wasn't lying when she said she was an expert on dressing to please men." said Marie giggling, as she noticed Double Dees eyes dart down to her chest.

"Hey lover boy, I'm up here!" yelled Marie jokingly while she chuckled.

Double Dee quickly looked up at Maries face, embarrassed beyond belief blushing at what he had just done inadvertently.

"Hello M..M. Marie, please excuse my horrible rudeness." said a very nervous Double Dee.

"Double Dee." said Marie in a seductive voice as she walked up to him and put his arms around him. "If you wanted to see them that bad," Marie leaned into his ear, "You should have just asked."

Marie chuckled as Double Dee began sweating.

"Maybe later, Oven Mitt." said Marie as she grinned at Double Dee, "You're so cute when you're nervous."

Double Dee blushed as Marie walked past him and sat down on the couch. He smiled as he walked over to join her.

"So Marie," said Double Dee, as he sat down, "Did you receive any trouble from Lee for coming over here tonight?"

"Double Dee, you wouldn't believe it." said Marie, as she smiled, "But Lee is perfectly fine with us being together now."

"Really!" yelled Double Dee, "However did you convince her to accept our relationship."

Marie told Double Dee of her and her sisters finally opening up to each other and talking about the problems they had growing up with each other. Out of respect for Lee, she didn't tell Double Dee about her horrible past experiences, but stated that Lee had finally let go of her emotions and talked to her sisters about the troubled life they had all had growing up.

"I think that is wonderful Marie!" said Double Dee.

"Yeah, you don't know how happy I am that we were able to talk about things for once." said Marie, "And guess what else?"

"What." replied Double Dee. "Now we don't have to worry about any kind of trouble from my end with our relationship. In fact, the girls wanted to know if you wanted to come to the trailer tomorrow to hang out and maybe watch a few movies." said Marie.

Double Dee paused for a second. Although he trusted Marie, he was still intimidated by Lee and had trouble believing that Lee would accept everything with open arms. Just then Marie leaned into his face.

"We're making our Kanker burgers again." said Marie in an elongated tone, as if to bribe Double Dee.

"I will be sure to be there Marie, you can count on it." said Double Dee as he smiled into her eyes.

"Great!" said Marie, after which she paused.

"How are your boys dealing with the news?" she asked.

"You wouldn't believe it either Marie, but all of them accept us as well, including Eddy!" said Double Dee, excited.

"Really, you're joking." said Marie, "No offense but Eddy McGee is way too much of a blowhard to just give something like this the cold shoulder."

"I thought the same thing this morning." said Double Dee, "But Ed and Kevin somehow convinced him to accept. He even joked with me about it and placed me in a headlock, which is something he only does when he is happy."

"Wow," said Marie, "This turned out better than expected for us."

"It sure did." said Double Dee as he got up off of the couch, "Would the lady like a nice cold glass of soda?" asked Double Dee. "I would love a glass of ice cold soda sir" said Marie chuckling.

"Coming right up!" said Double Dee as he made his way out into the kitchen

. Perhaps due to Double Dees "wandering eye problem" he failed to take notice that Marie was carrying a tube that contained a rather large piece of paper rolled up inside . She placed the tube on the floor beneath her feet as she waited for Double Dee to come back with her drink.

"Have you eaten yet Marie?" asked Double Dee, as he walked back in from the kitchen.

"No I haven't." said Marie

"Neither have I," said Double Dee, "I'm going to order a Pizza if that's okay with you."

"That would be great Double Dee, I'm starving!" said Marie. Double Dee quickly dialed the phone and ordered the pizza, after which he rejoined Marie in the living room, with a glass of water for himself.

"Would you like to relocate to the den so that we can watch television." asked Double Dee.

"Sure, lead the way." said Marie as she got up to follow Double Dee into the den.

The den of Double Dees house was primarily a space for his father when he was home relaxing after work. There was one large window facing the house in between Double Dees and Rolf's, which a young newlywed couple had just bought. The room was painted grey, and had a gray carpet as well. On the walls hung various posters and shelves displaying country music memorabilia, as well as a hook on which Double Dees father's acoustic guitar hung. There was a large family portrait that was displayed directly above the television set that appeared to have been taken when Double Dee was a toddler. In the photograph, his mother and father sat behind their two smiling little boys, Edward and James. The television itself was a 52" flat screen plasma display. There were two speakers that hung beside it that were part of the home theater system.

