Chapter 16 – Debriefing II, September 16th 1830.
"This... This is my father?" Edd asked both his parents.
"That's correct," his mother replied. "You see, when Joey passed away seventeen years ago, I was already pregnant with you. Joe lived across town, but still in Peach Creek, and he kept an eye on me after your father's funeral."
Edd thought for a moment. He did have vivid memories of Joe in his childhood, but he also remembered that Joe left most evenings. Edd never gave those memories too much thought, as he assumed his father was travelling on work, or working a night shift, but the memories started to make more sense.
"For a while, we just stayed good friends, and would visit your father's grave every week," his mother continued, sniffing back a sob. "Silly things, like, bringing a six pack over here, having a beer together, pouring one out for your father, and reminiscing on the good times. To be honest, neither of us considered marrying each other in the beginning."
"Really?" Edd asked.
"That's right son," Joe said. "You see, your mother and I both had our hands full with our engineering careers. Joey was my best friend, and I just wanted to help out your mother. So, we sat down one weekend about two months after your father's death, and agreed that it would make financial sense for me to move in for a while. I wanted to help out your mother, and we both realized that our work schedules allowed one of us to always be around to watch and raise you, at least until you were old enough to start kindergarten."
"So, what happened next? Did you get married then?" Edd asked.
"Surprisingly no," his mother replied. "And, without going into too much detail, we weren't sleeping together. Remember how I told you Joe and I slept in separate rooms because he snored so loud and always had to get up at night to use the restroom? Well, sorry, but that was a lie. We just had a pragmatic agreement, and Joe really looked after me."
"Then, are you, not married?" Edd asked, somewhat confused.
"Well, there's a part two," Joe began. "You see, we were getting ready to tell you the truth as you began your teenage years, and I was going to get ready to move out, but then the housing crisis of 2008 hit. We were fine, financially, but suddenly our certainty in a secure and stable financial future was a bit shaken, so we decided to keep living together for the time being. However, in 2011, your mom and I realized that we'd been living together for over twenty years. I didn't want to leave either of you at this point, and your mother finally stopped trying to kick me out."
Elizabeth punched Joe on the arm and responded with false alarm, "I never tried kicking you out!"
Edd's parents shared a quick hug, and Joe continued "So, here we were, your mother and I best friends, and you nearly a teenager. We went to the courthouse later that year and got married, and I became your legal guardian. We avoided a public church ceremony to keep this private until we were ready to tell you, and most of your friends' parents in the cul-de-sac knew what happened, so they didn't tell their children either."
Edd took a deep breath and looked at his father's gravestone. "Are you going to be alright for now son?" Elizabeth asked him.
"I will, I just need a few minutes," Edd replied. After a while, the family returned to the car and made it back to Peach Creek. Much was said among the family, but for the most part, they kept the conversation light, since Edd had a very tumultuous past 24 hours. As Edd was getting ready for bed, his mother came into his room, sat beside him, and apologized one more time for how she treated him the previous evening. Edd hugged his mother goodnight, and all was well between them. They parted, and Edd went to sleep in his own room, while Joe and Elizabeth went to bed in theirs. As Edd was drifting off to sleep, he slowly hummed the Marine Corps Hymn, and a lone tear fell down his cheek.
The next day…
Edd woke up at seven for his morning run. Despite his experiences over the past two days, he took the morning as an opportunity to clear his head, reorient himself, and process what was revealed to him. He had numerous questions which he wanted to ask his parents (yes, he considered Joe his father, for he was the man who raised him throughout his entire life), but alas, they had to leave early Saturday to inspect a wind turbine site. Edd didn't think those conversations could be had over a telephone, at least, not at first, so he went about his weekend awaiting their return. After running, showering, and knocking out his chores and homework, he looked at his watch. Seeing that it was close to noon, he set out for Marie's place, so that they could walk to Antonucci's together to work on Marie's college applications. Edd met Marie at her place, and they set out for downtown.
"So, how'd it go with the folks?" Marie asked.
"Good. Really, really, good," Edd replied.
"You want to talk about it now?" Marie asked.
"Maybe after I get a coffee," Edd replied.
