Chapter 25
It was 30 minutes since Double Dee had walked away from all of the commotion on the cross street. As much as he tried, sleep would simply not come to him. He was proud that he was finally able to publically declare his affections toward Marie, however he was not satisfied with the outcome of the incident. He did not want any hard feelings between he and Eddy, as he saw Eddy as one of his best friends; but he most certainly wasn't going to give up his amazing relationship with Marie to please him. As he lay awake thinking of the circumstances he was faced with, he could only hope that Eddy could somehow find it in his heart to accept he and Marie's relationship. Perhaps if Eddy could only get to know the real Marie, he would think differently.
Eventually, Double Dee realized that he had to use the bathroom. He slid out from under his covers, and slid his feet into his bedroom slippers. He walked down the dark hall and into his bathroom. He was slightly blinded when he flipped the light switch as his eyes were adjusted to the darkness.
The bathroom décor consisted of a blue tiled floor and sky blue tiling that extended halfway up the walls, after which white wallpaper continued up to the ceiling. Double Dee's father had just finished renovating it into its current configuration. After Double Dee finished relieving himself, he finished up by washing his hands in the sink. As he did so, he glanced out the window that presented a view towards the back of the house.
Double Dee was instantly reminded of Marie as he stared out the window at the abandoned Kanker mansion that was located a little ways behind his house on the cross street. The brown side paneling on the house was peeling off in places, revealing white undercoating that was accented by the street light.
Double Dee looked closely at the balcony of the house and noticed a human figure sitting on the concrete ground. The figure was sitting in a fetal position, but he instantly recognized the hair and clothes that the person was wearing. It was Marie, and she was sitting outside in the cold all by herself wearing nothing but her pajamas. Double Dee returned to his bedroom as grabbed his coat, being sure to grab an extra one out of his closet. He made his way downstairs and out the front door of the house.
As he opened the door, the bone chilling wind hit his face; he was sure Marie was freezing being just in her pajamas. He made his way around the corner and to the front yard of the mansion. After walking up the decrepit concrete path, he proceeded to push open the already cracked door, still missing its door knob assembly from when Eddy managed to get it caught on his finger. Double Dee reminisced on how it took them hours to figure out how to get it off. Eddy's dad eventually had to use his Dremel to saw through the metal until it was thin enough to break the rest off. Double Dee chuckled remembering how Eddy was frightened beyond belief that the saw was within centimeters of his finger, as his father called him a sissy for complaining.
Double Dee made his way into the dark foyer, which was somewhat illuminated by light from the street light entering through the window. There was a large stone mantle that contained a fireplace on the left side of the room. Directly across from it on the right side next to the stairs, there was a door to a medium sized room that was located in a small wing to the right of the house. Double Dee peered into the room as he walked up the stairs. The room was lined with tattered purple wall paper that had pink wavy stripes, and an indigo rug that appeared to be extremely worn. The room was otherwise empty except for a small vanity, which had music box resting on top of it, and a few old dolls. The room seemed to have once been a playroom of sorts for a little girl.
Double Dee made his way up the stairs and towards the door to the balcony. Both the door to the staircase and the door to the balcony were cracked open slightly. As Double Dee approached the top of the creaky wooden stairs, he began to hear the sounds of sobbing. He quickly pushed the door open and peered around the corner. Leaning on the same wall as they were a few nights ago was Marie. She was curled up with her knees to her chest, and had her eyes buried in the palms of her hands, crying. She was also shivering from the cold air, as all she was wearing were her red plaid pajama pants, and an oversized t-shirt.
"Marie?" said Double Dee, as he opened the door completely. Marie looked up.
"Double Dee?" asked Marie. Both of her eyes were exposed. They were both red and puffy, as tears flowed vigorously from them.
"How did you know I was here?"
"I saw you from my bathroom window." said Double Dee as he placed the coat he brought with him around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you out of this cold weather. We can go back to my house and enjoy some hot chocolate. Then if you want, you can tell me what's bothering you. " said Double Dee as he put his hand out for Marie to take.
Marie took his hand and stood up. She smiled at Double Dee, although tears were still falling down her face.
"I would really like that Double Dee." said Marie as she swept her hair over her right eye.
Double Dee led Marie down the stairs and back onto the second floor balcony. The couple proceeded down the curved staircase, holding hands all along the way. As they approached the bottom of the stairs, Double Dee's eyes were drawn into the playroom once again, particularly to the music box sitting on the vanity.
