Note: Thank you, Cheri, for not biting my head off (much, anyway) for messing up the posting order; this was supposed to come BEFORE the previous chapter, folks. *sigh* And thanks for a quick, perfect rewrite/adjustment so it fits again ... Anyway, enjoy the chapter, gang, and please pass by the feedback box? It's that little square thing right next to the exit ... CR/DB
Seasons To Remember
Chapter 24: Stupid Hunk Of Junk
The festive mood was once again restored as the families shared a laugh – at Tommy's expense – as Kat concluded her tales of Tommy's not-so-sterling moments. He grumbled good-naturedly, but was not adverse to letting his past foibles lighten the somber mood recalling Jason's death had brought on.
"It's a good thing Aunt Kim loved you so much, Uncle Tommy," Ramon laughed. "It seems like you were always in the dog house – even more so than my dad!"
"You'd think so, but it wasn't really that bad," Tommy assured him. "I'd just flash Kim my best puppy-dog eyes and all would be forgiven."
Kat's indelicate, derisive snort belied that claim.
"So, Dad, did you ever get really pissed off at Mom?" Jay wondered, his mind drifting back to the tale of Aunt Kat and Uncle Jason's first big fight. Near as he could recall, he couldn't ever remember seeing his dad lose it with his mother. "Seeing as how Mom was always blowing up at you...."
"But her anger never lasted," Tommy reminded his son. "Kim never kept things bottled up. She made her feelings known, then cleared the air – except when she was pregnant," he hastened to qualify.
"Oh, that's right. You weren't here when Dad totally blew his stack at Mom," Trini piped up.
"When was this?" her brother asked, startled and puzzled. His father was always so controlled. Sure, he'd raise his voice on occasion, slipping into sensei mode, but he'd never seen him totally lose it.
"Remember Dad's white Mustang?" his sister asked.
"The one Uncle John gave him to rebuild – sure I do," Jay replied. "Man, he loved that car. It was wrecked when I was off at college. No one ever said how ... you mean Mom totaled it?"
"I remember how much you loved that car, Uncle Tommy," Oliver spoke up. "No wonder you got pissed off at Aunt Kim."
"It wasn't one of my finer moments, that's for sure," Tommy interjected, a touch uncomfortable with the memory, even after all this time. Kim had forgiven him readily enough, but it had taken a long time to forgive himself.
~*~
"Tommy?" Kim called as she came up from the basement. There was no answer, and she sighed with exasperation. Really, Tommy could be as bad as the children when it came to taking off without letting her know where he was going or when he was going to be back. She glanced over at the counter; the cell phone was still on the charger. He hadn't bothered to take it with him.
"Figures," she muttered. "Ooh, that man!"
However, there was another possibility – one equally as frustrating. Even as she headed towards the door to the garage, there came a crash and a stream of very colorful, totally unrepeatable language uttered in her spouse's voice.
"I should have known," she sighed, rolling her eyes as she crossed the kitchen to the connecting door. She pulled the door open and discovered her husband – as usual – underneath the body of the white 1969 Mustang his uncle had bequeathed to him. It was Tommy's pride and joy, and restoring it was his passion.
Ever since he took possession of the vehicle, Tommy had spent every spare moment working on it. Getting up early, staying up late, foregoing family outings ... and spending every spare dime on parts. At first, she hadn't minded. Tommy had been like a kid with a new toy. She figured he'd get over the excitement after a while, as all children do; however, he hadn't, and things were getting out of hand.
"Thomas James Oliver!" she snapped, and she smiled with satisfaction as her startled husband smacked his head on something.
"Ow!" Tommy grumbled as he rolled out from underneath the Mustang.
"Did I, or did I not, ask you to check out the exhaust pipe to the dryer to see if anything was stuck in it?" Kim demanded in a tone that was reminiscent of his mother's – with the same effect of making him feel about twelve years old. She knew he positively hated that, but she also knew he wouldn't say a word because she could tell by his wince and the guilty expression on his face that he knew she was in the right.
"Don't worry, Beautiful; I'll get to it right after ...." he began.
"No, don't give me any more excuses about being in the middle of a complicated system or what have you," she cut him off. "If you get back under that car, I won't see you again until you crawl into bed tonight."
"Aw, Kim, give me a break; it's my day off," he countered petulantly.
"I realize that," she said, "and I asked you to do one thing for me. Just one! I wouldn't even have bothered doing that if I hadn't already tried and failed taking care of it myself."
"I'll do it today; I promise," he assured her.
"Preferably before the rest of us are asleep in bed," she snorted, knowing that the car would be taken care of first.
"That's not fair," he glowered but knew he was on shaky ground here.
"Isn't it? Tommy, you spend more time with that ... that ... thing than you do with the family lately!"
"I do not!"
"Okay, tell me what was the last thing we did together," she demanded, arms folded across her chest, glaring at him imperiously.
Tommy scowled at her and thought for a moment ... and thought some more ... and more ....
"We did something with Jay not too long ago," he said at last with a touch of smug triumph.