"Your call," Marie said.
The remainder of their journey was filled with small talk, occasional attempts by Marie to get a rise out of Edd, with half of them succeeding, and one or two instances of someone from their high school passing by them hooting in approval with the assumption that Edd and Marie were a couple. Marie took full advantage of those assumptions by wrapping Edd in a tight embrace and Edd staring up to the sky, rolling his eyes, and turning bright red. When they got to Antonucci's, they ordered two coffees from Nazz, and took a seat in the corner.
"So, what's up?" Marie asked.
Edd took a long sip of coffee, "Well, Marie, technically I'm adopted, and you're the first to know," he said.
Marie spit her coffee out, much to the chagrin of Nazz, who was coming over to wipe up the floor before Marie waved her off and took care of it herself. "What the actual fuck? Sorry, what do you mean?" she asked Edd.
"Well, it's kind of a long story, but here it goes…" Edd then told Marie all of the events of the past evening, the history of his parents' relationship, his thoughts, feelings, and plans going forward. Marie listened attentively, alternating between tearing up, dropping her countenance, and nodding in understanding, as she too grew up without her father. Though Edd grew up with "a" father, from her own perspective, she understood the pain and anguish of growing up without the person who gave birth to her, and while her and Edd's situations were not identical, she was empathetic and attentive to every detail, never interrupting, never breaking eye contact, and listening to every word intently. When Edd finished, Marie asked him, "So, what's next for you and your folks? I mean… Elizabeth and Joe?"
"You were right the first time; they're my folks. Sure, Joey is my biological father, and I have great respect for his past career, but I have no shame calling Joe my father, parent, dad, or any other synonym," Edd replied.
"Wow. I really just can't wrap my head around that," Marie replied.
"Which part?" Edd asked.
"The fact that your parents didn't screw while they were living together," Marie replied. "I mean, not for nothing, but your dad is no slob, and your mom must've been lonely. Heck, my own ma had sex with plenty of men before she straightened up and said that enough was enough, but the fact they just lived together without getting busy… I don't mean to disrespect them, but it's hard to wrap my head around."
"That's fair," Edd replied, "But, remember, at least from what I know, they decided to stay together for my sake, not because they wanted to be intimate with each other. Heck, my dad half-jokingly told me last night that I was the whole reason mother and he got together. I didn't want to delve into more specific detail just yet, but, yeah, I think they grew into love rather than fell into love, if that makes any sense?"
"Edd, I had no idea you were such a romantic," Marie said to him, her hands under her chin, elbows on the table, face leaning closer to Edd. Edd slowly backed away and turned bright red. "Gotcha good," Marie told him, as she stuck out her tongue and sat back in her seat. "Still, wow. How are you taking it?" she asked.
"Right now, I'm good. I think I've thought about everything I could think of right now by myself, and I have a ton of questions to ask my parents, but for now, I'm good." Edd took a sip of coffee and then began "let's shift gears for a bit to college. So, let's talk about applications. Where are you at?" he asked.
Marie said, "Well, I would show you what I've done, but, I don't have a laptop. We could go to the library and use the public computers?"
"Not to worry, we can log onto mine with Antonucci's wifi," Edd replied as he pulled out his laptop. "So, where do you want to begin?"
"Um… How about with just general requirements? Like, is there a list of prerequisites so that we can see if we are wasting time?" Marie asked.
"Marie, let's be positive! This is not a waste of time," Edd responded.
Marie sighed, "Fine, if you say so. I'm just trying to be realistic so that I don't get my hopes unnecessarily up."
A quick scroll through the Peach Creek Community College website revealed numerous things. First, Marie was eligible to attend. Second, she qualified for reduced tuition and application fee waivers due to her mother's income level. Third, the Art Scholarship deadline was November 1st, and could be in any medium of her choice. The Art Department would fully fund two students who went through Peach Creek Public Education and wished to pursue an Associate's Degree in the Fine Arts. Upon closer investigation, the teens discovered that did not simply apply to just "Fine Art," but to Music Theory, Museum Curation, Architecture, Interior Design, Film and Cinematography, and Art History.