"Marie, if you don't mind me asking, does that music box belong to your family?" asked Double Dee as he pointed into the room. The couple made a quick stop in the room. Marie walked over to the box.
"You know, in the year I have lived here I have never noticed this was here before Double Dee." said Marie as she opened the top of the pink, treasure-chest shaped box. Immediately, a silver ballerina figurine that appeared to be spinning on one toe with its arms up over its head rose out of the box, and began rotating to a cheerful tune. Double Dee recognized the tune from his adventure in the house last summer. Ed must have inadvertently activated the music box when he jostled the floorboard while trying to free Eddy from the door.
"One of the few things my mom used to tell us was a story about how much she loved some music box with a silver ballerina inside. She would say how she wanted to be a dancer when she was a little girl, and how she wanted to spin just like the girl in the pink box." said Marie, "She said she would dance for hours, pretending in front of the mirror in her room, trying to imitate the girls that she saw on tv."
Marie paused for a few seconds, while she closed the music box and picked it up in her arms.
"She told us that my Poppy was going to surprise her on her tenth birthday with ballet classes, but they fell into hard times financially. Long story short, she was never able to receive her dance lessons."
Marie paused once again as she stared at the dusty box.
"That was one of the only things she has ever told us about her childhood." said Marie "I guess her dream of being a ballet dancer was very important to her."
Double Dee couldn't help but feel bad for Ms. Kanker as he heard the story. He had never even thought that someone that had as hard of a life as the Kanker sister's mother once was a little girl with great hopes and dreams for her future.
"She used to always talk about the box, and how she missed the tune that it played when she opened it. She said she couldn't remember whatever happened to it. This must be it, they left it here by mistake when they moved to the city." said a relatively excited Marie.
"I must confess, I have actually heard that tune before." said Double Dee smiling, "Ed jostled the floorboards while we were trying to free Eddy from the confines of the door knob when we were here last summer, and must have opened the box momentarily. It literally scared me to high heaven." said Double Dee as he chuckled.
Marie chuckled back at him.
"I'm going to take this home and surprise my mom with it." said Marie.
"From what you have told me, I am absolutely sure that she will enjoy that Marie." said Double Dee.
Marie hugged Double Dee. "I am so happy that I have a very observant and curious boyfriend." said Marie, as she smiled at him, her eyes still appeared to be puffy from her earlier crying spell. "I've been here a million times and have never even noticed this."
Double Dee smiled as he and Marie walked out the door back into the cold air. The couple made their way down the cross street, with the music box tucked under Maries left arm while she held Double Dees hand with the other hand. They made their way up the path to Double Dees house and entered the front door.
Double Dee opened the door and flicked the lights on. He took Maries coat and led her to the couch in his living room situated directly across from the fire place.
"Why don't we make ourselves some hot chocolate." said Double Dee.
"That would be lovely Double Dee." said Marie as she followed Double Dee out into the kitchen.
It was now a few minutes after 1:00 a.m. and Double Dee and Marie had finished brewing their hot chocolate. Marie was sitting on the couch, sipping the hot beverage while Double Dee fiddled with the fireplace.
"Let's see if I remember how to do this." said Double Dee.
Marie watched as Double Dee placed crumbled up pieces of paper in the center of the fireplace, after which he laid kindling on top of it. He then placed a log that was adjacent to the hearth on top of all of the materials he had just previously placed in the hearth. He grabbed a match and lit the paper on fire. It didn't take long for Double Dee to create a nice orange glowing flame.
"I was successfully able to…." said Double Dee. He was never able to finish his sentence as he hit his head on the top of the hearth as he attempted to stand back up. Marie chuckled at Double Dees little slip up; Double Dee couldn't help but crack a smile.
"I am aware that it's a school night," said Double Dee as he walked over toward Marie, "But after all of that senseless drama, I am simply too shaken up to sleep."
Double Dee sat down on the couch next to Marie. He felt completely comfortable around Marie at this point and without even thinking about it, placed his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.
"I know tell me about it." said Marie, as she leaned her head onto Double Dees shoulder, while watching the fire. "Then again, I didn't expect anything less than a negative reaction from Lee either."
Marie paused for a few seconds.
"And it really went bad when Lee finally came home." said Marie.
