Blue Heaven
By Spruceton Spook
Part 12
No Girls Allowed
"I don't get it," Ash wondered as he propped his feet up on the coffee table. "If they really want him to give Iowa a try, why're they telling him how stubborn and rude they are?"
Misty shrugged. "Well, the whole town did come to greet him in song," she replied matter-of-factly. "I mean, what more could you want?"
"Hmmm," Brock mumbled, a speculating look skewing his face. "How come no towns ever greet us in song?"
"The day a town greets us in song," Ash declared humorously, "is the day I'll officially turn in my trainer's license."
Misty snickered. "Sure you would."
Ash smiled, but his perplexed face returned. "Seriously, though, it doesn't make sense!" he said, gesturing towards the television outrageously. "Why are they doing that?"
"Oh, quiet and watch the movie, would you? I can't hear the song!" Misty yelled, getting up from her slacked position to toss a pillow in Ash's direction. It strayed off course, however, and wound up smacking Jay squarely in the side of the head.
"Oops!" she cried, covering her silly grin. Jay, who happened to be sitting between the two on the couch, gave her a facetious glare.
"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" he said, grabbing the pillow and beginning to playfully whack her with it.
"No, no, I don't! Ahh! Help!" She broke into pleading giggles, holding up her hands to ward him off as he, as well as Ash and Brock, laughed heartily.
It was late evening, the end to a long and busy day. They were hardly tired, however, and it showed considerably in their frivolous temperaments. Watching television was the last thing that could have satisfied their need to rid themselves of the extra energy before bed, but as soon as they incidentally discovered the The Music Man was on, engaging in any other activity was quickly out of the question.
They were having a wonderful time delighting in the musical, laughing and joking to no extent. And it was only the first half-hour. Delia, who had been listening to them fool around for that time, as well as for the entire day itself, emerged from the bathroom. Unlike the rest of her family, she was all ready for bed, her weariness painted clearly on her sagging face.
Her eyes swept over the jovial scene before her, and the smile that she produced came easily. It was so great to see them all so happy and enlivened, a feeling that she found ever so difficult to attain in the past week. In fact, the week had done nothing good for her. The burden of sadness over her loss was not lifting, despite all she tried to get her mind off it. Nothing was helping—not working, gardening, spending time with the kids, cooking, trying to complete some of the last minute plans for the reception—nothing. And above all, her discouraging trip to the doctor's had not comforted her in the least.
Delia would have liked an answer—a straightforward, direct reason for her misfortune. It wouldn't have done any good now, in any event. There was no way that could allow her to go back and fix what was wrong. But she wanted an answer. Her doctor couldn't provide this as easily as wished, but at least she'd gained the small feeling of relief in the fact that there was nothing discernably wrong with her; she was not unhealthy. An afflicted embryo and the overwhelming presence of strain and hard work fell among the explanations for the miscarriage, neither of which she challenged. With condolences, her doctor released her, alleviating her of all but her crushing grief. That was up to her to overcome.
Of course, she knew that talking about it, confiding in her family, was the best thing to do. She just couldn't, though. Every time she looked at Jay, she wanted nothing more than to run to his arms and reveal her horrid experience, but something was holding her back. It was such devastating, terrible news, something she was not looking forward to disclosing—especially to Ash, but even more so to her husband. The first time she had miscarried, Delia swore it had impacted Jay more than her. Recalling his deep melancholy over the event six years ago sent shivers up her spine. She didn't want to put him through that again. Perhaps...perhaps it were better if he didn't even know...
She had a sinking feeling, however, that it wasn't going to be kept bottled up for long. Desperately, she tried to hide her emotions. She found concentration difficult, smiling difficult, relaxing difficult...her intimacy with Jay difficult. It worried her most of all that Jay had suspected something the other night when she'd refused his advances. She hadn't completely lied, as she had said she wasn't feeling very well, but she chose to omit the underlying reason as to why she was utterly terrified. With the chance of getting pregnant again came the foreboding chance of miscarrying again. And that was something Delia knew she could never, ever endure again.
Her silent entrance into the room grabbed her son's attention, who looked positively enthralled to see her. "Mom, look!" he exclaimed, pointing at the television. "The Music Man is on. Come watch!"
A smile curved tenderly on her dry lips. "Aw, baby, not tonight. I'm going to go to bed," she replied.
Ash's face fell. "Oh, c'mon!" he persuaded. "You love The Music Man! Look, they're gonna do Ya Got Trouble in a minute! Come watch it!"
Misty, Brock, and Jay turned to give her coaxing looks as well, but as much as Delia wanted to comply, she couldn't. With her heart set so much on getting into a warm bed and ridding her mind—if just temporarily—of her unending mourning, not even one of her favorite movies and Ash's luminous face could draw her in.
"Sweetheart," she said softly, "I would love to, you know that, but I'm really tired. Some other time, okay? I promise. Just not tonight . . . I'm not up for it right now."
In spite of his disappointment, Ash smiled understandably. "All right."
"Good night," she whispered affably. She came over, gave him a quick kiss, and ruffled his hair. "Don't go to bed too late, okay?"
Ash nodded, tugging on her bathrobe longingly for just a moment before she gently pulled away. Bidding the others a good night, she left, keeping them in sight until she made it up the stairs. She felt a little guilty for not joining them, most of all Ash, but she knew there was no way she could make it through the whole movie. As she reached her soft bed and climbed in, she no longer thought about it. Thwarted by sleepiness, she relaxed in the tranquil solitude, the muffled sounds of the others' laughter below, and waited for sleep to take over.
Jay and the kids didn't tire out at all from the movie. If anything, it made them more rambunctious, as commercial breaks threw them into fits of capricious frenzy, darting to and from the kitchen to grab more snacks and drinks. They giggled the whole time, but tried as best they could to keep the noise down. Jay admonished them repeatedly that Delia was trying to sleep, but even he had to keep his loud, playful voice in check a few times.
