Six Seeds, pt. 4

By Mice

-1-

Hermes sped as fast as he could to the Underworld where Hades reluctantly told him that Persephone was in the gardens. When he arrived, all he saw Persephone with a smirking child. He called out to her, telling her that she could finally go home, barring that she had not ate or drank there.. Wordlessly, Persephone grinned as she ran towards him. The child grinned as he ran to tell Hades.

-2-

When she had attended her mother's funeral, Annie's grandmother dressed her in a pastel flowered dress that went right below her knees. She used it as her Easter dress just a month later. It was one of those special dresses that when twirled in, it's full circle skirt would make itself known. Annie had been six years-old and twirled herself into giddiness; she hadn't been close to her mother. She never really knew her - Salem Brodie was placed under psychiatric care for manic depression and substance abuse after Annie had turned one. She didn't know what else to do but twirl.

Annie gave a bit of a twirl now in her non-twirly deep green dress. It was demure and heightened her flat chest. She had been to other wakes and other funerals since her mother's, but had never found it necessary to wear black. The green in her dress was deep enough for others to guess, and that was done out of respect.

"Do I look all right?"

Bobby nodded as he slipped on a dark blue blazer, though it looked to be the same color as her dress. "You look great."

"You look like a Sears catalogue," Annie joked as she put on a pair of knock-off pear earrings.

"Well, that's where my mother bought my suit, so..."

She softened immediately. "I didn't mean--"

"I always wanted to go to an actual tailor or something, anything to give me a nice suit that would make me look not nineteen, but Mom liked Sears. And Mom was the one who bought, so..."

Annie went to wrap him in a hug. "You are still a lucky man, Bobby Drake. You have a good family. And you have a father who loves you very much."

Bobby snickered. "Well, he ain't no Yankee, that's for sure."

"That's not funny, Bobby." Annie bit her lip. "Just because he was a Yankee doesn't mean much else."

"He has a baseball card!" Bobby went to a drawer. "In fact, I have something to show you..." He withdrew a card on a mount. "Frankie Peckenpaugh, New York Yankee, Catcher." He presented the card to her. "You two look a lot alike."

Annie tossed the card on the bed quickly, not wanting to see the picture. "Yippee."

Bobby went to brush his hair once more before leaving. "Does your father still live in New York, Annie?"

"How should I know?"

Bobby kicked himself for being tactless and not being able to grasp onto clues. "Oh..."

"It's my fault, Bobby. I never told you that I wasn't close with my father...back home, it's different. Everyone knew what happened -- benefit of a small town." Annie shrugged as she picked up the card. "I've never seen this before."

"You didn't know he had a card?"

"I've never seen him before." Annie bit her lip as her eyes began to water. "My grandmother said that when my mother told him that she was pregnant, he wanted nothing to do with her. In fact, last anyone saw him, he was at the Prairie Inn and my aunt Peyton told him that my mother had a girl named Ann. And that's when he walked out." Annie turned to look at Bobby. "He didn't even leave a tip."

It was Bobby's turn to draw her into a hug. "We're not doing a good job of keeping each other from crying, are we?"

"The only thing stopping me from letting go is the fact that I don't want to ruin my eyeliner." She released Bobby and smiled. "You're going to get through this, Bobby. And I'm going to help you all I can."

He kissed her on her forehead. "Start with my tie and then tell me more about this eyeliner."

-3-

"Figures."

"What figures?"

"You'd settle for cheap grocery store cheese."

"It's good cheese."

"You have one of those fancy gourmet shops right down the street, I bet you they have great cheeses."

"I like the cheese."

"I could have brought cheese with me from home. I have something that's been in my refrigerator for three months that would have been more appealing to my palate."

"Maddy liked this cheese."

"And look what happened to Maddy. Knowing her, she only pretended to appease you. I mean, for crying out loud, Will, would a Kraft cheese be too much to ask?

William Drake was counting the minutes until his mother-in-law left. There were still so many and it gave him a headache.

