Title: Brooklyn, New York 1968
Author: Elizabeth Bennet-Darcy
Disclaimer: They are not mine for keeps. I'll just borrow them, play very carefully and put them back unharmed (relatively).
Summary: The senior staff, plus two, on the day before their tenth birthdays. Mainly focuses on their relationships, or lack thereof, with their fathers.
Spoilers: Various episodes, but nothing too telling.
Rating: PG13 for the series, PG for this story.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK 1968
Toby watched as his sister finished embroidering the purple peace sign on the back pocket of her bell bottom jeans. Mom was gonna be mad that she "ruined" more clothes. Rachel wouldn't care she'd just roll her eyes and tell her mother to stop oppressing her. Janice would agree and add that clothes should make a statement about who you are and what you believe. Mom would respond that she and Dad hadn't come to this country so her daughters could dress like common tramps. Rachel would argue that that was exactly why they had come to America; for the freedom. Janice would add that those who didn't exercise their freedom didn't deserve their freedom. Toby would then leave the apartment because he didn't really understand the argument.
Today, however, he felt that he needed to stick around. The tenseness in the apartment felt as oppressive as the heat in mid-July. Toby turned and pressed his nose against the cold window. He could see a family in the street below tugging and pushing a Christmas tree up the stoop. He wished Jewish people put up trees for Chanukah. They looked nice and smelled good. He also liked Christmas cookies. Mrs. Holtz baked gingerbread men and gave him two every time he brought her cat back to her.
Toby wandered into the kitchen hoping for something that was kind of like gingerbread. His grandmother and mother were whispering in Yiddish. They were talking about his father. They always spoke Yiddish when talking about his father. Dad had had to work long hours at the coat factory lately. Toby couldn't remember seeing him for days, since school let out for winter vacation.
Toby couldn't really speak Yiddish but he did know lots of words and if Grandma spoke slowly he would understand what she was asking for. He picked up words now, something about his father and a candy story; something about freedom; something about a dead person; something about jail. Toby looked at his Grandmother's face, she looked tense and worried. His mother looked sad and scared.
Toby backed out of the kitchen and turned to his sisters. Janice had David on her lap and although Toby hadn't sat on his sisters' laps in years he allowed Rachel to pull him onto hers.
"Mom has to go down town to do something for Dad tomorrow, so how would you like to come with Janice and me to the protest rally?"
Toby nodded, "Is Dad going to jail?"
Janice and Rachel looked at each other over Toby's head. "Where did you hear that?" Janice asked in a way that told Toby he was right.
Toby shrugged, "I don't know."
"You gonna come with us?" Rachel asked.
Toby nodded. Tomorrow Toby would go to a protest rally and exercise his freedom of speech, because tomorrow Toby would turn ten.