Chapter 10 – I'm Waiting for the Day…
Tuesday passed without reason or care, although it puzzled both Double D and Marie that neither of them saw each other throughout the day. They both followed their typical schedule and nothing unordinary happened, with the exception of one thing: they both spent a considerable amount of time thinking about each other, which troubled Double D to a certain extent. He'd never considered himself a romantic person by any means, but now he was beginning to get that certain feeling in his stomach. He brushed it off as indigestion, and simply went to sleep that night. Marie did the same, and the day ended with the same indifference as the one previous.
The morning rays of Wednesday tore themselves through Double D's window and warmed his face until the alarm sounded and the young man began his normal morning rituals. It was up with him and into the bathroom. After he was dressed, he rushed down to the kitchen, spotless as he had left it the night before. With it only being a few days until his father's arrival, he had to ensure that everything was in its proper place. Double D's father was a very particular man; if anything wasn't perfect, he was certain to point it out. It caused Double D to be a nervous wreck most of the time, obsessively cleaning and organizing and labeling until his fingers were sore.
It was off to school however, following the collective morning roundup of his fellow Eds and down to the bus stop they went. However, what had been beautiful sunshine had warped itself into a downpour of plopping rain. Jonny stood wearily at the bus stop with he and Plank under a great umbrella that stretched out over a considerable radius. Rain slid down the slick vinyl and onto the sidewalk. As the Eds quickly shuffled through the falling rain, Jonny was spotted in the distance.
"Hey!" Eddy said, pointing down the sidewalk "Baldy is sittin' there with a big-ass umbrella and we're gettin' soaked. We could use a piece of that action…"
"Perhaps we could politely inquire if Jonny would be so kind to-" Double D was cut off by Eddy's growling voice.
"I ain't politely doin' nothin'!" Eddy growled "Come on boys, we gotta get under that thing!"
The Eds practically hurled themselves towards the bus stop, overwhelming poor Jonny and Plank.
"Hiya guys!" Jonny said as he waved with a smile, "It's absolutely pouring out here, would you guys like to stand under me and Plank's umbrella?"
"Why certainly Jonny!" Double D said with a smile. "It is considerably kind of you to extend your umbrella to us in this voracious downpour."
"No problem, Double D!" Jonny said, holding the umbrella in one hand and Plank in the other. "You guys sure do look wet though!"
"Of course we're wet, Jonny, it's raining out here!" Eddy shouted as he tapped Jonny's great bald dome of a head.
"Jeez you're a little tense today Eddy, any reason?" Jonny replied, his head a little sore now.
"None of your business, Baldy!" Eddy said as he crossed his arms.
"Gosh, sorry Eddy. I didn't mean to strike a nerve…" Jonny replied, before shrugging his shoulders at Plank.
The bus came and every Ed and Jonny loaded onto the yellow rectangle before rolling off to the lovely school house. Rain clouds darkened everything, even the mood it seemed. No one really spoke on the bus ride, the rubber of the wiper blades making the same repetitive squeaking sound to disturb the silence that lingered. Once at the school and the air brakes letting out their deep breath, kids unloaded and marched off in their disorderly way through the glass doors, the bright fluorescent light contrasting heavily with the grey form of outside. Double D went silently to his locker, got his books, and watched as Eddy plopped along the hallway and down the stairs. Ed of course had a club meeting this morning and so he was no where to be seen. The halls clicked with the sounds of moving feet, but that was it.
Double D sat in his classes all day, listening as the rain pounced off the glass windows and streaked down, crackling under the occasional crack of thunder. All day went like this, with the grey mist causing the effect mood of the whole building to be dim and dull. The three o'clock bell sounded out, and Double D and Marie met for their tutor session. It went on quite well; they covered the material in question, And Double D was keen to point out that Marie was really starting to get on top of chemistry, but then their hour was over and the two proceeded down their hall in what was now their established tri-weekly ritual.
Marie and Double D crossed the threshold of the great glass doors and out into the world, where bright and piercing sunshine had replaced the trickling rain of the day. Steam rose from the black pavement of the parking lot as sunlight warmed the entire area, giving a humidity that felt like the air was three times as thick as normal. Birds once again came out, and little flying insects zipped around in their buzzing fashion.
"Are you okay, Double D?" Marie asked as she caringly looked at him, having noticed his higher-than-usual stress and disposition.
"Oh yes…I'm quite fine Marie." He replied, obviously not. "I'm just quite tense about this weekend. As you know, Father is coming and he's an extraordinarily picky individual. He demands perfection from everything, and that can be quite daunting for me to cope with at times."
"Ooh no, that does sound pretty stressful." Marie said, jostling her books in her hands. "But I'm sure you've got this under control. You're so particular and organized, I don't see why he'd be too bothered by it." she said, smiling up at him. The two made eye contact, this time a little longer. It didn't feel awkward this time. It felt like it was only natural at this point. However, after a few seconds, their eyes parted, and their smiles faded only to slight grins. Nervousness consumed them both, with Marie even starting to visibly shake.
"I've got a visitor coming this weekend too…" Marie said as the two continued their march forward, having now crossed the road.
"Is that so Marie…?" Double D asked, slightly anxious that it could be another male his age, someone that might perhaps make this situation difficult. But why am I worrying about that, do I really want to see Marie in that kind of way? I can't even understand my own feelings on the matter, but it's the strangest feeling…
"Who is this lucky visitor then?" he asked, coming back to his senses.
"It's my grandpa…" she said, a smile coming back to her face. "He's driving down from Detroit – that's where my family is originally from. He's coming down Friday, and I'm not really sure how long he's staying. Mom didn't say…"
"Oh how wonderful Marie! Grandparents are often some of the best relatives in a family, although I'm not as close to mine as I would like to be, considering our geographic disadvantage keeps us at such a distance. Are you close to your grandfather?"