This commercial break, however, was not spent in the kitchen rummaging for food. Instead, Ash and Misty were facing off, each on either side of the couch, their eyes blazing into the other's—Ash's full of mischief and Misty's of gleeful insult. Ash was light and alert on his toes, eager to use the makeshift barrier to keep himself safe from Misty's wrath. And yet the taunting comments continued to spill from his mouth. He didn't seem to mind; Misty's touchy attitude was too priceless for him to care.
"Ash, I swear to God," she warned, her grin making the threat and the pointed finger directed his way useless. "Don't you dare call me that again!"
Ash just laughed friskily. "But it's your name!" he argued. "Why can't I call you who you are...Ethel?"
"Ash!" Misty bellowed, trying to dart around the couch to make a swipe at him. He yelped playfully and jumped away, leaving her grabbing for air. They made a complete circle around the couch, ending up in the positions they started off in.
"I'm warning you...shut up," Misty grumbled, giving him an intimidating glare. Ash's silly face was unwavering—he was having a ball. Of course he knew comparing Misty to Ethel Tufflemeyer, the plump, clumsy girl with flamboyantly big hair from the movie, wasn't going to settle well with her...but he was doing it, anyway.
"Warning me of what?" he retorted, putting on a facetious look of angelic innocence. "I just said that I didn't know they cast you for this movie! How come you never told me about it...Ethel?"
"Uggggh!" Misty growled. Their laughs resounded through the house as she tore after him again. "Get over here, I'm gonna kill you!"
They ran around the couch a few more times, Pikachu and Togepi springing on the cushions and cheering on the chase happily. Brock rushed in from the kitchen to laugh at the display himself, and even made an attempt to catch Ash just to witness the fun of Misty getting her hands on him. Ash managed to maneuver from his grasp, but Misty gained dangerously on his lead.
"Eth-el, Eth-el!" he chanted, indulging in the look of spirited fury that glimmered in her eyes. He screamed as she almost seized him, and in the next instant he dashed up the stairs, Misty hot on his heels.
"Ash, cut it out!" she guffawed, having no intentions whatsoever of letting him get away with this. "Shut up!"
"Hey, you two!" Jay called as their feet trampled the staircase loudly. He ran out from the kitchen to witness them disappear on the second floor. "Quiet down! Mom's sleeping! Hey!"
They didn't pay any attention. Ash ran as fast as he could, hoping to reach his room and lock himself in before Misty caught him. He knew that was impossible, though, as he could feel her right on his tail, sending shivers up his spine. Bursting into his room, he hurdled over one of the rollaway beds, his giddy laughs hardly diminishing, while Misty stopped at the doorway, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Please don't hurt me, Ethel," Ash begged, tapping the tips of his fingers together.
"Only if you stop calling me that, Ash. I mean it, I swear."
"Calling you what, Ethel?"
"Oh, that's it!" Misty screeched, not realizing just how loud her voice was. She was having too much of a good time, flustered over Ash's derisive actions or not, to pay any mind to it. Quickly, she closed the door and locked it, cocking her head haughtily.
"There. Now no one can come in and save you while I strangle you!"
With that, she bounded towards him. Ash held out his arms in defense, but it was no match. Misty jumped him, and the two went down together on the bed, Ash squawking as the force from her weight knocked the wind out of him.
"Get offa me, get off!" he hollered, laughing chaotically. He was red in the face from the tumult.
Misty just responded by pressing all her weight against his shoulders and her knees into his stomach, detaining him helplessly.
"Not until you stop calling me that," she reasoned in a sing-song voice, flashing him an insidious grin.
"No!" Ash cried defiantly, only to receive numerous hard shoves deeper into the mattress. The springs of the bed crooned, but were easily outmatched by his deafening wails of laughter and protest. "I won't, I won't!"
"Oh, yes you will!" Misty returned, reaching over to snatch the pillow. Ash let out a yelp as she mashed it decisively into his face, smothering back his laughs and cries. All that came from his struggling form were muffled grunts as his arms and legs flew about precariously.
Misty laughed freely as she watched and felt him squirm beneath her. After a few moments, she let the pillow up, and gazed expectantly into his tearing eyes.
"If you apologize, I'll let you go," she told him.
"Wh-what?" Ash replied through gasps for breath. He chuckled, almost as if her intention was ridiculous. "No way! No, no, wait—!"
The pillow came down on his face again, and Misty hummed in soft ignorance as Ash strove to free himself furiously.
She graciously allowed a lung-full of air to the flushed boy. "What's my name?"
Panting, Ash gave her a brassy smile. "Ethel!" he replied perversely. Down came the pillow for another painstaking assault.
"Apologize!" she commanded, lifting it briefly.
"Never!" Ash declared, raising a fist into the air as the pillow descended upon him again. This time he was able to toss his head to the side, getting in a few good breaths as Misty flattened her weight against the pillow.
Their laughs—as well as Ash's whining for mercy—were blaring now, reverberating in the tiny bedroom and then some. Having the time of their lives, they were completely oblivious to the riot they were stirring within the small house. Jay and Brock easily heard them, Jay having a mixed look of irritation and dread on his face. He knew their foolishness was going to wake Delia as soon as they'd stampeded up the stairs, and he was just about to go up and terminate their fun when he heard his bedroom door opening. It was too late.
Contrary to his worries, though, Delia had not been sleeping. That didn't mean she wasn't close to it, nevertheless. Having a problem falling asleep that night, she was finally drifting towards the repose of slumber when Ash and Misty's ruckus shattered her peace. It was torment to even think of getting out of bed, and momentarily, she hadn't, hoping that the two would come to their senses and quit their childish and inappropriate behavior quickly. But as she lay in bed and listened to their squeals amplify, she realized they weren't stopping.