"Please say that the wine isn't from a box."

"Jacob is bringing the wine."

Nan Bass grinned. If it was one thing her children knew how to do, it was alcohol selection. Jacob could make an out of this world martini by the time he was twelve. She rewarded him in olives, which he was inordinately fond of. Never asked for the martini, though, the pour boy, Nan thought.

She also thought how nice it would be if Jacob brought nice, expensive cheese. Or anyone for that matter.

"Nan?" Bobby Drake called out. Annie stalled by the door, not wanting to enter. "Come, on Annie, you'll love her!"

"I'm not worried about your grandmother, Bobby."

He looked at her.

"Okay, I am, but this is just bringing back some bad memories. Remember the last time I was here?"

Bobby nodded, remembering having to cart Annie off to the hospital to find out what was wrong with her. It was so soon after his mother that Bobby felt that he couldn't breathe. "Nothing bad is going to happen."

"Robert!" Nan called as she entered the Drake foyer.

Bobby gave her a bag from a local winery. "I don't want to hear any cheese arguments. And I promise you that not one of these cheeses cost less than three dollars an ounce."

Nan planted a large kiss on her grandson's cheek. "Make your Nan happy and change your last name to Bass."

"Heh heh, no." Bobby motioned for Annie to move further in. "Nan, this is my girlfriend."

Annie waved demurely from the door frame. She suddenly felt like she was on an episode of Wild Kingdom and that she was a gazelle about to be devoured by the lioness. Bobby was right, she should have worried about meeting his grandmother more.

"Come here, girl. Don't let that nasty Long Island air in here, though who am I, the Angelino, to talk."

Annie inched her way in, quickly tonguing her teeth to make sure they were clean enough to smile with.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Annie."

Nan immediately frowned. "Angina is not an appropriate name for a girl like you."

Annie's eyes flew wide. "Did Bobby tell you that? Because then I must kill him, and I'll be very sad to do so."

"Call it intuition, girl." Nan brought her fingers to her lips to think. "You are going to be a tricky one. I'll get back to you." Nan patted Bobby's shoulder and took the cheeses. "Lovely girl, though."

Annie stared at Bobby until he talked. "Would you believe that I come from a family of empaths?"

Annie thought about it. She believed it. She stared at Bobby more.

"And that one of my Nan's chief joys in life is to rename people she likes?"

"So she likes me?"

"Maybe. Once she renamed one of Cliff's boyfriends "Adolph", so we'll see."

The door opened once more and Jacob Bass stood in the room. "Hey, Bobby. Could you see that Nan gets these cheeses before her and William get into it?"

-4-

The Drake home was not a large home. It was a modest middle class home nestled in the middle class neighborhood in Long Island. It was something of pride to William who paid for it himself. It was his domain, his castle, his refuge. However, at this moment, it was more confining than wherever Maddy was now. Assembled in this room was his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law with his estranged wife that was once his lover that may or may have not had another child by him. Also here was his nephew who he had already called a variety of unflattering names and even when he stopped and just said them in his head, he still saw the long haired hippie glare at him, like he was doing right now. He was dating some yellow haired Chink--and he was now practically growling at him.

William turned his attention someplace else. Julia Lubbock was here, looking just as exquisite as he remembered when he was trying to court her sister Jacqueline. She, of course, was here with her "life partner", Claudia.

Also assembled was his niece, Holland, her son, "insert minority name here", and some young man he had never seen before. Holland had also dyed her hair some sort of purplish-red for some unknown reason. She was also smiling. This made William a bit sad, as he could always count on his niece to throw some sort of tantrum and divert the attention from him.

His son and his girlfriend were there as well. William did not have a high opinion of this one. She appeared to be normal, but then Bobby told him about where she grew up and it made him angry. Just what his son needed, to throw his life away on a piece of white trash.

The worst part for William was that everyone looked at him as if they knew. He didn't know what they did know -- the list of crimes against him was immense -- but they just seemed to know the worst while drinking their wine and their cheese.