"Ooh yes, very much." She replied, looking back up to him. "Before we moved here, we lived with him and my grandma at their house. He's such a kind man, and he was really like a father figure to me. We did everything together when I was little…Opa is so loving and sweet."
"Is that what you refer to him as, Opa?" Double D asked, scratching his head in some slight confusion.
"Ooh, yeah. Us girls call him Opa, because that's a Dutch term for grandpa. You see, my Opa is from the Netherlands. He came here in the 40s, just after the war. He's very proud of his Dutch heritage, and he taught us all a little Dutch when we were growing up, though he speaks perfect English…"
"Why did he choose to immigrate here, then? Or is it a rather complex reason?" Double D asked, quite intrigued by this Opa character.
"It's a pretty long story, and I'm sure if you met him, he'd tell you the whole thing…" Marie answered. "But to make a long story short, he was a teenager when the Nazi's invaded the Netherlands and his family was killed by the German soldiers. He was taken prisoner and forced to fight in the German army during the war. He kept trying to run away from his troop, so the commanding officer ended up sending him to be a guard at a…concentration camp. He saw a lot of very awful things happen, and he says that he was told to do a lot of things he found evil. He says that he still has a lot of nightmares from his time there, so talking about it makes him really emotional. He told me and my sisters about it when we got a little older, but my mom hates it when he talks about that stuff. She said it's way too depressing, but he's such a great storyteller that I don't really mind. But anyway, after the war, he was able to come over here and get a job in the Ford factory outside of Detroit, and he married my grandma a few years later. Then they had my mom, who then had Lee, me, and May."
"You have such an interesting family dynamic Marie, much more exciting than my own. I would be very interested in meeting your grandfather, he sounds like he'd be quite enjoyable to converse with and I'd love to hear some of his stories, even if they are more on the depressing side." Double D said, the two heading now down the road which leads to the trailer park.
"Would you….would you want to come over and meet him this weekend?" Marie said, biting hard on the inside of her cheek until blood started to drip out, filing her mouth with the metallic taste.
"I think that would be…quite interesting, Marie." Double D responded, nervously. "If you don't think it would cause any issues, particularly with the rest of your family.
"Oh it won't be, I promise. Opa always makes us so excited. He was like our dad when we were growing up, especially for me. Lee always had Mom, and May had her dad around. So I kinda clung to him, and he's always really looked out for me." Marie said, feeling a little more relieved about the situation.
"When would be an appropriate time to make my visit?" Double D asked.
"Probably sometime on Sunday. We'll probably be out doing stuff on Saturday, so Sunday will probably be a more relaxed day. That is, if you're not too busy." Marie answered.
"Sunday should not conflict with any of my current plans, so that does sound like an appropriate day to visit." Double D responded. "My Father will likely attempt to force me to attend church service with my mother and himself. Unfortunately my father is still quite religious, despite the amount of scientific education he has received."
"What kind of religion are your parents?" Marie asked, looking back up at him.
"My parents both were raised Catholic. They both originate from Italian ancestry, so they both grew up going to Mass quite frequently in New York City. I abandoned the notion of religion myself once I got into high school, but my parents are both unaware of this transformation on my part." He said, the two approaching the road leading down to the gravel-laden trailer park.
"My Opa grew up Catholic when he was still in Holland…" Marie said, "…but he's never been religious since I've been around. My grandma was raised Jewish, but she didn't really practice anything either. My Mom says that she was taken to Mass a few times as a kid, but only for the normal rituals. I've never been to church myself, and I don't think I'm missing much."
"Believe me, my father is such a stickler for religion that he would never allow for that freedom of choice. Luckily he's not here often enough to take us all the time, but my mother doesn't seem to mind nearly as much as I do." Double D replied, his head hanging low. A silence fell for some time as the trailer grew larger in size as arrival to it grew closer.
"So…" Double D said, finally breaking the silence, "Does your grandfather ever return to his home country?"
"He used to, all the time. For a long time he had dual-citizenship, and he'd take two weeks every summer to go back and visit his extended family. He'd take my Mom and Grandma and they'd treat it like a vacation. She told me that they used to go every year. But then as he got older, he didn't want to go back as much. He says that a lot has changed over there since he was a kid, and it confuses him. But he does love that country, it's all he ever talks about!" Marie said with a laugh afterwards.
"Well I most certainly look forward to meeting him, he sounds like quite the character!" Double D said, the two now on the outer rims of the trailer park; Double D could feel the sharp crunch of chunky gravel under his tennis shoes, and the trailer lay before them.
"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you around tomorrow Double D…" Marie said, turning to him.
"Yes, I will most likely see you around our school at some point tomorrow…" Double D replied.
It was at this point that, after a few seconds of non-awkward silence, Marie did the unthinkable. She reached out and gave Double D a hug, and not just a typical one either. She wrapped her arms around his frail figure and held him for more than one second.
"Thank you so much…" she finally said after some time, "Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it Double D, and for being so friendly…."
"You're…quite welcome Marie…" he said with some hesitation as he patted her back, before the hug finally ended.
Marie half smirked and blushed before turning and heading towards the steps leading up to the trailer door. She turned back to wave goodbye to him, before opening and entering the screeching screen door. It closed with a dense thud.
"Bye, Marie…" Double D said after some time, simply standing there. He turned around and began his walk back to his home in the cul-de-sac, tongue-tied and shell-shocked. Not merely by the fact that Marie Kanker had given him a tender hug, but it was more than that. He didn't seem to mind the fact that she hugged him, at all. In fact, he quite liked it…