"They make TV's flat nowadays, that's news to me!" said Marie sarcastically, "Where I come from, you don't even have a remote control." she chuckled. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle back with her.

It was Friday night, and nothing was on TV. After a few minutes of flipping the channels, the couple settled on watching Fishbowl 2 (a classic!). After a few minutes the sound of the doorbell chimes once again filled Double Dees residence.

"It seems that the pizza is here." said Double Dee as he stood up and ran towards the front door. After paying the pizza man, he motioned for Marie to join him in the kitchen. He placed the pizza box down on the counter and opened the drawer to grab the pizza cutter.

"Okay, just let me make a few slices across the pie." said Double Dee, as he cut the pizza into slices.

Double Dee placed two slices on two different plates, one for him and one for Marie. The couple walked back out into the Den and sat on Double Dees fathers couch while eating their pizza. Marie quickly ate her slice, and went to the kitchen for a few more, as she had not eaten all day. In addition, it was a blessing for her to have something else besides hot dogs for a change. Before they knew it, all of the pizza was gone.

"Well that was a great dinner!" said Marie. "

Yes it was, I must admit, I am quite fond of pizza." said Double Dee.

The couple sat in silence watching television once again, before Double Dee remembered about his surprise for Marie

. "Marie, I have something for you up in my room." said Double Dee.

"Really?" said Marie as she got up off of the couch and sat down on Double Dees lap, placing her arms around him. "And what may that be?"

"Come upstairs and I'll show you." said Double Dee while smiling.

Marie slid off of Double Dees lap, after which she began walking out of the den and toward the stairs, making sure to sway her hips excessively in front of Double Dee.

"That's my Marie." said Double Dee under his breath to himself.

Double Dee followed Maries lead up to his room. Double Dee entered the room first, and flicked on the lights. He motioned for Marie to sit down on his bed, as he turned around toward his dresser. He sighed out of nervousness as he picked up the brown box in which the necklace sat.

"I had this made for you Marie." said Double Dee nervously while blushing.

He handed the box to Marie.

"You got me a box?" asked Marie in an annoyed voice. "No you have to open the box it's in…."

Marie placed her hand on Double Dees mouth. "Of course I know it's not just a box Double Dee." said Marie as she chuckled.

"Yes, silly me." said Double Dee as he smiled nervously.

Double Dee's heart was pounding as Marie opened the box. As her eyes caught a glimpse of the pendant, they widened with happiness. She pulled the entire necklace out of the box.

"Double Dee, this must have cost you a fortune this is real gold!" said Marie.

"Only the best for you Marie." said Double Dee, smiling.

"I love it!" yelled Marie as she placed the necklace down on the bed and jumped into Double Dees arms, squeezing him tightly. Double Dee returned the favor. He decided to live out the dream that he had in class a little over a week ago and spin his girlfriend around in the air. Marie giggled as Double Dee did so, making Double Dee smile from ear to ear.

Marie pulled her face away so that she was looking him right in the eye. Their noses were now touching as they smiled into each other's eyes.

"Double Dee you are the best!" said Marie as she kissed him on the lips. "No you are Marie." said Double Dee.

Double Dee put his girlfriend down and turned his attention to the music box.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought the music box up here for the time being until you could take it home." said Double Dee.

"Not at all." said Marie, "I'm sure Lee and May will be happy to see it too. When May was a little girl, she always wanted to see what the box from my moms story looked like."

Marie sat back down on the bed, Double Dee sat down next to her. He calmly placed his arm around her shoulder to which Marie responded by leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Marie, if you don't mind my curiosity, may I ask a question." said Double Dee.

"I don't mind at all, ask away." said Marie.

"On the inside of the music box lid there is an engraving that says "Tabby", do you have any idea what that may mean?" asked Double Dee.

Marie stood up off of the bed and walked over to the music box. She opened the box, and as the familiar tune played once again, she read the engraving.

"That is my mother's name." said Marie.

"Tabby?" asked Double Dee. Marie turned around to look him in the eyes.

"Her full name is Tabitha, but everyone calls her Tabby." said Marie "I guess my Poppy had her name engraved onto the box for her. Now I am definitely sure that this was once my mother's music box."

Marie smiled as she rejoined Double Dee on the bed.

"Double Dee, have you ever seen my mom?" asked Marie.

