Fractured Stars
by Spruceton Spook
Part 6
Sudden Obstacles
"Ash, did you get the fire started yet?" Misty asked agitatedly as she came out of the house, bags full of hot dog and hamburger buns in her hands. She sauntered up hastily to the boy, who was trying desperately to light the charcoal on the grill before him. Piles of small twigs fell across the charcoal, barely even catching the heat of the countless matches Ash was tossing onto them.
"No," Ash replied, wincing and flinging a burning match into the fire as it singed his fingertips. The fingers immediately flew into his mouth. "These matches really suck."
"The matches don't suck," Misty groaned, swatting Ash hard with the bun bags. Ash jumped back, throwing up his arm in defense. "The person lighting them does. Give 'em here!"
Ash narrowed his eyes and handed her the once-full book of matches. She yanked it out of his hand in a huff, and lit one. She held it under the twigs as Ash watched on. He could hardly contain the taunting laugh that escaped his mouth when the match blew out before it could even do a thing.
"Hmmm," Misty uttered. "These matches do suck."
"No they don't," Ash replied, mocking her with his impression of her voice. "The person lighting them does."
Misty growled and lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. The two kids erupted in laughter as they wrestled on the lawn, making grabs for each other's loose clothing and attempting pin-downs. As they rolled around, screaming and jeering, Brock and Jay came out, each carrying plates of raw food destined for the fire. They froze in the doorway as they watched Ash and Misty tussle.
"Huh, they're at it again," Brock commented with a sigh.
Jay nodded. "Maybe by the time they're through, the lunch'll be ready."
Brock laughed and shook his head. "Are you kidding? By the time they're done, breakfast tomorrow morning will be ready."
Delia came over from the garden and gazed at the two kids grappling harmlessly on the ground. She shook her head and brought her hands to her hips, throwing a quick, amused glance at Brock and Jay. With a sudden charge, she barged in with her attempt to stop the horseplay. Misty managed to roll out of the way as Delia's wiggling fingers found Ash's underarms, and he gasped as the shock of the tickling sent shivers through his body.
"Mom, no!" Ash cried, laughing and desperately panting for air. His legs kicked out precariously. "Stop! Cut it out! Mooommmm!"
"Okay, Misty! Here's your chance!" Delia shouted, securing her son down with the deadly tickling. "Pin him down! Get him!"
Her face brightening with an ecstatic smile, Misty leaped on top of Ash and crushed him further into the ground. Ash yelped, the wind being knocked out of him, but thankfully escaping the tickling. Delia stood up stately, taking pride in her contribution.
When Misty finally got off Ash, who was huffing and puffing from the ruckus, Jay had set to work on lighting the barbecue. He got it started almost instantly, rapidly throwing match after match into the fire, never giving the sticks a chance to breathe. A small flame flickered, and soon the twigs were burning heartily, the charcoal starting to glow a healthy inferno red.
Ash got up from the ground and wiped grass from his shirt and shorts, which he had put on fresh after cleaning off the blasted grime from the hideaway. He shot Misty a playful glare, and she just snickered at him.
"Help with the barbecue," she ordered him. "Since you aren't useful for anything else."
Ash stuck his tongue out at her, but moved up to the barbecue, anyway. He stood and watched as his father let the burgers plop onto the grill. The flames soared as the grease dripped into the pit, blasting a wave of hot air into their faces.
"Don't burn the burgers," Ash warned Jay.
Jay froze and gave his son an incredulous face. He narrowed his eyes playfully. "Yeah, whatever, you. Go help your mother."
"Nah, I feel like annoying you more," Ash beamed.
Jay shook his head. "Lucky me. Hand me those hot dogs."
Ash grabbed for the hot dogs and ripped the package open. Juice dripped from it and all over Ash's fingers, which he immediately lapped up with his tongue. Before he even had a chance to pull the dogs out of the plastic, Misty swiped them swiftly from his hands.
"I swear, Ash, I would've killed you if you touched them!" Misty scowled. "Nobody wants your saliva-covered fingers all over them!"
"Ugh! Gross!" Jay exclaimed, giving his son a shove.
Ash giggled. "Hehe, hot dog juice is good."
Misty didn't reply, except for rolling her eyes in aversion. She finished off the job that Ash started, happily joining Jay in preparing the lunch. Brock came out with the plates and drinks, and before long the burgers and hot dogs were done.
