Okay, this chapter is a little bit different, but still an important part of Gordo's life, I think. Almost done now.
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As it happened, Valentine's Day occurred on a Friday. This was the worst possible day for Valentine's if you were unattached and facing the prospect of a lonely evening at home, after spending an entire day watching your friends at school give each other balloons and cards and teddy bears as they discussed their plans for a romantic evening.
Friday would have been awful for Gordo if he had not spent the last five days thinking about Meryl and what might happen before the end of this weekend. If not by the end of this weekend, certainly by the following Friday he and Meryl would be together, celebrating their Valentine's, albeit a little late. Gordo didn't mind being late. All that mattered was that it was going to happen. He and Meryl were going to happen. He was getting over Nicole, and he had kind of liked Meryl almost since the day he met her, so he knew this wasn't just the rebound effect. He was genuinely excited about getting together with Meryl.
At school, Gordo pretended he was coming down with a cold. It was a convenient excuse to use on Parker, who was still bugging him to take her to the Dance that evening. He put on such a good show, he almost convinced himself he actually was sick. The more he "sneezed" and "coughed," the more he began to look forward to a quiet evening, hibernating alone at home.
The moment he walked through the door, he smelled his favorite meal cooking. Pot roast. "All right, Mom!" he exclaimed. See? At least his mother loved him. He came into the kitchen. No Mom. No Dad. But there was a note. Davey, your father and I are going out. Dinner is in the oven. Enjoy, sweetheart! Love, Mom.
Gordo chuckled. Mom and Dad going out. Ha! Even his freaking parents were celebrating Valentine's Day! This was something new. They were both always so busy, it had been years since they had done anything fun together. Gordo knew this had to be a good thing, but strangely, it made him feel sad. It made him feel more alone. He pulled out his plate of food from the oven and sat down at the kitchen counter to eat.
As he ate, Gordo could not help but review the day. Miranda had been talking about going to the Holy Rigatoni with Chris. Gordo remembered too well what had happened the last time he and Nicole had gone to the Holy Rigatoni, just before Christmas. He hoped Miranda and beau would have a better time.
Then he thought of Meryl and Tudge. Yeah, now that he knew, it seemed so obvious. The spark was gone. They were just going through the motions. There was talk about the Dance, and Tudge insisted on going to Boomer's Game Palace afterwards, to which Meryl agreed, but not enthusiastically. Gordo could tell. Their days were numbered.
Even strange AnnaBelle had found someone with whom to celebrate Valentine's Day. She and Green Gus were a match made in Heaven, weren't they? Green Gus was so named for the color of his Mohawk, and his fingernail polish, which, it was rumored, glowed in the dark. AnnaBelle said she intended to find out if those rumors were true.
Gordo personally could think of nothing more disturbing than the idea of those two alone in the dark, so he let his mind wander again, and at last he found his thoughts resting upon a pretty pink cashmere sweater. And wearing that sweater….Lizzie McGuire. Yes, she had looked stunning today. Even glowing. Gordo couldn't help noticing. He wondered how any guy in school could help noticing. He hoped that Brad…Brett….Britt….whoever…he hoped that guy was treating her right.
As he savored the delicious pot roast and thoughts of Lizzie, Gordo suddenly realized he was not alone in the house. He heard steps coming down the stairs, and in a moment, his mother stood in the kitchen doorway. "Oh, good!" she exclaimed. "You found the pot roast!"
"Mom!" Gordo exclaimed. "Wow!"
Mrs. Gordon smiled. "Is it good? I felt so bad, Davey, thinking of you being all along on Valentine's, I wanted to do something special for---"
"Yes! It's good. It's more than good, it's delicious. But that's not why I'm saying 'Wow!'" Gordo revealed. "I mean….Mom! Look at you! Wow!"
His mother giggled, which was actually a little disturbing, and then she twirled around in the doorway, showing off her little red dress. Which was even more disturbing. "I know!" she exclaimed. "It's been ages since your father and I have really gone out, I mean for a romantic evening together, something that wasn't work-related. I thought it would be nice to dress up. You don't need to know how much I spent on this pretty little thing."
"No, I don't need to know," Gordo agreed.
"It's just….well, Dad and I were talking about it and we realized… you know, aren't we just the experts on telling everyone else how to run their lives, how to improve their relationships, how to be happy? But do we ever take our own advice? No, not really. Doesn't that make us the worst kind of hyprocrites? So now we've decided we're going to do everything we can to revitalize our marriage---"
"Okay," Gordo interrupted. "Now I really don't need to know."
Mrs. Gordon stopped and looked at her son. She smiled. But it was a sad smile.
"I'm so sorry, Davey," she said suddenly. "I know it's got to be troubling for you to be alone this Valentine's Day, so soon after losing Nicole. If you want to talk about it----"
"No, Mom. Really. I'm okay."
"Just remember. Your father and I are always here for you."
"Thanks, Mom. But I'll be okay. I'm just going to stay in tonight and watch some movies. I kind of feel a cold coming on anyway…" And here he offered one of his fake coughs he had perfected earlier in the day for Parker.
"Oh dear!" Mrs. Gordon exclaimed, flying to her son's side and pressing her hand against his forehead to feel for fever. "No, you don't feel hot. Thank goodness for that. Are you congested? If you're congested, you shouldn't have the ice cream I bought you."
"You bought me ice cream?" Gordo asked, his demeanor instantly brightening.
"Yes. Creamsicles. They're in the freezer."
"Creamsicles…" Gordo said dreamily. "Well, actually, I don't feel that congested. I think I could manage a few creamsicles."
"And have you been into the den yet? Did you see the movies?"
"What movies?" Gordo asked, his interest piqued.
"Those
Die Hard movies."
"Mom!" Gordo exclaimed. "You rented
the Die Hard movies for me?"
"No," she said, smiling. "We didn't rent them. We bought them. I know it seems an odd kind of Valentine's present, these knock 'em down, shoot 'em up celebrations of macho violence, but your father and I---"
Mrs. Gordon did not get to finish her thought, because she was suddenly overwhelmed by a bear hug from her teenage son. "Well!" was all she could get out in a surprised tone.
"No, it's not odd at all," Gordo said over his mother's shoulder. "It's just perfect, Mom. It's perfect. That's just what I needed this Valentine's. Thanks!"
"Hey! Hey! What's going on here?"
Mr. Gordon had just walked into kitchen, and now he was saying, "If this is a group hug, can I get in on it?"
Gordo let go of his mom and went over to hug his dad. It had been a long time since he had done this to either of his parents. It felt a little strange, but it also felt good. "Thanks, Dad," he said. "Thanks for the movies."
"Oh,
that!" Mr. Gordon said. "Well, don't enshrine me as a saint
quite yet, David. You know, my motives were not entirely pure. I
intend to sit down with you and watch every single one. Some night
we'll cook up a big bunch of popcorn and do a double feature. A
triple feature! We'll stay up all night. What do you say?"
Gordo
wasn't quite sure what to say. This was turning out to be a most
unusual Valentine's Day.
Yes, as unusual as it was, nothing could compare with what happened next.
