Chapter 48
Eddy had ran as fast as he could through the town business district, bumping and pushing his way through the crowds of windows shoppers in an effort to make it to the restaurant as promised. Fortunately, Eddy had managed to make it to the restaurant, just as the Kankers were checking in.
Eddy's entrance was quite obnoxious, not unlike the obnoxious stunt he and his friends had pulled at one of Nazz's summer sprinkler parties. The small Ed boy had charged into the restaurant through the wooden doors, neglecting the fact that a fancy red runner had been laid just behind. Eddy's foot caught a small edge of the runner, causing him to trip and fall into a "log roll". Eddy's instinctively reaction was to grab the side of the long carpet, resulting in the carpet wrapping him up as he rolled. After rolling for a few feet, the friction of the marble floor finally stopped the human sushi roll; his final position being one in which his protruding head was directly at Lee's feet. Eddy, still stunned by his fall gazed outward, his eyes taking note of Lee's signature high heeled boots; he tipped his head downward relative to his body, resulting in him training his gaze upward toward the ceiling.
Lee had changed out of her ballet attire, and had donned her usual winter outdoor wear; an emerald green designer coat, tight blue jeans, and black high heeled boots with white trim. She had released her hair from the confines of it's tight bun, allowing her red curls to once again hang over her shoulders, while being held away from her eyes from a matching green headband. Her glasses had been placed back on her face, allowing her to see clearly once again. While others might be nervous about performing without any form of corrective eyewear, due to profound nearsightedness, Lee showed absolutely no apprehension. This was due to her having to deal with her vision problems without corrective eyewear for ten years; the glasses she had worn as a child had been rendered unusable, and due to the Kankers financial situation (and Lee's refusal to wear them), she had not gotten a new pair until the end of eighth grade.
While the mistake did not go over too well with all of the patrons, (who had expected a calm, sophisticated night), as well as the cultured staff, the Kankers found it quite amusing. Lee simply smiled, leaned down, and kissed her boyfriend on the lips. She, Tabby, Rod, and the staff then helped release Eddy from his carpet prison, after which they sat down and enjoyed their dinner.
At the same time that Lindsay was conducting her bed time routine, Rods red pickup truck was making it's way down Rethink Avenue, shuttling he, Tabby, Lee and Eddy home from their Italian dinner. Eddy and Lee sat in the back seat, with Rod driving and Tabby taking her place in the front passenger seat. Tabby had been attempting to quit smoking, and had limited herself to one cigarette a day after dinner; with her plan being to wean herself off gradually. Accordingly, she had lowered the passenger window slightly, cradling the cigarette between her right index and middle finger, while holding the smoldering end out the window between draws.
The truck eventually found its way into the Kankers driveway, at which point Rod shifted the vehicle into park, deactivated it's headlights, and turned off the engine. The four occupants exited the vehicle, with Tabby and Rod conversing as they made their way up the gravel path, and into the front door, leaving Lee and Eddy outside to say their goodbyes and good nights.
The two teenagers made their way around to the rear of the truck from opposite directions, and met in the vicinity of the tail gate. Lee smiled as she approached her diminutive boyfriend, initiating a conversation as she approached.
"Well Little Man," said Lee playfully, "That was fun, but I think it's time we call it a night!
"Yeah," said Eddy, "All that dancing wore me out, those lifts can really take a toll on you."
"What the hell!" said Lee angrily as she leaned down to meet Eddy at eye level, "What are you saying I'm too fat for ya!?"
Eddy's face suddenly turned red, assuming a nervous expression.
"No, No," said Eddy frantically, "I was just saying that it was a lot of work and..."
Lee placed her hand over Eddy's mouth silencing him.
"Jeez Louise," said Lee, "We've been dating for eight months, you'd think you'd know by now when I'm kidding!"
Lee giggled slightly.
"But I'll let it slide cause it's cute," said Lee as she smiled. She reached down and squeezed his bicep "Besides, with those rock hard biceps you can definitely stand to lift more than little old me."
Lee purred playfully as she as she felt his muscle, causing Eddy to blush and smile, after which she let out a slight giggle. She then took Eddy's hands in hers, and continued speaking.
"Well, I guess this is good night," said Lee.
"Yep," said Eddy, "I guess it is."
There was a pause as both teenagers stared into each others eyes with a smile; Eddy's eyes appearing infatuated as he admired Lee's blue eyes, currently surrounded by black eye liner, and somewhat obscured by the reflection of her lenses. A few seconds passed, after which his trance was finally broken by Lee's playful antics
"Well what the hell are ya waiting for," said Lee, "Are ya gonna kiss me, or not?"
Eddy smiled lovingly, at which point he tiptoed in an effort to reach Lee's lips. The tall girl responded by kneeling down slightly, and touching her lips to his. The two teenagers remained locked in their kiss for what seemed like an eternity to them, although it lasted all but thirty seconds.
The two eventually pulled away, at which point they lovingly stared at each other for a few seconds. Eddy eventually broke the silence.
"Goodnight Babe," said Eddy with a flirty grin as he turned away and began walking towards his house, "See ya in school tomorrow."
"Goodnight sweetie," said Lee, "Sweet dreams."
