X Marks the Day
(August 27, 2017
2: Anticipations
"Groceries," Dipper said.
Wendy laughed. They were out on the float, very early on Sunday morning. Almost no other fishermen or swimmers were at the lake at that time, so they'd swum out and now were just lazing and sunning. "Dude, chill!"
"But we'll need groceries for the first few days," Dipper insisted. "Maybe we should just buy some and pack them when we leave for the honeymoon—"
"Come on, man!" Wendy said. "I'm sure there are supermarkets somewhere around the college!"
"Well, there's a J&L grocery about three or four miles from the house, and a—"
"There you go," Wendy told him. "We'll take, like, a picnic basket with stuff for dinner and maybe something for breakfast, and then the next morning we can go explore and find a supermarket."
"Well . . . ."
"You got a grocery list already," Wendy accused, but in a teasing tone.
"I can't help it," Dipper said. "It's just—you know, I like to plan ahead."
"Yup. Oh, Dipper, show me that list again. You're so organized!" She pretended to swoon.
"OK," Dipper said with a chuckle. "I should never have told you about that romance fantasy."
She took his hand. Wouldn't have helped if you hadn't. When our telepathy kicks in, I can see all that kind of stuff if I concentrate. That one about me punching you in the stomach and running off to marry Robbie just 'cause he could play the guitar—you should've known better, man!
—Give me a break. I was twelve!
Yeah, and Robbie was crazy full of himself back then. God's gift to girls! As if. But it worked out just right.
—Still, I think that tomorrow we should go over to the house and make sure everything is tidy and ready—you know, make sure the fridge is on, set the thermostat so it won't be too hot when we get there—
Mm, make up the bed.
—Yeah, make up—oh.
Yeah, 'cause after the craziness of the wedding and the long drive over, we're gonna want to, you know—take a nap.
—Oh.
You're so cute when you get all self-conscious and embarrassed!
For a few minutes they nuzzled and kissed, and then a family of five showed up on the beach, and the three early-teen and pre-teen kids swam out to the float with a lot of splashing, so Dipper and Wendy dived off and swam ashore. As they sloshed out, Wendy said, 'You're swimming a lot better than when you were a lifeguard, Dip!"
"I'm just glad I didn't have to jump in to save someone," Dipper said.
"Well, I never had to do that, either," Wendy told him. "I don't think anybody ever came close to drowning in the Gravity Falls municipal pool."
"Yeah, everybody's too afraid of Poolcheck to risk drowning," Dipper said.
"That's the truth!"
They had driven out in Dipper's car. Still in their wet swimsuits, they climbed in—Dipper had placed four thick, folded towels on the seat—and drove back to the shack.
Teek and Mabel were out on the lawn playing with Tripper, who was chasing a tennis-ball sized play ball. He didn't like real tennis balls because of the fuzzy cover, so this one was a red nubbled rubber ball. Tripper would wait for Teek or Mabel to throw, evidently judging probable direction and distance from the thrower's arm movements, and then dash out just as the toss began. About seventy per cent of the time, he would spin, look up, and leap into the air, snatching the ball before it had a chance to hit and bounce. When he pulled this off, he would prance around for a minute, head high, displaying the ball clenched in his teeth—Look what I just did!—and then would return it for another throw.
"You guys!" Mabel yelled. "Have you no decency?"
Wendy was wearing a modest one-piece swimsuit, plus flip-flops, and Dipper's trunks couldn't be called Speedos, and he had also donned a tee shirt and beach slides for the ride back from the lake. Plus, they'd draped towels over their shoulders as they got out of the Land Runner. OK, they weren't dressed for a formal dinner, but they were decent.
Wendy wrinkled her nose at Mabel. "Didn't want to change in the car," she said. "The restrooms at the lake are closed 'cause they're being repainted."
"Hey, Dip," Mabel said. "Mom called. They're on the way up with Billy. They were about to stop for lunch. They should be here sometime after dinner tonight."
