Chapter 9 – Bell Bottom Blues

As Double D was tucking into his rather comfortable bed, a cool mist rolled in and settled onto the trailer park in the distance. Hazy light exited one of the round windows of the living room, casting its rays on the fog and scattering into a million different directions. The fog lifted up and seemingly engulfed the Kanker trailer, twisting and bending around its sheet-metal exterior like a translucent snake ready to strike. No venom here, however.

Inside the three Kanker sisters lay scattered around the living room like diligent workers, as their mother stood over the sink, washing the dishes from the night's supper. She scrubbed frustratingly at the pot in her hands, sweat dripping down her auburn hair and plopping itself on her shoulders, drop by drop.

The three girls all sat in the dim lamp-light and were cast in the backdrop of the humming air conditioner. Lee was positioned on the couch, clicking through the static-dominated stations with a look of complete indifference on her face. She still had on her work outfit, a rather cheesy peppermint-striped affair with white jeans. May lay on the carpet, jotting down her day's events so eloquently in her journal. She occasionally giggled to herself, so self-assured in her own world. Marie was squared away at the desk in the corner of the living room, hunched over her books and studying as diligently as one could. The lamp-light found itself at home on her educational pages, and its usefulness was appreciated at times of the day such as this. Page after page flipped, and Marie's eyes became locked into a match of deep concentration with her chemistry material, pouring over every line until it began to make sense.

No one spoke, however, and the humming air conditioner huffed and puffed happily in the foreground of this family scene. Eventually the Kanker sisters heard the last pot returned to the cabinet by their mother, and the signature sound of the dish-water being sucked down the drain in its tight vortex alerted them to know that the evening cleaning was finished and their mother was ready to spend some time with her girls.

"Well girls, those dishes sure did put up one hell of a fight, but I won in the end…" Ms. Kanker said with a grin, stepping into the living room now, wiping her hands dry with the kitchen towel.

"That's great, Ma…" Lee said, scooting over on the sofa to allow her mother to sit in her assigned seat. "What are you feeling like watching tonight? I heard there's gonna be a new Cops on tonight, that outta be entertainin'!"

"Truth be told Lee I'm not really in the mood to be watching anything, but I've got news for you girls, and I think you're gonna like it!" said Ms. Kanker as she moved to the edge of the couch, her feet planted squarely on the thin carpet below.

"Ooh, what's the good news, Mom?" May asked, turning her head to the direction of the couch.

"Yeah Mom, tell us…" Marie begged, turning her chair around to also face the sofa. Each sister was now eagerly awaiting the news their mother concealed.

"Well, I received a phone-call earlier as soon as I got off work, and it happened to be…your grandfather!" she said with a large burst of surprise. The girls exploded with laughter and smiles at this most gracious news indeed.

"Opa's coming here…!?" May asked, pointing her finger repeatedly in the downward direction.

"Yes, of course honey!" Ms. Kanker said as she smiled at May, before turning to all three once more. "Opa called me earlier and said that he was planning on making a visit down here. Now he'll be driving, so when he gets here he'll probably be a little cranky. But he's really looking forward to seeing you girls, you know how much he loves you guys!"

"When is he comin', Ma?" Lee asked, looking at her mother.

"He'll be driving down on Friday, so he'll probably get here early. He said he wanted to beat the Detroit traffic, and you know how early he gets up anyway…" Ms. Kanker replied, a huge girlish smile on her own face.

"Is he okay to drive, Mom?" Marie asked, a slight look of concern on her face. "I mean he is eighty years old."

"Oh he'll be just fine Marie, don't you worry…" she said, tapping her middle-daughter ever-so gently on the arm. "Your Opa has been through a hell of a lot in his time, I'm sure two hours of driving on an empty interstate is the least of his worries, dear."

"Okay, I just wanted to make sure…" Marie said, the smile returning.

"Well girls, I'm gonna head up to bed on that happy note. You girls behave down here, and no fighting over the remote!" she said, looking at Lee and May in particular.

"Yes ma'am…" the three sisters said in a tired trio unison, and just as they finished to woman herself vanished.

"I'm so excited that Opa is coming!" May shouted out. "I hope he brings he photo album with him, he always tells such cool stories!"

"Cool…?" Marie said, turning now to May. "His stories are always really sad! All the shit he had to see, it's a wonder he didn't go crazy after."

