Brother to Brother
Cory had just opened up the shop and was going over a watch that was about 35 years old, it had chips of rubies and emeralds in it, he was guessing an estimate of how much it was worth when the bell above the front door rang.
"Greetings and welcome to," Cory looked up, "Eric."
"Cory!" Eric grinned.
"What're you doing here?" Cory asked.
"I came by to get this for the little lady," Eric held up a fancy white dress.
"You sure it's her size," Cory said.
"Oh yeah, I went by my size and subtracted 5 inches in the waist," Eric replied.
"Okay," Cory took the dress, "Eric, I need help."
"Okay, just let me know when you get ready to tie the bow," Eric picked up a magazine.
"No, Eric, Topanga's going to have a baby," Cory told him.
"And you?" Eric asked.
"No, I'm not having a baby," Cory replied.
"I mean are you okay with it?" Eric asked.
"I'm thrilled, I'm finally going to be a father, but I'm also scared to death," Cory said.
"Why?" Eric asked.
"I just don't want to make any mistakes, you remember that time dad let you ride the roller coaster for 4 hours?" Cory asked.
"Oh yeah, best day of my life," Eric said.
"And how he always dragged us to the father/son games when we were little? And how he always came to school with the introduction.....'Heeeeeeeeere's the Grocer!' And every Christmas, we put up that crazy aluminum tree? I always felt terrible when he did those things, I don't want to make the same mistakes," Cory said.
"Cor, you remember how horrible it was for you, you know you're not going to make the same mistakes," Eric told him.
"Yeah, I'm going to be making new ones, worse than anything ever seen on My 2 Dads," Cory shrieked.
"Cor, no parent's perfect, everyone makes mistakes when raising kids, and they learn from us and learn not to make the same mistakes, it's all part of the life cycle for humans. That, and trying to get married without having to wear our parents' wedding clothes," Eric said.
"You know Eric, for the first time in your life, you're making sense, did you marry a brain surgeon?" Cory asked.
"Na, I went back to college and studied psychology, I got my bachelor's degree last January," Eric said.
"So.....how come I haven't seen you in the longest time?" Cory asked.
"I don't know, I'm busy at my job, my wife's been having seizures every 4 months, I've never been invited," Eric said.
"That never stopped you before," Cory said.
"So what're you saying?" Eric asked.
"I'm saying you would never freak in a situation like this," Cory said, "all my youth, I remember you always being so stress free, and I was always freezing."
"So what's your point?" Eric asked.
"I want to be like you," Cory said.
"Cor, you don't want to be like me," Eric said.
"Why not? You've turned out fine, all your life, you did just fine," Cory said.
"Cor, I was an idiot!" Eric said.
"No you weren't, you were a genius, you knew the natural key to making it, never worrying about petty things," Cory replied.
"Cor, your wife is having a baby, that's not a petty thing, neither is getting married, or going to college, or getting a job you're serious about and you really care about. Cory, don't you see, all my life I made the wrong choices," Eric said.
"How can you say that? You're fine!" Cory told him.
"Yeah, now, that's because three years ago, after my first wife left me, I realized I'd done the wrong things all too often. Cory, don't you get it? Bev's leaving me was a wakeup call, I had to start taking control of my own life, I couldn't depend on Mom or Dad or Mister Feeny anymore. I had to depend on myself, all those years I thought I was doing something with my life, everytime I had a problem, I just wound up going back to them. But you Cory, you were always different from me, you were always getting yourself out of trouble, coming up with your own solutions. So don't you see? If you follow my footsteps, you'll fall into so much trouble you'll never be able to get out," Eric told him.
"You did," Cory said.
"Yes, because I started off troublesome, I came out better, you started off good, if you start making my mistakes, there'll never be the end of it. Cory, you have a wonderful wife, excellent friends, and you're going to have a great baby, but if you start making my mistakes, you'll lose it all," Eric said.
"Eric, I don't get it, I thought I knew you, I recognized you as the perfect guy in school, you never did anything wrong," Cory told him.
"Oh yeah, Cor? I remember the day you were born, I asked Mom and Dad if I could hold you, they said I wasn't ready, and then when I was nine and Morgan was born, I asked if I could hold her, but they said I wasn't ready. I always figured they never let me, because I figured I was never good enough," Eric said.
"I never knew that," Cory replied.
"Yeah well, now you know...look, I hate sob stories as much as the next guy so... I've got class in about an hour, how bout after work, I come by the place and see how you and Topanga are doing?" Eric asked.
"Okay.......you know, Angela's pregnant too," Cory added.
"She's married to Shawn, I should hope," Eric responded.
"Yes," Cory nodded.
"Good, I can't think of anyone else as good for her as Shawn," Eric said.
*************************************************************************************************
"Hey hey! How about some love for the BIG Matthews man from campus?" Eric came in the front door.
"Hi Eric! Cory, you did't tell me Eric was coming by!" Topanga said.
"I didn't know myself until this morning," Cory replied.