"Heck, I always wanted to build stuff. I didn't know that I could be an architect," Marie said to Edd.
"That's a definite possibility, and it doesn't look like you need any past experience either," Edd noted. "It seems that if you win the scholarship, you're free to pursue anything at college. So, want to work on a general application?"
"Sure, why not?" Marie responded.
The teens spent the next thirty minutes generating a template which Marie could use for all of her future college applications, listing her name, date of birth, place of birth, grades, extracurriculars, et al: the basic information. Edd and Marie then decided to just talk over the answers to the free response questions such as "Why do you want to attend Peach Creek Community College?" "What is your greatest strength?" "What is your greatest weakness?" "Who is your role model and why?" and "What is the one thing you would change in the world?" among others.
"Greatest strength? I could kick anyone's ass and won't back down from a fight," Marie said, flexing her bicep.
"Marie…." Edd responded.
"Okay, okay. How about knowing how to take a punch?" Marie offered.
"What do you mean?" Edd asked.
"Like, how do I say this. Some people can claim that they're football players or wrestlers and they know how to get up after getting taken down in a game or a match, and they know how to deal with a loss, but at the end of the day it's only a game. I mean, I know how to take some real life punches that life throws at me. I grew up having to provide for myself on numerous occasions. I don't know who my father is. I have some semblance of survival skills from sleeping outdoors on occasion. I've gone without food for a while and still had to survive. What about the aspect of human resiliency and the ability to actually get up after taking a punch?" Marie asked.
"You know what, I think that could work. How do you think it could pair with a greatest weakness?" Edd asked.
"That's easy; I assume the worst. It's pretty hard to disappoint a pessimist, ya know? Like, if I'm always expecting things to go wrong, and I prepare for things to go wrong, then I'm like ok when things do go wrong. But that's a bad way to look at life, apparently, because I never expect anything good for myself, and if I'm ok with that, cuz it keeps me safe, but I don't know how to aim high?" Marie asked.
"You know," Edd said, "I think we should take a break right now."
"It's shit, ain't it?" Marie asked.
"No, Marie. It's a wonderful essay topic, but just, I can't right now," Edd said as he took a long sip of coffee and continued, "I just want to say that I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?" Marie asked.
"For running. For being a coward. For not talking to you. You've been so genuine with me right now, and I'd have trouble telling even a fraction of this to my closest friends. I'm not sure whether you genuinely trust me with these thoughts, or what, but, I should've reciprocated this trust sooner," Edd replied, with a slight frown.
Marie was hurt to see Edd, the one person she truly admired, hurt, for believing he didn't do enough to help her. So, she took a risk, "Listen Edd, you got nothing to be sorry for. You're here now. That's more than I can say of most people. Believe me, I was fucked up as a kid," she said with a slight chuckle, "So, I don't blame you for running. Look around, look who's helping me. Nobody is. Not even Nazz. Granted, she and I are cool and there's no bad blood, but you don't see her coming over here trying to help me out. No. You took a chance on me, and that's more than anyone ever did. Please, don't beat yourself up," she told him.
Edd formed a small smile and replied "Thanks Marie."
"Any time," she replied, "But….. if you really want to make it up to me, you could always get me a double chocolate chip muffin…." she said batting her eyebrows.
Edd laughed, "Sure, I guess that's not too much of an ask."
Edd went to the register and got a muffin for himself and Marie. The teens spent the next few hours forming a first draft application for Marie to Peach Creek Community College. While working, they interspersed their duty with jokes, stories, and brainstorming what Marie could do for her scholarship submission.
"Really, just think. If you had unlimited money, unlimited resources, and the sky was the limit, what would you build?" Edd asked.
"What do I know about architecture?" Marie asked.
"I'm not saying to submit a draft, but you know, you could submit a painting of a building and bring that complete vision to life. Then, once you win, transfer to architecture, using your painting as an application. They'll see you have vision and then they'll teach you the skills," Edd said."
"You think so?" Marie asked.
"Absolutely," Edd replied. "I mean, med school doesn't take doctors; med school makes doctors. MIT doesn't take engineers; it makes engineers. The Naval Academy doesn't take officers; it makes officers. If you show the spark of a vision and the potential to succeed, I'm sure they'll take you in a heartbeat!"
"Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right," Marie responded. "If I'm being honest, I'd love to see the trailer park turned into a legitimate community. We have a dozen acres of land and could easily add a park for the kids, public square, small store, like, I think I could make Park N Flush into something more," Marie replied.
"The, I say you go for it," Edd assured her.
As the sun began to set, the teens paid their check and left Antonucci's for the evening.
"Wow Edd. I never expected to get all that done in a day," Marie told him.
"Well, you can do more than you know; I believe in you" Edd responded.
"Oh, is that so?" Marie asked.
"Of course," Edd responded.
"Well, in that case, Edd, you can do more than you know, and I know that you can do eight pullups. Minimum. And, we're gonna work on that right about now," Marie told Edd as she grabbed his wrist and directed him towards the nearest tree branch.
"What did I get myself into?" Edd said aloud, but mostly to himself.
"Less talking, more pulling," Marie responded.
Edd's training began as the sun was setting. First, Marie had him do a pyramid of one, then two, then three, then two, then one pullups. Then, she added four to the mix and had him work up to four and back down to one, only holding his ankles when he looked like he was about to drop, preventing him from taking the easy way out. After the pyramid of four, she had Edd do one, three, five, three, and one pullups. She had Edd repeat this cycle twice and took hold of his ankles whenever he was failing. After the third set, she decided to give Edd a long break, patting him on the back for knocking out five. Marie then gave Edd a decent amount of time to rest before having him work until failure. Edd quickly did one, two, and then three pullups, but then he hung with his arms outstretched, catching a break.
"Get back up there!" Marie shouted, and with a rush of adrenaline, Edd quickly knocked out two more. "Good. Five. Three more and I'll let you go home," Marie told Edd.
"Marie, I'm slipping!" Edd shouted.
"You're two feet off the ground. You're not going to fall and die. Calm down. Breathe. One more. That's it," Marie told him.
Edd exhaled sharply. "Okay. One more," he said aloud and ripped himself up the tree limb. As he descended, Marie caught his ankles.
"Good, that's six, but I said eight. Come on, two more. You got this," Marie told him.
"Marie; I think I'm going to injure myself!" Edd shouted.
"No! You're! Not! I've got you! Two more Edd!" Marie shouted.
With a struggle and a grunt, Edd rose, and fell, his arms still gripping the tree limb, and then he rose and fell again. "Eight!" Marie shouted, as she let go of Edd to let him down. Unfortunately, she let go of Edd at the same time Edd let go of the tree branch. This resulted in Edd collapsing on top of Marie on the ground.
"Ooof," both teens said, as Edd was lying on top of Marie. "Marie, I'd hug you, but I think my arms are shot," Edd told her.
"That's ok. You did awesome! You just did a total of like, seventy-two pullups! I bet that's more than you did all year!" Marie shouted as she wrapped her arms around Edd.
Edd smiled, "Yeah, I think you're right. Umm. I'm not sure, but I legitimately have no feeling in my arms now. Possibly because they're under you right now, but I think we should stand up."
Both teens stood up, and now Marie and Edd grabbed each other in a more formal and mutual embrace that they were standing on their own two feet.
"You're right Marie. I can do this; thank you for working with me," Edd told Marie.
"Likewise, Edd. Thank you too, Edd, for believing in me too," Marie said as she placed her head in Edd's chest.
The teens did not break this embrace for thirty seconds. Edd and Marie were both content to make this moment last as long as possible. However, they felt a slight chill. Both looked to the west and realized that the sun was beginning to go down behind the treeline. They held each other in an embrace as the sun began its journey over the horizon and slowly stated to fade. When the sun was fully set, Marie and Edd looked at each other in the twilight, and felt at peace. Whether it was the perfection of the scene, or more likely, their newfound trust in each other, Marie and Edd brought their heads closer together. As the soft glow of the twilight took over the night's sky, Edd and Marie kissed, willingly, for the first time. As the stars began to shine, they only pulled each other tighter, kissed again, and began to walk towards Marie's place, hand in hand, not saying a word, just happy to be in each other's company.