Chapter 8 – Mother knows best
As Double D strolled into the cul-de-sac that he called home, the sun was just beginning to dip in the sky and twilight was scattered like a mystic prism across the homes that lined the streets. Violent streaks of pink and orange illuminated the sky, and the smell of freshly-cut grass filled the air to compliment the sweet odor of honeysuckle. He was just turning onto the street as he saw his two friends seemingly waiting for him to arrive.
"Well well well, if it isn't the Kanker lover…" Eddy said as he tapped his foot, arms crossed.
"What on earth are you referring to Eddy, I don't quite understand…" Double D replied.
"Me and Lumpy here were just up by the river, throwin' rocks when we saw you in the trailer park…" Eddy said, pointing his finger into Double D's chest.
"Yeah Double D…" Ed said "We saw you with Marie! Ed was scared Double D!"
"You two gentlemen must have much better things to do than spy on the affairs of others and stick your noses into their business. I'll have you know that I walked with Marie back from our study session, and we had quite the nice conversation!" Double D scoffed, folding his arms and closing his eyes.
"Double D, I'm telling ya man…those Kankers are a bunch of witches and they're gonna end up casting a spell on you!" Eddy said, now walking around Double D in circles. "They're pure evil, don't you remember all those times that they tortured us, forced themselves on us, and held us against our will! I sure remember, and it wasn't a smile on your face if I remember correctly. It's bad news Double D, and you've been blinded to it."
"For your information, Eddy, Marie is actually a considerably kind individual these days! She's matured quite a bit from her rambunctious youth and has really become quite the young lady. She's polite, dignified, and she's truly eager to learn and bring her grades up. But you two wouldn't know anything about that, would you…?" Double D said, pointing his fingers at both Eddy and Ed. The two boys looked at each other quickly with shocked faces, before quickly turning back to Double D.
"Whoah…" Eddy remarked, the look of shock still remaining on his face.
"You make an awful lot of assumptions Eddy, but I've yet to see you actually speak to one of the Kanker sisters in years. That kind of judgement will misguide you every time, as it has in this case". Double D said, pushing his finger into Eddy's forehead. A slick look finally replaced Eddy's shocked face.
"I see what's goin' on here. Lumpy, Double D here has got the hots for Marie Kanker…!" Eddy said, bumping Ed in the chest with his elbow. Ed began his deep chuckles, bumping Eddy in return.
"Double D and Marie, sittin' in a tree, something something something…..and a bowel of gravy!" Ed sang as he danced around.
"Are you two quite finished now?" Double D said impatiently.
"Not really…" Eddy said, chuckling under his breath. "But is it true, Double D, are you really gettin' some kind of feelings for that…woman?"
Double D quickly turned his back on his two friends, beads of sweat now forming on his sockhat-covered forehead. He nervously drummed his fingers together.
"I don't know…" he answered. "Marie is a wonderful young lady now, it seems. But I'm not entirely sure if I feel quite that way for her. Her beauty is striking, and she's extraordinarily kind and respectful. She seems to enjoy spending time around me, and I must admit that I enjoy spending time around her as well…oh lord, that means…"
"You've got a crush Double D!" Eddy called out, pointing and chuckling under his right hand. "Don't worry about it though, hell I'm proud of you. I never thought you'd catch the old love bug. Maybe some of old Eddy's charms done rubbed off on ya!"
"I wouldn't be so juvenile as to refer to it as a crush, Eddy." Double D retorted.
"Then what the hell would you call it then!" Eddy responded back.
"I would simply refer to it as a budding friendship that could potentially mature into something more if the circumstances align themselves correctly. Now if you two would kindly excuse me, I must hurry home now. My mother is likely waiting on me to start preparing dinner. Good evening gentlemen, I will see you both in the morning!"
With that speech out of the way, Double D walked past both of his friends and up the path to his front door, opening and closing it carefully behind him. Ed and Eddy watched as he went in, both still looking slightly shocked.
"Jeez, what's the sockhead's problem?" Eddy said, scratching his head.
"It is the sickness of Love, Eddy…!" Ed said, sticking his finger into the air, before putting his arm around the shoulders of Eddy. "Our little man is finally growing up!"
"Ed, get the hell off of me…" Eddy said, stepping away from Ed, who chuckled to himself.
Double D walked into his house to the smell of a wonderful dinner being prepared. His mother was quite the health nut, and as such Double D was raised to appreciate the beauty of good food. The smell was powerful with curry-rubbed roasted vegetables, a signature dish of his mother's. He knew she must be in the kitchen, so he placed those careful footsteps of his through the living room and into the room which the wonderful smells were originating from.
There stood his mother, her back turned as she was whipping something in a glass bowel with a whisk. This was a woman of medium height and quite slim, with flowing chestnut hair coming down just past her shoulders. Her figure was hugged by dark blue medical scrubs, with the bow of a tied apron coming across the lower part of her back. The sound of the whisk scraping the bowel was drowned out by the beautiful humming coming from the woman's mouth. She was humming some tune that was familiar to Double D, one he had consistently heard during his youth. A large smile creeped across his face; he felt like a boy again.