"Pikachu! Togepi! Lunch time!" Misty called out to the Pokémon, who were retreating from the heat underneath the shade by a nearby tree. At that sound of food, they both hopped up and hurried over. Brock lay out their meals, which they gorged quickly and energetically.
The main meal was also being devoured quite vigorously. The eventful excursion in the hideaway had stimulated the kids' appetites, and for the first ten minutes, they ate without uttering a word. Ash couldn't keep his thoughts within him much longer, however, and as he swallowed a huge piece of savory hamburger, his attention shot across the table to his father.
"Hey, Dad!" he said, his voice full of excitement. His eyes shimmered with prospect. "Ya wanna do something later?"
"Like what?" Jay answered, giving Ash a knowing look.
Ash looked modestly at his plate, an innocent grin creeping to his lips. "Oh, I dunno. Like battle? I could sure use some pointers."
"I figured you'd say that," Jay said, nodding. "Sure, kid. Maybe later, okay?"
"Okay," Ash replied perkily. "This'll be great! I bet you have a lot of cool strategies to share with me, don't ya?" He gave his father a rapid wink.
Jay chuckled softly. "We'll see," he said, his tone full of suspense.
Ash excitedly tore off another bite of his burger, and chewed it heartily. He might have been taking a break from traveling, but he wasn't going to let the time go to waste. Especially with his dad around now, Ash found it the perfect time for learning some new techniques and battle plans, which he knew Jay could easily provide. All his years of experience should prove useful, Ash figured, causing him to grin wildly.
"Hey, and maybe tomorrow, we can look for Pokémon, too!" Ash added, practically hopping in his seat. He knew Jay hadn't caught many Pokémon in his life, but a day's excursion with him in search for a new companion would be fun. Not only would he possibly come back with a new Pokémon, it would be a perfect reason to spend time with Jay. All this made Ash's heart pump strenuously.
Jay smiled uneasily. "Um, well—"
"In fact!" he continued, before giving his father a chance, "maybe we can go out for a couple days to search for Pokémon!" His eyes widened with each passing second. "Wouldn't that be cool?!"
"Whoah, Ash, slow down!" Brock laughed, restrained Ash playfully by grabbing his shoulders. He didn't want the keyed up boy to fall right out of his seat, which it appeared Ash could do. Misty let out a garbled laugh from her food-filled mouth.
Ash didn't pay much attention to them as he anxiously waited to hear from his dad, his fists balled.
Instead of the thrilled response that Ash had expected from Jay, he found himself looking into his speechless face. Jay swallowed heavily, which Ash could have easily mistaken for a gulp. His face falling a bit and his eyes shifting uncertainly, Jay exchanged a brief look with Delia.
Delia looked nervous as Jay turned to her. Her eyes fell sadly as she took a deep breath. All she could do was shrug, not knowing how else to answer. Ash watched this in silence, his eyes darting from his father's fidgety expression to his mother's somber face.
What's the problem? he wondered anxiously. "Dad…"
Jay immediately turned back to him and forced a smile. "Um, Ash…we'll see, alright? Maybe if I can find the time."
Find time? I haven't seen you in three years…
Ash's mouth was agape as he froze momentarily. He blinked confusingly a couple times. "Wh-why can't you find the time? I know you have work and all, but we can do a lot of stuff afterwards…"
"It's not that," Jay interjected, holding his hands up peacefully. "I-it's just that I can't promise you we can do all that stuff. There's a lot of other priorities that I have, Ash." He threw another quick glance at Delia. She simply looked away, as if she didn't want any part of it. "But I promise you that I'll try to find the time. Okay?"
Uh, sure...
Jay watched Ash nod slowly, his eyes falling once again to his plate. At that moment, an intense feeling of guilt shot through his body. As much as he wanted to do stuff with his active son, and play Pokémon and all, he couldn't put aside the fact that he had just reentered a relationship that had been rocky for the past three years. He didn't want to say that rebuilding his marriage was his first concern, but it certainly was one of the main things occupying his mind.
"Hey, buddy, don't look so glum," said Jay softly, nudging his son's legs with his own from under the table. Ash looked up at him. "I want to spend time with you. But…you gotta give me some space, 'kay?" He let out a small chuckle to try to lift his son's spirits.
To his relief, Ash gave him a smile. A small smile, but regardless, a smile. "Course, Dad. I know."