Oh, yes. Their cheese. Every last one of them brought expensive cheese. His son's whore was lapping up the cheese happily, who he supposed never had anything more expensive than a McDonald's Value Meal in her life.

William went to the door to get away from the crowd when he saw a large man on his porch. "Well?" he asked.

"Greetings, Mr. Drake. It's nice to see you again, though not under these circumstances."

"Who are you?"

"Hank. I'm Bobby's friend."

"Oh. The doctor one."

Hank nodded. "Yes. I'm sure if I were on Three's Company, that's exactly who I'd be referred to as."

William nodded slowly, hesitant to join his world. "Bobby's in there with that girl."

Hank blinked. "How do you mean?"

"Have you seen her?" William hooted. "She's some sort of piece of white trash that he picked up in Wyoming. Lives in New York now. Can't imagine doing what, since Guiliani cleaned up this town, if you know what I mean."

Hank steadied himself. He was a gentleman. "No."

"Well, you will when you see the tight dress she has on. This is my wife's wake and she's practically giving a free show when she sits down--"

Hank corrected himself. He wasn't a gentleman. And he corrected it by connecting his fist into William Drake's head.

-5-

Hank and Bobby had carried and placed William on the sofa. Hank had tended to his wounds, apologizing for his display of savagery.

"I don't care, I just want you people to stop hitting me!" William shouted, notably to his brother-in-law Jacob.

"Ya hit Willie?" Hollis Lubbock, Jacob's estranged wife asked in awe.

Nan hid her smile.

"Ah bet you didn't think he could do that, Holl," Julia Lubbock tossed to her sister.

"I'm sorry," Hank offered once more. "But he really was out of line."

"My wife just died!" William shouted. "I've been punched out twice in three weeks, my good shoes are ruined, I don't know how to do my laundry, I'm sick of having to order take out, my son is making another huge mistake, and I like my cheese!"

The room was silent for a moment out of respect until Bobby piped up. "Wait a minute, I'm what now?"

Hank growled. "I remember why I punched you now..." Hank advanced over to William once again, but was stopped by Annie.

"And I see why you punched me. Getting some on the side?"

Hank and Annie went red as Bobby stormed out of the room with Jubilee on his heels.

Nan turned to Harpo. "Now you see why we don't invite him to the reunions."

-6-

Jubilee found Bobby fuming while power walking around the block. "You know, it's a good thing that you're so short. If you were six foot, I'd never be able to catch up with you...well, not by simply running. Actually, it wasn't running, it was more of a sprightly jog...invigorating, really."

Bobby hmmphed.

"So your dad's being a jerk. Same old story, right?"

"Yeah."

Jubilee nodded. "Oh, new story, different guy. Someone bigger and bluer?"

"Maybe."

"And a freckled girl?"

He growled. It wasn't something he did regularly, but it seemed appropriate.

"Nothing happened though..."

Bobby stopped walking. "Not for lack of trying." Bobby punched the air. "I know her, Jubilee, and I know Hank a damn site better, and I know that it wasn't for a lack of trying. Do you think that I don't know why she's with me?" Bobby pointed to himself. "She feels sorry for me. And she needs me. And she knows that I would do anything for her...but I know that's never going to be enough for her. She's going to get bored again and dump me. And who for? My best friend." Bobby looked directly into her eyes. "That's who I am. That's my only function for women, to be used."

"Despite your fantasies, Drake, you are not a boy toy." Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Bobby, I'm going to tell you something that if you ever tell anyone else that I said it, I will deny it." Jubilee took in a deep breath. "You care so much about other people, Bobby. So much that sometimes you can't even catch it. And you're very sensitive and your feelings are easily hurt and you go around, goofing off, so people can't tell that you are hurt. I've seen you hurt, Bobby. And I know you don't deserve it."

Bobby blinked a few times before responding. "That was insightful. But, and I don't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, in all my relationships, I've always felt that I've had to compensate emotionally."

