Chapter 23
As the Ed boys and Lee were disembarking from their detention, Double Dee was finishing up his shower. He was once again preparing for a night with Marie, although he was slightly more nervous this time around as May was going to be home with Marie tonight.
To make this night even more special, this night marked the first time Double Dee and Marie could feel free to express themselves as a couple in front of another person.
At the same time Double Dee was freshening himself up, Marie and May were in the bedroom of their trailer home. Marie was wearing a black pleated blouse with leggings under a skirt once again. She was currently applying hairspray to her hair in front of the mirror as May sat on the bed watching her in her usual clothes.
"This stupid piece of hair won't stay!" yelled Marie.
"Calm down Marie, you look good." said May.
"He's gonna be here in five minutes, and I still didn't get my eye shadow on." said an extremely panic stricken Marie.
At the same time, Double Dee was in the trailer park, walking toward the Kankers trailer. He reached the front door and took a deep breath before he knocked in a "shave and a haircut" rhythm.
Marie had just barely finished prepping herself when the girls heard the knock on the door. The sisters glanced at each other upon hearing the noise.
"He's here." said Marie in a quick voice, "Do I look okay?"
"You look fine Marie, I'm gonna go let him in." said May as she opened the door and ran down the stairs.
"May, I'm not ready!" yelled Marie as she quickly continued fixing her eye shadow.
"Well we can't keep him waiting out there in the cold Marie, what are we animals?" said May up the stairs in her nasally voice.
Double Dee, still standing outside the trailer, heard the inner door unlatch, and waited for Maries face to appear from behind it when it opened. He was surprised when he saw May standing with her hand on her hip, smiling at him as if trying to be sexy.
"Hey hot stuff," said May, "Marie's not home tonight, but I'd be willing to show you a good time anyway." she said as she touched her index finger to her lips.
Double Dee stood as stiff as board, speechless and sweating profusely, until May broke the silence.
"Oh I'm just playing with you Double Dee," said May smiling, "Marie's upstairs, come on in and make yourself comfortable."
Double Dee slowly inched towards the door.
"Come on I don't bite, what are you waiting for?" she said as she held the screen door open
Double Dee followed her into the trailer and took a seat on the 70's style flower embroidered sofa. This was the first time he had actually noticed the details on the sofa, as the lamps in the living room had been given bulbs since the last time he'd been there. The room now glowed dimly with yellow light from the lamps.
"You want something to drink?" asked May as she began walking out into the kitchen. Both parties felt awkward being around each other, as the two had never been within the same room together on good terms before.
"Sure May," replied Double Dee nervously, "May I please have a glass of water."
"Coming right up." said May, as she walked into the kitchen.
Double Dee had gotten the chance to observe the interior of the trailer in detail for the first time, as there was now an adequate amount of light. He had been in the trailer before during the day a few times, however it was usually during a Kanker attack, a time when he was too distressed to notice details. The living room wall consisted of light brown, 70's style wood paneling. There were several heirlooms hanging on the walls, mostly nautical knick knacks, such as an anchor and various ships in a bottle, including the one that Ed had stolen last summer. The most noticeable knick knack was a giant swordfish that was hanging on the wall above the stairs. There was a book shelf containing various reference books, such as appliance owner's manuals and phone directories. The small, television set that appeared as though it was from the 60's sat on a table in front of the couch. Separating the kitchen from the living room was a small partition of brick that topped off around waist height. The partition jutted out about a quarter of the way into the room, giving one a pretty clear view of the entire kitchen from the couch.
As Double Dee watched May emptying water from the sink faucet into a glass for him, he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned around and looked up to see Maries face. Her black hair still retained the side swept bangs that covered her right eye. Although Double Dee had been with her a few times before, he couldn't help but melt once again at her beautiful smile.
"Hi, Double Dee." said Marie in cute voice.
"Hello Marie," said Double Dee with a lump in his throat, he stood up and walked over to her.
"You look beautiful." He said while smiling into her eyes.
"And I must say, you are as handsome as always," said Marie as she wrapped her arms around his neck while staring up into his eyes.
"What the hell, I'm gone for five minutes, and you guys are already going at it." said May, jokingly as she walked into the living room with Double Dees glass of water. Double Dee was slightly embarrassed.
