Chapter 9 – Dinner Time
"Hi mama!" Baby greeted, depositing the large bag with food on the kitchen counter.
So this is the infamous Kitchen of Hell, I thought, looking around. Remembering scenes from both movies, I recalled something about boiling body parts and severed heads stuffed in the refrigerator. Good thing that we had bought takeout food!
"Hello, my Angel! Hi, Laura." She had an apron covering her girlish, pink dress, that did very little to conceal her large breasts. She was mixing some batter by hand – baking a cake, perhaps? – and looking pretty much contented.
"Hi, Mother Firefly" I greeted her.
"Just call me mama" she told me with a wink.
"Laura and I are sisters now!" Baby announced, delighted.
"Oh, that is so great, honey!" She looked in my direction. "When Baby was a child, she always asked me for a little sister. She had two older brothers, Rufus and Tiny, but she missed another girl to play with. But I guess, it was not meant to happen. After having Baby, I got pregnant twice; two miscarriages."
"I am so sorry to hear that!" I lied. As it was, the world had enough Fireflys in it, I thought, still resented at her for the past night's events.
"Thank you, honey. It was so really sad. But I still have them both" she added cheerfully. "My two pretty baby boys, preserved in a glass with formalin. Oh, they are so beautiful, I'll show you my babies later."
Holy shit, I thought. Rob Zombie had really seen into this family's past, hadn't he? Every little detail from his movies was being confirmed.
"I am sure that they are very beautiful, mama, considering your other kids that are alive" I awkwardly attempted a compliment.
"Yes, they are all gorgeous, especially my angel here" she looked at Baby adoringly. "Doesn't she look like an angel?"
"She does!" I agreed, as mother and daughter exchanged smiles and blew kisses at each other.
Geez, I thought. For a psycho family, they are so loving to each other; so affectionate. Go figure.
"Why did you have those miscarriages, anyway?" I wanted to know. Her three children were strong and healthy – take a look at Rufus! – so two fetuses dying was something that didn't make sense.
"Doctor said my uterus had been permanently damaged" she explained very naturally. "Sex was too rough; I probably went a bit over the top, then one day the damage was done. After that, I could never have kids again."
"Oh." What was there to say? "Again, I am sorry."
She glanced me a motherly smile, as she poured the batter into a FORMA and placed it inside the oven. "Are you kids hungry yet? She asked us. "We could have an early dinner, before all that food goes cold."
"Sure, I'm gonna call the boys" Baby offered, disappearing into the house.
"Let me help you set the table" I volunteered.
"Thank you, my sweet. The plates are over there, the forks are in this drawer..." she went on instructing me.
I was a little bit tense – again, that was the kitchen of hell. I was praying not to find anything gruesome as I looked for the dinner set, and thankfully I did not.
"Oh honey, would you do me a favor and get the parmesan cheese in the fridge?" she asked.
Hell no! I wanted to scream. "You will forgive me, mama, but I feel like I'm catching a cold. After walking in that hot sun, I don't want to be exposed to the cold."
"No problem, dear. So anyway – as I was saying, Baby always wanted a sister so bad. I am glad that she's got you now."
I smiled. She's being a much better host today, I thought, still thinking of the previous night with mama's 'you are not part of the family, you cannot dine with us' treatment. "And I am glad for having her," I said "and such a loving mama like yourself, and the boys. It is too bad that it's just temporary, but I'm gonna make the most out of my time here."
"We'll make sure you do!" she guaranteed me with a smile.
Eventually we were all gathered around the dinner table – all except for Otis – passing the mashed potatoes around, serving each other cheap red wine and talking. I hadn't realized how hungry I was, not having eaten for over 24 hours. I sat between Tiny and Rufus, facing Baby and mama, being updated on the events of the day. It was normal reports that could have come from any family - as how Rufus fixed something in the stable (finally I got to hear his voice, although briefly), how Baby had seen something interesting on TV, and how mama was thinking of trying a new haircut.
Of course, there was non-routine talk as well, stuff that one could only expect to hear at the Fireflys' dinner table. Such as Baby bragging about the two guys that we had met at the diner, who would probably arrive at any time and become her next victims. Or mama being upset at Tiny, because he forgot to bury the ever growing pile of shoes and clothes – that once belonged to their victims – laying outside the house. Or Rufus mentioning that one of the hostages was giving him trouble by screaming too much, and he had cut her tongue out; but as she continued making annoying loud squeaks, he just broke her neck.
All family stuff.
I was surprised at how at ease, how at home I felt. Am I growing used to this madness, already? I wondered, concerned about my own reactions. Am I getting desensitized? Is this just a normal psychological reaction that happens when people face very unusual circumstances? Why am I feeling so light?
I finally blamed it on the wine.
As I kept drinking and observing that crazy family, strange thoughts occurred to me. I had been born in a good family, raised with a religion, been given everything that I needed in my whole life – love, food, education, friends, you name it. Being good was just the natural thing to do; I had my morals and beliefs, I followed them, and it was all great.
But had I been a good person because that was my essence, or just because it was the easy way to go?
It's not like I've ever had much of a chance to go in the other direction, I realized, watching Baby throw some rice on Rufus' forehead and making everyone laugh. Had I been lured with temptation, with opportunity, having different people around me, would I have chosen to follow a darker side? If I had known that I could murder someone and never get caught; or robbed a bank and get some good money; or do any crazy shit and get away with it... would I have done it?
The perspective really scared me, because I didn't have an honest answer for it. Maybe a few more days in that house, and I would find out.
I was being accepted by the Fireflys, too quickly to allow me time to breathe. What if I eventually become part of them, another family member? I pondered, and realized that it was very possible. What if, by spending too much time with them, I abandon everything that I believe in, and start thinking and feeling more like them? What if they train me to kill, torture, commit all sorts of crimes and I enjoy it? What if I decide never to return to my real family in 2005?
That was a possibility, too. We could all move to another state, somewhere where Sheriff Wydell would never think of looking, and start brand new. A big, insane, eccentric happy family.
Yes, that wine was definitely doing strange things to me.
I didn't fail to remember, though, that I'd better have a serious talk with them, soon. About the police raiding their house and killing them. I have time, I considered, but I better do this sooner than later. Let them warm up to me more, first.
I would have to be very tactful in how to convey the message. I couldn't just call in for a family meeting, and say "Hello everybody, I have a little secret to reveal: I come from the future, from a time machine, and I am here to avoid the death of you all. Your lives are shown in a couple of movies on the next century, you are all played by actors – I'm very familiar with the story – but don't worry! As long as we alter the events, you will be okay!"
That would send me straight to the basement again. Or worse. I'll worry about this later, I told myself.
When dinner was over, each one went his own way. I helped taking away the dishes; Tiny washed them.
Having free time on my hands, I grabbed my backpack (that was still in the place where I had left it) and headed upstairs, to Otis room.