She groaned loudly in disgruntlement as she lugged herself out of bed, not even grasping for her bathrobe as she threw open her door and ventured into the dark hallway. She could see the light spilling out from the crack beneath her son's door, and couldn't believe that even from behind that their laughs were so excessively clamorous.
Her sleepy frown denoting her displeasure, Delia reached to turn the doorknob, but faltered brusquely when discovering it locked. Holding her breath, she froze as still as stone in the enclosing dark, her eyes squinting in perplexity and slight alarm.
Something didn't settle well within her. It came and hit her all at once, a feeling that she didn't expect and most surely didn't take kindly to.
What are they doing in there...? The forbidding thought of her boy and his girlfriend—alone, clowning around, and behind a locked door tightened the nerves throughout her body, that of which with a violent jerk she responded to without a moment of delay. She clutched the knob and jiggled it fiercely, banging on the door with a restless fist.
"Hey! Hey!" she shouted, the pounding abruptly ceasing the noise behind it. "What's going on in there? Open up!" Open up NOW!
Inside, the two kids became paralyzed from the unanticipated cessation of their game—and thankfully, it was during an interval the pillow was not suffocating Ash. Their eyes locked, widening in apprehension amidst their dizzy expressions.
Silence was all that followed for a good second or two. Delia didn't like it; it was too untimely and lathered in culpability, making her suspicious all the more. She wanted the door open—and fast. She hammered impatiently on it again, making her son's body lurch.
"Nothing!" Ash replied quickly. "Hold on a sec!"
At once, Misty scrambled off Ash. He cringed, and mouthed her a highly discernible "Oh, crap!" before rising briskly to let his mother in. From the sound of her inflexible voice and hard raps on his door, he wasn't going to keep her waiting long.
He opened the door to receive a rigid glare from Delia, that of which was not unexpected. Shrinking back from the harrowing look, he stepped away in admitting her to come in if she wished. His mom took the opportunity, her unbending grimace working its way through Ash and Misty's tensing muscles.
"What are you two doing, making all that noise at this time of night?" Delia demanded. She briefly shot a glower of vexation at Misty, which the girl flinched at, not used to receiving such a look from her. "Are you crazy!?"
"We're sorry," Ash replied, his voice sincere with guilt. "We didn't know we were making so much noise. Did we wake you up?"
"You sure did!" she grumbled. "What were you doing?"
"We were just fooling around," her son mumbled inaudibly.
"Uh-huh," Misty nodded, looking entirely repentant.
"We didn't mean to," Ash went on. "We didn't realize how loud we were being."
His last statements were hardly regarded by Delia, however. It was the one beforehand that made her body constrict with wariness. She floundered for a fleeting moment as she took in the appearance of the kids: their faces scarlet from arousal; their bodies heaving as they struggled to catch their breaths. She didn't like it—didn't like it at all.
"What do you mean, fooling around?" she snapped, startling the kids with her biting tone. "And why was the door locked!? You had no reason to lock the door! Who did that? Why!?"
The heavy string of questions set whirls of disorientation through Ash and Misty. For one considerably tired looking person, Delia's denouncing inquisition was alarming.
"Why was the...?" Ash echoed slowly, completely stupefied by her troubles. Misty stepped forward.
"I locked the door," she admitted, her voice tottering as she tried to make sense of it herself. "I'm sorry, it was just a natural reflex—"
"But what difference does it make?" Ash interjected. "We were just having fun, that's all."
"I don't care," his mother said, pointing a finger at them. "You can have fun, but that's no excuse for making so much racket this late at night! And I don't like locked doors, either, you hear me?"
"Okay...fine," Ash replied, granting her satisfaction. Still baffled over her distress, he and Misty nodded, sharing a quick, dazed glance with each other. They had no idea why locking the door had suddenly required such a harsh dosage of censure, but they weren't going to contend it. Not now at least.
Delia eased, her heart pounding from the stir of having to do all this worrying and reprimanding at this time of the day. She ran her hands through her tangled, bed-trodden hair.
"All right. I don't want to hear any more noise tonight," she said quietly but firmly, turning to go back to her room. "If this movie is riling you up so much, then maybe you should go to bed."
"No, no," Ash assured. "We'll be quiet now. I promise."
"Yeah," Misty added softly, "me, too. We won't make any more noise."
Not another word was spoken as Ash and Misty, their heads hanging, slid their way past Delia and headed down the stairs. They were undoubtedly feeling regretful at that point, and were looking forward to getting back to finish watching the movie. Neither had the desire to make another peep of noise, and Delia knew this. However, that hardly remained the number one concern in her mind.
Just as the kids had descended the stairs, Jay appeared, throwing a glance down at them, then turning all his attention on his wife. Delia slouched, letting her heavy eyelids shut as she moaned tiredly.
"I'm sorry about that," he shook his head. "I tried to stop them—they're way too hyper right now. They woke you, didn't they?"
Delia moaned again. "No...no, I've been awake. I'm having trouble sleeping."
"You look tired," Jay noted. He came up beside her and brushed her hair delicately out of her face. "I'll make sure they're quiet now; you can go back to bed."
Though her weariness was still dominant, Delia couldn't think of sleep right now. A new anxiety distressed her, but she kept quiet as she thought about it. Languidly, she turned to look inside Ash's room. The light was still on, as he had forgotten to shut it off in their hurry to escape her irritable mood. She inspected the scene that lay before her.