"Can it May!" yelled Marie, slightly embarrassed herself. Double Dee retook his seat on the couch, sitting with his legs touching the floor. Marie joined him, sitting on the side of her legs, while leaning into Double Dee, placing her head on his shoulder. May pulled up a chair from the kitchen and placed it in front of the couch. She took a seat on the chair and began making conversation with Marie and Double Dee. As the next few minutes passed the group of three shared laughs and Double Dee was able to loosen up slightly and feel comfortable around May.
"Let's see what's on tonight." said May as she reached for the dial on the television. The television was not compatible with a remote control.
May spent a few minutes channel surfing before finding of course, a "chick flick".
"Here we go," said May, "We can watch this to set the mood."
"Bravo May, you actually picked something right for once." said Marie .
May said nothing at the last statement. She merely stuck her tongue out at Marie in a teasing manner as she walked out into the kitchen. Marie returned the favor with a tongue lashing of her own. May opened the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bag of popcorn. She placed it in the microwave oven and walked back into the living room. Once the popcorn was finished, the three sat down and began enjoying the movie as they snacked. Double Dee couldn't have been a happier young man, sitting with his arm around Marie on her couch.
Meanwhile, Eddy was standing at Ed's basement room window. The teacher had not called Ed's parents by some stroke of luck, thus he remained free to do as he chose; at this moment, he exercised his right to eat leftover fried chicken on his arm chair while watching a low budget 80' horror movie that involved tractor trailers coming to life and murdering all who crossed their path; in short the acting was terrible, but Ed loved it. . Eddy entered the window and walked up to where Ed was sitting observing the television.
"Aw come on Ed, not this crap again." said Eddy, groaning.
"Hey Eddy! You're just in time for the best part!" said Ed.
"Whatever lumpy, you're coming with me, we got work to do." said Eddy.
"Wait Eddy, I have to see this part." said Ed.
"You've only seen it about a million times," said Eddy, "How exciting could it be?"
"Oh Eddy, you know that I have only seen it approximately 57 times." replied Ed, surprising Eddy with his vocabulary fluke. Nevertheless, Eddy sighed as he took a seat on Ed's bed, waiting for Ed's favorite part of the movie to pass so that they could go.
In short, Eddy waited fifteen boring minutes and had almost fallen asleep when Ed yelled.
"Ready Eddy!"
"It's about time monobrow!" yelled Eddy as he jumped up off of the bed and began walking toward the window. "Let's go get Kevin and Rolf."
The boys walked down the side walk to Kevins house. They peered through the window to see Kevin and Rolf sitting in the family room of his house playing video games. Eddy ran over to the door and rang the doorbell. After a few minutes, Kevin answered his door.
"Hey dork, what's happenin?" said Kevin.
"Nothin much Kev my boy, I just have some news that you would like to hear about our little situation." said Eddy grinning.
"Alright then," Kevin said snickering, "Come on in, Rolf's here too."
Eddy and Ed entered Kevins house and took a seat on the love seat across from the couch Kevin and Rolf were sitting on.
"Alright, so here's the deal." said Eddy, "Me and Ed had detention today, and it just so happened Lee Kanker was there with us. Long story short, we told her about Double Dee and Maries little relationship."
"Uh oh dude," said Kevin, "You treaded dangerous water talking to her." said Kevin.
"Tell me about it." said Eddy
"So what happened?" asked Kevin.
"Well I came up with an ingenious plan." said Eddy. Eddy's pride could not bring him to say that Lee had come up with the plan.
"What's so ingenious about it dork." said Kevin.
"Well, here's what we're gonna do." said Eddy, as he explained the whole operation to Kevin and Rolf
"We meet at his house at 11:45 tonight." said Eddy, "You two will get him out of the house and keep him tied up, while me and Ed comb the room for 'evidence'"
"Sounds like a plan." said Kevin, as he grinned from ear to ear.
Back in the Kankers trailer, Double Dee, Marie, and May continued to watch the movie. Eventually, there was a kissing scene, which gave Marie an idea.
"Hey May," said Marie, "Don't you have to separate the clothes for the wash tomorrow?" she asked.
"No." May said confused, looking at Marie.
"I think you do." said Marie, winking at May and motioning with her head for May to go upstairs. May sat confused for a few more seconds before she realized what Marie was asking of her.
