The Addams Family Tenants.
Summary: What happens when the Addams family decides to take in a few extra tenants around the Manor? Can the macabre family handle a handful of rowdy, angsty college students?... Of course! They're The Addams Family! However, can an odd, rag-tag, strung together, group of college students handle the dark, the odd, the macabre humorous go on's of the Addams family household? We'll see.
Chapter One: A run in to Mr. Addams.
Gomez Addams was sitting in his library looking out the window over the family cemetery one early August morning. He'd found himself for lack of a better word… Bored.
Gomez Addams did not fancy himself being bored. He was a man of ambition, adventure, of doing new and exciting things. There was never to be a boring moment at the Addams's estate. It was simply unheard of.
His dear beloved Morticia was not back yet from her trip to visit her sister Ophelia, who'd fallen a trifle sick with the black plague. She was to return within the week and oh how this ached the old romantic's heart. He would shower her with his love and embrace upon her return. He would take her in mind, body and spirit- Not necessarily in that order mind you.
Grandmama of course was nowhere to be found. She'd only be found, when she wanted to be.
Gomez's brother Fester was out and about on another one of his exploits; adventuring to a haunted lake up north toward Michigan. Apparently there was to be some sort of mischief going on about driving people from their homes, and he fancied he'd go and have a look.
Oh Gomez certainly wanted to go along, but he couldn't bear the idea of leaving his dear sweet children home alone, even with Lurch and Thing there to keep watch after them. What kind of father would he be? He certainly couldn't bring them along on this likely dangerous and dark journey to the unknown… They had school.
Which in turn left Gomez to himself in his study; counting the days till his cara mia comes home. Counting the hours till his children come running into his arms. Counting the minutes until he lit his next cigar. Which in turn of course he decided to have at now as there was nothing else to do.
As thing ran up the length of Gomez's arm to light the end of of his brown rolled stobie, Gomez peered out the window at some young joggers passing by. This gave Gomez an idea.
"Yes… A stroll would be nice. A run even better! Haha! Wednesday and Pugsley won't be home for another 4 hours, plenty of time to have a gander at the town." He said to thing as he puffed on his cigar. He leapt up from his chair and ran to the shelf with a bronze statue bust of Vlad the Impaler's head ironically enough, and gave a turn to its nose. The hidden door in the wall swung inward and Gomez took a running down the narrow hallway toward an entrance into the Laundry room.
"Yeowza!" he yelped as his hasty dash had taken a very abrupt and painful stop. He'd stepped into a bear trap, left behind no doubt by his brother Fester.
As he pulled it off his ankle, he took a closer look at the steel toothed trap. Nope, this was one of Pugsley's machinations. He couldn't help but smile at the wit of his young boy.
Gomez stepped into the Laundry room, pulling himself out from a trap door hidden behind the hamper basket and began looking around at the different cupboards about, to find something suitable for his run.
"No. No. Nope. Certainly not" he says to himself as he pulls and tosses several shirts, a cape and a dress behind him. He then pulls out a ruffled white shirt and a pair of khaki pantaloons.
"Yes… Yes, this ought to do nicely. Comfy… bit worn, but all the sa-" he began to himself as he felt a tug on the back of his robe. He turned to see Thing perched on the washing machine with a striped black and white tank top, and pair of red running shorts. Gomez looked at the articles and then back to that which was in his hands.
Who knew better? The charming Gomez Addams; Wealthy businessmen and extraordinarily skilled swordsman, loving father and husband to an exceptional family? Or the severed hand servant simply known as Thing?
….
Gomez jogged lightly through Gate as it swung open in front of him, wearing the red shorts and tank top that had been picked out for him. He turned to his left and began picking up the pace, keeping his half smoked cigar clenched firmly between his teeth.
He jogged briskly past the cracked and moss covered brick walls that perimetered his estate and crossed the street into a more suburban neighborhood with clean panelled white and blue houses.
He passed a number of people whose eyes followed the usually reserved (at least reservedly dressed) man jogging past them in attire almost normal. Save for except his shoes. He only owned leather shoes and a pair of boots which he wore now as he jogged farther down the road.
Gomez jogged in place at the corner of the crosswalk as he waited for the light to turn green. An older woman walking her little white poodle briskly treaded up to the same crosswalk light and turned to look at him. The older lady adjusted her wireframed cat-eye glasses, and gasped, frozen realizing that it was Gomez Addams jogging next to her this warm August morning.
The mustached man pulled out his cigar to blow smoke and looked down at the older woman looking incredulously up at him.
"Ah, good morning Mrs. Ween. How good to see you! How are you today?" he asked with a toothy grin, as he stuck the chewed brown roll back between his teeth.
"Mr. Addams always a pleasure!" she smiled back at him. She was familiar with the eccentric man before her, as she had babysat a younger Wednesday Addams and a bouncing baby Pugsley couple years ago. She looked him up and down, then stopped at his feet, then back up to his face. "What on earth are you wearing on your feet?" She asked him. He looked down at the buckled leather pirate boots he wore.