Though his room was by no means small, it looked so cramped, so tight. The extra beds made it this way. And up until now, Delia hadn't minded it at all; she was actually proud that she was able to accommodate Misty and Brock so comfortably. But it was different now, in that instant. Brock's bed drew her reluctant regard the most, the one Ash and Misty had most noticeably been on moments ago. The covers were all disorderly, the pillow was on the floor. It was not straight anymore—it was crooked and jammed up against Ash's desk, brought there by force and disturbance.
Images she didn't even want to conjure up began to flash through her mind. Of course, she knew they were—hoped they were—preposterous, her trivial worries coming back to exaggerate themselves in her head. Still, as her stare brandished into the tousled bed, her brow furrowed with concern. The thing that shot from her mouth next came with no effort, no further consideration.
"I don't think I want Misty in here anymore."
Her husband was just about to request that she head back to bed again as the blunt statement surfaced, befuddling him for a second.
"Huh? Wait, what?"
Delia spun to face him. "Misty. I...I don't think I want her in the room with them anymore—Ash and Brock."
Jay paused, narrowing his eyes as he tried to follow. "I—I'm sorry, what do you want to do? You want to move Misty!?" She nodded, biting her lip as she glimpsed into the room again. "Why?"
"Because...I don't like it anymore, that's why. Just now—I didn't like it."
"Didn't like what?" Jay asked. "Them running around like maniacs? What does that have to do with them sharing a room?"
"It doesn't," Delia said. She sighed, shaking her head as she focused her elucidation. "Jay, they were just in here, one second ago, and the door was locked."
"The door was locked?"
"Locked," Delia affirmed, nodding once. "They were in there...and the door was locked."
His face suddenly became ashen with panic. "Why was it locked? What were they doing in there?" he exclaimed hastily.
"Nothing," she responded, hoping she was correct in saying so. "But still...it's made me think." Her voice lowered. "I really don't think I like the idea of Misty being in the same room with Ash anymore. Brock either, for that matter."
Jay eased, and gave her a pensive look. After hearing that Ash and Misty hadn't been up to no good in the room, his fear rapidly vanished, replaced by curiosity over her fret.
"But why are you worried, then?" he shrugged. "If they weren't doing anything bad, what difference does it make?"
"What difference does it make?" Delia echoed incredulously. "Jay, it doesn't matter whether they were doing anything bad in there or not! All I'm saying is that this has opened my eyes. I don't know why I wasn't worried about this sooner, but—"
"Maybe because it didn't have to be worried about," he interrupted her, arching an eyebrow. He gave her a smile and rubbed her arms robustly. "Delia, honey, sweetheart, go to bed. Okay? We'll talk about this in the morning."
Delia promptly scowled at his nonchalant nature. She tore away from his gentle grip, and Jay was slightly taken aback. "I don't want to go to bed. Jay, come on, listen to me!" All sleepiness was gone from her voice as she implored him to heed.
"I don't want you to tell me that I'm being ridiculous again, because I'm not," she said, somewhat bitterly. "I'm not worried that they're going to do anything wrong—at least, they won't do anything they know is wrong." She suspended to conveniently give way for Jay's jaded sigh and rolling of the eyes. Her voice increased in slight desperation.
"But just the fact that they're boyfriend and girlfriend and sharing the same room is something we shouldn't allow. And we do. Don't you see anything wrong with that...at all?"
He had to. Delia stared at him as he took this in mind, glancing at the floor prudently. She wanted to try her best not to sound psychotic about it, as her other concerns made Jay so exasperated. But if one was more considerable, more important than the others, it was this one. As Delia thought on and on about it, she couldn't believe that she had let it go as far as it did. She was almost ashamed of herself that she'd allowed her son and Misty, whose relationship was growing stronger by the day, to sleep as close as they did to each other.
Jay finally lifted his head. "Yes. Yes, I do see something wrong with it. It's not totally right, I know."
"Totally right!?"
He glared at her shortly. "But...look, they're not doing anything bad. Ash and Misty are smart kids, and they also know what's right and wrong. I think we can trust them together in the same room, I really do. We've been through this."
Delia sighed. "Yes, I know, Jay, but—"
He held up his hand to desist her words, and went on calmly. "I understand where you're coming from with this, but we can talk about it more tomorrow. Okay? Look, I have the movie downstairs I want to get back to, and you look like you're about to drop dead of exhaustion in one minute—"
"Jay!" Delia griped. He shuddered as her sharp voice pierced his ears. "No, I'm not waiting for tomorrow! And I'm not tired. I want Misty's bed moved, and I want it moved now."
Her emphatic decree stunned Jay. "Moved where?" he cried, sounding even more annoyed. "Where are we gonna move it?"
Delia's reply came readily. "The sitting room."
"The sitting room!?" he gasped in disbelief, his eyes widening. Seriously, she had to be joking! "Delia, that's a friggin' closet!"
"It is not!"
"It's the size of one!" Jay firmly argued. He couldn't believe she was actually suggesting that they place Misty's bed in the sitting room. Besides the two bedrooms, it was the only other compartment that could technically be considered a room in the diminutive upper story of the home, furnished with practically only a lamp and lounging chair. It was a pleasant little room to kick up your feet in, relax, and take in a book, but it was certainly no room for someone to sleep in.
"It's a nice room, and I think Misty would like sleeping in there," Delia debated, her voice attaining a high amount of resolution. "It's small, yes, I admit that, but if we move the chair around, and squeeze the bed in..."
"Delia," Jay said, sounding out each syllable of her name with curt skepticism, "would you listen to yourself! You're going to take Misty out of that nice, spacious room that she's sharing with two very nice, very considerate boys and move her to the cramped, stuffy sitting room!? Are you out of your mind!?"
Delia pursed her lips angrily. "I am not out of my mind—but I must've been to encourage Ash to think that it's right to sleep in the same room with a girl, much less his girlfriend!"