Double Dee had never thought about that before Marie had asked that question. He had in fact, never seen Ms. Kanker in the year and a half that he had known Marie.

"You know what, Marie, I really don't think I ever have." said Double Dee.

"I believe you," said Marie, "She is out of the house every day except Sundays. That's the day when we usually do all of the laundry and clean the trailer."

"I know how you feel." said Double Dee, "How many times have you come over here and seen at least one of my parents in the house."

"Well I must have got lucky, because I came when both of them were home." said Marie chuckling.

Both Double Dee and Marie remained silent for a few more seconds before Marie remembered she had something of her own for Double Dee.

"Oooh I almost forgot your surprise cutie!" yelled Marie as she hopped off of the bed and ran towards the door to Double Dees room. "I'll be right back, I left it downstairs!" yelled Marie as she ran down the stairs.

Marie returned shortly holding the tube that she had held previously. She handed it to Double Dee.

"It's inside the tube." said Marie as she blushed, and turned away as Double Dee uncapped the tube.

Double Dee pulled a rolled up piece of paper a little smaller than the average poster board size out of the tube, and began unrolling it. Marie glanced over as he unrolled it after which she quickly grabbed it and flipped it over.

"You have to see this side first." said Marie, before turning away once again.

Double Dee stared at the large piece of paper and began reading the words that were on it. At the top of the page, large red letters spelled out:

WHY MY EDD IS SO SPECIAL TO ME

Double Dee turned his attention to the rest of the paper. There were a few highly detailed sketches of him in different poses scattered around the page, each of them with a caption underneath. He read the first one.

He's smart! :

The was a detailed picture of Double Dee holding a couple of laboratory flasks in his hands.

He's funny!:

There was another picture of Double Dee that detailed his mishap with the fireplace the other night where he bumped his head on the hearth. Double Dee chuckled at the picture.

He's so cute : ) :

Marie had drawn an extremely detailed picture of Double Dees smiling face.

He is always there for me, no matter what:

Marie had drawn a humorous picture of herself lying on a couch as if in a psychologists office, talking to Double Dee who was sitting on an armchair taking notes. Double Dee couldn't help but crack a smile once again.

He's a great kisser! :

Marie had drawn a detailed picture of her and Double Dee kissing on a park bench. There was no more to read on that side of the paper, prompting Double Dee to flip it over. On the other side was a large detailed drawing of Double Dee lying down on a bed, staring down at Marie, who was laying on his chest snuggling with him, Double Dee had his arm around her as she stared up into his eyes dreamily. There was one more caption under this picture, once again written in large red letters.

HE'S MY EVERYTHING

Double Dee was not only amazed by the amount of detail Marie had put into the drawing but he was amazed that she had taken so much time to put this all together for him. "It's really cliche." said Marie breaking the silence.

"It is absolutely not cliche!" said Double Dee, "I love this Marie and am very thankful that you have given this to me. When did you possibly find the time to do this? This is incredible"

"I started it during art class, remember silly goose." said Marie playfully. Double Dee had completely forgotten about her drawing in art class

"I finished it while sitting the back of all of my afternoon classes." Marie chuckled

"Marie, I am speechless, this is beautiful!" said Double Dee.

"Thanks, I really hoped you liked it." said Marie blushing.

"You don't have to worry about that." said Double Dee .

There was a pause, after which Double Dee placed his hand on Marie's shoulder Marie responded by leaning in and kissing Double Dee on the lips.

After a few seconds, she repositioned herself to Double Dees lap, and grinned as she looked into his face.

"Double Dee," she said as she looked into his face.

"Yes Marie." said Double Dee, as he smiled at her.

"I think it's that time of the night again." said Marie as she moved her lips towards Double Dees.

"Oh boy..." Said Double Dee in a nervous tone. Marie responded by merely giggling.

Around 20 minutes later, Marie once again laid on her side with her head resting on Double Dees chest. Double Dee leaned down and kissed her on her forehead, after which her curiosity caused her to begin asking questions.

"So what made you decide to get me a necklace?" asked Marie.