"We took him back to college and that was almost three months ago!" she countered.
"Oh."
"Look, I've tried to be patient. I've tried to be understanding, but this is getting ridiculous!" she shouted. Blowing out a frustrated breath, she continued more calmly, "I'm beginning to wish John had given this contraption to some other nephew."
"He knew no one else would appreciate it the way I do," Tommy said. He flashed her his best smile and most heart-melting puppy-dog eyes. "I promise I'll fix the dryer, hon."
"You'd better," Kim warned as she turned to walk away, "because I'm not washing any of your clothes until it's fixed."
~*~
"Kim, I have to run to the store; I'll be right back!" Tommy hollered as he hurried in and grabbed his truck keys.
"Don't forget to get your mother's prescription filled," she called after him from the office right off the living room. "She's on the last of her heart medication today."
"I will," he said, dashing out the door.
Kim closed her eyes and counted to ten. She'd thought Tommy had learned his lesson about neglecting chores after the dryer incident. True to her word, she hadn't washed any of his things as long as the dryer was unrepaired. He finally cleared the pipe when he discovered that he had no more clean underwear.
"Please, Lord, let him be done with that stupid car soon; otherwise, I may have to throttle him," she prayed as she returned to the study to finish grading her students' papers.
*
The phone rang, and Kim blearily looked up from the paper she'd been correcting. She glanced at the clock in surprise; she hadn't realized it was so late.
The ringer sounded again, and Kim reached for the cordless extension. "Hello ... oh, hi, Jan ... Your prescription? Tommy took that to get filled hours ago ... what? You mean he hasn't? ... all right, don't worry, Jan; I'll get it taken care of."
Kim hung up the phone, temper barely contained. She stormed into the kitchen, and, sure enough, there was the script from the doctor under the magnet on the refrigerator.
"I'll kill him," she grumbled as she snatched up the paper. How could he forget about his mother's medication? It wasn't like Jan could go out and get it for herself – at least for now. Jan was pretty independent for a woman in her eighties, but the doctor told her no driving until her broken shoulder was healed.
Kim grabbed her purse, but when she reached for her keys, they weren't on the hook. Belatedly, she recalled that Trini had asked to borrow her car, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember where her daughter had said she was going.
Glancing at the clock, she didn't have a lot of time to try and track Trini down. Pharmacies didn't stay open late on Sundays. Where was Tommy? He should have been back by now; part stores didn't stay open late on Sundays either. She thought of calling him, but a glance at the charger showed the phone at home and not with her husband.
Next, she tried getting ahold of Kat, but no one was home at the Scott residence.
Now what? she fumed, wishing Jay hadn't taken his car on campus this year. There was no time to wait for anyone to get home; Jan had taken her last dose this morning and was already overdue for her next one.
Too bad Kat doesn't still have Jason's old motorcycle; I used to know how to get it to start without the key, Kim mused. She was considering calling a cab when she spied the Mustang out on the driveway. Tommy must have just taken it down off the blocks today.
It was the answer to her problem, if .... if it ran ... if Tommy had left the keys at home ....
However, Tommy had strictly forbidden anyone else to drive the Mustang. He'd issued the warning when he'd first put the car up on the blocks – like anyone was going to drive it when it obviously didn't run. He hadn't said why specifically, although Kim imagined it had to do with the plates or the insurance or something. Well, maybe not the insurance; they'd just received the statement for the month, and the Mustang was listed as one of the vehicles covered.
It's probably because that's his baby and he doesn't want to share, she groused childishly.
She was about to totally dismiss the Mustang as an option when she glanced over at the shelf by the door. The keys were there.
It may not even run, she reminded herself but then realized that for the car to have gotten out on the driveway, Tommy would have had to start it and back it out.
She stood there, indecisive, for a moment longer, then quickly snapped up the keys. She'd apologize to Tommy later; his mother needed her medication now.
*
Tommy sat in his truck staring dumbfoundedly at the empty space on the driveway where he'd left the Mustang parked. He'd only just taken it down off the blocks when he realized he needed a part for the side mirror. He hadn't even test-driven it yet!
He was going to kill someone when she got home!
*
The longer the clock ticked on with neither wife nor daughter putting in an appearance, the angrier Tommy became.
After his initial shock, it did occur to him that the classic car had been stolen, but upon checking the house, he confirmed that the keys were indeed missing.
Who was the likely culprit: Kim or Trini? Both had been told in no uncertain terms that the Mustang was off limits. It astounded him that one of them would disobey him like that!
In his mind, there was nothing that would be a good enough excuse for defying him. Besides the fact that he'd forbidden it, quite simply, he wasn't sure the car was ready to be driven yet. He wasn't certain the brakes were calibrated properly. The steering had felt too loose when he'd backed the car out, and the whole car vibrated like it was going to shake apart whenever he started it.
Just then, he heard a car in the drive. He stormed into the living room and peered out the window to see who it was and what she was driving. It was Kim's plum-colored little Honda, but it was Trini climbing out of the driver's side of the vehicle.
