Chapter 90
An hour had passed since the showdown between the Lindsay and her tormentor. After a few moments of basking in the suns rays, the two girls had mounted Lindsay's scooter, and proceeded to make their way back to the neighborhood with Lindsay in the driver's seat.
The girls spent the last forty five minutes performing an an all to important task; ridding the Statorowski residence of any reminder of Edyta Babik's tenure as a guest. Lindsay had restored her original appearance, allowing her blonde hair to hang loose while donning her mother's coat, signature hoop earrings, and brown high heeled leather boots. After parking the scooter in the garage, the girls made their way to the junkyard, borrowing a heavy duty moving cart from the proprietor. After returning to the Statorowski residence with the cart in tow, the girls proceeded to gather what little Edyta had in terms of belongings, place them in trash bags, and throw the bags onto the cart.
After cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, the girls wheeled the cart back to the junkyard. With five swift tosses, the bags disappeared into a large dumpster, and the last remaining evidence of Edyta Babik's existence had vanished.
"Well, there's the last of it," said Lee, "You're a free woman Liz."
"Not yet," said Lindsay, "There's still one more thing to address."
At that moment, Lindsay retrieved a blue pen from within the pockets of her fur coat. She held the writing utensil up in full view of Lee, clicking the top as she did so.
"I'm sure my dad will notice that Edyta is gone, along with her stuff," said Lindsay, "It's time to lie to him for the final time in my life, and while I hate doing it, it's needed to protect his emotional state. I mean, like, I can't tell him that I had a borderline fight to the death with the housemate he thought was making me happy because she was torturing me and threatening to kill him. He's already so hurt from losing my mom, and even though it wasn't his fault, he'd blame it all on himself that I was in harms way, and sink even lower. I'm not gonna let that happen, it's time to start a positive change."
Lindsay flicked her hair behind her ear.
"Now I just have to hope I can imitate her handwriting well enough to make this work." said Lindsay.
Lee observed the for a few moments, seemingly deep in thought. After around five seconds, the red headed Kanker girl adopted a sly grin.
"Liz, hand me the pen and a sample of the bitches handwriting," said Lee, "You focus on cleaning the house, and I'll bring ya back a quality letter."
"Wait what?" asked Lindsay.
"Trust me, I know just the guy for the job," said Lee as she began walking in the direction of the cul-de-sac, "Meet ya back at Stat central in fifteen minutes."
Lindsay sighed.
"Something new up your sleeve as always huh LeeLee?" asked Lindsay as she flipped her makeup mirror to the open position for an adjustment, "Fine, just please be back soon, I don't know when my dad is going to be home."
"You got it!" yelled Lee as she turned to begin her journey back to Rethink Avenue.
Back in the Kanker residence, Chuck and Tabby had managed to regain control of their intense emotions, spurred on by the sadness surrounding the unexpected death of their wife and best friend, respectively. Chuck had expressed his feelings via tears for fifteen minutes straight, tears that had been kept in for the sake of not showing weakness (due to his "manly" persona), as well as to prevent upsetting his daughter. Despite all of her attempts to hold herself together, Tabby could not help but cry herself, due to her own feelings for Tiffany as well as witnessing Chuck's continuous morning of the love of his life.
In time, Chuck had managed to regain control of himself, drying his tears while glancing in the opposite direction of Tabby. Without saying a word, nor mentioning his emotional outpour, Tabby rose from the couch, grabbed his and her mug, and headed to the kitchen for a refill.
As Tabby headed towards the kitchen, she decided to attempt to lighten the mood with some Christmas music. On her way out of the living room, Tabby used the remote control to flick on the television; however, instead of being tuned to the Christmas music channel, the cable box was tuned to the local news station, due to Rod attempting to view the weather prior to leaving that morning.
On the television, a news reporter had taken up post outside of a delapitated house located somewhere within Peach Creeks parent city. The reporter was a distinguished, middle aged African American man with a neatly trimmed mustache, and finely pressed suit. As Tabby poured coffee into her and Chuck's mugs, she listened as the man wrapped up his report.