"Yeah, I swung by the pawn shop, found a nice dress for my wife and surprise...Cory just happened to be there," Eric said.
"You're married again?" Topanga asked.
"Yep, a nice lady too, named Rebecca," Eric said.
"What's she do?" Topanga asked.
"She's a pediatrician," Eric answered.
"And what do you do?" Shawn asked.
"I'm a teacher over at the grade school...but enough about me, how are you guys?" Eric asked.
"We're doing fine," Topanga said.
"Oh yeah, Topanga, I heard about you, how's the baby?" Eric asked.
"He's coming along fine," Topanga said.
"He? It's a he?!" Cory exclaimed.
"The doctor says so, the fetus has a slower heartbeat like a boy normally does, so..." Topanga said.
"And with me, the doctor can't even tell," Angela came out.
"Angela hi! I heard about you too, how's the baby?" Eric asked.
"Just fine now, it's when I eat I gotta look out," Angela told him.
"Are you eating anything spicy?" Eric asked.
"Not lately, why?" Angela asked.
"Well, I don't want to sound rude, but if you eat anything spicy or with a lot of salt, you're going to be having morning sickness," Eric said.
"Figures," Angela replied.
"And also, for the best interest of the baby, it would also help if you stayed away from junk food for the rest of the gestation period," Eric added.
"What are you? A part-time obstatrician?" Angela asked.
"No, I've just been doing a lot of reading lately," Eric said.
"Well Eric, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've gotta work on the nursery," Shawn turned around.
"What're you working on?" Eric asked.
"Typical wallwork, painting, wallpaper, boarders, that kind of stuff," Shawn explaiend.
"I'll give you a hand," Eric told him.
"No thank you, Eric," Shawn said, remembering what a baffoon he used to be.
"No really, about a year ago I was working as an interior decorator, I specialized in nurseries," Eric said, "the couples were always so busy, they had the mother-in-law moving in, they were expecting the baby within a matter of weeks, so they hired me to finish it," Eric explained.
"Were you any good?" Shawn asked.
"Took about 28 jobs like that, every one worked successfully for me," Eric answered.
"Okay, now the thing is....we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so we're painting the walls blue, but not totally boyish blue, it's going to be like a light sky blue. But we have dark blue paint, so we're going to mix in white paint to get the light blue we want..."
"Got it, you get the rollers and the brushes, I'll start mixing the paint," Eric said.
"What just happened here?" Angela asked Topanga.
"I think Eric's starting to be helpful," Topanga nervously replied.
To be continued...
Cory had just opened up the shop and was going over a watch that was about 35 years old, it had chips of rubies and emeralds in it, he was guessing an estimate of how much it was worth when the bell above the front door rang.
"Greetings and welcome to," Cory looked up, "Eric."
"Cory!" Eric grinned.
"What're you doing here?" Cory asked.
"I came by to get this for the little lady," Eric held up a fancy white dress.
"You sure it's her size," Cory said.
"Oh yeah, I went by my size and subtracted 5 inches in the waist," Eric replied.
"Okay," Cory took the dress, "Eric, I need help."
"Okay, just let me know when you get ready to tie the bow," Eric picked up a magazine.
"No, Eric, Topanga's going to have a baby," Cory told him.
"And you?" Eric asked.
"No, I'm not having a baby," Cory replied.
"I mean are you okay with it?" Eric asked.
"I'm thrilled, I'm finally going to be a father, but I'm also scared to death," Cory said.
"Why?" Eric asked.
"I just don't want to make any mistakes, you remember that time dad let you ride the roller coaster for 4 hours?" Cory asked.
"Oh yeah, best day of my life," Eric said.
"And how he always dragged us to the father/son games when we were little? And how he always came to school with the introduction.....'Heeeeeeeeere's the Grocer!' And every Christmas, we put up that crazy aluminum tree? I always felt terrible when he did those things, I don't want to make the same mistakes," Cory said.
"Cor, you remember how horrible it was for you, you know you're not going to make the same mistakes," Eric told him.
"Yeah, I'm going to be making new ones, worse than anything ever seen on My 2 Dads," Cory shrieked.
"Cor, no parent's perfect, everyone makes mistakes when raising kids, and they learn from us and learn not to make the same mistakes, it's all part of the life cycle for humans. That, and trying to get married without having to wear our parents' wedding clothes," Eric said.
"You know Eric, for the first time in your life, you're making sense, did you marry a brain surgeon?" Cory asked.
"Na, I went back to college and studied psychology, I got my bachelor's degree last January," Eric said.
"So.....how come I haven't seen you in the longest time?" Cory asked.
"I don't know, I'm busy at my job, my wife's been having seizures every 4 months, I've never been invited," Eric said.
"That never stopped you before," Cory said.
"So what're you saying?" Eric asked.
"I'm saying you would never freak in a situation like this," Cory said, "all my youth, I remember you always being so stress free, and I was always freezing."
"So what's your point?" Eric asked.
"I want to be like you," Cory said.
