House Call
Point Place, WI
(a day later)
5:30PM
Eric Forman was angry. Here it was past five o'clock and his son was not home
from school yet. There were no after school activities and he was too young to have
an official part time job. Jacen was purposely late because all of a sudden this
house was a terrible place to live in. The dinner was on the table getting colder and
even if they had a microwave it was still a moot point to Eric. He couldn't even eat
the meatloaf he made. Nothing tasted like the way his mother made things. He
picked at the canned green beans with his fork. The kitchen door opened ten
minutes later.
"Jacen, you're late," Eric called out, "You better have a good explanation."
"Yeah, I was busy." Jacen came in holding a can of soda.
"That is NOT a good explanation. Where were you?"
"If you must know I was at Mindy's house. Is this the crap we're having for dinner?"
He pushed his plate away. Eric couldn't argue that point too much. It was crap and
he had no desire to eat what was on his plate either.
"Since when do we not ask permission to go to someone's house especially on a
school night?"
"I'm twelve years old! You treat me like a baby!"
"No, I am your father and I expect to be treated with respect!"
"Maybe," Jacen stood up, "If you did something I found respectful, I would."
"Where do you think you are going?"
"In the living room—"
"No! We always eat at the table."
"I'm not eating that."
"Fine. But whatever you decide to eat you can eat it in here."
"Why? If I have to look at your face I'll lose my appetite anyway."
"Listen," Eric stood up trying to repress every urge to be like his father, trying to hide
the hurt feelings. "Go to your room, Jacen."
"No! You can't tell me what to do and I'm out of here."
"Jacen!"
"Fine! Why don't you burn some fish sticks?"
"Since you are old enough to go places without telling people who are concerned
that something might have happened to you. It's called common courtesy, Jacen…
then you are old enough to make your own supper. And just for this little episode you
are grounded for a month."
"FUCK YOU!"
Those two words coming from the mouth of his own son hurt Eric more than anything
in the world.
"Make that two months!"
No, I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
Eric grabbed his arm.
"Grounded means you walk to your room."
"I DON'T have to take orders from you!" He backed away from his father.
"Jacen if you walk out of that door, you will be grounded for T-THREE MONTHS!"
"See ya, ERIC."
He hates me over twenty fucking dollars? Just because I wouldn't give him twenty
dollars to buy his little fake girlfriend a necklace. My son hates me. I never
abused him, hit him, and yelled at him in anyway. My son hates me. My son said,
"fuck you" to ME. There isn't enough money or a swear jar big enough He's
rejecting my punishments as if they are a joke.. He won't do what I tell him and he
called me Eric. Eric. My son hates me.
Eric walked into the kitchen with his plate and glass. Despite the fact that his glass
was filled with iced tea he broke it on the floor. People are starving in the world too
bad the plate needed to be broken.
Everything needed to be broken.
I loved you before you even born.
"Eric!"
I don't want to be like Red
"Eric!"
I don't want to strike you.
"Eric!"
I hate yelling at you.
"Eric!"
"Even if you think I am suddenly your worst enemy I will always love you."
"Eric!"
Eric looked up and saw a pair of navy blue designer high heels. He wiped the sweat
off his brow.
"H-Hi, Jackie."
"What is going on?"
Eric grabbed the crystal cheese tray that was on the refrigerator and had it join its
friends on the floor. When she saw him reload by going into a cupboard for more
glasses she grabbed him by the arm.
"Eric! STOP!"
"NO," he pulled back, "I WANT TO BREAK EVERYTHING IN THIS HOUSE!"
"ERIC!" Jackie grabbed him by the shoulders, "STOP IT! WHAT IN THE HELL IS
GOING ON? Jacen is sulking on the porch."
"Oh, is that how far the little BRAT made it?"
Jackie was surprised. It was as if she walked into a parallel universe. One where
Eric and Jacen weren't bosom buddies who would sit on the living room floor and
eat pepperoni pizza and drink root beers together as they watched TV.
She held his hands and noticed the side of his left hand was bleeding.
"You're bleeding. What happened between the two of you?"
Jackie grabbed the box of band-aids that Eric kept on the windowsill and bandaged
up his small cut. If only his heart could be that easily remedied.
Eric thought about this for a brief second before letting out a spiteful giggle,
"Because I wouldn't give him twenty dollars."
Jackie let Eric tell her the whole story as she helped him clean up World War III.
This was not like Jacen. He was always such a good kid. There had to be more to
this than the usual generational gap. When she got Eric calmed down into a hot,
steaming bath she went to collect Jacen from the porch. He tried to act like he was
comfortable sitting there on the porch swing but was tugging on the sleeves of his
sweatshirt to keep warm.
"Hi, Jacen. May I sit next to you?"
"I don't care." He bit his lip and tried to hide the fact that he was crying.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little."
"I can make you a grilled cheese."
"Okay."
"Come in. You must be starving."
Jackie wanted to make it right between them but she knew if she pushed the issue
with Jacen he would only push away from her and ultimately push himself away from
Eric even more.
Jackie gave him a juice box. She didn't want to see any more pieces of glass go
flying.
"I have a side too." He whispered as Jackie put a pat of butter in the frying pan,
"Eric doesn't love me."
"How can you say that?" Jackie said as she unpeeled the plastic from the slice of
cheese.
"Eric lied to me."
"Your father would never lie to you."
"Save it, Jackie. I'm sure you know all about it too. You know what? I'm not hungry."
She could see the hurt in his blue eyes and wondered what could Jacen possibly
think that Eric lied to him about?
"Jacen, you need to eat."
"No. I need for you people to stop lying to me."
He ran into his room and locked the door. He grabbed the model airplane that Eric
made him from the bookshelf as the tears heavily flowed from
his face how could they be so stupid to think it was only about the twenty dollars?
Jacen shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I HATE YOU, ERIC FORMAN!"
as he threw the model airplane at the door breaking it like his heart was.
Jackie turned off the stove and ran into the living room where bumped into Eric
who didn't look like he stepped into a bathtub. He wore his University of Wisconsin
t-shirt and wrapped himself in a terry blue bathrobe.
"You hear that?" Eric said exasperatedly. As he let himself melt into the sofa.
Jackie sat next to him.
"Eric, I'm so sorry. But I think this is something deeper than you not giving him twenty
dollars. I saw the hurt in his eyes. He is under the impression that you and I are lying
to him."
"Jackie, I never lied to him…"
"He thinks you did and he thinks I am in on it."
Eric sighed as he stood up, "How about if we order a pizza? I'm starving and maybe
when I go to sleep tonight Jacen will at least eat something if its here."
Jackie tried to make the best of it. "Sure."
"You know, I didn't know you made house calls?"
"Well when you didn't answer my emails or the one voice mail I left last night, I knew I
had to find out what was going on."
"And your Phillip is okay with this?"
"Yes."
Eric put his wallet down.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot to go to the ATM…"
"Eric, I can buy---"
"No, we've talked about this, Jackie. I can afford a pizza you know. I usually keep
some extra money in my desk drawer. In my Yoda wallet."
She rolled her eyes in spite of it all.
"Oh my fucking god," Eric whispered, "Oh my fucking god."
He put his back against the desk chair.
"What is it, Eric?"
"It's gone."
"Oh do you think Jacen stole your money?"
"No. Remember that mutual friend that gave me my ex-wife's contact information?"
"Yeah---oh no---"
"Jacen is right," Eric cupped his hands over his face, "I did lie to him. I betrayed my
beautiful son."