Just around fifteen minutes ago, police raided the house behind me, and made quite the gruesome discovery; a body, burned, and mutilated beyond belief to the point of being unidentifiable, aside from the fact that she was a woman in her thirties. The death was apparently connected to major prostitution ring, which had been under observation by police for the last year, but had remained elusive until today. The action cam was there as police hauled off several suspects who had ties to the ring, who are believed to have been responsible for several unsolved murders that had occurred over the last twenty years. Police believe that many of those who fell victim to these underground and elusive criminals will finally receive justice. Back to you Jim.
(The camera returns to the news room, focusing on an older gray-haired anchor man, sporting a mustache)
Thanks Rick...in other news, Saint Nick is set to arrive tonight, and children all around the city of...
The words of the anchorman were cut off as Tabby returned to the living room and used the remote control to switch the network to the Christmas music channel. As the sound of the classic Christmas tune Jingle Bell Rock played softly in the background, Tabby turned to find Chuck clutching another photograph in his hand, observing it intently as he rested his elbows on his knees.
"What ya got there Chuckie?" asked Tabby as she placed the newly refilled coffee mugs back onto the table.
"Just a picture of some hoodlums!" said Chuck in a playful manner as he held the picture towards Tabby.
The red headed woman once again took her place on the couch as she laid eyes on the photograph in question. This particular photograph was a group picture, depicting seven teenagers standing on what appeared to be gymnasium bleachers. In the center of the photograph stood a high school aged Tabby, a slightly overweight girl wearing a pink sundress, smiling as her red locks hung from her shoulders. To her right stood Rodeeia, an African-American girl roughly the same height as Tabby, with shoulder length braids. She smiled as she placed her left arm around Tabby's shoulder. She clutched a basketball under her right arm, the ball blending with the color of her basketball uniform, depicting the number 3.
To Tabby's right stood Chuck's goofy friend Zack, a tall and skinny boy with spiky hair. He wore a yellow long sleeved shirt under a black short sleeve shirt , in addition to a pair of blue jeans. The boy was currently using his right hand to form "bunny ears" behind Tabby's head, unbeknownst to her. Sitting on Zacks shoulders was another red-headed girl, the hue of which was the same color as Tabby's; in lieu of loose curls, her hair was tied into a ponytail. Her eyes were concealed by a pair of white designer sunglasses, as she stuck out her tongue while holding both hands outward in a "rock star salute; a typical eccentric mannerism of Kate Kanker.
Finally to Zack's left stood Chuck; a diminutive, baby-faced teenager, quite skinny in contrast to his current muscular build. As typical throughout high school, Chuck had donned his signature white lab coat, most likely due to him being forced to take a short break from his experiments to pose for a picture with his friends. The boy appeared quite distressed, for while an Erlenmeyer flask remained gripped tightly in his left hand, a soda that had been clutched in his left seemed have fallen from his hand just before the picture was taken.
Finally to his left, the tall and skinny Tiffany had taken her place on the bleachers, sitting down to mask her height, while crossing her right leg over her left. The girl was also wearing a basketball uniform, similar to Rodeeia's, (Tiffany's displaying the number 13). Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, and she had replaced her glasses with contact lenses. She was currently giggling heavily, her hand placed over her mouth in an attempt to hide her amusement at her boyfriends "cute clumsiness"
Chuck giggled.
"Look at me there," said Chuck as he gazed upon the photograph with a slight smile, "That's before I threw away the razor and started working out with Zack when he was training for the Navy."
Tabby giggled as Chuck moved his hand over top of the portion of the picture containing Tiffany. His eyes watered slightly has he gently touched his hand to her face.
"There's my Tiffany," said Chuck, "Having a good old time laughing at my inevitable clumsiness."
Chuck stared at the photograph for a few more seconds, focusing on Tiffany's blue eyes; staring lovingly at Chuck and seeming to sparkle as she giggled.
"Those Bette Davis Eyes," said Chuck quietly to himself as he smiled.
