Disclaimer: I do not own these characters
Chapter 8: Marc And The Camdens
"Good morning, Marc." Annie greeted him with a smile Monday morning. "Your mom already left for the clinic, but everyone else is in the dining room waiting for breakfast. You can join them if you'd like."
"Thank you." Marc replied politely, then excused himself and went into the dining room.
"Sit next to me." Ruthie Camden said with enthusiasm. Marc glanced around the table, then sat down beside Ruthie.
"We're glad to have you and your mom here, Marc." Eric said from his place at one end of the table.
"Thank you, Mr. Camden." Marc replied.
"Please, call me Eric."
"And you can call me Annie." Annie said as she took her place at the other end of the table. "Simon, would you like to say grace this morning?" Simon nodded as his family bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Marc glanced around, then followed their example.
"Dear Jesus, thank you for this food that you have given to us. Thank you that we can all be together, and thank you for our guests. Amen."
"Thank you, Simon." Eric smiled at his young son.
"It's a shame your Mom left before breakfast, Marc." Annie said. Marc shrugged.
"That's okay. I'm used to it."
"Oh?" Annie glanced at Eric. Marc nodded.
"Yeah. She usually goes to the clinic around 7 every morning."
"So...your dad got you ready for school?" Simon questioned. Marc shook his head.
"My dad doesn't live with us."
"Then who made you breakfast?" Ruthie asked.
"I just usually have a bowl of cereal." Marc answered.
"How long have your parents been divorced?" Lucy asked.
"Uh...they've never been married." Marc replied.
"Do you get to see your daddy?" Ruthie asked. "Because it would be bad if you couldn't see your daddy."
"Yeah, I see him all the time."
"Do you stay at his house?" Ruthie asked. Marc nodded.
"I stay at his house every other weekend, and on Wednesdays when Mom has all night clinic."
"All night clinic?" Mary questioned.
"Yeah. Mom keeps the clinic open all night on Wednesday's so that her patients that can't get there during the day can get there at night."
"Who looks after you after school?" Annie asked.
"Sometimes I go to the clinic after school and hang out there. Sometimes I go home. Sometimes I hang out with friends."
"Sounds like you spend an awful lot of time on your own." Annie said. "More than a child your age should." She added. Marc shifted uncomfortably in his chair, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"Hey Marc, wanna go play basketball?" Simon asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Sure." Marc replied, glad for an escape from the Camden's questions.
"May we be excused?" Simon asked his parents. Eric and Annie nodded.
"Thank you." Marc said, then followed Simon outside.
"Are they always like that?" Marc asked once they were outside.
"You mean asking so many questions?" Marc nodded.
"Yeah. I felt like I was being interrogated or something."
"Don't let that bother you." Simon said with a smile. "They do that to everyone. I guess they consider everything to be their business, like they need to fix things or something." Marc nodded.
"My mom tends to do that too. She is always trying to fix things. Whether it's her business or not." Simon picked up the basketball and threw it to Marc, who bounced it briefly, then threw it towards the basket. Simon ran to catch the ball, then threw it towards the basket.
"So what's it like having a minister for a father?" Marc asked.
"It's okay most of the time." Simon answered. "But sometimes it's hard because everyone always expects us to be a good example. If we do anything wrong, everyone else knows about it."
"Yeah. That must be hard sometimes." Simon and Marc glanced up as Lucy, Mary and Ruthie joined them.
"So what's it like having a doctor for a mom?" Simon asked as the five of them sat down on the grass by a nearby tree. Marc shrugged.
"I don't mind it much I guess. But sometimes I wish she could be home more so we could do more stuff together. Sometimes she doesn't get home til late. And sometimes she gets called in the middle of the night."
"What about your daddy?" Ruthie asked. "Where does he live?"
"Just on the other side of the city. Mom always calls it the rich side."
"That arrangement kinda stinks." Lucy said.
"My best friend Suzanne's parents are divorced. She says one of the hardest things for her is that she and her mom don't get to do a lot together because her mom has to work long hours in order to make it, with the high cost of everything these days. You must not see your mom much if she has to spend so much time at the clinic." Marc shrugged.
"Yeah, but I know she has to be there for her patients. They depend on her."
"But she's your mom. She needs to be there for you too." Mary said.
"If they didn't have her, they wouldn't be able to afford medical care." Marc said in his mother's defense. "She' gone through a lot to get where she is."
"I didn't mean anything by it." Mary said quickly. "I just meant that she needs to be there for you as well as for her patients, that you should be her first priority."
"Boy, I'm sure glad our parents are married and stayed together." Simon said. "I think it would be hard being shifted around from parent to parent all the time. Not much stability there I wouldn't think." Marc was silent for a few minutes, suddenly feeling uneasy again. This conversation was making him feel as if the life he lived with his mother in Philadelphia was all wrong, that just because his parents had never married, he was an outcast by the Camden children. Somehow he knew he needed to say something to defend his mother.
"Just because my parents aren't married doesn't mean that we don't have a good life." Marc started. "Maybe we live on the poor side of the city, and maybe mom has to work long hours at the clinic to make a living, but that doesn't mean that we aren't happy. That doesn't mean that our life is wrong, just because we don't live in a big house like yours. Mom was 16 when I was born. She quit school. She eventually made it through medical school, but she had to work lots of jobs to do it, plus take care of me.So I'm sorry if we don't fit your standards of what a family should be." With that, Marc got up and ran out of the yard, leaving the Camden kids staring after him.