"Sky's Eclipse"
Chapter 3
By Aiijuin
*Disclaimer: I don't own anything Jim Henson or Labyrinth. I am not trying to steal other character names from people's fan fiction, but I cannot think of a better name to use for Jareth's alter ego in my story. Gröeg was originally designed by Brian Froud and catalogued by Terry Jones in Brian Froud's "The Goblins of the Labyrinth". This is rated M for some harsh language and adult situations. Please forgive: Toby's dialogue. It's very ungrammatical, repetitive, and improper at times, but I'm trying to make it as realistic as possible. What teenage boy do you know speaks like an English professor?
** Please be advised, as of 09/10/2009, I have made grammatical corrections and removed annoying parenthetical phrases from my story, to make reading less obtrusive on the reader's eyes. There may still be several errors, but not as many. I have changed Irene's name back to Karen, which is commonly recognized as the true name of Sarah's stepmom.
Chapter Three: Piece of Cake?
Robert Williams came home from work that evening. It had been a difficult day at the firm. Luckily, Gavin, the owner, had bailed Robert out from another close call. R. Williams clutched his briefcase and entered into his house. He could smell dinner cooking in the kitchen. The atmosphere was warm, friendly, and extremely noisy!
Toby was now a teenager, and usually spent most of his time blasting his stereo upstairs in his room. It wasn't music his parents cared for either. He did this while multi-tasking the avoidance of homework by: chatting online, playing his MMORPG, emoting, blogging, and talking on his cellphone.
Nope, Robert shook his head in confusion. He just didn't understand the teenagers and young adults of the twenty-first century.
It was Mr. and Mrs. Williams' twentieth anniversary tonight. Karen Williams, Robert's second wife, was preparing a special turkey dinner. She basted it several more times and then closed the oven. Originally, she wanted to dine out, but decided it would have to wait until the weekend. Karen didn't trust Toby alone without supervision, not like she had with Sarah. The last time she had left him alone, he had nearly burnt down the house. Toby made up some crazy story about a little monster wreaking havoc in the kitchen, but Karen assumed he had been smoking and set fire to the drapery.
Some teenagers experiment, you know… Robert's voice echoed in Karen's head.
The truth was never discovered, but Toby swore up and down that weird things happened in the house while he was alone.
Karen considered it rebellion.
Robert considered it typical teenage behavior, as he reminded his wife about Sarah's strange stories she made up at fifteen.
Toby never considered either, since he said it was the truth, and he stood by his story through and through. His mom still grounded him though, which just wasn't fair, --in his opinion--!
Robert walked from the dining area, to the swinging door of the kitchen. He waltzed in, kissed his wife on the cheek, and presented her with a gift of a dozen red roses hidden behind his back.
Karen smiled and took the flowers, then proceeded to ask him how his day had gone. Robert answered, "Oh, well… At first, it seemed like I was going to lose the litigation. Then, Gavin stepped in and worked his magic. And 'Poof'! Everything ran smoothly and we won the case. I don't know how that guy does it, but he definitely charms the jury and judge every time. Sometimes I think he must a spell on them."
Karen chuckled and answered, "Well, we should invite Mr. King over for dinner again some evening just to thank him! Oh, I just adore having him here! He's so pleasant! Even Toby stops his 'defiance act' to listen to Mr. King. Such a wonderful man!"
Robert nodded, "I wish I could invite him tonight! The food smells wonderful, Sweetheart."
Before Karen could blush at her husband's remark, the doorbell rang.
As if psychic, Toby jumped over the railing of the stairs and hopped down to answer the door before Robert could get there. Actually, he was hoping it was his friends had come to rescue him from imminent boredom. Toby opened the door, and his father's boss, Mr. King, stood at the door.
"Oh, hey," Toby said, without much enthusiasm. He considered it "uncool" to act excited when greeting adults.
With a strong English accent, Mr. King returned a much more animated greeting towards the teenager, "Good evening, young Master Williams. Is your father in?"
Toby indicated behind him with a nod and answered, "Yeah, I think he's in the kitchen with mom. I heard him come home a few minutes ago."
Toby, forgetting his manners, didn't invite Gavin King into the house. Luckily, Robert came out of the dining area and saw his superior.