Jay slapped his thighs in frustration, then ran his shaky hands through his hair. Delia's eyes simply enlarged.
"Are you telling me, Jacey, that you want your son and his girlfriend to sleep in the same room, and think that that's simply okay? That that's just the right and normal thing to do?"
"They sleep in Pokémon Centers, and—and out in the forest together, for God's sake!" Jay blurted out, gesticulating wildly. "I'm sure during cold nights the three of them are sandwiched together! They're used to it; it's not any different here!"
Delia stared at him rigidly, taking deep breaths. "In my house, it is. I'm sorry, Jay, but I want my son to grow up with morals. Excuse me if you think that's wrong."
Jay opened his mouth, but didn't say a word. Staring at the floor and shaking his head, he couldn't believe how much she was fighting for this. Deep down, he did bear in mind what she was saying, and it did make sense. He didn't want to argue over it, though; he felt Misty sharing a room with Ash and Brock was unnatural, but nothing to fear. He held utmost trust in them that they knew what they were doing, that they were mature and trustworthy enough to know what was right.
It was obviously going to take some push to convince Delia otherwise.
"Now, are you gonna help me move her bed, or what?" she asked quietly. She was going to do it, with his help or not. She just hoped he would come to his senses and realize the seriousness behind the matter.
Jay voice was austerely low. "You're just gonna move her bed? Simple as that?"
Delia gave him a face, but nodded.
"You're not gonna tell Misty?"
"I'll tell them when they're done watching the movie."
Jay bit his lip, then moved by her and into the room. Knowing there was no way he could satisfy her at this point, and not wanting to get into some fierce argument at ten o'clock at night, he begrudgingly but discreetly surrendered. He began to lift the blankets and sheets over the bed, making it easier to grip the sides.
"They're not gonna like this," he mumbled, a hint of forewarning brewing in his tone.
"I know," Delia replied lightly. "I said I'll talk to them, don't worry." She was worried herself, though. She knew in an flash neither were going to like the new change. But, as Jay had decisively pointed out, they were smart, and they did know what was right for them. Perhaps it wasn't going to be as big a difficulty as she feared.
Moving the bed was hard, but Jay and Delia managed to accomplish it. The rollaway just squeezed in, and it was undoubtedly close quarters in the small sitting room. It took a bit of undertaking to position the furniture around accordingly, and to their surprise, everything fit. It looked kind of snug and cozy, Delia thought as she gazed into the room after the work was done. Even she herself found it an appealing little set-up. Misty was bound to mind it, if not love it...she hoped.
Jay finished watching the movie with the kids, not mentioning a word of what had been done upstairs. He and Delia didn't speak after the bed was moved in; she had gone back to their room to read for a while, as she was too wound up to conceive the concept of sleep. The thought of the whole ordeal, and the kids' reactions to come, would not leave his mind the entire time, keeping him in torturous suspense. He hoped that during one of the remaining commercial breaks one of the kids would randomly head upstairs for some incidental reason and reveal the alteration, just to get the trouble over with and fast.
But none of the kids ever left the couch. Ash and Misty's run-in with Delia had certainly reversed their spirits, as they were positively repelled to move an inch or utter a solitary word. Ash was immobile enough to allow Pikachu to fall asleep on his lap, and remain that way undisturbed until the end credits rolled up the screen. If anything beneficial came out of the situation, it certainly fortified the idea of sleep in their heads. Ash, Misty, and Brock couldn't wait to get into bed and shut their eyes for the night.
When Brock reached over to switch off the television, Jay's stomach clenched nervously. Uh-oh. Here we go, he thought, watching the kids scurry up the stairs. He quickly got to his feet and followed, nearly holding his breath as he waited for the inevitable discovery.
Ash, naturally, was the first to get there. He was so pleasantly sleepy that for a second he didn't even realize what was missing in his room. All he knew upon entering was the obvious absence of something. His room wasn't this spacious! Only after pausing and blinking a few times did he detect just exactly what that was, sending a wave of confusion through his body.
"Where's my bed?" This was Misty, whose puzzlement, unlike Ash's, did not drain all the words from her mouth. Ash was just standing there, gawking at the large patch of blue carpet that had once been Misty's bed, now bare, deserted.
"Where'd your bed go?" Brock asked Misty, simply repeating out loud what all three of the kids were wondering.
"I don't know!" she responded. She turned towards Ash. "What happened to my bed?"
Ash lifted his shoulders in a half-shrug. As the situation melted into him, he twisted slowly to face his baffled friends, his forehead wrinkled. He said nothing to them, though, as he caught sight of Jay in the hallway, who was edging closer with a subtle look of insight on his face. Instantly, he tore past his friends and towards his father.
"Dad, where's Misty's bed?"
Shutting his eyes, Jay groaned. "Ash, listen. Um, your mother and I came a decision before..."
Just then, the bedroom door across the way opened, and with a frantic dash, Ash hastened to confront his mom.
"Where's Misty's bed?" he repeated, only to receive the same hesitant look that Jay had given him. This only made him more jumpy, as his unawareness of what was going on quickly set panic through him. He witnessed his parents share a secretive glance.
"Where's Misty's bed?" he implored again. "What happened to it? Why isn't it in my room any more?"
Misty and Brock stepped back as Ash's voice dramatically increased in desperation. They said not a word as they watched attentively, wondering what could possibly be going on.
Delia gently lifted her hand to restrain Ash. "Ash, shhh, shhh, listen to me. Calm down." Though he was discomfited, Ash complied, suppressing all but his coarse breathing.
"Misty's bed is in the sitting room," she finished softly, and Ash's face promptly wrinkled in shock. For the first time, she stole a glance at Misty to see how she looked, and was surprised to see she appeared much more passive. Her concentration couldn't be taken off of Ash for long, however, as she could feel his aghast stare, commanding an explanation.