"Cor, you don't want to be like me," Eric said.
"Why not? You've turned out fine, all your life, you did just fine," Cory said.
"Cor, I was an idiot!" Eric said.
"No you weren't, you were a genius, you knew the natural key to making it, never worrying about petty things," Cory replied.
"Cor, your wife is having a baby, that's not a petty thing, neither is getting married, or going to college, or getting a job you're serious about and you really care about. Cory, don't you see, all my life I made the wrong choices," Eric said.
"How can you say that? You're fine!" Cory told him.
"Yeah, now, that's because three years ago, after my first wife left me, I realized I'd done the wrong things all too often. Cory, don't you get it? Bev's leaving me was a wakeup call, I had to start taking control of my own life, I couldn't depend on Mom or Dad or Mister Feeny anymore. I had to depend on myself, all those years I thought I was doing something with my life, everytime I had a problem, I just wound up going back to them. But you Cory, you were always different from me, you were always getting yourself out of trouble, coming up with your own solutions. So don't you see? If you follow my footsteps, you'll fall into so much trouble you'll never be able to get out," Eric told him.
"You did," Cory said.
"Yes, because I started off troublesome, I came out better, you started off good, if you start making my mistakes, there'll never be the end of it. Cory, you have a wonderful wife, excellent friends, and you're going to have a great baby, but if you start making my mistakes, you'll lose it all," Eric said.
"Eric, I don't get it, I thought I knew you, I recognized you as the perfect guy in school, you never did anything wrong," Cory told him.
"Oh yeah, Cor? I remember the day you were born, I asked Mom and Dad if I could hold you, they said I wasn't ready, and then when I was nine and Morgan was born, I asked if I could hold her, but they said I wasn't ready. I always figured they never let me, because I figured I was never good enough," Eric said.
"I never knew that," Cory replied.
"Yeah well, now you know...look, I hate sob stories as much as the next guy so... I've got class in about an hour, how bout after work, I come by the place and see how you and Topanga are doing?" Eric asked.
"Okay.......you know, Angela's pregnant too," Cory added.
"She's married to Shawn, I should hope," Eric responded.
"Yes," Cory nodded.
"Good, I can't think of anyone else as good for her as Shawn," Eric said.
*************************************************************************************************
"Hey hey! How about some love for the BIG Matthews man from campus?" Eric came in the front door.
"Hi Eric! Cory, you did't tell me Eric was coming by!" Topanga said.
"I didn't know myself until this morning," Cory replied.
"Yeah, I swung by the pawn shop, found a nice dress for my wife and surprise...Cory just happened to be there," Eric said.
"You're married again?" Topanga asked.
"Yep, a nice lady too, named Rebecca," Eric said.
"What's she do?" Topanga asked.
"She's a pediatrician," Eric answered.
"And what do you do?" Shawn asked.
"I'm a teacher over at the grade school...but enough about me, how are you guys?" Eric asked.
"We're doing fine," Topanga said.
"Oh yeah, Topanga, I heard about you, how's the baby?" Eric asked.
"He's coming along fine," Topanga said.
"He? It's a he?!" Cory exclaimed.
"The doctor says so, the fetus has a slower heartbeat like a boy normally does, so..." Topanga said.
"And with me, the doctor can't even tell," Angela came out.
"Angela hi! I heard about you too, how's the baby?" Eric asked.
"Just fine now, it's when I eat I gotta look out," Angela told him.
"Are you eating anything spicy?" Eric asked.
"Not lately, why?" Angela asked.
"Well, I don't want to sound rude, but if you eat anything spicy or with a lot of salt, you're going to be having morning sickness," Eric said.
"Figures," Angela replied.
"And also, for the best interest of the baby, it would also help if you stayed away from junk food for the rest of the gestation period," Eric added.
"What are you? A part-time obstatrician?" Angela asked.
"No, I've just been doing a lot of reading lately," Eric said.
"Well Eric, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've gotta work on the nursery," Shawn turned around.
"What're you working on?" Eric asked.
"Typical wallwork, painting, wallpaper, boarders, that kind of stuff," Shawn explaiend.
"I'll give you a hand," Eric told him.
"No thank you, Eric," Shawn said, remembering what a baffoon he used to be.
"No really, about a year ago I was working as an interior decorator, I specialized in nurseries," Eric said, "the couples were always so busy, they had the mother-in-law moving in, they were expecting the baby within a matter of weeks, so they hired me to finish it," Eric explained.
"Were you any good?" Shawn asked.
"Took about 28 jobs like that, every one worked successfully for me," Eric answered.
"Okay, now the thing is....we don't know if it's a boy or a girl, so we're painting the walls blue, but not totally boyish blue, it's going to be like a light sky blue. But we have dark blue paint, so we're going to mix in white paint to get the light blue we want..."
"Got it, you get the rollers and the brushes, I'll start mixing the paint," Eric said.
"What just happened here?" Angela asked Topanga.
"I think Eric's starting to be helpful," Topanga nervously replied.
To be continued...