Misty and Brock had been eating their food in the meantime, silently listening to the conversation. Although they felt weird sometimes falling into the silence that they did when the Ketchum family conversed, their mouths found nothing to say. Lately, with Jay there, the discussions were not as light as they had been with just Ash and Delia, that was for sure. Normally, it would have been a little more comforting that Delia was quiet, also, but the look that was illustrated on her face was more than upsetting.
Both found her languishing look odd, especially since she was so full of high-spirits not five minutes ago. Brock cocked his head confusingly, which she didn't notice. She was too busy stirring her potato salad around with her fork, downcast. This struck a confounded chord within Brock as he observed her, then Ash, then Jay. What had just happened?
The tension of the moment was obviously not settling in Delia quite well. She suddenly shot up, and putting on a happier face, started to collect the empty plates.
Brock found himself jumping up unintentionally, grabbing the plates and silverware along with Delia. She gave him a thankful smile and he followed her into the house, leaving the others behind to finish their lunch.
"Thanks for helping me, Brock," Delia said as they entered the kitchen. "I really appreciate it."
Brock dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "Hey, no problem. You know I love to help when I can."
Delia smiled at him again as she took the cumbersome pile of plates out of Brock's hands. "I got them," she told him. "You can go back out."
"Okay," Brock replied, though he didn't move an inch. He wrung his hands nervously as he watched her turn her back to him and place the plates on the counter. He stood there, the situation moments ago not giving him a minute's peace. The desire to find out what was wrong wracked at him weightily. It wasn't too often that you found Delia looking so blue. Even now as he watched her put the plates into the dishwasher, it was obvious that something was eating at her.
"Mrs. Ketchum?" Brock asked carefully.
Delia jumped, not aware that Brock had still been standing there. "Yeah?"
Brock bit his lip, feeling a little tense. But he quickly threw it away with a sigh. "Are you okay?"
The look of bafflement on Delia's face made Brock want to laugh at himself. With a shake of her head, though, the confusion was replaced with a warm smile.
"Of course I'm okay," she replied with a small giggle. She put the plate down that she was holding, and leaned casually on the counter. "Why do you ask that?"
This induced Brock to shrug, as he appeared a bit embarrassed at his question. "Oh, no…I—I was just making sure. You…I dunno, you looked kinda unhappy before."
"I'm not unhappy," she replied quickly. She then stiffened up. "Why? Did I look unhappy?" Her voice had suddenly dropped.
Brock nodded, and Delia slumped. "Kinda."
Delia exhaled loudly and looked out the kitchen window at her family outside, who evidently had become engaged in a conversation. Thank goodness that scene had lightened for the most part.
"Is there something wrong?" Brock's voice piped up again, and she turned back to him slowly.
"No, there's nothing wrong," she replied, though her response didn't sound very convincing.
"Are you and Mr. Ketchum okay?" Brock asked just for the sake of it.
"Yes…oh yeah!" Delia replied without hesitation, finally a huge smile spreading across her face. "We're fine. Yeah. It's just that…"
"What is it? What's the matter?" Brock asked, coming over to her. His eyes were soft and full of concern, which made Delia smile delicately. At that, she gave in. She could tell Brock. She always found talking with Brock enjoyable, as the boy had an open and attentive mind.
"Jay and I have only been back together for a little bit, as you know," she finally said, shrugging.
"Yeah," Brock chuckled, nevertheless giving her his full attention. "I'm all ears."
"Well, since then, we haven't had much of a chance to do some things together," she explained, her hands wavering around in gestures. "I mean, we eat dinner every night and breakfast every morning together, but with Jay working, it's really not that much when you think about it."
Brock nodded.
"Jay has to go to Viridian City everyday, and that's a big trip he has to take."
"Yeech! I know," Brock cringed, but marveling at how Jay traveled that far to work. "Hasn't he ever thought about getting a job in Pallet?"
Delia shrugged. "There's really not much here. Besides, he has a wonderful position and gets great pay, and I don't think he wants to leave that. I don't think I want him to leave that," she laughed. "Just with the driving he has to do, he needs to leave here an hour early every morning, which means he gets up before dawn. By the time we're done with dinner, he's conked out. That's why when we were separated, he lived there."
"Mmm," Brock muttered. "What does he do?"
"You know the Pokémon food EnergyOne?"
Brock perked up. "Sure do!"
Delia nodded. "Figured you would. Well, he's the manager of distribution. You know, around here—locally—in the region."