"The sitting room?" Ash gasped. "Wh-wh-why's it in there? Why'd you move it there?"
"The sitting room?" Misty silently echoed.
"Ash, shh, be quiet," Jay said, bringing a finger to his lips. "We're gonna explain."
"No, no!" Ash suddenly fired off, shaking his head with a sense of what could have been mistaken for terror. "Why is it in there? What's going on!?"
Misty flinched as his voice grew even louder. Though she was incoherent to what was occurring, she didn't like when he sounded this way.
"Ash, please, be quiet," she begged gently. Hearing her voice drew Jay and Delia's attention, and she met their gaze with an inquisitive lifting of her eyes.
"Misty, honey, I'm sorry to do this to you tonight—" Delia started, but was instead rudely interrupted by Ash's impatient voice once again.
"What did you do?" he exclaimed, receiving a cold glare from his mother. He ignored it. "Mom, why did you move her bed there?"
"Would you be quiet for a second?" she snapped, annoyed. "I'm trying to tell you why!"
At her hard tone, Ash shut his mouth, taking a few steps backwards to where Misty and Brock stood. He didn't like anything of what was going on, especially the fact that the explanation for it was taking an oddly prolonged amount of time. His displeasure remained in his rigorous frown.
"Ash, we've been thinking about this whole sleeping arrangements thing," Jay explained. He hoped to reinforce the composure with his even-tempered voice. "And...and we feel that...maybe it would be better that Misty doesn't share a room with you two guys anymore."
Delia nodded correspondingly. That was hardly what was displayed on the kids' faces, however. They gaped vacantly, unable to comprehend what had just been disclosed.
"What do you mean?" Brock was the first to speak. "Why don't you think Misty should be in here anymore?"
"It's nothing bad," Jay assured. "We just feel it's a little inappropriate. Especially now that you two—" He motioned towards Ash and Misty, whose faces scrunched. "—are together, we don't think it's right for you all to be in the same room."
At that, Ash quickly found his voice. "Why not?" he demanded, startling his parents again with his fussy resonance.
"Ash," Delia sighed, preparing to reason.
"Why is it inappropriate?" Ash said. "You never said anything about this before."
"That's because we didn't think anything about it up until now," responded his mom, trying her best to collect herself against Ash's arguing.
It didn't make sense to Ash and Misty. They exchanged a look, sharing with each other their related confusion. Suddenly, as if the same event was brought to their minds like a paranormal connection, their eyes widened. Ash was the first to react.
"Is it about what happened tonight? About what me and Misty did—making all that noise? Is that what this is?"
Misty's body tensed as Ash brought this up. Certainly her being removed from Ash's room wasn't some sort of penalty for their unruly actions earlier that night. Delia and Jay weren't like that, she was sure. Ash, on the other hand, didn't feel as deniable; he was almost convinced that it was the reason, and by all means he wasn't ready to give into it.
"No," Delia shook her head. "It has nothing to do with that whatsoever. It has to do with the fact that...well, it's something I've been thinking about."
Seeing Misty's pained look at that point made her heart heavy, but in no way influenced her to reconsider.
"I'm not doing this to upset you," she said peacefully to her. She wanted to make sure they knew there was positive reinforcement behind her impulsive decision. "I'm doing this because I think it's right. It'll make me feel a lot better, and I think you might like it, too."
Ash's face suddenly wrinkled with anger. "I'm not going to like it!"
"Ash, please," Misty whispered again.
"Ash, settle down. Be quiet," Jay reproached.
"NO!" Ash cried, stamping his foot. This was it for him. He still didn't understand why this was unfolding, but regardless of its purpose, he couldn't allow it. "This isn't fair! Why are you doing this?"
Delia and Jay frowned at him, but before either had a chance to speak, Brock got his word in.
"Wait a second," he said hastily, placing a restrictive hand on Ash's shoulder. Ash jerked, but any dispute that was ready to spill from his lips was halted. Achieving their ears, Brock took a deep breath and alternated his look from Jay to Delia.
"Look," he said, "I understand what you're saying about this. I know it's not appropriate for Misty to sleep in the same room with us. But...just so you know, you really don't have anything to worry about."
Ash and Misty reclined confidently as he continued.
"We don't do anything—anything—that you wouldn't approve of. I mean, we're used to each other, but that doesn't mean we change our clothes in front of each other, or...or share beds. We don't do anything like that. We just...share a room, that's all. We don't do anything wrong or inappropriate, if that's what you're afraid of—that you can't trust us. I—I know I can't change your decision, and I don't want you to get upset because you think I am...but I just wanted to let you know. You really don't have to worry. We're okay."
Well done, Brock. This was the simultaneous, mental praise Ash and Misty gave him, quite pleased with what he said. Together, they turned to Jay and Delia, anticipating that their minds had been changed by Brock's credible words. There was a moment of silence as the speech settled in, and it was definitely running through Jay and Delia's heads. They didn't oppose it—they believed it wholeheartedly, Jay mostly. Not that this was surprising, as he still wasn't completely endorsing this idea. Delia was a different story.
"Brock, I believe you, I do," she admitted. "I don't believe you kids are doing anything wrong. But it's not going to change my mind. I think this is for the best."
Misty looked down. She was unquestionably not happy with what she was hearing, but she was in no position to oppose it. She knew disputing their decision was going to make matters difficult, and she didn't want to cause trouble. Jay and Delia did have the ultimate say, after all.
Ash didn't think this way under any circumstances. After Brock's uplifting address had heightened his spirits, his mother's refusal absolutely burned him up. He glanced at Misty to witness her face fall glumly, and that was it. His body twitched as he realized she wasn't going to say anything. But not him. His parents were being ridiculous now, and he wasn't going to accept this without a fight.