"Gavin," Robert exclaimed, "Won't you come inside? Toby, would you move for a second."
Toby always blocked doorways.
Gavin entered into the house and looked around at the outdated, red designer wallpaper and white crown trim that surrounded the entry area. His golden-spun hair was pulled back tight into a low-based ponytail and hidden under a black patent fedora. He wore dark sunglasses with silver frames. Mr. King also wore black leather gloves, which Toby jested "the guy" probably lived in, since he rarely removed them. He theorized the "gent" probably never took them off to sleep either. Gavin wrapped up his clothing ensemble with an expensive, tailored, black, suit and a brilliant white, collared, shirt featuring a long, silk, black tie. Toby joked that Mr. King was probably one of the agents from "The Matrix", since he dressed like one and seemed to be too perfect to be real.
Translation from an earlier Toby statement, "The guy looks like he never had a zit or a stressful moment in his life, always gets what he wants, and is filthy rich too! He probably gets "laid" a lot too!"
Karen responded to this by saying that Toby needed to watch less movies and read more books.
Robert extended his hand to shake Gavin's. He welcomed him inside. Karen, who was still wearing her apron, had left the kitchen to see who had arrived. Smiling widely upon seeing Gavin, she commented, "Oh, Mr. King, we were just talking about you!"
With a voice as smooth as glass, Gavin answered, "My dear, Mrs. Williams, how charming that you should make mention of me in your humble home. It's hardly expected."
Robert nudged Toby aside so King could walk without having to step around the boy. Robert said, "Gavin, I simply can't thank you enough for bailing me out today. I thought the case was lost. Then, you stepped in and everything fell into place."
Gavin answered again, "Robert, you should not heave all the credit towards me. I was, merely, fulfilling my task. It's not so difficult here, you know. You ought to see the trials and tribulations that lay before me from whence I came."
Toby, on instinct, interrupted, "England?"
Gavin grimaced, then, lobbed Toby a solemn stare, as his voice became snappy and defensive, "No!"
Toby just returned a 'Geez, Sorry!' look back to Gavin and shrugged as he slinked off towards the kitchen.
Karen grabbed Toby by the arm silently, and whispered, "You need to turn off that music, your computer, and cellphone. Go wash up, and come down to dinner at once, young man!"
Toby rolled his eyes. He considered it 'totally lame', when his parents started treating him like a baby. Inwardly, he wished he had a car and a driver's license so he could go down to his friend's house to jam and pick up 'chicks' and shit (ßTeen Toby-lingo).
In his opinion, his mom was way too strict with him, and she needed to 'lighten up' before he decided to do something that actually warranted punishment. Toby slumped up the stairs, still hunching his shoulders in exasperation.
He muttered, "Maybe I will start smoking, just to piss you off."
Of course, Toby was simply grumbling with anger, so he wasn't being serious. In all honestly, he wasn't a problem teen, but lately he had been labeled as one by his mother.
The three adults continued talking about boring grown-up subjects, until Robert, finally, extended an open dinner invitation to Mr. King. Being polite, Mr. King refused at first, as proper etiquette demanded. However, Karen insisted, so he delightfully accepted.
The dinner had gone well and it was delicious as Robert suspected. After everyone had received their fill, Karen mentioned there would be cake and coffee or tea for refreshments. Gavin had congratulated Robert and Karen twice on their anniversary. He apologized thrice for imposing. When the couple had excused themselves from the dining area to assist in readying dessert, Gavin and Toby struck up a conversation about fast automobiles, popular movies, and Playmates who were 'totally hot'. For an adult, Gavin managed to relate to Toby quite well in casual tête-à-tête.
Robert re-entered the room carrying a tray of cups, a coffeepot, a silver teakettle, and several varieties of teabags. Karen followed close behind him, as she carried the cake. Suddenly, Robert stopped because he nearly lost hold of the tray. Karen had to maneuver fast, in order to save her cake from being smashed along with her feet. She pushed the swinging door farther back. It tapped the wall lightly, but knocked Sarah's picture off its nail and unto the ground.
"Oh, dear," Karen moaned, "I think I just knocked Sarah unto the floor again."