"Haha, I see you've taken notice. Yes. I do not own myself a pair of sneakers." Gomez said as he turned his foot around admiring the worn black leather.
"You really ought to young man. There's a shop not too far down the road from here called Randy's, just off of Elm street." Mrs. Ween pointed "Be sure to grab a pair today if you plan on doing this sort of thing more often Mr. Addams."
Gomez smiled and looked to where she had pointed "You know what? I think I just might. Thank you Mrs. Ween." He said with a puff of his cigar.
"Always a pleasure Mr. Addams, always a pleasure.-Oh dear, Have a good day." she said as the light turned green. She crossed the street with her poodle which kept looking back at Mr. Addams then back to her owner as they returned to their own morning stroll.
"You as well Mrs. Ween!" Gomez called out, after puffing on his cigar. He looked ahead at his path and decided he'd keep an eye out for the shop. His light turned green, and he began jogging again.
~Meanwhile Elsewhere further up the road~
"I can't do this man…" a young man with his face buried into his hands said to the friend beside him currently pulling off very dirty and very worn sneakers.
"Dude, c'mon you've got to. I mean you worked so friggin hard to get here. You can do this." said the friend as he began unlacing a pair of nice new brown boots.
Jeremy Hawthorne was going to be a college Freshman this upcoming term at Union County College and he was stressing out. His friend Martin; a sophomore there had brought over his friend to Westfield for a tour and to ask about boarding there on campus. After some very disappointing news, they headed over to a shop to talk about what to do next while Martin got a new pair of shoes for the semester.
"I know. I know I did, but the schools got no more rooms, and if they did God they are expensive." Jeremy said as he lifted his head to look to Martin who began slipping the boot on.
"You're telling me. I live in one, and my roommate sucks." Martin agreed. He stood and began walking around with only the one. "I'd suggest we get an apartment together, but there's no way. The little job you got lined up over here doesn't pay enough, and neither does mine. There's just not enough time."
Just then the shop door swung open with the rattling chime of a bell. Both Jeremy and Martin turned to look at the man coming in through the doorway. He sported red running shorts, a striped sleeveless shirt, a thin dark mustache and a burning cigar clenched between his pristinely white teeth. He jogged into the shop, then slowed to a standstill in front of the counter then briskly walked over to the aisle next to the two boys.
"Was… Was he wearing cowboy boots?" Jeremy whispered over to Martin who was just sitting back down.
"Pirate boots actually. Specifically from the city of New Orleans." grinned Gomez from between boxes of shoes on the shelf separating the aisles. Martin and Jeremy turned to meet his dark eyes as he peered over a box of gray tennis shoes. He puffed his cigar and moved on. Jeremy actually smiled at this.
"Thanks." He said after him and turned to his friend Martin. Martin just shook his head and sat down to pull off the boot. Jeremy peered over the shoe rack to see where the odd man had gone.
"That Mr. Addams gives me the heebie jeebies." Martin said to himself. Jeremy turned to him and had to ask more.
"You know that guy?" Jeremy asked.
"You're kidding right- oh, right sorry. Here in Westfield, Mr. Addams is one of those people everyone knows. Not just cause his family is filthy rich, but because his whole family is just… Odd. Really odd." Martin said as he boxed the shoes he'd decided he was purchasing.
"Odd how?" Jeremy asked, curiouser and curiouser.
"Well… People say their house is haunted. It looks like a museum, on the edge of the cemetery. Like I'm pretty the thing was condemned twice."
"Woah"
"Yeah. He's married to this really tall gothic chick, scares the hell out of my mom. They have two kids just going into middle school I think, and they're just like their parents. Just… I don't know man... Odd."
As his friend went on about the Addams family, Jeremy smiled to himself in wonder. 'That is seriously something. That's so cool' he thought.
"You'll probably see once you're here a little longer." Martin finished.
"If I can even be here a little longer." the young college student sighed out.
Martin frowned and checked his phone. It was about time to head out. After Martin pulled on his shoes they went up to the counter to pay.
"What am I going to do? The semester starts in a week and I can't drive over here to the college every day. I can't live on Campus. We can't get an apartment. What am I going to do?"
"You could find board with me." came a deep voice from behind the two young men.
~A few minutes earlier~
Gomez jogged farther up the road and kept an eye out for the Randy shoe shop that Mrs. Ween had said to go to. Luckily he didn't have to look far, it was right there on the corner of Elm street. A little white shop sitting under a brown apartment building.
The door chimed as he jogged through and turned from bounding in place, to walking to the men's athletic section of the store. He puffed his cigar as he browsed the boxes before him, looking for a design that would suit his interest.
"Was… was he wearing cowboy boots?" he heard from behind the shelf before him. He pulled out his cigar from his lips and peered through the empty where a box used to be, at two young gentlemen trying on shoes.
"Pirate boots actually. Specifically from the city of New Orleans." He said with a grin. They turned to see him as he puffed his cigar and went back about finding his shoes.
'Curiosity broadens the mind' Gomez thought to himself. He realized he was looking at sizes just a tad too small and had to look lower for his.
"Mr. Addams is one of those people everyone knows." Gomez smiled at this. 'I should think so. The Addamses have been in this town for generations.'
