Part 18

A MOST FORTUNATE GATHERING

When the ice and snow melt, spring arrives.
You and your Pokémon will be together for many years to come.
Cherish your time together!
-Pryce, Johto Gym Leader

"Which suitcase did you put your swimming gear in, Kevin?"
"The red one. I've got my swimsuit, goggles, snorkel..."

Spring Break was here at last, and the Boggs family was going out West. Bill and Kevin were in the garage, loading their car with luggage.

"What about the fins?"
"I don't know if I want to bring them."
"You don't know? If you don't know, take them. Better to have them and not want them, than want them and not have them."
"Good point." Kevin ran out of the garage, into the house, and reappeared a few seconds later with swimming fins.

Helen had been called upon to housesit during the vacation. She and Peg toured the backyard, as she received instructions on tending to Peg's new creation:

To recover from the trauma caused by Edward's stay, Peg had taken up gardening. Over the months, a segment of the backyard had been turned into a miniature farm. The dinosaur and family portrait which Edward made, had long since reverted to regular bushes, erasing his legacy.

"Now, the rhubarb gets watered once every three days…"
"Got it."
"And the watermelon, you can just pour it on. It needs about three gallons a day."
"That's a helluva lot…", Helen cackled.
"Yes, but oh my goodness, is it worth it!", Peg declared. "I asked my mother to send me that pickled watermelon recipe. Once I get it, I'll be sure to pay it forward!"
"Sounds good. I could go for some watermelon. I mean, my resolution was to cut down on chocolate. That works as a replacement."

Soon enough, the car was pulling out of the driveway, with the family on their way to catch a flight to Los Angeles. Helen waved to them, puffing on a Newport, as the car drove away.

About 30 minutes after arriving home, Helen's phone rang. Tinka was on the other end.

"Hi Helen. Listen, tomorrow afternoon they're having a bingo tournament down at the rec center. I'm pretty excited, if I do say so myself. Care to join me? There's still time to sign up."
"I can't, I've got work tomorrow. Plus, Peg and Bill left for a week and I'm house-sitting."
"Oh." Tinka's voice suddenly sounded 40 degrees chillier. She'd cut ties with the Boggs' after Edward.
"Look, if you want to talk to them, obviously I can't stop you, but I've just got to say: they don't have what it takes to keep this neighborhood safe. It's like their…sense of self-preservation didn't develop enough."
"Well, it's been over a year", Helen countered. "Have they done anything dangerous since then?"
"…that's not the point I was trying to make."
"And you know I'm right, so you're not even gonna address what I said." Helen smirked. The conversation ended there.

Edward was eager, but also trembling. He knew Kim's family would be here today. He'd marked it on his calendar, though he wasn't sure of the exact time. Preparing for their arrival, he raced around his house, dusting, sweeping, scrubbing, and rearranging his belongings for hours, determined to prove he could be functional and well-adjusted.

Afterwards, he resumed work on a new topiary. He'd purchased a bush the size of a desk lamp, and was crafting it into a model of Charles, Dr. Ravenscroft's beloved pet cockatoo. It was coming along decently, he thought, though the intricacy of the feathers made it one of the most difficult sculptures he'd ever attempted.

The front door was unlocked and around 3:00 P.M., Edward heard a small knock, followed by the click of the handle, while he was sitting at a living doom desk. It was Kim.

"Baaaabe!", she called into the house, "mom and dad are here!"
Edward stood up from the desk so abruptly that his hand came close to nicking his torso, and walked out the front door. What transpired next was a magical moment he'd never forget:

Peg, Bill and Kevin were standing in front of their rental car, and as Edward came into view, they pointed excitedly, and hustled across the street, onto his small front yard, making a spectacular homecoming.

Peg was openly crying as she gave Edward a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I never thought that a day like this would come!", she remarked. "…but it has, and I thank God for that!"

Bill remembered the last time he'd seen Edward: he was on Helen's front lawn, getting pummeled by Jim, seemingly in retaliation for assaulting Kevin. Normally a quintessential easygoing middle class husband and dad, the sight of Edward cutting his baby boy like he was Jack The Ripper awakened the ruthless side that we all have. Edward had glitches in his head, Bill decided then, and not only was he unconcerned about the beatdown, he actually hoped being beaten up would knock those glitches out and instill some ethics in their place.