"Oh wow," Brock said daintily, both shocked and dazed that Jay worked for EnergyOne. Aside from the recipe he'd been working on for years, in his opinion EnergyOne was an excellent brand, which he recommended, and also had fed his own Pokémon at one time or another.
"He loves working there," Delia said, gazing at the floor. "'Course, he finds it a bit stressful that he can barely get a break. And now that we're back together again, we want to spend as much time with each other as we can, but…" She trailed off, shaking her head.
"But don't you guys have the weekends?"
That's when Delia suddenly broke into a chuckle. Brock drew back, giggling lightheartedly, not knowing exactly what her reason for laughing was. At least it was good to see her happy.
"I'm sorry," Delia apologized. "I didn't mean to laugh. It's just so funny that you said that."
Brock looked puzzled, and she continued.
"Jay and I were waiting for the weekend like you wouldn't believe," she said, staring longingly at the ceiling. "Friday night we were going out to dinner, and then Saturday and Sunday we were just gonna do a couple little things on and off."
As she spoke, she watched Brock's jaw dropped further and further to the ground. The look of realization dominated his face, and his hand flew up to cover his ajar mouth.
"But then we came along…" he said inaudibly, lingering off appropriately.
Delia took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, you came along."
They were quiet for a moment as the situation sank into Brock. It was evident now why Jay and Delia were so decked out in fancy garb the night they arrived. Of all times to come, they had showed up then. No wonder Jay had been so quiet and disgruntled-looking that evening…Brock could imagine it perfectly.
"It's not that I don't think it's great that you kids are home," Delia said quickly, careful of how to phrase what she was thinking. "I'm thrilled that you are! Just…now with all the things I wanted to do with Jay, it—"
"Put a damper on things?" Brock finished, lifting his eyebrow as if to ask if he was correct.
With a heavy sigh, Delia nodded. "Friday night we were going to have a romantic dinner," she recalled. "The first one since when you cooked for us."
Brock giggled and blushed, remembering the succulent roast chicken he had prepared for them. He was overjoyed that night when they had repeatedly complimented his fine cooking. It made Brock particularly proud when he thought of what he contributed to bringing a marriage back together, and it was but a mere two hours of cooking.
Delia had a quaint smile on her face as she stared at the floor, looking as if she had just sunk into a dreamy trance. She let out a single, matter-of-fact chuckle. "It was going to be such a lovely night. Jay had brought home really nice champagne. It would have just been the two of us, no work, no disruptions…romantic…"
Suddenly, a streak of blush ran across her face as she realized what she was saying. Gasping slightly, she brought a hand up to cover her hot face and began to laugh embarrassingly. "Oh my goodness," she muttered, biting her lip as she looked into Brock's somewhat lightly startled face. "I'm so sorry! Of geez, I can believe what I was just saying!"
Brock chuckled a bit nervously as the mushy prattle grasped at him. He didn't want Delia to feel embarrassed, however. He really hadn't minded her talking about it. "No, no! It—it's okay, you can go on…if you want."
Delia's face was still beet red. She couldn't believe that she had gone that far in rambling about what was planned for that evening. And with Brock! The look on the boy's face made her want to laugh ridiculously at herself. To make it worse, she found herself at a loss for words. But she knew she had to say something, anything to mend what she had said.
"I dunno, Brock. I feel kinda funny…discussing this with you. No offense, honey…"
Brock's smiled reassuringly, shrugging softly. "It's okay. You can talk to me about a lot more things than you think you can. You'd be surprised."
Delia's eyebrows rose abruptly, and it was Brock's turn to laugh at himself. He waved his hands in front of himself frantically. "Not that I ever actually did anything! 'Cause I didn't! Hehehe!"
"Well…good," was all Delia could find to say. "I'm certainly glad to hear that."
Brock grinned sheepishly.
"Well, okay. Yeah, Friday night was suppose to be…" She fell silent for a second to find the right word. "Special. Really special."
"Uh-huh," Brock nodded.
"You kids coming sorta…messed up the plans a tad," she said, making a so-so movement with her hand. She smiled pleasantly. "You guys sure know how to knock us out."
"Heh, I guess we do."
Delia turned back to the window, only to find that Ash had released his Cyndaquill, making it fire spin the barbecue back to life. Jay and Misty jumped back in laughter as the flame engulfed the entire grill, lighting the new set of twigs and dirty napkins that they had thrown into it to revive it. They all cheered when the fire was vital once again.
