"Red…," Kitty said patiently.
"No," came the automatic answer. "The subject is closed."
"Red…" Kitty implored.
"For God's sake, Kitty. We took him into our home. We treated him like our own son."
Eric entered the kitchen while his father was speaking and began rummaging through the fridge. "You treat him better than your own son," he said, smirking.
"I'll tell you one thing," continued Red. "I'm putting a stop to this now."
He walked over to his son and looked him in the eyes. "Has Hyde ever pressured you to use this stuff?"
"No, absolutely not," came Eric's quick response. "In fact, yeah, I can honestly say I've never felt any pressure." His father smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. The teen wanted to laugh aloud. He reveled in telling his father the truth without his true meaning being understood. Of course, he'd smoked with Hyde countless times, but he'd never been forced to do so. He'd always been an eager participant.
"Go tell Laurie and Hyde that it's time for dinner, honey."
"Sure, Mom."
Once everyone was settled to eat, Kitty said, "Well, as you all know, we had a little incident earlier. And I think that as a family we should discuss rational solutions to make sure this never happens again."
"I think we should kick Hyde out," Laurie blurted out.
"Laurie, there is no way we are kicking Steven out," her mother declared. "Red, what do you think?"
"Steven, we're kicking you out," Red said tersely.
"Dad, that'd not fair," Eric said, alarmed.
"Not fair? I took him in, he blew it. It's his fault. Look, I don't want it in my house. I don't want it around you two. I just…don't…want it."
"Red, that is not the solution. This young man needs our guidance more than ever."
"No, Mrs. Forman, it's cool. If Red thinks that I'm not good enough to live in this house, then I guess I'm not," Hyde said seriously. He stood and left the kitchen.
Everyone sat silently for a moment, until Eric pointed at his dad and bellowed, "You know what? You're…you're bull…I…I'm…you're very…I'm…I'm very mad at you!" With that he, too, stormed out of the kitchen.
"God, this sucks," Eric murmured. "I can't believe Red's kicking you out. I mean, I'm sorry. Where are you supposed to go?"
Hyde continued packing, while the gang sat helplessly watching. "I'm gonna go to the Fotohut. I'll sleep on the floor. We got a hose out back."
"Man, this is so wrong," Eric said, pacing around the room. "Look, I'm not gonna let you get kicked out for something we all do."
"Hey, hey," called Kelso. "Don't go dragging me into this."
"You know what?" Eric announced. "I'm gonna tell Red that I do it, too."
"No," exclaimed all his friends simultaneously.
"Have you suddenly become the stupidest man ever? I mean, is Kelso no longer the reigning king?" Donna asked.
"Oh, I'm the king," replied Kelso.
"This can work," continued Eric. "If I tell Red, then he's gonna be a hypocrite for kicking Hyde out and not making me go with him, because you know, deep down, he loves me."
Hyde sighed deeply, "Look, Forman, I appreciate what you're trying to do, you know, but you getting in trouble is not going to get me out of trouble, okay? …Okay?"
"Okay," Eric finally replied.
"Okay. …Everybody just stop worrying, all right? I'll be fine."
"Donna, I have to talk to you, girl to giant," Jackie said seriously.
Donna rolled her eyes, but smiled. "What's up, munchkin?"
"Steven and I are in love," the petite girl whispered breathlessly.
"What? Hyde, with the curly hair? The one who just said he would pull his own ears off if he had to listen to you talk about shopping for one more minute? That Hyde?"
"Yes. We're in love! You know how he got arrested?"
"Yeah? And is now getting kicked out…. Yeah, Jackie, I remember. What about it?"
"It wasn't his stash. It was mine. He took the blame for me."
"JACKIE! You gotta tell Red, so he won't kick him out!"
"No, way, Donna. And don't you mess this up for me!"
"What? …Whatever. If you won't tell, then I will!" Donna stormed back into the Formans' house and quickly found Red and Kitty in the kitchen.
"Mr. and Mrs. Forman, I need to talk to you. The drugs that Hyde had were actually Jackie's. He took the blame for her, and for some reason, isn't telling the truth now."