"Yeah, don't get him talkin' about that stuff, May…" Lee chimed in, stretching her hands out and yawning. "He'll have everyone around here so depressed we can't even blink…"

"But aren't you two excited that he's comin'?" May responded in her pouty face.

"Of course we are May, we love Opa too. We just don't really want to hear his war stories, they're too upsetting to be heard again." Marie said, walking over to her sister and patting her on the shoulder.

"Well I'm gonna go color a little before I go to bed. Night sisters, see you guys in the morning…" May said as she got up and headed towards the downstairs bedroom that all three sisters shared.

"She's so naïve she don't even realize it…" Lee said, shaking her head.

"Yeah but at least she's sweet about it…" Marie responded, walking over and sitting next to Lee on the sofa.

"Lee…can I ask you a question…" Marie said, nervously sitting next to her sister.

"Sure sis, knock yourself out.." Lee answered as she looked at Marie.

"Do you….do you know much about your dad, Butch? Like what he was like before, well, you know…" she asked.

"Whoah…" Lee said in a shocked expression, her eyes blowing up incredibly large. "What brings on a kinda question like that…?"

"Well, me and Double D were walking and talking earlier, and we got to discussing parents. I told him that I don't my dad at all, but that Rod was still around, and that your dad died when you were little. Do you know anything about him? Sorry if I'm probing sis, I just-"

"Dad was a good man, from what Ma has told me about him. I don't know much either, sis. Ma don't let me in on much, you know how she stays closed off. But I do know that he was a police officer back in Detroit. Ma said he was one of the most liked guys on the force, and that ain't easy in that city. She said that a few months after I was born, he went a call one night and never came back. Got shot while on duty, and died on the scene. That's all Ma's told me, I'd tell you more if I could, you know that right, sis? I just know that it's a tender subject for Ma, and I ain't about to go disturbing no emotions."

"I understand Lee, I just wish I knew more about mine. At least May still has hers, I just wish he had more to do with us. I feel like Mom relies on Opa a lot to be in our lives, when really that should be Rod's job."

"Yeah, but you know how awkward Rod is, Marie. The guy can't hold a decent conversation to save his life. But you can't hold that against May, she can't help that she was born last. We just gotta except that things are the way they are. I'd love to have dad back anyday, but I never really knew him. Just things I've been told. But cheer up sis, Opa is coming and you know how much he spoils you! Take advantage of it while you can!" Lee said, hugging her frowning sister from the side. Marie's frown instantly melted into a smile.

"Thanks Lee, you always know just what to say…" Marie said.

"Aw you're just an old softie when you wanna be, ain't ya?" Lee said with a smile.

"Well I better get back and finish my homework…" Marie said, looking towards the lowly desk in the corner.

"Wait wait wait, wait a minute sister!" Lee called out, holding her sister by the arm. "You ain't told me nothing about your little date with Double D today!" she said, grinning.

"Oh it wasn't a date, Lee! We just talked a little is all, nothing too fancy." Marie responded, blushing slightly now.

"Yeah but he came in here,…didn't he…?" Lee smirked.

"How…..how did you know…?" Marie asked.

"I seen that coaster sittin' there…" Lee said, pointing to the decorative coaster that Double D had used for his glass of water hours earlier. "Nobody in this house uses them things, and I know how anal Double D is about everything. I put two-and-two together and figured you invited him in. Don't worry, I won't tell Ma. Sister's secret…"

"Thanks Lee, I really owe you…" Marie said, smiling at her sister.

"Don't I know it…" Lee responded, smirking. "Well I'm gonna go talk to Ma real quick, you get back to your homework, kid. Use that brain Double D's been pumpin' up for you…"

"Will do!" Marie said, walking back over to her desk and sitting down, continuing with her diligent studies.

Lee stepped off the sofa long enough to gather her own thoughts and stepped towards her mother's bedroom. Lee and her mother had always had a special relationship, one which transcended the typical mother-daughter bond. Lee was a piece of Butch to her, the last remaining thread in a sheet long since tattered and worn. Years had taken their toll, but the love held strong through even the toughest battles for these two. Lee peered in the door, the room shrouded in the light of a dim lamp, and the flickering flame of a scented candle caused the shadows to dance on the back wall, Plato's show on display. She leaned forward and saw her mother, teary-eyed, sat upon her bed flipping through an old photo-album. Lee paused for this brief moment to reflect on her mother's sadness, the depression that gripped her most of the children's lives. She had never really seen her mother so vulnerable. She laid a slight rapping knock on the doorway, not really wanting to disturb such a vulnerable moment.