"Oh I get it, you want to make out!" said May in an obnoxious voice.
Double Dees face turned beet red. Marie put her palm into her face.
"Way to point out the obvious Bucky!" yelled Marie. "
Well, excuse me!" said May, Marie gave her an evil glare.
"Why don't you take him upstairs so I can still watch my movie!"
"Even better idea." said Marie as she stood up and grabbed Double Dees hand to pull him up with her. Double Dee was still confused about what was going on. The fact that May and Marie were openly discussing making out was embarrassing him.
Marie led Double Dee to the stairs. The couple began ascending the staircase as May turned around and held her hand up, waving her fingers while smiling.
"Have fun you two love birds, just not too much fun." she said.
Double Dee blushed as Marie opened the door to the bedroom and flipped the lights on. Marie closed the door to the room as Double Dee stood in the middle of the floor. Marie moved over to the bed and laid down on one of the three pink pillows that were resting on the top.
"Come here and snuggle with me Oven Mitt," said Marie as she tapped her hand on the bed.
Double Dee smiled and walked over to the bed. He laid down on the pillow next to the one that Marie was laying on, placing his hands behind his head. He turned to look into Maries face, but she had already moved over to rest her head on his chest. She simultaneously draped her left leg over his body, so that she was lying on her side. Double Dee moved his arm down and placed it around her shoulder. He felt Marie snuggle even closer to him when he did so. He couldn't help cracking a smile as he stared towards the cigarette smoked stained ceiling tiles above him.
Marie suddenly spoke up.
"What happened to you today in the cafeteria?" Asked Marie, as she smiled into his eyes.
Double Dee had hoped that she did not see the incident.
"Let's just say that Eddy pulled a little prank that I wasn't happy about." said Double Dee.
"Must have been some prank, you looked like you were gonna hurl your guts up!" said Marie laughing.
"It's so embarrassing, I can't believe that you managed to witness that incident." said Double Dee.
"Hey!" said Marie, "There's nothing that can take my eyes off of that cute face of yours." said Marie, smiling.
"Therefore I see all." she giggled .
After a few moments of snuggling, Double Dee decided to take the initiative and touch his lips to Marie's.
Marie pulled away.
"A little frisky tonight huh?" Said Marie while smiling. Double Dee slightly blushed.
"I'm sorry, Marie, I didn't mean to go too far. Please forgive…."
Marie silenced Double Dee with her finger, while simultaneously passing her leg over his body so that she was straddling him once again.
"I like that." said Marie as she moved herself closer to Double Dees face.
Marie giggled, while Double Dee felt a wave of uneasiness pass over him. Marie once again touched her lips to Double Dees. With time, they found themselves in a very similar situation as at Double Dees house.
As these events were unfolding, May was downstairs, eating a hotdog that she had just boiled while watching her movie. She was lying on the couch when something caught the corner of her eye from the window. With a quick glance out the window, May spotted a young woman with a haven of ginger curls over her head passing through the construction site. Lee was home, and it was only 10 o clock; she had arrived earlier than expected .
May panicked at the sight of her older sister and quickly ran up the stairs. She barged into the bedroom.
"Marie, emergency…" she cut herself off upon seeing Marie in a suggestive position with Double Dee
"Oh shit, sorry," she said while shielding her eyes.
Marie simultaneously jumped off of Double Dee and stood up on the side of the bed.
"Jesus Christ May, have you ever heard of knocking!" said an embarrassed Marie, blushing as she scrambled to find her composure. Poor Double Dee could do nothing but lay in the bed, embarrassed beyond belief.
"Whatever, I'm sorry for busting in, but Lee's coming!" yelled May.
"Oh shit!" said Marie.
"What is she doing home so soon?" asked an annoyed Marie.
"How should I know, but you better amscray Double Dee." said May.
At the sound of Mays words, Double Dee promptly stood up off of the bed. Marie walked over to him, holding it in her hand.
"I'm sorry Double Dee, I didn't want this to happen." said Marie, "Maybe we can hang out tomorrow I'll try my best okay?"
"Okay Marie." said Double Dee, smiling, yet panicking at the same time.
"Okay, just like last time, you can use the window." Marie rushed Double Dee over to the window.
