Chapter 63
As the Kanker girls continued to contemplate the frightening problem of Lee's sudden disappearance, Eddy, oblivious that his girlfriend might be in danger, had made his way out of the residential area and into the business district. The boy was still visibly furious regarding the situation that had occurred around fifteen minutes earlier; he marched down the street, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he displayed a visible scowl, all the while shoving his way through the crowds without excusing himself while kicking empty soda cans that littered the street.
Eddy eventually turned the corner into the alley leading into his destination, the Nicklaus Brothers Tree Farm. As he continued walking down the small alley, the red scarf around his neck flowing in the slight chilly breeze, he grimaced while uttering a few words to himself
"Now I'm the bad guy again," said Eddy, "Every time something goes wrong, I get blamed for it. All's I was trying to do was help my girl out, and what do I get? Nothing, but everyone yelling down my throat once again. I was doing her and them all a favor by trying to get rid of Lindsay, and they should be thanking me."
At that point Eddy entered the gate leading into the sparsely populated tree farm. Near the far side of the lot, Chris stood near the office shack, packing all of the remaining supplies into cardboard boxes, and using heavy duty shipping tape to secure them. As the large man placed the end of the tape on the edge of the box, promptly pulling on the roll causing it to unreal while emitting it's characteristic "rip" sound, he took notice of Eddy arriving for his final night of work. He watched Eddy make his way towards the boxes, currently positioned at the tail end of Chris's truck for loading, stomping angrily as he did so.
"Yo kid," said Chris, "Good to see ya! Ready for your last day under my wing?"
Eddy said nothing, seemingly lost in his thoughts as he stormed towards the pile of boxes. He continued mumbling to himself as he placed his hand on the truck tail gate.
"She's lucky I'm still doing this," said Eddy, "It's not like she's even going to appreciate it. Talk about a one-sided relationship."
With an audible click, Eddy disengaged the latch and forcibly flung the tailgate to the downward position, shaking the entire truck. He then proceeded to pick up the boxes one by one, throwing them into the truck in angry rage.
"Whoah kid, what they hell are ya doin!?" yelled Chris, "That trucks shocks are shot to shit already, I can't afford to have anything else go wrong. And take it easy on those ornaments, those are easy money from the distributor."
Eddy claimed down slightly, loading the boxes in a much more gentle manner as Chris made his way over to help.
"Somethin' tells me ya had a bad day." said Chris, "What happened, ya get in trouble in school or something?"
"No nothing too bad," said Eddy sarcastically as he continued placing the boxes on the trucks bed, "Just the usual, my best friends blaming all of the neighborhoods problems on me when I was the only person trying to stop it, and to make things even worse Lee's pissed at me for the same thing! I told her to get over the whole Lindsay thing, and she got upset and ran away. Then her sister and Double Dee jump down my throat about it, acting like I'm the devil in disguise. Typical day in Peach Creek for me."
"Geez, what the hell happened!?" asked Chris, "I thought ya said you gave up all those plans you had to get rid of that Lindsay girl and we're gonna focus on getting Lee her dress. Ain't that why you took this job!?"
"It was!" said Eddy, "But now with the way Lee's been acting, I might just pocket the money. She ain't gonna appreciate it anyway, just like she doesn't appreciate anything else I do!"
"Kid, I gotta tell ya something," said Chris as he stood up straight, looking Eddy in the eye, "I like ya a lot, and you do seem like a nice kid, but goddamnit if you aren't the definition of a hothead, I don't know who is. Look how quick you just made that decision not to go on and get Lee her dress, just cause things got ya down at the moment. If I were to wager, I'd say that little character flaw is what got ya in this situation in the first place. Sound right?"
Eddy said absolutely nothing, remaining still with a scowl on his face. Chris emitted a sigh, at which point he placed the packing tape on top of one of the cardboard boxes.
"Alright," said Chris, "Put that box down, and come inside."
"What?" asked Eddy in a confused manner.
"Look," said Chris, "I'm a very reasonable guy. You've been working your balls off every night for the last week, and I have to say I'm impressed with your work ethic. Seeing as it's your last day, and you got bigger problems to worry about, why don't we chat about this over a little card game? Don't worry, I'm feeling generous, you'll get your full day's pay and the game won't be poker. I don't want to knock ya down anymore than you already are."
Chris turned and began walking towards the shack, leaving Eddy quite confused at the situation presented before him. Nevertheless, the short Ed boy followed his mentor into the shack, wondering what could possibly come of this small excursion.