Her mother's face jerked up from the book, a deer in the headlights, perhaps.

"Who needs me…?" she playfully asked, quickly wiping her tears away on her blouse sleeve.

"Just me Ma, can I come in…?" Lee said, peeping through the crack in the door.

"Oh yeah yeah, come in sweetie. I was just looking through some old pictures. Your Opa coming down has filled me with some good memories, so I thought I'd take a little stroll down memory lane."

"Can I see some…? I don't think you've ever showed us this stuff…" Lee said, taking the spot on the bed next to her mother.

"Sure honey, a lot of these pictures have your father in them…" Ms. Kanker replied, flipping over to the first page of the album.

Lee's eyes sunk and her heart felt like it had hit rock bottom. She had only ever seen one photo of her father, and that was the one that hung up in her mother's bedroom, a decidedly innocent family portrait taken when Lee was only one-month old. And especially after her conversation with Marie, she was incredibly curious now as to the man her father was, and why it was that he was kept so secret from the family.

"This picture here is of me when I was ten-years old, and there's your Opa siting behind me with your Grandma…" Ms. Kanker said as she pointed to the black-and-white photo on the first page. It depicted her as a little girl, standing in front of a two-story home with a lacey cotton dress on, her hair cut into a dark-colored bob and her little socks shining brightly in white. Behind her, on the stone steps leading up to her house was her father, a tall and built man with light-colored hair and a wide smile. Next to the father was the mother, a petite and happy woman, happily holding her husband's arm as her hair touched down to her shoulders before curling up slightly again.

"Opa was such a strong guy back then…" Lee said, smiling at the picture.

"Well of course honey, he had to be. Working in the Ford plant made him as tough as the steel he worked with. I remember his hands were so tough, but he was the gentlest daddy in the whole world. I love him so much, Lee…" tears starting swelling in her eyes again before she flipped to the opposite page. Now there was more photos of the young family, this time surrounding a vibrant green Christmas tree decked with glittering silver tinsel from top to bottom. These color photos showed well the chestnut hair of the young Ms. Kanker, her smile a mile wide as she was mounted on her new pink bike, and happiness more as she was photographed playing with her new Barbie house. Sitting on a plaid-stitched sofa next to her was her father, with these color photos showing off his deep blond hair and tough pale skin. He had on a blue robe and plaid pajamas, a large smile on his face as he watched his only daughter play in the final days of her youth.

"These photos were taken when I was twelve…" Ms. Kanker said, looking at Lee quickly. "It was the last Christmas that I got any toys. Your Opa spent hours putting that Barbie house together; said that it was easier putting cars together at the plant…" her and Lee shared a chuckle before yet another page was flipped. This picture was of a Polaroid variety, and was slightly larger than the previous ones.

"This is me and your daddy shortly after we started dating…" Ms. Kanker said, pointing at the saturated photo. "He was 17 and I was 16, and boy was he a looker…"

Her eyes batted as she stared into the photo. There she was, a naïve sixteen-year-old with a standard Farah-Fawcett feathered hair-do, dressed in a flannel blouse and high-waisted bell-bottom jeans with a rather large and gaudy belt buckle. Next to her was Lee's father, Butch. He sported a quite wild-looking red afro, wearing an Eagles concert t-shirt which had been tucked into his own set of light blue bell-bottoms, the flares at the feet stretching out many inches over his black Chuck Taylor shoes. The couple were standing in front of a 1970 bronze-colored Chrysler 300, his arm gently placed around her shoulders. Both of the pair had a lovely smile on their face, and really could not look any happier.

"Your daddy had the most outrageous Jew-fro back then…" Ms. Kanker chuckled as she placed her finger under his head in the photo. "Everyone said that he looked like Art Garfunkel, and now I can see why they said that…your grandma took this picture right before we went into Ann Arbor to see the Eagles play."