Kevin was so distraught by the near miss that he refused to even discuss it with his family at first. It had been up to the offender to clarify what happened. That was when Denny, tormented by his conscience and seemingly nearing a mental breakdown, made his apology. Bill sternly told him: "You're forgiven, but not forgotten" and told him he was never to set foot on his property again.

Yet, Denny had cleared Edward's name, for those who had ears to hear, and Bill greatly regretted his former punitive attitude. All of this was coming up now, making him feel quite awkward, and he pushed those feelings aside as he hugged Edward, once Peg was done.

Finally, Kevin approached Edward for a brotherly hug. After they had let go of each other, Edward studied Kevin's face. The cuts from over a year ago had faded, save for one on the far left side of his cheekbone, a small ridge with a different pattern from the rest of his facial tissue. Pain would fade with time, but a trace of the injury would always stay.

"Please come in." Edward invited them.

Peg had a sense of deja vu as she roamed his house, with its sculpted bushes, its archaic treasures and its wall collage. It was the same as when she first drove up the hill at the end of the cul-de-sac and viewed the mansion's courtyard garden. Bill was also impressed.

"Wow, this place is so...you.", he nodded. "I mean, this what I was expecting, but that doesn't make the aesthetic any less brilliant."
"Yes. This is who I am..."

Just then, Kim felt her tummy growl.
"Anyone else here as hungry as I am?"
"Yes!" Kevin seconded her, with Peg and Bill also agreeing. Edward, despite only hungering once every few days, found himself eating more often than he used to, such are the changes that come with cultivating a social life.

"Where's the nearest Mexican joint?", Bill inquired.

Good Mexican joints in SoCal, of course, are as abundant as rain in the Amazon. There was one just a short drive down the road from Edward's house. Over quesadillas, chimichangas, tortilla chips, salsa and guacamole, the Boggs family made up for lost time.

Bill was sharing with Edward the tale of his most recent bowling exploit, in which his team had reached the finals in a local tournament, only to be defeated in a preposterous occurrence, having to settle for the silver medal:

"So, they walk into the alley. And we can tell just by looking at them, that they'd had too many brewskis the night before. The first two frames, they roll gutter balls. I'm talking just bad, bad stuff. We thought we had it in the bag. We're trying not to burst out laughing. And then one of them yells 'EVERYONE QUIET, WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE!' Then, they roll, I kid you not, several strikes, then a spare, and three more strikes to close it. They beat us by 20 points." He sunk with disappointment.
"That's unbelievable." Edward remarked in sympathy.
"Yeah, and speaking of unbelievable…" Bill continued, "They just opened a store a few streets over where you can buy things with cookies. The world sure is changing."

Kevin then turned to talk to Edward:

"So, have you thought of anything I can get you?"
Edward hadn't. He shook his head.
Kevin continued, impersonating a gangster:
"I've have connections, see? Nyah, anyone messing with you, we'll give 'em the ol' reindeer treatment."
"What's the reindeer treatment?"
"I have no idea."

Kim laughed. Kevin's sense of humor was off-the-wall at times; it was one of the things she most appreciated about him, despite any arguments or sibling rivalry they may have had.

Next, Peg spoke:
"Kim, while we're here, your father and I really want to see where you live."
"Sure..."
"When would be a good time to visit?"
"I can ask my professor if we could swing by really quick, after we get out of here."

The rental car made its way south, past the downtown skyline at golden hour, to the Home For The Peculiar. Hence, her family received their first perceptions of the historic brownstone castle where humanity's outliers huddled together.

"Oh my...there sure are alot of pigeons...", Peg commented as birds circled above the Home, her voice apprehensive. "Maybe we should park further away..."
Kim got out of the car. "I'll be right back. I think my professor will give us permission..."

No sooner had she said this, however, than she got cold feet. For it was at this hour, when other residents were occupied with other things, that Thorvald the tree-man would appear, walking several times around the perimeter of the castle grounds, yet always appearing aimless. Kim still felt uncomfortable looking at his distorted form, and she avoided eye contact as she waited for him to disappear behind the building.

Kevin had noticed Thorvald.
"Whoa! That guy looks incredible! If I was him, I'd charge parents a dollar to let their kids climb up me, like up to the top of my head. I'd get so rich."
"Kevin Douglas Boggs!", Peg hissed. "You're still staring at people. Can we please move beyond this?"
"Well, like I said, I wouldn't-"
"I know you wouldn't care, but not everyone sees things the same as you. What you're okay with, someone else might be upset by."
Kevin sighed. "Alright, alright, I'm looking away..." He turned his head towards the other side of the street.