Balling his fists furiously, he grumbled, "I don't think it's for the best! This isn't fair!" His glare was directed Delia's way. "You can't do this! You can't keep Misty out of my room."
"Yes, I can, Ash," Delia said. "She's just going to be in the sitting room, right across the hall."
"But I don't want her there!" he replied gruffly. "I want her to sleep in my room! She's my friend!"
"I know that, but that still doesn't mean it's right. Don't you understand?"
"No!" Ash cried. "You're just being unfair, that's all! I want Misty in my room! Put her bed back in my room!"
"Ash, I'm not going to. It's better this way."
"No it isn't! It's crap this way!"
"Ash—"
"PUT HER BED BACK IN MY ROOM!"
The air became dense as the heated disagreement intensified, making Misty and Brock tense considerably and Jay's temper rise. There was a pause before Delia spoke.
"Stop screaming at me, Ash," she warned, her voice lowering to emphasize it.
"I won't STOP SCREAMING!" Ash yelled, raising his voice even more in stubbornness. "Not until you let her sleep in my room!"
"Ash, please!" Misty beseeched before Delia had a chance to react. This was exactly the kind of trouble she didn't want to start. "Stop it, it's okay! Really! It's okay, I don't mind."
"I won't stop, Misty!" Ash turned to her. He knew her indifferent submission to this was just a product of apprehension. "I know you don't want to sleep in that room! And I'm not gonna let it happen!"
"But Ash—" Misty pleaded.
"Ash, you can yell and scream and pout all you want," Delia intervened, fed up with his attitude. "But she's not going back in your room. I'm not changing my mind."
Ash growled. "Yes you are! This isn't fair!"
"Ash, cut it out now!" Brock said, not liking where this was going. The looks on Jay and Delia's faces made him tremble. "You're being an idiot!"
"No!" Ash defied. "They're being idiots!"
By this point, Jay was livid. Ash's unmanageable rebellion was beginning to unnerve him immensely, and he wasn't going to take it anymore. With a heavy stomp of his foot, intense enough to shake the house, everyone froze, their hearts leaping to their throats.
"Okay, THAT'S IT!" he roared. His savage glare and pointed finger were steered Ash's way. "I'm putting my foot down! This is OVER! Misty is sleeping in the other room, and that's FINAL! You understand me? FINAL! And you don't you dare say another word against it! NOT ONE WORD!"
His thundering voice was enough to make Misty and Brock retreat, regardless of whether his fury was directed towards them or not, terror flashing across their faces. Jay's word was not to be opposed, and, to their relief, Ash had no inclination of doing so. Their eyes shakily focused on the boy, who, though standing his ground quite firmly, was speechless.
There was an awkward period of silence that resulted, and desperately, Ash fought to control his tears. He was done fighting, but he still didn't see the rationale behind what he deemed a cruel intention. With a shake of his head, he leveled quite a contemptuous look at his parents.
"Thanks a lot," he snarled. "I hate you."
With that, he turned on his heels and stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him. Misty and Brock gawked in disbelief at the door, while Jay, fuming, headed for his bedroom without another word. Delia's eyes were cast down, wavering with shock and pain over Ash's harsh words. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go. She knew he'd object, but not this strongly.
Yet, not ten minutes later, she led Misty to the sitting room, managing a weak smile as she led her in. Misty had obviously seen the room before, and Delia knew she liked it, but after the scene that erupted before, she wasn't sure just what was going on in Misty's mind.
"I'm sorry about this," Delia felt obliged to apologize again. "I know this is so sudden, making you move like this."
Misty smiled. "No, it's okay," she assured, her voice dainty. She placed slumberous Togepi on her pillow and sat down on her bed, pulling the sheets back.
"I know it's a tight squeeze," Delia went on ruefully, looking around the room. "It's not meant to be a bedroom, but...I thought you'd might like it."
"Oh, I like it," Misty said truthfully. She had nothing against the sitting room, which she found, in fact, to be the cutest room in the house. She just never expected to be spending the night there. "I think it's warm and cozy."
"Yeah, me too," Delia smiled. "I love this room a lot. I thought, you know, it's quiet, and you can have privacy whenever you want. Now you can come in here, shut the door, and neither one of those guys can bother you." She and Misty laughed lightly.
"That actually does sound really nice," Misty said. "I haven't had my own room in a long time. It's pretty exciting."
"I'm sure it is," Delia said. Her face then fell sheepishly. "You...understand why I'm doing this, right?"
To her relief, Misty continued to smile. "Oh yeah, sure I do," she nodded gently.
"I don't want you to be upset, honey. It's not that I don't trust you. I just...well, with you and Ash and everything, I get a little nervous..."
"No, no, I completely understand!" Misty affirmed, cringing through her laughs. "Believe me, if my parents ever found out I was sharing a room with Ash, I'd be in so much trouble."
Delia had to chuckle. "Well, don't worry," she promised, making a zipping motion across her lips. "They won't hear about it from me."
"Thanks," Misty beamed. Blinking contentedly, she slid into her covers and pulled them up to her chest. She looked affectionately at Togepi and stroked his fuzzy spikes, basking delightedly in the silent, sleepy trills he emitted. Delia watched her with a restful smile, relieved and happy that Misty was not terribly disappointed. She looked comfortable.
"You'll sleep good in here," she assured the girl. "You'll see, it's the most comfortable room in the house." Noticing then that Misty was looking past her, she turned with a knowing smile to where her stare was directed: two old, creepy-looking oil portraits of a middle-aged man and woman, their stern faces glowering outward.
"Oh, and don't let my great-grandparents scare you," she grinned. "They look scary, but they won't bother you."
"Oh, is that who they are?" Misty giggled, blushing. "I'm not scared of them. I think they're really interesting."