"What do you mean?"

Bobby blushed. "You know..." He shook his head. "Why am I telling a sixteen year-old this?"

"I'm seventeen, now, and I know...you know?"

"You and Harpo...?"

Jubilee nodded. "You're not going to kill him?"

"Can't. He's family."

"Well, that's good." Jubilee thought out her words carefully before speaking. "Bobby, if you give emotionally what you give physically, I don't think any one of your girlfriends could ever be unsatisfied."

"His code name is "Beast", for God's sake! That doesn't stack up to an Iceman." Bobby pulled out an Altoid tin from his pocket and put a mint in his mouth.

"Bobby, I'm sure you know what you're doing in bed."

"Right, because I'm asking a seventeen year-old for sex tips." Bobby sat himself down in strange grass. "I don't mean to drag you there. I'm just worried that it's all out of my control."

Jubilee joined him on the grass. "Bobby, take it from me, if something happens that's too good to be true, take it and enjoy it for what it is and don't worry about what it will be tomorrow. It ruins the intimacy of the moment." Jubilee made a face. "Do you see what you have me doing, Drake? It's like my mind is set to Hallmark instead of snark!"

-7-

Annie and Hank sat in Bobby's Ford Festiva. It looked like a clown car in comparison to Hank's size, but the seriousness of the moment kept them from giggling.

"He doesn't trust me, Annie."

"Well, he doesn't trust me, either, apparently."

Hank pouted. "I was rather hoping that he had reason to."

Annie swallowed. "Don't do that."

Hank let out a breath he had been holding onto for a week. "Why him, Annie? Why on earth did you decide on him?"

"When Bobby and I first...consummated our relationship, he told me something and it made me feel exquisitely beautiful." She turned and looked at Hank. "He told me that I was his "Ivy Greeneth". He said that it was an anagram, and then when you and I were talking at the bar, I figured it out."

"Everything. You're his everything."

Annie nodded. "And after what I've gone through, I never thought I'd be anyone's anything. And I know that if anyone on this earth can be true to me, it's Bobby." She took his hand. "That's not to say that your untrustworthy--"

"Except that I am. I came on to you." Hank let out a laugh. "I even let you drink when you've been on an empty stomach for three days the night before your surgery!"

"Hank--"

"My motives were far from pure, Annie." He looked at himself at the side view mirror. "You probably made the better choice. Bobby would never cheat on you or hurt you in any way. I'd probably come to neglect you for my work. You need someone who'll be there."

"You're being hard on yourself. I knew what I was doing, too."

Silence clung in the Ford Festiva like the odor of the discarded fast food containers in the back seat.

"Talking about this isn't making it easier for me," Hank added after the silence became too heavy. "And I don't think it's a good idea for me to be alone with you."

Annie felt herself flush with that. "It probably isn't." She hated herself for it. Bobby was a great boyfriend, but just an adequate lover. Bobby never made her feel like that even after extensive touching. "I'm going to leave before I do something we both regret." Annie opened the car door and let herself out. "Are you getting out, Hank?"

"You go in first. I want to think."

Annie nodded and left for the house again, leaving Hank alone.

"This is not good, Hank," he told himself. His hands fumbled around in the small car to look for some sort mints to distract him from thinking about what he really wanted to think about. He succeeded with one of Bobby's numerous Altoid tins. Hank deposited it in his pocket, remembering that Bobby had purloined each and every one of his Altoid tins, even the one's he marked in black permanent marker, "HANK'S". In fact, this was one of them.

-8-

Annie went straight to Bobby in the living room and kissed him. "Hey."

Bobby took her hand and nodded quietly.

"I'm going to get some wine, do you want some more?"

Bobby swallowed his glass and nodded again.

Annie made her way to the cheese and wine table when she felt eyes on the back of her.

"Diana."

She turned around and found Nan Bass behind her. "What was that?"

"Goddess of the Hunt and Chase. It suits you fine."