"Hmm, well to be completely honest, remembering one of Eddy's failed ideas helped me come to that conclusion." Said Double Dee. "There was this one time last summer that Eddy thought up a scam that would appeal to girls. All of the boys from the cul-de-sac had gone Go-Karting that day, so it was just us Ed's, Ed's sister, Nazz, and Jimmy. Eddy decided to try to sell gold jewelry to the girls, as he saw their fascination with it earlier that day. So to make a long story short he had Ed dip various household objects in gold paint and pass them off as jewelry." said Double Dee.

Double Dee paused.

"Seeing as you are a member of the female sex, I figured you'd be obsessed with jewelry as well." he said jokingly.

Marie laughed. "Did you make any money with that scam?" asked Marie as she chuckled.

"No, like most of the scams Eddy concocted, it was doomed to fail miserably." said Double Dee,

"I can only think of one of Eddy's scams off the top of my head that seemed as if it would have been a success, but ultimately failed due to unexpected circumstances."

"And what were the unexpected circumstances?" asked Marie smiling.

"Well, I think you will recall it just as well as I did." said Double Dee chuckling, "It was around the end of June, and Ed and I were in my room as I was finishing up a jigsaw puzzle. All of the sudden, Eddy showed up and said that he had an idea for the greatest scam ever. He had with him, a giant black inner tube that he said he found in the junkyard. After around an hour, Eddy had turned the old inner tube into a giant tire swing that the kids could ride for a fee. Of course, I was volunteered to be the first to test the apparatus, and to my dismay, the string broke and the inner tube and I plunged into the creek. Seeing the tube keeping me afloat gave Eddy an idea for a scam. Before we knew it, we were sailing down the creek on the inner tube, with Johnny and Jimmy on board. Surprisingly Rolf fell for the charade as well, although there was not enough room on the tube for him."

Double Dee paused.

"So we sailed smoothly for around ten minutes, when all of the sudden, Ed spotted another ship from the crow's nest trailing behind us." said Double Dee.

"I definitely know where this is going." said Marie as she chuckled.

"You girls somehow managed to show up a boat, and cause nothing but mayhem." said Double Dee laughing.

"Hey, but at least you got your first kiss from me at the end." said Marie.

"In hindsight, I guess it wasn't that bad then." said Double Dee.

"Get outta here!" yelled Marie playfully as she smiled and slapped Double Dee,

"We had to tie you up with ropes in order to get you to stay still so that we could kiss you!"

The couple laughed before Marie began speaking again.

"Although we were pretty pissed when that kid with the big head ripped our only bed sheet at the time." said Marie laughing.

"I can't believe that we actually took the money you earned on a couple of occasions. We really were bitches weren't we."

"Hmm no comment." said Double Dee, as he chuckled.

"Ooooh you!" said Marie as she straddled Double Dee and began play slapping him in the face. They spent the next few minutes playfully fighting each other before they eventually tired. Marie retook her place on Double Dees chest.

"Double Dee, did you have any good friends back in New Hope?" asked Marie.

"To be honest with you Marie, I hardly ever went outside back then, except if I was playing in the backyard." said Double Dee. "Don't get me wrong, I did have friends from school who I conversed with on a daily basis, but they weren't anywhere near as close as the friendships I have with Ed and Eddy. I suppose I would have to say that the person I played with the most back then was James."

"How did you meet Ed and Eddy anyway?" asked Marie.

"Well, it's quite a long story." said Double Dee, "I remember it was a few days after we had settled in to this house. I was around eight years old, and it was a few months since James had passed. We lived with my Aunt after we lost the house until my parents found this one here in Peach Creek."

Double Dee took a breath and continued his story.

"I was watching television in the den downstairs when the doorbell rang. My mother was home that day and answered the door to be greeted by, Ed's mom. Ed's mom invited us over to her house to chat, being the friendly person she is. Ms. Fullerton suggested that my mother take me downstairs to meet her son and his friend. The two women took me downstairs and introduced me to Ed and Eddy who were playing with action figures in his room. After a few minutes of talking in Ed's room, the adults allowed us to go out into Ed's backyard to play. Eddy came up with a game I can't quite remember that involved fake money, and swindled me into giving my whole share to him. I suppose I was one of the first victims of Eddy's scams."

Double Dee began laughing. Marie joined in.

"Eddy really loves his money doesn't he?" asked Marie while laughing.

"Oh yes Marie, you'd be surprised at how much genius he shows when he believes he will get a pretty penny. If he spent as much brainpower applying himself in school as he does when he thinks of ways to earn money, he would be a straight A student!" said Double Dee.