"Thanks," Dipper said. Tripper trotted up to him with the ball, Dipper took it and tossed one high and steep, and the dog did a little dance before making a spectacular leap to catch it in mid-air.
"Way to go, Tripper!" Wendy said admiringly.
Tripper did a doggy bow, front legs stretched out, chest on the ground, butt and wagging tail up in the air. Then he chose Teek as the next pitcher, and Dipper and Wendy went inside to get dressed.
Which they did decently and separately. They met in the dining room, where they prepared sandwiches, and Wendy said, "Dude, seriously, if you want to, go ahead and make a shopping list. You know the kind of foods we both like to eat. Just not a lot of stuff that would cause us to have to do a lot of clean-up for our first couple of meals, OK? Because we'll be otherwise occupied."
"I was thinking," Dipper said. "Want to take a trip to the beach just to check it out? I don't mean on the first or second day of the honeymoon, but maybe on the third?"
"Maybe," Wendy said with an impish grin. "Let's wait and see if we get bored, just hanging around in the house with nobody there but us and nothing to do except just to be happy."
"Deal," Dipper said.
The door opened and Mabel came in. She held the door for Tripper, who trotted in panting happily. "Food!" Mabel said.
"Make your own sandwiches," Dipper told her.
"No, me and Teek are gonna drive up to Morris and eat lunch there, and then we're gonna drive to the farm to visit with Widdles, Waddles, and Gompers. I called Aunt Sallie, and she won't be home, but she said to enjoy ourselves."
"Have a good drive," Wendy said.
"Say hi to the pigs for me," Dipper added.
"Sure thing. We'll be back around four or five. I'll call you if I hear from Mom and Dad again."
"Thanks."
The two took off in Teek's car.
"I'll bet after college starts, Mabel will have to drive back to the Valley every weekend to visit her pigs," Dipper said.
"Yeah, and to drill her chicken corps," Wendy said. "Aunt Sallie says she's never seen anybody that can organize a flock of—Dip, what's wrong?"
Dipper had gasped and put his hand up to his chest. "Ugh! Wait." He drank some water. "Guess I swallowed that last bite too hard, somehow. Wait a second." He took some deep breaths. "Yeah, I think it was just a stuck piece of food. I feel OK now."
"Sure it wasn't your heart or something?" Wendy asked. She put her hand on his forehead, as if checking for fever, and Dipper sensed her dropping into his mind. OK, you're not hurting anymore, that's good. We ought to get you to the doctor, though, just in case.
—I think I'm all right, but if you really want me to—oh, wait. I got it.
Bill Cipher?
—Could be. Those molecules may be, I don't know, loosening up.
I can't find him in here. When's the last time you sensed him?
—It's been a long time. You know, on Thursday morning, early, around five—
Yeah. You and Billy need to be in the same room, so when Bill moves out of you and into him it'll be easier. I'll be there for you.
—Thanks. That will help a lot.
Dipper felt a touch on his knee. Tripper, on his hind legs, had reached out with a front paw to get his attention. He ruffled the dog's pointed ears. "You gonna come and stand by too, buddy?"
Tripper tilted his head in that doggy way and yipped once. In his code, that meant "Yes."
Wendy reached down to pat him. "Do you know what's goin' on with Bill Cipher and Dipper?"
A thoughtful pause, and then Tripper yipped twice for "No."
"I think it'll be OK if you're there," Dipper said. "Billy likes you a lot. You remember Billy Sheaffer, Trip?"
Yip.
"Good."
"Tripper," Wendy said, "check Dipper out. Is he sick?"
Tripper scrambled up into Dipper's lap and stuck his twitching nose up.
"What are you doing?" Dipper asked, laughing.
Tripper, looking serious, sniffed his breath, then his neck and upper chest. He licked Dipper's cheek. Then he hopped down, turned around, and looked up at Wendy.
"Is he sick?" Wendy asked.
Yip, yip. And happy tail wagging.
"There you go, Dip," Wendy said. "You're not sick. Too bad Tripper isn't a retriever. Then we could say that the lab tests were good."