Annie let her eyes sink to the floor. "Oh."

Nan put a hand on her shoulder. "You're in a tough situation, Diana."

"Your "intuition"?"

"I'll warn you right now, everyone in my family has it." Nan motioned with her drink. "Even Bobby, or at least he did." She took Annie by the hand and led her to the kitchen. "You are not a bad girl. I get where you're coming from."

"Are you going to yell at me? I didn't do anything, I swear!"

Nan laughed. "For having thoughts? Please." She sliced herself a piece of exquisite cheese. "Diana, you're a very young woman. You're not turning twenty-four for another two weeks. And already you are pressuring yourself with these thoughts...you're a young woman. Capable of doing many things that have nothing to do with men." Nan pointed at Annie's head. "There is so much potential swimming up there. I bet that you could help so many people if you'd stop worrying about who you are going to share your bed with. Cheese?"

Annie declined.

"I never knew my father, either." Nan shook her head. "I think that maybe he was around when I was a tot, but I don't remember much. I know he left us. And I know that when a parent leaves a child, for whatever reason, it hurts that child more than what's on the surface." Nan pointed to her granddaughter. "That's my Jacqueline. My recent success story. Her mother left when she was still young for reasons that weren't very good. She was the angriest girl that you could imagine. She made mistakes and thought that no one could ever love her because her mother didn't. Bitterness and bad naming did that. I'm going to see to it that her son, who also doesn't know who his father is, never feels that.

"And Bobby...he had a father that his mother married because she had to prove something to herself. That was never love, that was a competition. My Maddy hated to lose. And while Will was here physically, you think he was here in any other way?

"You see, Diana, you're not alone."

Annie let out a breath. "I'm not the only one with a bad name."

Nan looked around and made a sign for Annie to be quiet. She then pointed to her self and said, "Dorothy."

"What? Oh. Oh!"

"As soon as I left home, I ditched that sucker. There was a girl in kindergarten named Hannah and I thought it was the most exquisite name. I'm not saying things got magically better after I gave myself a new name, but I am." Nan sat down her glass of wine and motioned for Annie to come closer. "If I'm harsh, it's because that's the woman I've grown into. I've had to fight to become who I am. Most people, Diana, have to search long and hard to figure out what it is that they are supposed to do. Some never find out. I know what I have to do."

"You had a radio show?"

Nan smiled. "Among other things, but that was just something I did for money, not for humanity. What I do for humanity is force it to look itself in the eye and admit that they are unhappy. Admit that they are doing things to get by day to day. And that's no way to live."

Annie nodded. "I am unhappy. And I don't know what to do."

Nan took Annie into her arms and embraced her. "You will soon, Diana."

-9-

Bobby tried in vain to go for the olives his uncle was hording. "Please, Jacob? Just one of the green ones?"

"But those are the best ones."

"Then a black one."

"Those are also the best ones. You can have a green tomato..."

"Those are the worst ones."

"Which is why you can have it." Jacob let out a small laugh as he let Bobby to the olives. "That's something you and I share. Your mother hated olives."

"I remember when you lived down the street that I'd go over and ask you to give me some olives. We'd eat them on your back porch."

Jacob smiled. "I'm glad you remember that." Jacob took another olive off the plate and popped it into his mouth. "I'm glad you remember something positive from all that."

Bobby shrugged. "It wasn't all bad."

"It was for me." Jacob looked at his estranged wife who was talking to her daughter across the room. "Bobby, I want to tell you something and I don't want you to be cross with me."

"What is it?"

"Don't settle when it comes to women."

Bobby blinked. "What?"

"I settled. Look what happened."

"I thought that you and Hollis...well, that you were infatuated with her."

Jacob shook his head. "Crazy thing about her family -- the girls all look a lot alike. There's a set of twins in there, but they look like Hollis. I was in love with one of those twins, and when she died, I should have stopped. Instead, I let myself be used."

Bobby flinched at the term.