A few minutes was all it took for Chris to set up a small 3'x3' card table, and make himself and Eddy a cup of hot chocolate. The large man had dealt a series of playing cards to himself and Eddy, who were currently sitting across from each other in fold up chairs. Both individuals held five cards in their hand, fanning them out and rearranging their position as they glanced upon a few cards placed face up in the center of the table. The two men sat in silence for a few moments, pondering their hands as they attempted to adapt a strategy to the indistinct game they were playing.
As Chris laid one of his cards in the center of the table, he decided to continue their earlier conversation.
"Well now that you calmed down a bit," said Chris, "Did ya give any thought to what I said?"
"About what?" asked Eddy in a confused manner.
"Man, do you listen to anything I say?" asked Chris, "Your temper, and your tendency to make brash decisions. Have you given any thought that that may be an issue of yours?"
Eddy groaned.
"Look," said Eddy, "I didn't come here for a lecture, I can get that from Double Dee anytime! Okay, I'm pissed off, but don't I have a right to be? None of this is my fault, it all goes back to Lee and Lindsay, and their stupid..."
"There's problem two and three," said Chris, " Two being that you don't want to listen to anyone's advice, especially those who care and are trying to help you, not to mention paying you a days work to play cards. And three is your inability to admit your wrongdoing, and blame others for actions that are yours and only yours."
Eddy groaned slightly as he threw down a card of his own. Chris took a draw from his cigarette, after which he decided to continue.
"Now," said Chris, "What started this fight? The truth, and no bitching about anyone else blaming you."
"Long story," said Eddy, "But if you want the truth, it all goes back to my plan to use my friend Rolf to keep Lindsay away from Lee. For whatever reason, Rolf's crazy about Lindsay, and I figured using his strange customs to gross her out would be a good way to do it. But she wound up leading him on, and now he's pretty heartbroken over it. Not only that, but Lee's really mad that I went behind her back and tried to help her, well at least that's how I see it."
Eddy glanced upward, meeting Chris' eyes with his.
"Things have been very weird from the time Lindsay moved here," said Eddy, "I've known Lee for two years, and one thing I've learned about the girl is nobody, and I mean NOBODY messes with her unless they're expecting a fight. Lee is an excellent speaker, and very street smart, and while she's calmed down a lot recently, she still will not hesitate to punch somebody out if they do her wrong."
Eddy placed another card down onto the table.
"Here's the kicker," said Eddy, "If anyone else in the world would treat her like Lindsay does, Lee would have simply beat the living shit out of them and been done with it. But all of the sudden, she turns into a catty girl, going back and forth with Lindsay over petty stuff. It's frustrating her beyond belief. Lee has said that Lindsay has been a problem for her since Kindergarten, you'd think she'd be fed up by now!"
Chris paused for a few moments, after which he decided to respond.
"I get it," said Chris, "You love Lee, and you hate to see her angry and suffering emotionally, right?"
Eddy nodded up and down.
"Yeah," said Eddy, "What's your point?"
"My point is that there are much better ways of going about it than the way you did," said Chris, "Think about it, put yourself in your pal Rolf's shoes. How would you feel if Ed or Kevin did the same thing to you!?"
"Well, I'd be pissed," said Eddy, "But..."
Eddy paused, pondering his words and the situation he had created before completed his sentence.
"I guess I dropped the ball," said Eddy, "Even though I stopped helping Rolf after a few days, I should have told him the truth instead of letting it just continue. I should have listened to Double Dee. Man I'm a loser."
"Don't sell yourself short kid," said Chris, "You just admitted that you were wrong, that's the first step in being a man. And just cause you screwed up something don't make you a loser. Shit, you don't wanna know the kinds of trouble I got into as a teenager, and look at me I got a pretty successful business here."
"I know," said Eddy, "I just feel bad for Lee. I never meant to hurt her, I was just trying to make her Christmas a special one. But how can I if she's constantly being tortured by Lindsay?"
"Hmm," said Chris, "I gotta admit that is a tough nut to crack, women are like a different species sometimes, so hard to figure out."
Chris took another draw of his cigarette.
"If I were a betting man," said Chris, "The answer may lie in something you said earlier."
"What's that?" asked Eddy.
"You said that Lee treats her problem with Lindsay different then she would if it were anyone else," said Chris, "You know, the catty bullshit, and all the challenges and one-ups instead of using 'physical persuasion'"
"Yeah," said Eddy, "So?"
"Have ya given any thought on why that could be?" asked Chris.
"Somewhat," said Eddy, "I never really thought to deep though."
Chris placed card on the table, after which he looked Eddy in the eye.