After a few moments, Chuck panned his eyes to the right side of the photograph, passing two more unidentified individuals; a young man of African-American descent, smiling as he placed his arm around the boy known as Zack, and a rather petite young lady, who's hair was tied up in a single ponytail. Both adults remained in silence as Chuck continued to gaze upon the photograph, his smile transforming to a neutral expression as he came across another familiar face.
To the far right was a petite girl with brunette hair, parted into two loose hanging ponytails. She wore a gray winter coat, blue jeans, and black winter boots as she stood with her right hand on her hip. The girls face was heavily made up, her red lipstick standing out against her pale skin, as she displayed a slight smile.
"There's the cheer captain herself," said Chuck, "Back when she had her hair long."
Tabby seemed to shudder slightly at the sound of the girls title; however, the woman quickly got a hold of herself as she leaned towards Chuck to observe the picture.
"Yeah," said Tabby, "That's her."
Chuck nodded, after which he sighed.
"About ten years ago, she showed up at my doorstep," said Chuck, "It was the first time I saw her since high school."
Chuck turned towards Tabby.
"She was homeless," said Chuck, "She always prided herself on beauty and keeping herself together, but she looked like she'd been living on the streets for the last few months. She was desperate for housing and said that I was the only one she could turn to. She apologized for everything she did in high school, and said due to struggling on the streets, she realized the error of her ways. I hated the idea of living with another woman besides Tiff, but I kept thinking to myself, "What would Tiff do?"...she never gave up on anyone, and would give a stranger the shirt off of her back. That, along with the fact that I was powerless to help Tiffany with "womanly things" helped me reluctantly make the decision to take her in for a a few months, with the promise that we do not share any bedrooms or living space."
Chuck paused.
"If I knew you lived so close or had your number I would have called you," said Chuck, "I guess she couldn't get in contact with you either. I don't know what happened between you two, or why you two lost touch but I couldnt just let her suffer like that. You undestand, right?"
Tabby sighed as she ignited a cigarette.
"Chuck, you have to be one of the most caring and big hearted men I know," said Tabby, "You've been that way, ever since we were kids. It was part of the reason Tiffany fell for ya. You were the only boy that wasn't afraid of the "O'Leary Giantess" and saw her as a person instead of some kind of legend. You warmed everyone up to her, and allowed her to finally come outside without feeling ashamed."
Tabby took a draw of her cigarette, as she turned slightly away from Chuck while lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Unfortunately, no good deed goes unpunished." said Tabby, "It's a shame."
Chuck twiddled his thumbs for a few moments, at which point he decided to continue
"While I really hate saying this," said Chuck, "I have to admit she over stayed her welcome. She still lives with us, but at this point I hardly ever see her. She spends almost every night hanging out with friends, coming home only to sleep and sometimes eat. She still offers to cook dinner, all kinds of foreign food just like my mom, and leaves it in the refrigerator prior to going out."
Chuck turned towards Tabby.
"To be honest," said Chuck with a smile, "I love all kinds of Polish food, but she sucks at making it. Keep this between you and me, I sometimes catch Tiffany throwing away the food containers she made, and secretly making her own version. She doesn't realize I know, but every time I catch her I cheer in secret, because Tiffany's recipes taste just like my moms, not like the bland junk that the 'princess' herself makes. Even when I don't catch her, I can tell when she makes it, it's great!"
Chuck giggled for a few moments, after which he continued.
"While she does do a lot with Tiffany, I get the feeling that Little T doesn't really go for her," said Chuck, "It's been way too long, and I want it to go back to just me and my little scout. I'm thinking about asking her to leave but I don't know how...no offense."
Tabby suddenly perked up.
"Just tell her to get the hell out," said Tabby, "It's your house after all!"
"I know," said Chuck, "It's just I don't have the heart to just kick her to the curb, and besides she gets mail at the house, so I'd have to go through all kinds of crazy paperwork to get actually get her evicted."
At that point Tabby's calm face turned to one of determination. Chuck's words seemed to trip a proverbial switch within Tabby's psyche. The knowledge of what the evil woman was truly capable of, along with the knowledge of Chuck's fragile emotional state, had caused a proverbial tug-of-war within the redheads mind. For years, she had been tortured by the knowledge of the deadly brunette living in the same house as her best friend's daughter, but felt powerless to be able to stop it.