"Promise me, Bobby...promise that you're not going to make the mistake that your mother and I did. She went after someone who wasn't what she thought, and I went after someone who looked the part." Jacob wiped his hand on a napkin. "There doesn't need to be another one of us who unhappy for the majority of his life."

-10-

Hollis Lubbock-Bass took a white gloved hand to her throat. "You've done what now?"

"Well, you your credit card with me. And I figured that since you never bought me my first tampons, my prom dress, or a baby shower gift, that you owed me."

"Didn't anyone ask for ID?"

"We basically have the same name, and my drivers license says "HOLL SUZANNE BASS". Nobody ever questioned it." Holland Bass smiled. Most daughters would get smacked for saying what she did, but most daughters didn't have a mother who left them for material reasons. "You should be happy, Mom, I used it enough to make sure I never have a unibrow." She motioned to her lovely brow line. "And the clothes? Nice. When I go perform, I--"

"You perform?" Hollis pursed her lips as if having tasted lemon extract. "What?"

"I sing. Nan's been helping me a lot -- she still has a lot of connections."

"So you're neglecting your son?"

That was met with an icy gaze.

"All right, that Ah deserve."

"If you must know, Bert spends time with Jack."

Hollis blinked. "Who?"

"Jack." Holland beamed. "My boyfriend."

"Where did ya find this one?"

"Oh, I didn't. It's a funny story, really! Nan took him in after he lost his apartment--"

"He was homeless?"

Holland smiled. She could have told the truth, but this was so much better. "Yes."

"Excuse me, but Ah think Ah have the vapors..."

-12-

Bobby sat next to his father. "How are you feeling, Dad?"

"Miserable, you?"

Bobby cocked his head. "Feelin' fine."

"Hmmph."

"You didn't have to insult Annie, you know."

"It's not her personally, Bobby..." William trailed off. "I hate this part."

"What part?"

"I didn't want your mother to die first. I should have gotten to, and your mother should have gotten a second chance at finding a better man." William's frown formed into a grimace. "That was my biggest hope for your mother. I didn't deserve her."

Bobby put a hand on his father's shoulder. "But she wanted you."

William looked in his son's eyes. "You found out?"

Bobby nodded slowly. "Jacob gave me her diary. I know a lot."

"So you know it's my fault."

Bobby shook his head. "She didn't know any better. Just like Jacob." Bobby looked over to Annie. "Just like me." Bobby looked at his father and his guilty countenance. "And she knew, too."

William burrowed his eyebrows. "About?"

"She knew why Hollis left."

"She knew about the affair."

"She knew that Hollis was pregnant and that it was yours."

William took a deep breath. "I didn't know that. I didn't even know until a while ago."

"So..." Bobby began it tenderly. He had only gotten to that section of his mother's journal the other night and hadn't even spoken to Annie about it. "Do I have a brother? Sister? What's their name?"

William shook his head. "You don't."

"It's an It? Like a hermaphrodite?"

"She had an abortion."

Bobby swallowed his, "Oh," and all the disappointment that went with it. When he had read that section in his mother's journal, all that excitement he has a kid in wanting a brother or sister came back. And just as sudden as it came, it went.

"You're disappointed?"

"Yeah."

"Me too."

-13-

"Annie, we have to leave."

Annie stared at Hank as if he said, "Annie, there is an extemporaneous arm growing out of your forehead."

Hank leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "We've found her."

"Emily?"

Hank made a motion to the door. "Boston."

"Let me tell Bobby first." Hank nodded as she left to the other room. "Bobby?"

Bobby turned his attention from his father to his girlfriend. "What's wrong?"

Annie looked at Bobby's father and then back at him. "Remember that doctor I've been meaning to see? Well, she finally has an appointment open and I need to go to her office."

Bobby didn't quite smile as he took her and pulled her into a hug. "Are you ready for this?"

"I can't put it behind me until I do." She gave Bobby a quick kiss and ran her fingers along his neck. "Wish me luck?"

Bobby smiled. "And more."