"Agh," Dipper said. "I wouldn't even use that pun in one of my books, and they're for twelve-year-olds!"
"No good writer would use it," Wendy said, petting Tripper, who accepted a small fragment of bacon as his fee for medical consultation.
After lunch they went shopping, at the Mercantile, Gravity Falls' excuse for a big-box store. They rambled through the shelves in the bed-and-bath section with Dipper more and more surprised. "Sheets are expensive!"
"Well, yeah, these are," Wendy said. "Percale, four hundred thread count—"
"I don't know what that even means."
Wendy laughed. "Means the sheets are fairly thick and durable, so they'll last. These have deep pockets, so the bottom sheet won't slip loose from the mattress. And they're soft—feel. Be nice on the bed. We'll need two sets, yeah, it's kinda an investment! This is a good brand, too, and these actually are on sale, ten per cent off."
"If you like them, let's get them," Dipper said. "I haven't spent very much of my checking account. Most of the money, book and TV and all, is in the savings, but I can transfer some over if we need it."
"OK, let's get two sets of these. What colors?"
"Um, white?"
"No, you get two differenc colors, and that way you know the difference. When one set's dirty, you don't want to change it for exactly the same color, because—"
"I'll take your word for it," Dipper said. "How about, um, the pale green and the pale blue?"
"Got 'em." Wendy took down the packaged bundles, fitted bottom sheet, flat top, pillowcases. "We'll have to get some big pillows, too, I guess. But let's start out with our plain old pillows. That'll make the bed seem more homey. Then later we can shop for some king-sized pillows."
"There are king-sied pillows?"
"Oh, yeah, to fit a big bed."
They carried the two packages of sheets to the check-out counter. Dipper said, "These are heavy!"
"That's why they'll last a good long time."
Dipper used his check card to pay—a total of $360.00 for the two sets—and then he and Wendy carried their purchase out to his car. "You know, Dip," Wendy said as they put the packages into the back seat of his car, "if we drive over tomorrow, we could take separate cars and leave one in the garage."
"Good idea," Dipper said. "That'll make it unnecessary for Grunkle Stan and Mabel to drive over after the wedding."
They got back to the Shack, lazed around until the Ramirez family returned from Mass and lunch out, and then they played with Harmony and Little Soos out in the yard. "What have you guys been doing?" Soos asked.
"Went shopping for sheets," Wendy told him. "'Cause on Thursday night, you know, gonna need them."
"Ooh-ooh!" said Abuelita, giving them a naughty, knowing grandmotherly smile. "Before you know, there will be a little child to play with our bebés!"
"In time," Wendy said.
Dipper's phone chimed, and he answered it. "Hi, Mom !"
"Dipper? What's wrong?"
"Uh—nothing," Dipper said. "Why?"
"Your voice just sounds so high. Are you sure you're all right?"
"I'm fine," Dipper said. "Really."
"Well, if you're sure—we've decided to stop for dinner, so don't look for us until about eight tonight, all right? We didn't want you to worry."
"Thanks, Mom. Is Billy doing OK?"
"He's fine, anxious to see you both. Is Mabel there?"
"Gone to visit her pigs. She should be back in half an hour or a little more. I'll have her call."
"No, that's not necessary. Are you and Wendy alone?"
Dipper laughed. "No, Mom. Soos and Melody and Abuelita and their kids are here with us. Want to speak to them?"
"Why should—"
"Here, Soos, say hi to Mom," Dipper said, handing his phone over.
Soos grinned his beaver-toothed smile. "Hiya, Mrs. Pines, dude! We're looking forward to your visit. We're taking real good care of Dipper and Mabel, don't worry! Nice to talk to you!"
Dipper took the phone back and said goodbye to his slightly flustered mother.
Wendy asked, "What's up with all that?"
"Um, I sounded a little funny after Abuelita's joke about us having a baby. She thought you and I were all alone and probably—you know."
"Oh," Wendy said, blushing.
"Ooh-ooh!" Abuelita teased.