"Greetings mother! Dinner certainly smells lovely, I could smell the vegetables as I walked in the front door." He said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar that ringed the cooking area along with the stove and sink.
"Eddward! Come here sweetie, give momma a hug!" his mother squeaked in a soft-tone voice as she gently placed her whisk down and trotted to her son, who had just climbed upon the stool. She wrapped her arms around him in a loving embrace and kissed his forehead. He smiled a boy's smile into her face, one which was relatively unmarked by the wrinkles and blemishes typical of a woman her age. She walked back over to her bowel and continued her whisking now.
"So tell me, how was your day at school today…" she asked, the mixture now finished being whisked.
"It was quite well, mother. I learned a great deal in chemistry today, and the turkey sandwich you prepared for me was quite delicious at lunch!" he replied, taking off his bag and placing it neatly onto the ground next to him.
"Good, sounds very lovely dear." She said, turning around to face him now with the glass bowel in her hands. "But tell me, why are you so late coming home? I expected you to be here when I got home, but here it is almost six and I got here at five-thirty."
"I do apologize for my tardiness, mother, and you are right to be confused by it…" Double D replied, again drumming his fingers together. "The truth of the matter is that I've been assigned as a tutor by Dr. Strickland to a student who is struggling in general chemistry. Therefore, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I will be staying back an hour to tutor said student." He finished, a straight smile on his face.
"Ooh that sounds exciting, and I'm sure you'll make a terrific tutor honey. But the times just don't add up; you still would have been here before me, even if it was only an hour. Somethings up, I know it…" his mother said, leaning over the counter and expecting an answer from her nervous son.
"Well there was a slight detour that was taken on the route back home…" Double D nervously said, tapping his fingers together. "The person being tutored and myself walked to…her…house and we talked for a brief time before I then came home. I apologize again for being so late…"
"This is about a girl!" she exclaimed with a giddy girlish grin as she clapped her hands together. "Do you have yourself a little crush, dear…?"
"I don't know if I would use the term crush myself…" he said, sweat starting to bead itself down his forehead and landing on his shirt.
"Be honest with your mom, you like her don't you…? Come on…say it…"
"She is a very kind individual, she's incredibly polite to me during our sessions." He said.
"Is she pretty…?" his mother asked, leaning in.
"I would say that she's quite pretty, yes…" he answered.
"Aww this is so exciting! Who is she?"
"Her name is Marie, mother. She used to…be around when I and the other neighborhood children were young. She's from the trailer park adjacent to the cul-de-sac…"
"Hmm, Marie…" his mother said, tapping her finger on her cheek. "Doesn't ring a bell…"
"She was the one with the blue hair…" he responded.
"Ah yes, now I remember!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together again. "Aww you two would be so cute together. I was wondering if you would ever start taking to some pretty little girl. I guess my baby is becoming a man now…" she said with a huge smile on her face.
"Mother, as far as my understanding reaches, Marie and I are simply friends. We've only spoken on a casual basis for a few days now, so I think you might be reaching a little too far ahead." He said, resting his weary head on his hands.
"Oh nonsense, I know how these things turn out. You know, your father and I started out as friends too, Eddward. These things always start from something, you know how that old saying goes: From little acorns mighty-"
"…oak trees grow…" Double D finished, having had just about enough of his mother's romantic delusions.
"Exactly. But I won't push you too hard, sweetie. I've still got this dinner to finish…"
Double D's mother then proceeded to pour the concoction she had been whisking into a bowel of drained pasta, mixing the two very thoroughly. She sat the pasta salad to the side, the peppery smell enticing Double D like little else could. Within the minute, the buzzer on the oven rang out in its loud way, announcing that the vegetables had completed their journey. She took them out with a potholder and placed them onto the stove, Double D's wondering eye catching them. He adored his mother's roasted vegetables, and it would definitely go down well today.
"Alright hun, dinner is served!" she said as she grabbed the pasta salad in one hand, the vegetables in the other, and the two headed towards the dining room just outside of the kitchen. Double D was sure to grab two plates and some silverware before joining his mother at the table. He handed her a plate, fork, and knife while also doing the same for himself. Two glasses of ice-water sat in front of them, taking Double D's mind back to the Kanker trailer where his last glass had been sipped with honor.
His mother placed some food on her plate, aftwards Double D performing the same ritual. He was sure to grab extra vegetables, the smell rising up and placing the biggest of smiles on his face.
"So I understand father is coming home this weekend…" Double D said as he politely took his first bite of food. The vegetables melted in his poor little mouth.
"Mhmm, he is indeed." His mother replied, taking in some of her delicious-looking pasta salad and nodding. "He's very excited to see you, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled that you've got the tutor placement. You know how proud he gets of your brains…"
"Yes, but he's never all that vocal about his pride. He only seems to know how to nod his head and tell me 'good work son, but you could be doing better if you wanted to..', he can never just fully express it." He replied, taking in more food.