"Well, well," said Kitty. "It seems you were all wrong about Steven, and you wanted to kick him out."
"Glad you told us the truth, Donna," Red said, walking over to the basement door. "STEVEN! Get your dumb ass up here this minute!"
Moments later, Hyde stood in the kitchen.
"Donna just told us that you took the blame for Jackie. You can stay."
Hyde nodded, "Cool." He turned to leave but Mrs. Forman grabbed his arm.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" she cried. "That's it? Isn't there something else you want to say to this brave and noble young man?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Red stood and walked closer to Hyde. "DUMBASS! Do you realize that you put your whole future in jeopardy? ...What kind of moron would go and take the fall? ...Kitty was crying, crying, crying, because she was so worried. And when she's upset, I am upset. ...AND let me tell you something else! If you ever do anything like that again, I will kick your ass so hard, your nose will bleed."
"And we love you," Mrs. Forman added sweetly.
"So, uh, just so I am clear, everything's back to normal, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, everything's back to normal. I'm still gonna take you to the garage later to discuss this Jackie fiasco."
"But we already discussed it once, remember?" Hyde said, starting to panic.
"No. We discussed the consequences of being arrested. This," Red said, "is a whole new conversation."
Hyde nodded despondently. "Yes, sir."
Just then, Eric burst into the kitchen. "Alright, Dad, I've got something to say."
"Eric," Donna said warningly. "For the love of God, don't."
"Dad, I do it, too," Eric continued, ignoring Donna. "That's right. So you can't kick Hyde out."
"Honey," his mom said, meekly. "We've already decided not to kick Hyde out."
"What, Mom?" Donna called, pretending that she was being summoned. "Coming! See ya!"
Eric paled, as he stared into the blazing eyes of his father. "Then," he whispered. "Yay."
"So, you do it, too, huh?" Red said dangerously. "Since when?"
Eric and Hyde looked at each other. Both boys remembered the summer that they were 13 and first tried pot. But they also knew that admitting when they really started smoking would mean instant death.
"Are you on it right now," Red yelled. "I asked you a question! Since when have you been using it?"
"Uh," spluttered Eric. "About a week ago tomorrow."
"You're both smart boys," said Mrs. Forman. "What were you thinking?"
"The problem was that we weren't thinking," stated Hyde.
"And peer pressure," added Eric.
"Yeah, the pressure."
"Look!" shouted Red. "Don't try that blaming society crap with me. You know whose fault this is? Do you? …Do you?"
The boys looked at each other and Kitty.
"Uh, no sir," said Hyde.
"Well, I have a pretty good idea," whispered Eric, loud enough for only Hyde to hear. Hyde snickered and elbowed his friend. After all, it was Edna's stash the boys had raided when they were younger.
"It's mine," snarled Red.
The boys looked surprised and responded with "Oh, alright." and "Okay."
"The problem is…I've been too lenient. So, from now on, no more easy-going, devil-may-care, everybody's-best-friend dad. I'm cracking down. And I am cracking down hard. So starting right now, fun time is over."
With that he grabbed Eric's arm, walked over to a kitchen chair, propped his knee up, leaned the boy over it, and rained down a volley of swats on his son's rear-end.
Eric wasn't used to being spanked in such a public setting. However, as quickly as it started, it was over. His backside throbbed as he was pushed off his father's knee. He watched as his dad crooked his finger at Hyde.
"Steven, come here."
Eric knew that Hyde didn't want to obey, but nearly immediately, he submitted. The boy leaned over Red's knee and made no sound as the man's leathery hand whaled away. Finally, he too was released.
"Go mow the yard and rake it. Afterwards I'll meet you in the garage. We've got several things we need to discuss. Am I clear?"
"Yes, sir," both boys said.
As they walked outside, Eric said, "I've got one question: Where was I for fun time?"
Author's Note: Two thousand people have read this story and only 11 have reviewed it. While I write these stories for myself, I appreciate feedback (good, bad, but not ugly). Thanks for taking the time to review. ~e