It was at that moment that Tabby decided to make an important decision, a choice between the lesser of two evils.
"Chuck," said Tabby, "There's something you should know about her...she hasn't..."
"What's that?" asked Chuck.
"I know..." said Tabby, "Ya see...after Tiff passed...we had to..."
Chuck watched with confusion as Tabby attempted to find the correct words.
"Alright enough of that, I might as well be blunt" said Tabby, "You need to get rid of that woman ASAP. She's unsta...little Tiffany is..."
Tabby was unable to complete her sentence, for she was interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming open.
"Mom, I'm home!" said Lee as she entered the house with a smile. She was of course accompanied by Lindsay, who had entered the threshold directly after, smiling from ear to ear as she closed the door behind her.
Of course, both girls were met with complete surprise as they turned toward the couch to see Chuck and Tabby sitting together with smiles.
"Daddy!?" asked Lindsay, "What are you doing here, I thought you went to visit an old friend for a few hours?"
"I did Scout," said Chuck, "Funny story, turns out Annalee's mother was Mommy's best friend from childhood and by proxy a friend of mine as well! We grew up together, isn't that an awesome coincidence?"
Lee and Lindsay glanced toward each other for a brief instant; Lee delivered a conspicuous wink in her direction, signaling to play along.
"Really?" asked Lindsay, "That's awesome, I guess we were destined to be besties after all!"
Lee and Lindsay shared a giggle as Tabby and Chuck observed with smiles.
"So Scout, what brings you here?" said Chuck, "A thought you and Annalee were out having lunch in the business district?"
"The restaurant was closed, we forgot it was Christmas Eve," said Lindsay, "Annalee decided to invite me back to her house, and we were going to have lunch here."
At that point, Lee nudged Lindsay in a discrete manner, as if signaling her to perform an action. Lindsay responded by sighing, while simultaneously reaching into her coat pocket and walking towards Chuck.
"Daddy," said Lindsay, "While we were getting ready to leave for Annalee's house, I found this note sitting on the kitchen counter. It's from Edyta, she says her grandmother is very sick, and she had to head back to Poland first thing this morning to take care of her. I checked around the house, all of her stuff is gone. She isn't coming back, she's found a place to stay in Poland and plans to restart her life in Europe where she grew up. She wanted to thank me and you for allowing her to stay with us, and wishes us all of the luck in the world in our life together. Here give it a read."
Tabby watched with complete shock and confusion as Lindsay handed Chuck a small piece of stationary. Sure enough, the letter depicted Edyta's handwriting (actually an exact facsimile of the woman's hand writing), outlining a bogus story regarding Edyta's sudden disappearance and an explanation for her absence moving forward.
"I'm glad to hear she finally got herself together," said Lindsay, "I have to admit, it will be nice to finally be able to just be us again after ten years."
Lindsay giggled as Chuck glanced upon her with a smile. The short man proceeded to refold the letter as he rose from the couch, making his way over to his daughter. As he stared upward into her eyes, he decided to respond.
"Me too Tiffany," said Chuck, "When I saw you gravitate towards makeup and fashion, I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to nurture your hobbies. I did the foolish thing by trying to provide you with a female role model, at the expense our daddy-daughter dynamic. Turns out you didn't need it at all, because not only were you always three steps ahead of Edyta when it came to cosmetology, you have all of the beautiful traits that your mother had. Compassion, determination, grit, you got it all kid, and I'm proud to call you my daughter."
Chuck placed his hand on Lindsay shoulder.
"From now own, we're doing it as it was meant to be," said Chuck, "Just you and me, with Mommy watching over us from heaven."
A few moments passed, at which point Lindsay's bottom lip began to tremble. Suddenly, the tall skinny girl lunged forward, grabbing Chuck in a tight squeeze as tears began streaming down her face.
"Daddy I love you," said Lindsay in a frantic manner as she squeezed Chuck with all of her might, "You are the best Dad in the world and I'm so happy that it's just going to be us again. We can finally do things together again, I'll hand you tools when you fix your motorcycle, I'll go fishing with you even though fish are gross, I'll help balance your companies finances..."