"Ooh Edd, that's just how your father is. But he used to be a lot more open and wild in his younger days. College really changed him, made him all…stoic and…jaded. He's just gotten really dull and boring on account of his job. He used to be something else though…"
"That actually raises a quite appropriate inquiry that I was addressing with…Marie…earlier, mother. How exactly did you and father meet again? I believe you told me at one point, but it seems that the details were quite vague." Double D asked, leaning in as he was nearly complete with his vegetables.
"Well, we meet in the City, that much I believe we've told you. We both lived in the same apartment building in Brooklyn, and he was a few years older than me. He had long, wavy black hair and he was always going to the peace rallies they had in Central Park back then…"
Double D spaced out for a moment, until he realized that his parents were probably a few years older than those around him. His father and mother were old enough to be protestors during the Vietnam war, and that confused him a little till his mind cleared it up.
"I was so taken by your father's passion and kindness…" she continued, finishing up her pasta salad. "He would always wear this t-shirt with a peace-symbol on it, or he had these long-sleeve polo shirts with green and white stripes he would wear. We were both dirt-poor but we made it happen anyway."
"So when did the romantic endeavors begin?" Double D asked, hoping to get to the main event.
"Oh yes, that. Well we knew each other kinda. He would always try and flirt with me in the apartment halls, and I pretty much knew he liked me. We started hanging out as friends at first, and we'd go to the concerts in the Park together, go get hot dogs by the Bridge, and all that jazz. Eventually he asked me out when I was sixteen and I said yes. That summer was so magical, Edd. It felt like heaven for me! After my parents divorced, he really helped to relieve a lot of the stress I was going through. Then he got into MIT, and he was off to do his bachelors. We would write each other these huge letters with all the mushy crap that you'd expect. By the time he graduated and came to Columbia to do his masters in astrophysics, I was half-way through with my nursing degree at NYU. It was so nice to have him back."
"Did you see each other everyday then, when he returned, or was it more seldom?" Double D interrupted.
"Oh we had an apartment together by then, sweetie. We'd go out for lunch when he was finished researching for the day, or we'd go out dancing on Fridays. It was really something else. We had such a fun life until he went into the service, but it's not regretted at all. Once we had you he really started to settle down in a big way, and then the air force thing. Let's just say your father has changed a lot over the years, but he's still the man I love…" she said with a nostalgic grin, her dinner finished at this point. Double D was also finished with his and was feeling the effects of the lengthy day on his eyelids. Darkness had swept across the neighborhood, and sleep was the first thing on his mind.
"Why exactly were you and Marie talking about that kind of thing anyway?" his mother asked, getting up from the table and carrying their plates to the kitchen.
"Well mother, Marie was curious as to what my home life was like, and I told her about you and father, but that I didn't know many of the details surrounding your lives prior to my birth. But Marie was even more ignorant as to her pre-birth history, not even knowing anything about her father..." Double D said, still seated at the table.
"Ooh poor thing, it must be really hard on her without a dad…" she said, flushing each plate with a solid jet of water from the faucet. "I see those girls' mom sometimes in the grocery store, and she always looks so sad. And that trailer park is certainly no place for young ladies to be raised in, either."
"It is quite unfortunate, they seem to be heavily affected by the lifestyle." Double D, deep in though.
"Well maybe you'll find out more as time goes on. Girls take a while to open up, we're like buried treasure. You have to do a lot of digging to get to the reward…" she said, nudging him with her shoulder as she re-entered the dining room and sat down.
"I think building a friendship will be easier said than done, mother. But I'll have to ponder on this more. I feel like sleep would be a terrific solution to this problem." Double D replied, stretching his arms out in a big yawn.
"You go on to bed, hun. I'll be heading out of town tomorrow on another conference in Cleveland, but I'll be back sometime on Friday. Hopefully I'll be back before your father gets home, but if not, please have dinner ready for him. You know how cranky he gets after those long drives. Now like I said, there's plenty of food around and you have my cell number. Call me every afternoon sweetie, now go get some sleep. I love you honey…!" She leaned over and gave Double D a sappy and heartfelt embrace. Double D did love his mother very much, but felt she was being a little dramatic this evening.
"I love you too, mother…" he said, feeling a little suffocated.
"Okay then, goodnight Edd! I'll see you on Friday."
"Goodnight mother, I shall call you tomorrow to confer with you as to your conditions at your conference. Farwell."
Double D disappeared up the stairs and into his room, quickly closing the door behind him. The dead silence and darkness enrobed him as he carefully changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed. He re-set his alarm to awake him at the proper time, and then closed his eyes. So many voices echoed in his mind; his mother's, Eddy's, Dr. Strickland's, and of course Marie's. He couldn't help but imagine that he just might be starting to get a little soft for her. She had been so willing to open up to him, and he felt so sorry for her situation. But then again, it was Marie Kanker, the former bully. This was all far too much for him, but every voice called out in his mind as he clenched his face and attempted to force them from his thoughts. Marie was becoming his friend, but he understood that it held potential to become something much greater. This assured him slightly, enough to drift away to sleep at least.
This was sure to be a long week for the both of them.