Chapter Four
As soon as Peter saw Mary Jane, MJ nearly dropped all of the Mason jars on the floor in surprise when she looked right back.
"Peter?" she asked dumbfounded, "What are you doing here?"
Peter just looked at her. She changed a lot in those two years that they haven't seen each other. Her hair and dress were of a more conservative style. Her once "hair down" style was now up in a French braid and the à la mode clothing that she always used to wear now changed into conventional stylishness. MJ started to shift uneasily as the weight of the jars was putting a strain on her arms in addition to the way Peter was looking at her. She looked at him and walked past him to put the jars down on the table. Peter turned to face MJ again and she stammered.
"Uh, I thought you weren't going to be here." She said as started to take out some of the jars out of the cardboard box.
Peter leaned against an oak cabinet and nodded, "Yeah, well, I am."
MJ nodded, studying his indifferent look. She sighed, turned away from him and murmured to her mother who was already engaged in conversation with Aunt May.
"I'll get the rest of the jars."
MJ hurried out of the house and closed the door a bit too loudly. Emily Watson looked at May with concern and followed her daughter out of the house. May looked at Peter with an austere look when both of them left the house.
"Peter! Could you be a little more insensitive?"
Peter looked at his aunt in indignation, "Me? I'm not the one that doesn't want me here!"
"Peter-" Aunt May said with strain, "stop being a ninny." Peter rolled his eyes and fell into a dinette chair.
"Look, Peter," May started, "I invited you both here today so you can get reacquainted and to also meet her new step-father to-be. I also thought it would be good for you and Mary Jane. You haven't seen her since Mr. Osbourne's funeral, you know."
Peter hid his face in his hands and sighed a deep sigh, "I wish you didn't do that."
May looked a her nephew with skepticism, "Why not?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Well, help me to understand!" she said in a burst of emotion, "Help me Peter. I want to understand you. I want to know why you're always so upset and depressed and-"
"I'm not depressed."
May shook her head and got up from the table. "Peter, you are going to can whether you like to or not with Mary Jane. If you're not depressed, show it."
Peter looked away from his aunt as the front door opened. Mary Jane and her mother came into the kitchen and Emily smiled a colossal smile that countered her daughter's insipidness.
"Let the canning begin!"
***
It had been one hour of canning awkwardness. Peter and MJ were facing each other at the kitchen table doing their individual jobs. Peter was peeling off the tomato skins from the tomatoes and making runs back and forth to the stove area to get boiled tomatoes to their table. MJ was doing most of the pitting and cutting of the tomatoes. The progress of canning tomatoes is to strip the skins of the tomatoes, pit them, cut them up and place the cut pieces and juice into a pot were they will be heated later and placed in Mason jars. In that hour of sitting at the table and doing their work, they did not speak one word to each other.
May and Emily were in the kitchen, heating the contents and putting them into the jars. During that process, they talked about everything from the home to Peter and MJ's education and career plans.
"It seems that Mary Jane has had a change of heart concerning her career plans. She wants to go into journalism now."
"That's wonderful!" Aunt May started, "What about acting?"
"Well," Emily said, "Hobby for now, I'm guessing."
During this conversation, Peter and MJ continued to give each other quick glances when one guardian was talking about one of them. Rick Thompson entered the dinette, the area of the house where MJ and Peter were, and sat down next to MJ with a pretzel stick hanging out of his mouth.
"Hey Mary Jane! How are you doing?" MJ gave Rick a forged smile.
"Well, okay," he said with hesitation, "Who is this, your boyfriend?"
MJ looked at him with repugnance, "No! That's just Peter, a guy from my high school class."
"Oh, okay." Rick said, unsure of what to say next. "Um, I'll go check on your mother."
Rick left, leaving Peter to ponder on what MJ said. Getting out his pondering, he saw MJ stabbing the skinless tomato that was in front of her. Peter frowned as he continued to skin the tomatoes repeating the words that haunted him-"That's just Peter."
***
Another hour passed and Peter and MJ did not talk. Rick, Emily and MJ left with no incident. Peter and MJ just looked at each other with indifference and formality, which alarmed May a great deal. After they left, Peter went to clean the kitchen and stove. Soon after accomplishing that, he ran up to his room and May didn't see him again until the morning after.