"Not just cause his family is filthy rich," He couldn't help but listen in 'Like a couple billion dollars truly means anything. There are plenty of nameless billionaire families.'
"but because his whole family is just… Odd. Really odd." He rolled his eyes 'As if normal is really normal.' Gomez smiled to himself.
"Odd how?" 'Curiosity broadens the mind' Gomez thought to himself again. He liked this boy.
"Well… People say their house is haunted. It looks like a museum, on the edge of the cemetery. Like I'm pretty the thing was condemned twice." Gomez had to stifle a chuckle 'Five times actually. Five times and oh the old titanium will never fail.'
Gomez had found a pair of running shoes with a chalky black and gray pattern printed in waves along the sides of it. Almost reminiscent of one of his favorite suits. He sat down and pulled off the dusty leather boot, and set it aside while he pulled on the sneaker for a test fit.
"You'll probably see once you're here a little longer." The less inquisitive of the two young men prompted.
"If I can even be here a little longer." the young college student sighed out. This actually grasped Mr. Addams's attention. 'He's not from here?' Gomez put on the other shoe and stood with his boots now in the box. He then headed for the counter.
Coincidentally enough, the two young men had been on their way out as well and were just a tad ahead enough of him for him to overhear again.
"What am I going to do? The semester starts in a week and I can't drive over here to the college every day. I can't live on Campus. We can't get an apartment. What am I going to do?" the more inquisitive boy had asked. Without really any hesitation, Gomez found himself prompted to an idea.
"You could find board with me." he said as the two men turned around to meet his gaze; both a bit slack jawed.
"Hey! Mr. Addams, you can't smoke in here! You'll stink up the shoes!" yelled out the shopkeeper as he walked from the back storage room to the counter. Mr. Addams looked down his nose at the last bit of cigar in his mouth.
"My good man it's almost out on it's own surely-"
"No exceptions. I'm shocked you haven't even set off my smoke detectors yet." the man behind the counter reiterated. Mr. Addams looked at him, then his cigar and nodded. He pulled the lit roll out of his mouth and stuck it into the pocket of his shorts.
Jeremy looked on at this in awe. How? Why? Mr. Addams took a step forward and held out his now empty hand toward the two college students.
"Gomez Addams. My family and I are the apparent talk of the town as you can imagine" he said as the two men shook his hand. Martin felt a nervous embarrassment creep onto his face. "But I couldn't help but overhear your predicament Mr….?"
"Jeremy. Jeremy Hawthorne." Jeremy said. "And this is my friend Martin. Are you serious about boarding at your house?"
Gomez smiled and nodded as he stepped past the two young men as Martin looked incredulously at his friend then back at the man whose family he just named all odd.
He set the box with his boots in it on the counter and told the cashier he was gonna wear the shoes out. As the cashier rang them up, Gomez turned his attention back to the two college students.
"Quite serious. I think you'll find the Addam's household quite spacious. I'm certain having you around would be a charm." Gomez said as the cashier told him $75.40.
"That would be amazing, but I'm afraid I can't afford too much. Not with my job. I'm glad I'm working off mostly scholarships for my schooling itself." Jeremy admitted.
Gomez reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a couple folded bills and rested them under his hand on the counter.
"I see, I see. Well worry not my friend, I'm sure I can make it work for you. How does six hundred-fifty a month sound?" Gomez suggested. Both Jeremy and Martin went wide eyed.
"Six hundred and fifty?" asked Jeremy after finding his words. 'That's less than half the rent for an apartment! A cruddy one at that!' he exclaimed silently. "Mr. Addams I-"
"Six hundred then!" Gomez said with a tilt to his head.
"Si-si-six hundred?" 'OhMyGod!'
"Fine. Five hundred then! I won't go any lower. You're a hard worker, I can tell. I don't want you getting lazy on me, I'll keep you on your toes." Gomez said with a smile and a nod at the astonished young man before him.
"Mr. Addams that would be amazing! But you don't even know who I am!" Jeremy said as he turned to look at his friend who was still gawking in disbelief. Gomez drummed his fingers on the counter as he pondered this. While the man behind the counter looked hungrily at the folded bills beneath the tan hand of Mr. Addams as his patience wore thin.
"That is true my boy that is true. Tell you what, you can come by later this week for dinner and meet the family and the family can meet you. What do you say?"
Jeremy smiled and nodded.
"Excellent, but do take your time to decide if you must, I'll give you my number." Gomez said as he let go of the bills to pull out a pen. 'Why on earth does he have a pen on him while jogging?' Jeremy thought to himself.
The cashier eyed the bills as the register pushed out a receipt which Gomez gladly swiped and began writing the house phone number on the back of it. He handed it to Jeremy and turned on his heel toward the door, box now tucked under his arm.
"Go ahead and you two get yourselves a pair of runners! Stars above knows a morning jog will do you some good!" and with that said, Mr. Addams left the store and returned to his run.
The two men looked at the cashier who was now waving a few hundred-dollar bills, and gestured back to the shoe aisles they had just come from.