"Eddy," said Chris, "Do you remember the last piece of advice I gave you to keep in mind the night you came back to ask me for your job back?"
Chris paused for a few moments, adopting a serious facial expression.
"There's more to every story than meets the eye," said Chris, "There's got to be a reason that Lee handles things the way she does."
"Well, what could it be?" asked Eddy.
"Fucked if I know," said Chris as took a draw of his cigarette, "Why don't you ask her?"
"Are you nuts," asked Eddy, "Bringing up Lindsay in any way is just like pulling a trigger to a gun pointed at your own head. It gets her steamed every time."
"Look kid," said Chris, "You can either deal with seeing Lee suffer emotionally for however long youse two are together, or you can take action and try to figure out what the hell is going on, it's your call. As for me, I suggest you go over to her house sit down with her, and just ask her the question. What the hell could it hurt?"
Eddy groaned.
"I would," said Eddy, "But that's easier said than done. Lee's really upset, and probably doesn't even want to talk to anyone after what happened earlier. She probably already went to bed anyway."
"No big deal," said Chris, "All's ya gotta do is figure out a way to make it up to her and let her know you're sorry for what happened. I'll tell ya, I ain't no expert on women, but I've been around a lot in my younger years, and one thing I do know is no matter how rough around the edges they are, women go gaga over all that romantic mushy crap. Tell me this, did you ever do anything romantic for Lee that made her melt away in your arms?"
Eddy thought for a few moments, after which he decided to reply.
"Well," said Eddy, "One time last spring, Lee got pretty upset over a test at school and, as usual went to bed early without saying anything to anyone. I decided to cheer her up by surprising her with this fake test I made, with questions that were compliments about Lee, answered by me and graded with a 100. I climbed up the backyard patio, and into her window to surprise her. It's funny, as soon as she saw me knock on the window, her face lit up with that cute smile she has when she's happy. It's like it made her night or something."
"There ya go!" said Chris, "Write up a heartfelt note or something, and go surprise her with it through her window. Apologize to her, and let her know you're there for her to talk to, women go crazy over that shit too."
At that moment Chris adopted a serious expression, as he leaned on the table staring directly into Eddy's eyes.
"You better go now," said Chris, "Or you might miss the perfect opportunity to find out something that can really help you make things right."
Eddy stared at Chris for a few moments with confusion, prior to replying.
"Now?" asked Eddy, "But I'm on the clock till ten."
"Don't make me think about it," said Chris as he removed his wallet from his pocket, "You're a good kid with a heart of gold, you just need your priorities straightened out every once in a while. You got better things to do tonight than sitting with some old fat guy playing cards."
Chris opened his wallet, and removed a large wad of cash. He proceeded to count it, and placed it on the table in front of Eddy.
"This should be enough to cover Lee's dress," said Chris, "This money will certainly come in handy, but keep in mind the other advice I gave to you: Material possessions are fine and dandy, but it's those intangible things that really pack the punch."
Eddy stared at the money sitting before him with an excited expression. He proceeded to pick up the cash, fold it up, and place it into his wallet. He then stood up off of his chair, and walked towards Chris' position with his hand outstretched.
"Chris," said Eddy, "You've been nothing but good to me all season, and I really appreciate you helping me out like this. There's gotta be some way for me to repay ya. How's about I help you out with you're contracting company for a bit after the holiday."
"Kid, don't mention it," said Chris as he shook Eddy's hand, "I'm always willing to help a young man with a good work ethic, no matter how much of a blowhard they are."
Chris and Eddy shared a laugh, after which Chris decided to continue.
"Besides," said Chris, "My business is packing up shop and moving to another state after the holidays."
"No kiddin'," said Eddy, "I guess this is goodbye then?"
"More like see ya later," said Chris, "I can guarantee we'll cross paths again."
The two shared another smile, at which point Chris let go of Eddy's hand.
"Now get outta here!" said Chris, "Go get your girl back, and have yourselves a merry little Christmas!"
"You got it!" said Eddy as he made his way over to the door, "Thanks again Chris, and a merry Christmas to you too!"
Eddy opened the door, ushering in a small blast of bone chilling cold air, and quickly exited the shack, closing the wooden fixture behind him.
At this time the winter sun had begun to set, ushering in the twilight hours; accordingly the sky had transformed from a bright blue, to beautiful hues of orange and pink. As Eddy made his way across the dirt filled lot towards the exit, Chris rose from his seat and made his way toward the shack's solitary plexiglass window. Using his finger and thumb, he separated the closed blinders, allowing him to observe Eddy's progress with a smile.