As soon as Peter saw Mary Jane, MJ nearly dropped all of the Mason jars on the floor in surprise when she looked right back.
"Peter?" she asked dumbfounded, "What are you doing here?"
Peter just looked at her. She changed a lot in those two years that they haven't seen each other. Her hair and dress were of a more conservative style. Her once "hair down" style was now up in a French braid and the à la mode clothing that she always used to wear now changed into conventional stylishness. MJ started to shift uneasily as the weight of the jars was putting a strain on her arms in addition to the way Peter was looking at her. She looked at him and walked past him to put the jars down on the table. Peter turned to face MJ again and she stammered.
"Uh, I thought you weren't going to be here." She said as started to take out some of the jars out of the cardboard box.
Peter leaned against an oak cabinet and nodded, "Yeah, well, I am."
MJ nodded, studying his indifferent look. She sighed, turned away from him and murmured to her mother who was already engaged in conversation with Aunt May.
"I'll get the rest of the jars."
MJ hurried out of the house and closed the door a bit too loudly. Emily Watson looked at May with concern and followed her daughter out of the house. May looked at Peter with an austere look when both of them left the house.
"Peter! Could you be a little more insensitive?"
Peter looked at his aunt in indignation, "Me? I'm not the one that doesn't want me here!"
"Peter-" Aunt May said with strain, "stop being a ninny." Peter rolled his eyes and fell into a dinette chair.
"Look, Peter," May started, "I invited you both here today so you can get reacquainted and to also meet her new step-father to-be. I also thought it would be good for you and Mary Jane. You haven't seen her since Mr. Osbourne's funeral, you know."
Peter hid his face in his hands and sighed a deep sigh, "I wish you didn't do that."
May looked a her nephew with skepticism, "Why not?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Well, help me to understand!" she said in a burst of emotion, "Help me Peter. I want to understand you. I want to know why you're always so upset and depressed and-"
"I'm not depressed."
May shook her head and got up from the table. "Peter, you are going to can whether you like to or not with Mary Jane. If you're not depressed, show it."
Peter looked away from his aunt as the front door opened. Mary Jane and her mother came into the kitchen and Emily smiled a colossal smile that countered her daughter's insipidness.
"Let the canning begin!"
***
It had been one hour of canning awkwardness. Peter and MJ were facing each other at the kitchen table doing their individual jobs. Peter was peeling off the tomato skins from the tomatoes and making runs back and forth to the stove area to get boiled tomatoes to their table. MJ was doing most of the pitting and cutting of the tomatoes. The progress of canning tomatoes is to strip the skins of the tomatoes, pit them, cut them up and place the cut pieces and juice into a pot were they will be heated later and placed in Mason jars. In that hour of sitting at the table and doing their work, they did not speak one word to each other.
May and Emily were in the kitchen, heating the contents and putting them into the jars. During that process, they talked about everything from the home to Peter and MJ's education and career plans.
"It seems that Mary Jane has had a change of heart concerning her career plans. She wants to go into journalism now."
"That's wonderful!" Aunt May started, "What about acting?"
"Well," Emily said, "Hobby for now, I'm guessing."
During this conversation, Peter and MJ continued to give each other quick glances when one guardian was talking about one of them. Rick Thompson entered the dinette, the area of the house where MJ and Peter were, and sat down next to MJ with a pretzel stick hanging out of his mouth.
"Hey Mary Jane! How are you doing?" MJ gave Rick a forged smile.
"Well, okay," he said with hesitation, "Who is this, your boyfriend?"
MJ looked at him with repugnance, "No! That's just Peter, a guy from my high school class."
"Oh, okay." Rick said, unsure of what to say next. "Um, I'll go check on your mother."
Rick left, leaving Peter to ponder on what MJ said. Getting out his pondering, he saw MJ stabbing the skinless tomato that was in front of her. Peter frowned as he continued to skin the tomatoes repeating the words that haunted him-"That's just Peter."
***
Another hour passed and Peter and MJ did not talk. Rick, Emily and MJ left with no incident. Peter and MJ just looked at each other with indifference and formality, which alarmed May a great deal. After they left, Peter went to clean the kitchen and stove. Soon after accomplishing that, he ran up to his room and May didn't see him again until the morning after.