Toby looked up and answered in a sarcastic tone, "Yup, Sarah just fell. And she can't get up."
Robert put down the tray, and sighed, "I'll put her back."
Karen placed the cake on the table and grabbed a cutting knife from the breakfront drawer in the dining area. She kept all of her nicest china and silverware in here. Robert grabbed the portrait of Sarah from off of the floor. It was her senior high school photo. Robert rubbed at the glass and said, "Ah, crap, I think the glass broke this time."
Karen placed her hands on Robert's shoulder and said, "We'll just buy another frame and put her picture in it. Dear, we should really reconsider moving Sarah to another location on the wall. We keep knocking her off with that door."
Robert answered, "Yes, you're right. I'll hammer a new spot first thing tomorrow morning. I just have to decide where."
Gavin interceded, "Oh, that's your daughter, Sarah, right? I haven't heard you mention her in ages. How is she?"
Robert shook his head, while Toby and Karen's faces grew long. Robert looked at the floor and said softly, "Honestly, I don't know."
Robert bit his lip in anguish. Karen patted her husband on the back to soothe him. Gavin asked, "You mean you haven't a clue as to her status?"
Toby shook his head, but his parents remained hushed and indistinct.
Gavin seemed a bit disturbed. At this juncture, he turned to Toby, who was the most responsive and inquired, "She's alive, correct?"
Toby shrugged, "Nobody knows. She just seemed to vanish off the face of the earth. She was living in an apartment in New York City. Then, about eight years ago, we tried to visit her after the New Year. It was weird, because she hadn't come home to open presents like she normally did at Christmas. We get there and learn that her apartment had been empty for months, or so the landlord said. He had some of her bills and crap. You know. So, we used them to track down her last job and stuff. Seems her car was stolen the day she disappeared. So, you know... We tried her company, but nobody would help us out. They just said Sarah was fired months before, and never said anything else. We took our case to the N.Y.P.D., but they didn't have any leads and put us on a wait list. They said a lot of people go missing in the Big Apple, so she probably moved and forgot to leave a forwarding address or something. Millions of people there, easy to lose track sometimes…. Sarah's always had a 'pick-up-and-go' lifestyle, so keeping tabs on her is really difficult. I dunno. Personally, I hope she just got bumped on the head from a low-flying pigeon and forgot who she was… amnesia or some crap like that."
Gavin blinked, but said nothing.
Robert continued, "I guess it's just easier for us to believe that Sarah's alive and, maybe, she just forgot everything. She would never forget to call or write, unless she plainly forgot herself. Toby concocted the amnesia story and it was accepted. It was easier to believe than the possibility of imprisonment; kidnapping; or…an equally, unpleasant, alternative."
Robert couldn't bring himself to say 'death'.
Karen nodded to Gavin and interjected, "Yes, and I'm sure she hasn't become like Linda, her real mother. Sarah wouldn't have abandoned us for the lust and lights of Broadway."
Robert cleared his throat, signaling Karen to stop. He didn't like mentioning his first wife, Linda Williams. It had deeply hurt him, when she had abandoned he and Sarah for another man, who happened to be her co-star in a Broadway play. By every right, Linda should have kept in contact with her daughter, especially since the two had been living in the same city. Most of the time, Linda's whereabouts were unknown, until her face popped up in another playbill. She simply tapered off her contact with her daughter as time passed and Sarah grew. During this time, Karen became 'mom' to help her stepdaughter break through this emotional barrier.
Finally, after a long silence, Karen decided it was time to change the subject before her anniversary was spoiled. She asked, "Anyone for a piece of cake?"
The mood immediately changed, as everyone, but Gavin, was happy to put the matter of Sarah's disappearance aside for the evening. Gently, Robert placed Sarah's portrait behind him on the breakfront. He forced a smile and looked at the cake, "This looks delicious, Sweetheart."
Karen blushed and waved her hand to push aside the compliment as if it wasn't necessary. Karen sliced several more pieces and distributed them to Toby and Gavin. Toby looked from his slice of cake to Gavin and whispered quietly, "I wish Sarah would come back home already."
Gavin agreed.
At that moment, that there was a knock at the front door.