"You were still quite the looker back then, Ma…" Lee said, gazing at the young, vibrant face in the photograph. "And I can see where I get this mess-of-hair from now…"

"Oh yes, your daddy loved his hair. He had a pick in the back-pocket of those bell-bottoms, and he'd pull it out all the time."

"What year was this, Ma? Looks like the seventies threw up in this picture…" Lee asked.

"Oh, it has a date written on the back…" Ms. Kanker said, reaching into the sleeve to extract the picture. There was black ink scribbled on the yellowing back.

"August 7, 1977. Barbara and Butch going to concert." Ms. Kanker narrated. "I was just a month shy of turning seventeen."

Ms. Kanker flipped the page, and various photographs detailed the memories of the young lovers. The bell-bottom clad teens were photographed at a high school football game, sitting on the same plaid-sofa from the Christmas photo; standing in front of a Christmas tree, this time in slightly nicer attire. Butch was usually seen in dark brown sunglasses, and in most of them he had a deep smile with his arm around Barbara Kanker. Then the next page was flipped, and bell-bottoms and plaid were traded out for tacky-looking rental tuxes and flowy, billowing prom dresses.

"There's me and your father at his senior prom!" Barbara said, pointing to the photo in the top corner of the page. It displayed Barbara in a delightful blue dress, her hair tied back in a tight bun and a drooping pearl necklace atop her exposed cleavage. Butch was wearing this horrible seventies-born powder blue tuxedo with matching bow tie, his afro traded in for a droopy perm of fuzzy red that fell around his shoulders. Next to his daughter was Mr. Kanker, with his signature blue button-up short sleeve shirt and green slacks, his blond hair standing out against the dark back ground.

"Daddy nearly killed me for picking out this dress, with all the cleavage hanging out…" Ms. Kanker said, using her hand to simulate the bust seen in the photo. "But in the end he bucked, he always did for his little girl…" she chuckled to herself.

"What did Opa think of daddy?" Lee asked.

"Ooh of course he didn't like him at first. Fathers never like the guy their daughters bring home in the beginning. He thought he was a no-good hippie with long hair and a wild attitude. But eventually they warmed up to each other, and Daddy liked him a lot before long. He became like the son he never had."

The page turned yet again, and more formal attire was seen. It was a photo at Barbara's high school graduation. A big professional photo of the young, bold woman in her cap-and-gown adorned the first page. Her chestnut hair folded under the square cap, and her pearl earrings glimmered in the photo-studio light. On the next page sat pictures of the actual event, a stage set up with a banner reading "Congratulations Class of '78" which sprawled across the top of the brown stage. The picture next to it was of Barbara receiving her diploma, and the long photo below it was of the whole family standing together outside the high school: Mr. Kanker in his brown suit and green tie, Mrs. Kanker in a lovely soft green dress with golden earrings and pearl necklace, her brown hair cut much shorter than before, Barbara in her graduation attire, and Butch standing tall in a green suit-jacket, green tie, and khaki slacks. His afro had been trimmed down just slightly into a more neat specimen which resembled an orange meatball.

"I was so proud that day, and Butchie was too. Your dad had graduated the year before me, and the cap barely fit over his big afro…it was so funny! But it was a week after this that he enlisted into the Navy. He promised me that he'd wait till I finished school to go. He didn't want me thinking of him too much instead of focusing on school. God he was such a loving man…" Barbara said, her words trailing off as her hand clutched her chest.

The page turned and there were a few photos of Barbara and Butch standing together on a beach boardwalk, Butch decked out in his white sailor uniform, that signature sailor cap standing firm where his beloved afro used to perch.

"That's your Daddy in his sailor outfit, he was so cute…" she said, smiling wide.

"How come he went into the Navy…?" Lee asked, slightly confused.

"It's just something he wanted to do. His dad had been in the Navy, and so I guess Butch wanted to do it too. He said it would help him get jobs later on, and he wanted to see some of the world before settling down I think."

The next page turned over, and it was back to formal attire. Suits and tuxedos were prominent again, and it was clear that this formal event was quite special.

"Ahh, honey, this is when me and your Daddy got married…" she said, nearly on the verge of tears again. "There he is in his black tux, and there's his brother, Isaac; he was the best man."

The picture showed the two brothers, the one with signature curly red hair, and the other with dark brown curly hair. Both had round caps placed on their heads, looking at each other and smiling.