Eddy turned away, and began making his way towards his yellow ranch house. Lee, rather than escaping the cold winter air, opted to remain still. She watched Eddy walk a few paces with an expression of concern on her face, at which point she decided to yell in his direction.
"Hey Eddy!" yelled Lee, using her gentle, motherly tone of voice, albeit in a higher amplitude.
Eddy stopped is his tracks, and turned to face his girlfriend.
"Yes Lee?" asked Eddy.
Lee hastily made her way toward Eddy's position with a jog, a difficult feat considering her heels, which clicked loudly on the pavement with each step. She eventually reached Eddy, and leaned down to meet him eye to eye.
"Can I umm...tell you something?" asked Lee rather sheepishly, in complete contrast to her usual persona.
"Yeah, sure," said Eddy, appearing to convey concern as well.
"Well...uh you see," said Lee, "You know how Lindsay and I have this feud between us?"
"Yeah," said Eddy, "Like I didn't notice before?
Eddy and Lee shared a giggle, at which point Lee decided to continue.
"Well, I just thought I'd be honest with you and tell you," said Lee, "Tell you that...that..."
Lee struggled to get her words out, as Eddy awaited for the completion of her sentence with confusion; it was not like the articulate Lee to stumble over her words. Finally, Lee's apparent nervousness got the best of her, and she decided to finally finish, albeit with a different intention than originally planned.
"Tell you that I always hated that little bitch," said Lee, "Ever since we were little she has tried to one up me, and act like she's hot shit. That's why I go so far to try to beat her at everything she does. She gets everything handed to her in life, and I want to show her that if I'm around she ain't getting everything."
Lee paused for a brief moment, prior to continuing.
"Anyway, my original reason for this whole ballet thing was to beat her," said Lee, "But after watching you improve so much, and spending so much time dancing together, I really started to enjoy it."
Lee leaned down into Eddy's face with a smile.
"Just because we won doesn't mean we have to stop," said Lee, "If you want, we can get together every Friday night and dance together. I can show you some more advanced techniques...that is if you want to."
Lee stared into her boyfriends eyes with nervousness for a few moments, at which point Eddy decided to reply with an overconfident grin.
"Sure thing Babe," said Eddy, "I'd like that, besides I gotta keep up with it to maintain these new guns!"
Eddy confidently flexed his bicep, causing Lee to giggle.
"Sounds great," said Lee, "Well, goodnight see ya tomorrow cutie!"
"Yep," said Eddy, "See ya tommorow!"
The two teenagers shared one more kiss, after which they went their separate ways. While Eddy continued to display a grin all the way to his bedroom door, Lee's smile disappeared as she turned away from her lover, being replaced with a melancholy expression.
It didn't take long for Lee to reach the oak door leading into her house. She promptly opened it, entered, and quickly closed it behind her to avoid infiltration of the bitter chill. She removed her green coat, revealing a pink long sleeved shirt underneath, and opened the closet door located adjacent to the front entry. She carefully hung the coat on one of the free hangers, closed the door, and made her way up the flight of five stairs leading to the upper level of the house.
As Lee made her way to her bedroom, she passed Rod and Tabby's bedroom located at the top of the stairs. Inside the two adults were making preparation to retire for bed, Rod sat on the bed sliding on his bedtime lounge pants, while Tabby stood at her vanity tying her hair up for sleeping. As Rod finished getting changed, he decided to begin a conversation.
"Well that was a definition of a good night," said Rod, "We got to see our little girl perform for the first time, and win at that, and then we got to eat at the best restaurant in town."
Tabby surprisingly did not respond, rather she stared into the mirror with a slight frown. Rod took notice of her irresponsible and turned towards her, taking notice of her expression in the reflection.
"Hey honey, what's bothering you?" asked Rod as he stood up, and relocated himself to a position adjacent to Tabby. He placed his arm around his wife's shoulder as he spoke to her through the mirror reflection, "You barely said a word since we left the school."
Tabby waited a few moments prior to responding.
"Sorry," said Tabby, "It's just so hard. Seeing her up on stage, the way she walks, the way she smiles...she reminds me so much of her, and it hurts."
"Tab," said Rod, "I know it's hard but..."
"You don't even know," said Tabby as a tear began rolling down her cheek. A few seconds passed, at which point she turned, buried her face into Rods chest, and sobbed uncontrollably. Rod responded by squeezing his wife tightly in a loving embrace.
Outside in the hallway, Lee had finally reached her bedroom. She opened the door, and flicked on the light switch, fully illuminating the red and pink room. She spent the next few minutes removing her clothes, discarding them in her hamper, after which she donned a loose pink t-shirt and a pair of flannel pants in preparation for bed.
After tying her hair up, and removing her glasses for storage in the case, Lee laid down on her back, crossing her legs at the ankles and folding her hands on her abdomen. She laid in silence for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling, after which she uttered a few words to herself.
"You mean the world to me, and it hurts me not to be honest with you, but it's just so hard." said Lee, "I love her like a sister, and I hate seeing her like this."
At the conclusion of her statement, the red headed teenager leaned over, and grasped the pull chain to her table lamp. With an audible click, the room was shrouded in darkness. Lee laid her head on her pillow, pondering her situation as she drifted off into the realm of dreams.