"Whoa there Scout!" said Chuck, struggling to get his words out as he was being constricted, "Of course we can start doing things together, but not if I'm squeezed to death. That death grip is yet another one of your mothers traits."
Lindsay released Chuck from her tight squeeze; Opting for a more traditional hug, she placed her hands gently around Chuck's back as she leaned down to place her head on his shoulder. Chuck responded by placing his hands around Lindsay, holding her in a tight embrace as he patted his daughters back, smiling as he did so.
As Lee observed the father-daughter interaction with a smile, Tabby rose up from the couch. The heavy set woman made her way towards her eldest daughter with an expression of determination, leaning towards her ear as she to posed a question in the whisper register.
"Alright," said Tabby, "Spill it, where were you last night and this morning."
"Making a problem go away," said Lee, "You'd be proud, I showed Lindsay how to handle things Kanker style."
Tabby pulled away from Lee, positioning herself to be able to look her daughter in the eye. As her eyes began to water, Tabby placed her hand on Lee's shoulder.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again," said Tabby, "You're an angel on this earth."
Tabby released Lee and proceeded to make her way towards the dining room, leaving Lee with a rare genuine smile. As Tabby breached the threshold to the dining room, she glanced towards the ceiling, uttering a few words to herself.
"They did it Tiff," said Tabby, "Our girls are back together, and your baby is finally free!"
Back out in the living room, Lindsay had finally regained control of herself. She pulled away from her father and, after spending a few moments adjusting her makeup, turned back towards her father with a smile.
"Oh yeah, guess what Daddy!" said Lindsay, "Annalee invited us to her Christmas Eve party tonight, you wanna go?"
"Gee, I don't know," said Chuck, "I don't want to impose..."
"Cut the crap Chuck!" yelled Tabby from the kitchen, "Don't be a tool and come to the party. I'll introduce you to my husband, my other daughters, and the rest of our friends from the block, it will be fun."
"Yeah Mr. Statorowski," said Lee, "Don't be a wet blanket."
"C'mon Daddy!" said Lindsay, "You always are in that garage turning wrenches or building your nerdy Star Wars stuff. Let's get out of the house and enjoy ourselves you party pooper!"
At that point all three women began simultaneously chanting the same word repetitively.
PARTY...PARTY...PARTY...PARTY.
"Alright," said Chuck, "I'll go!"
At that point, Lee and Lindsay grabbed each others hands and began jumping up and down as they cheered in an excited manner. They're excitement was short lived however, as Chuck had one more thing to say.
"Provided that Tiffany makes some of her famous Duck Blood Soup to bring with to the party!"
Lindsay stared at her father in silence, surprised that he knew that she had been making his favorite meal habitually for the last few months. Chuck simply smiled, delivering an explanation as he did so.
"Now that Edyta's gone, I have no reason to hide the fact that you were the superior cook!" said Chuck, after which he began giggling.
Lindsay delivered Chuck a playful slap on the arm, at which point Lee and Tabby joined in on the fun. After a few moments, the fun died down, and Chuck decided that it was time for he and Lindsay to take their leave.
"Alright, we better go get ready for the party," said Chuck, "But first we have to make a little pit stop."
"What's that?" asked Lindsay.
"It's been a while since we visited Mommy," said Chuck, "I know it's hard for both of us, but I think it's long overdue. I learned it's not good to bottle up our feelings, and I know you miss her just as much as I do. We'll stop and pick up some of her favorite flowers, and go wish her a Merry Christmas. Then we can pick up the ingredients for your soup...sound like a plan?"
Lindsay smiled.
"It's an awesome plan," said Lindsay.
"Cool," said Chuck, "Alright Tabb, Annalee, I'll see you two tonight at seven."
"Don't be late," said Tabby, "Santa arrives at 7:30!"
Lee and Lindsay shared their "best friends forever" promise with a smile, at which point the Statorowskis took their leave. The father-daughter duo happily walked down the Kankers gravel path, on their way back to their house and their brand new life together.