Kim walked through the home's front door and returned to the car a minute later.
"Dr. Ravenscroft says we can go down to my room, but he doesn't want you to talk to any of the residents."
Peg disliked this rule. She was confident in her ability to win people over, to make just about anyone like her, including the peculiar. Still, she agreed to abide by it.

In her room, Kim showed her parents excerpts of the interviews she'd conducted so far.

"This is Rodney. He's convinced he's Captain Smith…from the Titanic. He always wears the uniform. So I interviewed him about, you know, how we're gonna avoid the icebergs and stuff…"
Peg giggled. Bill rolled his eyes, hoping that Peg didn't notice him.
"And then there's Nadja…she has X-Ray Vision. She can see when people are ill. She told me to start working on my thyroid."
"That makes sense, thyroid issues run in our family.", Peg commented.
"There aren't any scoundrels around here, right?", Bill had to know. "It's safe here?"
"Oh yeah, I always feel safe here. Especially with Edward so close by."

As if being cued, Edward entered the basement room, holding a styrofoam container.
"You forgot your to-go box.", he said, handing it to Kim.
"Ah! Thank you so much!", she responded, as they shared a small kiss.

The Boggs' structured their vacation so as to respect the independent, busy lives of Edward and Kim, while also including them on individual escapades, as they became available. De-emphasizing beaches and amusement parks, which were bountiful in Florida, they focused on unique aspects of the West Coast: hiking across a mountainous trail to reach a waterfall in a lush, secluded forest. Taking the tour of Paramount Studios. Stargazing at Griffith Observatory, upon Edward's recommendation. Of course, he invited the entire family to Sideshow Bistro, where he put on a stunning dinner performance for them, his treat.

The next morning, Edward and Kim visited her family's nondescript motel room in Orange County. Bill and Edward were discussing self-employment.

"I gotta tell you, Ed: all this talk is inspiring me.", Bill announced.
"It is?"
"Yup. I went into aerospace. It's been good to me. I can support a family with it. I'm very blessed. But lately, I've wondered if I'm starting to phone it in. I think I could give my family the same support if I carved my own path."
"What would you do?"
"I've always wanted to renovate old homes. I try to do as many of our home repairs as I can. Down in Tampa, there are a lot of houses in need of a little love. Should be pretty easy."
"That sounds very nice. By the way, I'm doing overtime work too."
"Really? You don't say. What's the overtime like?"
"Bringing ingredients back to the restaurant. We have to drive out to the port to get them. We use a big truck."
Kim, who had been flossing her teeth in the motel's sink, turned to Edward. "You never told me you were doing that…"
"I've only done it twice so far."

At this point, Kevin intervened:
"Edward, you wanna play Scissors, Paper, Stone? You know…for old time's sake?"
"No. But do you play Monopoly?"
"Yeah, we've got Monopoly back at home, down in the basement. I'll play that! Do you have a copy?"
"I can get one."

So Edward headed to a nearby toystore and returned with a copy of the game. He and Kevin went at it. Kevin started off cocky but was humbled when he had to go directly to jail. Watching them play, Peg started to wish she were playing too, and eventually it was agreed to restart the game with five players. This, Edward noticed, seemed to multiply the fun.

The following day would be the final day of vacation before the Boggs' returned home. En route to the airport, Peg, Bill and Kevin drove up to Edward's house to bid him adieu. After Peg and Kevin returned to the car, Bill turned to Edward and spoke serenely, yet solemnly:

"Take care of my little girl, Ed. She's made her plans. She's in your hands now."
Edward slowly lifted his fingers, twitching them slightly, to his face. "She's in my hands?" he asked Bill.
"Yeah…it's another figure of speech. It means Kim's made you a main part of her life. It has my blessing. Remember when I told you trust isn't easy to repair? Well, difficult doesn't mean impossible. You've come along way and we're all proud of you. We'll see you soon. Take care."

Bill walked out of the house and started the rental car. As it sped down the street, Edward continued to concentrate on his fingers, and thought about all the things he was holding in his hands: love, family, friendship, adventure, learning, working... His life was now full of responsibilities, and if Bill thought he was doing a satisfactory job of carrying those weights, he must be more finished than he realized.