"The reason why I looked so upset before was because of the way Ash was just going on and on about all those things he wanted to do," she explained. Brock came over to the window and looked out, also. "I would love to see him spend time with his dad, I really would. But it's so hard when you have so much to look forward to, and a little part of me just wants to reach out and grab Jay away for myself." Her voice held a tone of shamefulness.
"There's nothing wrong with that," said Brock, hoping to make her feel better. "You've been away from him for three years. Trust me, you have every right in the world to feel the way you do."
Delia sighed. "I guess so. I'm sure Jay and I could do some things together, but with Ash popping up everywhere… You see the way he grapples onto Jay! It's going to be so difficult to get him alone."
"Hmmm…" Brock murmured, folding his arms in front of his chest. Suddenly finding that he was designated to take this upon himself, he thought hard about the situation. He knew very well that Ash was going to be by his father's side as much as humanly possible. He'd already suggested going on a mini-journey with Jay, and the only time for that would be the weekend, which is precisely when Delia wanted him. Brock didn't know what to make of the tug-o-war that was starting to arise, except for one solitary solution.
"Do you want us to go back to traveling?" he asked Delia, barely moving his lips as he said it.
"What?" she exclaimed, taken back at this.
Brock forced a smile, though it wasn't easy. "Mrs. Ketchum, seriously, if you want us to go back to traveling, we will."
"No, Brock. I told you, it's fine."
"Are you sure?" Brock asked worriedly. "Because if you do, I swear, all I need to do is tell Ash that they spotted some legendary Pokémon out there, and he'll be outta here like a shot. Guaranteed!"
Delia jumped at him and grabbed his hands, holding them tightly as she smiled gently into his face. "Listen to me," she said directly, yet softly. "You can stay. I love having you kids home! How selfish would that be of me to make you guys leave just to have Jay to myself? I can't do that, I just can't!"
Brock shivered as her warm hands clasped his own, and his heart began to race. It was not hard to smile as he gazed into her eyes. "Wh-what about you and--and Mr. Ketchum?"
Releasing his hands, Delia took a deep breath. She brushed some loose hair out of her face. "I'm sure we can figure something out. But please, don't leave. You guys are welcome to stay forever. You know that."
Brock shrugged, closing his eyes. "If you say so." Delia nodded, making Brock feel a bit more relieved. She had made it perfectly clear that them leaving was out of the question, unless of course if it was for some reason other than that. Ash was unpredictable in that sense, but Brock found it unlikely that with the way he was acting lately, he wasn't going to leave Pallet quite yet.
He continued to stand there as Delia went to finish putting the dishes away. Brock figured he should go back out and see what was going on. Shuffling his feet, he slowly made his way to the back door. Grasping hold of the doorknob, he suddenly flipped around.
"Hey Mrs. K?" he called.
Delia closed the dishwasher and gave him her attention. "Yes?"
Brock gave her a big smile. "You know what? I want to help you and Mr. Ketchum out."
"Oh, yeah?" Delia replied, grinning. "Like how?"
"If…if you guys want to be alone, just let me know," Brock suggested. "I can get Ash and Misty out of the way for you. No problem."
Delia certainly looked interested. "Yeah? You could do that?" she asked, her voice full of hope.
Brock gave her an incredulous face and shrugged. "Of course I can! Believe me, if you want a night to yourselves, I can get us out of your hair in a snap!"
Delia opened her mouth to say something, but shut it with a smile. "Thanks, Brock. I'd really like that."
Grinning, Brock shrugged again. "Anytime." He turned to go out.
"Oh, hey Brock?" Delia halted him suddenly. He stopped and glanced back at her.
Delia smiled sheepishly. "Just…don't tell anyone about this, okay?" she asked carefully. "I don't want Ash to know about…you know, this. I don't want him to get upset, thinking that we're mad or anything."
"You got it!" Brock proclaimed, giving her a huge thumbs-up. "Just between you and me."
Delia nodded.
"Oh, and if you need to talk some more, you know where to find me!"
"I'll be sure to seek you out," Delia laughed. "Thanks again. You're a sweet boy. Go out and have fun now, won't you?"
With a happy bounce at the compliment, Brock crashed through the door and out into the sunshine.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Get ready for lotsa fun . . . it's coming up next! Mwhahahahaha!!! Ahem Uh, thanks for reading. Love ya! See ya next week!