"Ash used to be terrified of these," Delia said, shaking her head as she gazed at the paintings. "Then again, I was really afraid of them when I was a kid, too. My parents had them hanging in their living room. But Ash...for the longest time, I had to keep them up in the attic. He claimed they would smile at him."
Misty chortled lightheartedly. "Awwww."
Delia took a deep breath as she recalled the stories. Suddenly feeling crestfallen, she remembered Ash's biting words minutes before, and tried not to think about it.
"Yes, but he grew up. Which I'm happy about, because I really do like these pictures and I wanted to put them up very badly. Once you get over being scared to death of them, you come to like them. I had to beg my folks to give them to me after I got married."
Smiling proudly, Misty said, "Well, I'm not scared of them. I think they're cool."
Delia cocked an eye at her. "Wait till the lights are out." She chuckled mysteriously as Misty playfully put on a face of fright, throwing the blankets over her head. When she emerged from them a few seconds later, they grinned widely at each other.
"All right," Delia said peacefully. "I'm gonna go to bed. You all comfy and warm?"
"You bet," Misty sighed. "I love it in here."
"I'm so glad," she replied, feeling gratified by those simple words. Her voice flowed affably. "Good night, Misty dear."
Misty suddenly perked before Delia had a chance to close the door. "Wait a second."
"Hmm?" she moaned, raising her eyebrows attentively.
Pausing for a moment, Misty smiled pleasantly. "Thank you," she whispered.
Delia tilted her head. "For what, sweetheart?"
Misty glanced down at her lap. "For everything. For...you know, treating me so nice. For doing all this stuff for me and letting me stay here. I really appreciate it."
Delia was motionless as the sweet words cascaded through her body, warming her with a welcoming sensation of fondness. Though she received thanks from Misty on many occasions, this one moment seemed different, more tenderly uplifting. Slowly but surely, a smile of complete humbleness lifted her lips.
"You're very welcome," she whispered back.
Misty nodded, her eyes drooping with pleasant sleepiness. She let her head drift to her pillow. "Good night, Mom."
Delia smiled. "Good night." Amid the wonderful feeling Misty's words brought, though, was the dampening presence of sadness. She hadn't gotten a loving "Good night, Mom" from her boy, and probably wasn't going to. As the thought of it swept to her mind again, she closed the door ever so quietly. For a moment, she thought of attempting to see Ash before going to bed, but quickly abandoned the idea. She didn't want any more tension tonight.
Back across the hall, Brock sat up in his bed, his head ponderous and tired. He wanted greatly to go to sleep, but he couldn't right now. For one, the light was still on. For another, Ash was pacing about angrily and quite loudly, his face as flaming red as his father's when he'd powerfully ended the whole ordeal, infuriated with all that had happened.
"Ash, please," Brock groaned for about the tenth time. "Please go to bed."
"No!" Ash snapped in reply, narrowing his eyes at his friend. "I want Misty in here! This is ridiculous!"
Brock slouched. "I know, I know," he said wearily. "But you can't do anything about it tonight. Just forget about it."
"I won't forget about it!" Ash growled through clenched teeth.
"Pika pi," Pikachu entreated silently, troubled by Ash's incessant ire. "Pikachu."
Ash glared over at his pokémon, who was sitting on his bed. "I'm not going to, Pikachu! I won't. Not until she's back in here!"
He went back to storming around his room, then stopped abruptly to give his dresser a brutal kick, rattling the wall and toppling his knick-knacks.
"Ash! Knock it off!" Brock begged, his voice becoming louder. He rose slightly from his bed. "You want your parents in here!?"
"Yes! Yes I do, Brock!" Ash replied. "I want them in here so I can tell them how stupid they're being! I can't believe they did this!"
Brock frowned sternly. "Well, I don't! I want you to calm down and go to bed. Stop looking for trouble."
"Don't you want Misty back in here? Huh? Don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Brock responded. "But this can be settled tomorrow. And it can be settled without you throwing a damn fit."
Ash's eyes burned into his. "I don't care what it takes."
"Yes you do."
"No I don't!" Ash cried. "If my parents aren't gonna be fair, then I won't, either!"
Brock shook his head. He couldn't believe how headstrong Ash was about this. If only the boy understood what his parents meant by doing this, how much they cared about him. During the whole episode, Brock couldn't get the image of Ash and Misty kissing out of his head, and how much it related to what unfolded. He found himself leaning towards Jay and Delia's decision himself. But he couldn't tell Ash that; he wasn't afraid to admit to himself that he didn't feel like being on the bad end of his rage as well.
After a subdued pause, Brock sighed. "I think you'd better think about that, Ash. And I think you'd better be quiet and go to bed before there's even more trouble."
"Pika pika," Pikachu added softly.
Ash was silent. His troubled breathing resounded in the room as Brock and Pikachu looked on, worried and exhausted. Ash didn't feel the same way. He didn't want to sleep. No, not after what happened. Not without Misty there. He was going to take a stand. Maybe his parents would be convinced then. Maybe then they would see how much this hurt him, how much Misty's presence meant to him...
"Go to sleep, Ash," Brock said one last time. He got up and flicked off the light, leaving Ash standing in the embracing darkness. He didn't know how long he stayed there, thinking of what happened, but by the time he finally climbed to his bed and resentfully allowed himself to rest, Brock and Pikachu were already asleep.
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Okay, it's purely a coincidence that they happened to be watching The Music Man the same week the remake was aired on TV. Honest, I didn't plan for that to happen! LOL Though they weren't watching the remake here, they were watching the original and the best. No remake will ever be superior to the classic movie! Well, in my opinion…
Thanks for reading everyone! And now I'm off to Spruceton for the weekend to go snow-tubing! Whoah-oh! See ya…