Tommy managed to hold his temper until his daughter entered the house.
"Hi, Dad," she hailed him breezily.
"Where have you been, and what are you doing with your mother's car?" he snapped.
Trini's eyes widened in surprise at the obvious ire in his tone. It was one she could never recall hearing her father use.
"I was at the library," she answered. "I have a research paper due; Mom said I could borrow her car. Why? Is something wrong?"
"I am going to throttle your mother when she gets home," he growled, spinning away to resume his pacing in the kitchen.
*
At long last, the door opened, and Kimberly came in. By now, Tommy was in no mood to be trifled with. He didn't even notice Kim's disheveled appearance.
"What the hell did you think you were doing, taking off in the Mustang like that?" he demanded through gritted teeth as he made the effort to control his anger.
"Excuse me?" Kim asked, startled by the tempestuous reception. The moment she'd seen Tommy's truck in the driveway, she knew he was not going to be happy that she'd taken his car. And he was going to be even more unhappy when he found out what happened to it, but she hadn't expected this. And, to be honest, she was in no mood to deal with him in this state.
Before she could gather her wits to respond to him fully, he grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Didn't. I. Tell. You. Not. To. Drive. The. Mustang?" he shouted at her, punctuating each word with a shake.
"Tommy, stop it; you're hurting me," she winced. It wasn't so much his rough treatment, although she'd never seen him do anything like this, as it was his grip on top of her bruises and assorted aches and pains.
He was beyond hearing her as his fury poured out.
"Dammit, Kim, I told you not to drive that thing," he continued furiously. "I had my reasons ...."
"If you did, then you didn't see fit to tell them to the rest of us," Kim shot back. She was not going to stand by and simply take his abuse!
"The brakes ... the steering ..." he sputtered, trying to get his point across.
"If it wasn't driveable, then you should have said something," she countered. "And anyway, if you would have remembered to take your mother's prescription to the pharmacy, I wouldn't have been desperate enough to drive that hunk of junk!"
"Hunk of junk!" he roared. Then, his eyes, dark with anger, narrowed, and he glowered at her. "Is that why you took it out? To get back at me for all the time I spent fixing up that 'hunk of junk'?"
"That has to be the dumbest, most conceited thing you've ever said!" Kim snorted. "Do you really think I'm that petty and spiteful? I took it because I had no other choice."
Tommy opened his mouth to continue his tirade, when he was interrupted by Trini as she came galloping down the stairs.
"Dad ... the Mustang ...there's a tow truck backing into our driveway, and ... Mom! You're hurt! What happened?"
His daughter's words acted like a bucket of cold water poured over Tommy's head. His face went white as he released his wife. He hadn't noticed the cuts and scrapes ... the smudges, bandages and ... dried blood. He quickly guided her to a chair, fear having totally replaced his anger. "Oh God, Kim; what happened?"
"I was on my way home from your mother's," she began exhaustedly. She could feel the beginnings of shock sweeping through her. "A guy in one of those huge pick-ups ran a red light. There was no avoiding him, but I swerved and braked to minimize the damage. The brakes worked fine ... so did the steering; I couldn't have done any better had I been in my car, but Tommy ...." Finally, Kim lost her composure, and the tears she'd refused to shed began to fall. "... I wrecked the Mustang ...."
"Shh, Kim, don't worry," Tommy gulped, wrapping his arms about her and holding her close. "It's just a stupid hunk of junk. As long as you're all right ...."
~*~
"That was pretty harsh, Dad," Jay murmured at the conclusion of the tale.
"I'm not proud of the way I behaved that day," Tommy admitted, squirming guiltily.
"But you were just worried about the safety of whoever was behind the wheel," Jasmine interjected.
"That's what I tried to tell myself at the time," Tommy sighed. "I tried to justify my anger with concern ... the thought that Kim or one of the kids could be hurt in the car because of my carelessness or lack of skill was unbearable."
"After losing your best friend in a car wreck, you feared losing anyone else you loved the same way," Kat added gently.
"I wish I could say that I was that noble. I wasn't. Plain and simple, I was upset with Kim because she'd defied me, and I thought she'd done it to spite me," he confessed, hanging his head. "I mean, I didn't even notice that my wife had been hurt ...."
He simply shook his head in disgust.
"Did you ever fix up the Mustang after that?" Ramon wondered.
"No, I never did. Kim had been right all along; I'd been spending too much time on the car, neglecting the important things in my life," he sighed.
"Is that why you have a picture of the smashed-up Mustang in here?" Trini asked, flipping to the shot of the 'stupid hunk of junk' in question. "A reminder of sorts?"
"Uh huh. Whenever I feel myself getting angry, all I do is think of that night."
"How about we move on," Kat suggested, taking over the album they were
perusing. They had dwelled on the not-so-happy times long enough.
However, the photos she turned to, while of a happy occasion, were a prelude
to another heart-wrenching memory.
To Be Continued ...