"Oh wow…" Lee said, pointing at the picture. "I never knew Daddy was Jewish."

"Yep, he sure was. Luckily he family never made me convert, considering I was half Jewish already through Mom's side." Barbara said, "But although Mom wasn't an observant Jew, your Daddy's family was pretty into it. There's his dad there, your Grandpa Aaron." Barbara pointed to a picture of a slightly rotund man in a black tux with a Star-of-David shawl around his neck, yarmulke on his head, and large glasses on his nose. His black-and-grey beard stood out, and he had an arm around both Barbara and Butch as he stood in the middle.

"Did he die before I was born?" Lee asked about her unknown Grandpa Aaron.

"He died when I was pregnant with you. Your father was heart-broken when he died, but he always considered your birth to be the turn-around that brought him back. Mr. Goldman was a great man, so kind and gentle. He and my father got along wonderfully, especially since both of them came from Europe originally. They would talk for hours about things we never understood." Barbara lamented, flipping the page as more wedding photos were sprawled among them. "You see, Mr. Goldman fled from Poland once the Germans invaded, and he met his wife once he got here. He was a very wise and hard-working man."

More pictures showed the blushing bride herself in a lacey white wedding dress, her hair done perfect. A snapshot captured the moment the couple said I do and kissed, the image of Butch's father, Mr. Goldman, stepping on bag of glass seen in the foreground of the special moment. Barbara Kanker's eyes welled with tears as she flipped through photos of the reception, the limousine they rode home in, the beautiful three-tiered cake. Lee started to feel an emotional wind as well as new pages revealed photos of the young couple in their first home, a rickety old place just a block over from where Barbara grew up.

"We moved in the week after your Daddy got his job on the police force…" Barbara said, pointing at a picture of the two standing proudly and happily in front of their new residence, Butch in his Detroit police uniform. "Three years later, I became pregnant with you…" Barbara said as she pointed to a picture at the bottom of the page, Butch placing his head against Barbara's now rotund belly, listening for the sounds that little Lee was bound to be making.

"That's me in there huh?" Lee said, pointing to the belly.

"It sure was, honey. Your daddy was obsessed with you even before you were born. He did up the spare room upstairs, and painted it all pink as soon as we found out you were a girl. We'd go down to K-Mart every payday and get something new; a crib, a blanket, diapers. We were both so happy, and your grandma and Opa were too. Your daddy's parents were over the moon at the thought of their first grandchild. But of course Mr. Goldman passed, and that put a damper on things for a little while. But then…" Barbara paused, flipping the page over. "Then you came along…"

The large picture in the middle of the page was of a stressed yet happy Barbara holding her newborn baby in the hospital bed, her father proudly standing to the side. Several pictures documented every family member holding or kissing the baby at some point. One very sweet photo showed Lee with her grandpa, as she reached up and squeezed on his round nose.

"You loved to squeeze on Opa's nose, it was so cute. He thought you were the prettiest baby in the whole world, he wouldn't stop taking pictures." And then the picture that did it came. It was Butch, holding three-month old Lee in his arms as he stood in his police outfit. Tears streamed down Barbara's face and plopped on her blouse, one-by-one.

"This….this is the last photo of you and your daddy. It was a week before he died-" she broke down and the sobbing started. She muffled her cries in her arm, as Lee hugged on to her tight and attempted to console her as best as she could.

"It's alright Ma, you've still got me around…" Lee said, with Barbara holding her close. "And I ain't goin' nowhere anytime soon."

"I know, baby, I know…" Barbara said, her sobs diminishing into sniffles as she wiped her eyes dry. "I love you so much, Lee. But that's enough of all these memories, time for you to get to bed, you have school tomorrow young lady!"

"It was really nice talking about all this stuff, Ma. I never knew a lot of it, and I feel better knowing it now. Makes me feel even more special." Lee said, getting off the bed and walking for the door.

"Night sweetie, and make sure your sisters are heading to bed too. You gals need all the rest you can get."

"Okay Ma, and night to you too. I'll see ya tomorrow, and you get some rest yourself. I'll get these brats under control." Lee winked as she slowly closed the door behind her and heard the lock clasp shut and echo into the hallway.

The tears began to swell in her eyes as she looked toward the living room, but she simply didn't have time for them.