As May stood in the doorway to the room, Marie grabbed Double Dee and kissed him on the lips right in front of her.
May couldn't help but give a heartfelt smile at the moment she had just witnessed. The sound of the door closing downstairs ended the beautiful moment.
Marie embraced Double Dee before motioning him to go. "I promise, I'll see you later." said Marie as Double Dee climbed out the window. With one more kiss, and a goodnight, Double Dee had dropped out the window, and was on his way home.
The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as Lee had reached the bedroom just as Double Dee had dropped out the window. Lee stared at both of her sisters. Marie stood by the window, while May was standing next to her in the doorway still smiling.
"What the hell is goin on here?" asked Lee. "
I was just getting ready to get a shower when May's big butt busted into the room looking for some dumb magazine." said Marie, obviously telling another fib.
Lee knew that something was up by the way both of the girls were acting and from Eddy had told her earlier today.
"Well get in the bathroom, no one wants to see you any more than we have to." said Lee as she laughed.
"Ahh whatever Lee, your just jealous." said Marie as she walked out of the room.
"Let those mosquito bites grow a little bit before ya say that again." said Lee as Marie entered the bathroom.
"Perfect" Lee thought to herself, "The girl just assisted me and she doesn't even realize it."
Lee waited until she heard Marie turn on the water for her shower before she turned her attention to May. She sat down on the bed grinning.
"May," she said while patting the bed with her palm, "Let's have a little talk, sister to sister, whadya say?"
May wasn't the brightest bulb in Peach Creek, but she knew something was up if Lee wanted to have a sister to sister talk.
"What do you mean Lee?" asked May .
Lee lost her patience, she stood up and grabbed Marie by the shoulders slamming her into the wall.
"Alright, May, now you're gonna tell me the truth. I'll get straight to the point, no sugar coating. A little birdy told me that Marie has been playin' hanky panky with Double Dee for the last week. Does that ring a bell in that little pea brain of yours?"
May had no intentions of betraying Marie, as she had put her trust into her.
"Oh my god, Marie's finally been doin' Double Dee?" she said as she placed her hand over her mouth, attempting to act surprised.
"Don't play dumb May, I'm not in the mood." said Lee. "I guess I'll have to get it out of ya the hard way"
Lee grinned has she grabbed Mays hands and formed each of them into a fist. Lee placed her fingers on top of Mays curled up finger nails.
"Last chance May." said Lee. May still couldn't bring herself to say anything.
Lee began squeezing her fingers into Mays balled up fingers, May writhed in agony.
"Still won't tell?" said Lee as she squeezed harder. May kneeled down from the pain.
Lee increased the pressure once more time at which point, May broke.
"It's true!" May yelled, "They've been dating, she told me the other day."
"There we go." asked Lee, as she continued giving May the death grip. "I damn well know that's not all that's been goin' on. Spill it, the pain won't stop till I hear it all."
May felt terrible as she spent the next few minutes telling Lee of Double Dee and Maries nights they spent together, the acting they had done in the lane, and Double Dees synthesis of Crankshaft #5.
Lee eventually released May from her grip.
"This is serious May!" yelled Lee, "And I'm pissed that you lied behind my back. I aughta pound ya right now, but you're lucky I need your help. "
"Help with what?" May said angrily, as she caressed her wrists.
Lee explained the entire plan to May, including the fact that she was working in cahoots with Eddy. May was furious inside, as she had actually enjoyed Marie being able to share secrets with her and treat her like a real sister for once in their life. She had no problem with Marie dating Double Dee. Nevertheless, to avoid conflict, and out of fear of Lee, she was forced to take Lee's side; she could only hope that Marie would understand.
"Alright, now when Deadeye Darling gets out of the shower, you are not to say a word about this." said Lee.
May obliged with a shake of her head. The two girls didn't speak another word to each other until Marie had finished her shower. Marie, unaware that May had just confirmed her relationship with Double Dee to Lee, went downstairs and spent the rest of her night watching TV with her sisters. Before she knew it, it was time for bed, and she and the rest of the cul-de-sac climbed into their cozy beds for yet another night of well deserved sleep. As both Double Dee and Marie were comforted by thoughts of each other, the Ed's and the remaining Kanker sisters were preparing for their midnight strike.