"You know something funny," said Marie, "Lee is the same way. She is the one who designed and built that boat for us, and came up with all of the cunning schemes we used on you guys."

"Maybe they are a match made in heaven after all!" said Double Dee.

Marie began laughing, Double Dee joined in not too long afterwards. After the laughter died down, Double Dee asked another question.

"Did you have any good friends before you moved to Peach Creek?" asked Double Dee. Marie sat in silence for a few seconds before she began speaking.

"I always considered Lee and May my best friends as well as my sisters and have always hung out with them more than others." said Marie,

"Then again, nobody else even wanted to give us a chance."

"What do you mean Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"People in the area I grew up in were really quick to judge others." said Marie, "In fact, I can remember on our first day of Kindergarten, my mother brought us to the school to register us. While my mother was filling out the papers, we ran around the school yard mingling with the other students. At one point, while we were climbing on the jungle gym, another little girl came up and decided to play with us. After a few minutes, her father came over and grabbed her. I can remember looking over at her as her father kneeled down to her and pointed towards us, making a gesture with his face as if saying 'don't play with those girls'"

Double Dee placed his other arm around Marie, who was still lying in the bed and embraced her as she spoke.

"The judging wasn't just restricted to the parents." said Marie, "When I first sat down in the classroom in kindergarten, the teacher wanted us all to form groups where we would get to know each other. One of the girls in my group immediately noticed this."

Marie pushed her black hair out of her right eye.

"She kept asking me 'what's wrong with your eye?' over and over again. The other student joined in on the question, some of the girls and boys made fun of me and laughed and made jokes."

Marie took a quick pause before continuing.

"It didn't help that my mom didn't even make sure we looked presentable. All three of us went to school every day with tangles in our hair. If it wasn't for Lee eventually stepping in and taking responsibility, we would have continued to go to school like that.

" Marie seemed as if she was attempting to hold back tears once again, Double Dee embraced her even tighter.

"As I got older, it only got worse. People would stare at us as we walked down the hallway. I myself would always be referred to as Lazy Eye Marie. Lee received a lot of teasing from people, due to her poor dental hygiene. May had a speech impediment as a little girl, thankfully the speech therapy at the public school was free, and she was pulled out of the classroom to go to the therapist to correct it. Nevertheless, her overbite and speech impediment led to a lot of teasing for her as well. After a while, we sort of ignored it and kept to ourselves. Eventually, a combination of home life issues and the constant teasing drove use over the edge, and we decided to become the bullies that you have become very familiar with. I never found acceptance from other girls, due to being not 'girly' enough.

Marie paused before looking up into Double Dees eyes.

"Forget those people Marie," said Double Dee, "None of them are even worth your time if they were that quick to judge you based on an uncontrollable physical characteristic."

Marie smiled at Double Dee.

"Double Dee, you are my hero." said Marie.

"When I watched you and saw how nice and polite you were to others, even to Ed's sister and Kevin who were complete jerks, I knew there were good people in the world. Lee and May were just attracted to your friends for their looks, but I really admired your amazing personality."

Double Dee smiled at Marie as she paused.

"Well at least that's one thing I can say to my sisters." said Marie

"What is that?" asked Double Dee. "I not only got the hottest man in Peach Creek, but I also have the one who treats me the best." said Marie.

The couple smiled at each other and shared a long passionate kiss.

Before they knew it, the time had flown by and it was already quarter past eleven.

"I should probably get going, it's pretty late." said Marie.

"Yes, I guess it's time again to say goodbye." said Double Dee.

Marie got up out of the bed and proceeded to walk towards the bedroom door, at which point Double Dee glanced over at the music box.

"Marie, don't forget your mothers box." said Double Dee as he handed the box to Marie.

"Phew thanks Oven Mitt, I almost forgot it again." said Marie as she kissed Double Dee on the cheek.

The couple descended the staircase and approached the front door.

"Don't forget, you're coming over to the trailer for some movies tomorrow night." said Marie smiling as they reached the front door.

"Don't you worry, I won't forget." Said Double Dee as Marie began opening the door.

As the cold air hit their faces, Marie turned around and wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck as she touched her lips to his gently. After a few seconds she pulled

"Good night Double Dee, I'll see you tomorrow." said Marie as she began walking towards the street.

"Good night Marie, sweet dreams." said Double Dee as he closed the front door.