"What happened?" asked a concerned Double Dee.
"Well, I came in and went right upstairs to get back into bed. I was so upset about all of this fighting, that I couldn't help but break down and cry. May came in shortly after I entered the bedroom, and sat there with me comforting me." said Marie.
"That certainly is a nice thing to do for a sister," said Double Dee.
"I am so glad to at least have her to help me through this." said Marie, "After a few minutes, the front door slammed open, and Lee came storming up the stairs to the bedroom. Long story short, a huge fight broke out, and hurtful words were said. At one point, Lee slapped May across the face, and May began to cry. I couldn't take it anymore. I tackled Lee and we both started fist fighting. Eventually, she got the best of me, and threw me out the front door. She told me she didn't want to see me for the rest of the night. So I went to my grand fathers house, and that's where you found me."
Marie sat in silence before tears began running down her face once again. She buried her head into Double Dees chest as she let her emotions free, putting all of her complete trust into her boyfriend.
"Marie, I'm sure they would let you back in if you returned to your trailer." said Double Dee as he embraced her, stroking her hair.
"I know." said a distraught Marie, "It's not that, I just don't understand why it is so hard for Lee to accept us being together. And it doesn't help that the girl shows absolutely no emotion, so talking to her is liking talking to a brick wall!" yelled Marie.
Double Dee was silent as Marie cried into his chest.
"I don't know anything about Lee, Double Dee." said Marie, as she looked up into his eyes. "My own sister is like a complete stranger to me. She has never shared any secrets with us or gave us any girlie advice or did any of that other stuff normal sisters are supposed to do."
Marie paused.
"I had at least been slightly closer to May than Lee prior to having the conversation with her the other night." said Marie
"I know all of us had had hard lives, but at least me and May are willing to talk about our problems to each other. I know that Lee has emotions bottled up inside of her, she is just so afraid to show them for some reason. I thought I was bad, acting like a bully, and torturing you. I can't believe some of the things Lee does."
"She is quite an intimidating person." said Double Dee snickering, Marie managed to chuckle back at him.
"It just hurts me that I have been living with her all my life and know nothing about her. We somewhat looked at her as a second mother because she would be the one that would get us up for school when we were little girls, and make sure May brushed her teeth and got dressed in the morning. She would do this even though she was only seven years old. That's a lot of responsibility for a kid if you think about it Double Dee."
Double Dee had never thought that Lee would take on those kind of roles for her sisters. He had always thought that the gruff and domineering Lee would have bullied her little sisters and made their life miserable.
"Lee is not a bad person," said Marie, "She had to take so much responsibility as a kid, it's no wonder she is so angry at the world."
Marie paused once again and looked into Double Dees eyes.
"I just wish that she would let loose and talk about her problems with me and May. We would have no problem comforting her with anything she wanted to talk about. It's better than her lashing out at the world and creating enemies. I can't figure out why, but Lee seriously hates men, and believes the same ideas about them as my mother does. In fact, she seems to hate them even more. She has never had a boyfriend that hurt her, although I believe she has had 'encounters' with random guys if you catch my drift, mostly because she takes the initiative. She is like a roller coaster, doing things with guys I wish she wouldn't do, then complaining that men are nothing but pigs and a waste of human beings. It is so frustrating because she seems to drive herself crazy with these cycles!"
Marie turned towards Double Dee.
"Double Dee, I have to thank you." said Marie as she snuggled closer to him.
"Whatever for Marie." said Double Dee.
"I have to thank you always being there for me, and letting me talk to you about all of my stupid problems." said Marie as she smiled at him.
"Hey you." He said, "Nothing I hear come out of your mouth is stupid Marie. I'll always be here for you."
"I am so glad I met you." said Marie, "I knew you were one-of-a-kind when I was watching you from afar last summer. You always treated others with respect, even when they were mean to you, and remained polite, even when Eddy had you on your last nerve. It was you that inspired me to change. You helped me see that people in the world do care."
Double Dee was stunned at Marie's words. He could not believe Marie had gone through life feeling this way. Marie grabbed his face and turned it into hers. "And I am so happy to be appreciated by a guy as great as you Double Dee." said Marie, making Double Dee smile.
"And I'm so glad to have a young woman as great as you Marie." said Double Dee, after which they shared a quick kiss.
The couple sat in silence watching the fire for a few minutes before Marie broke the silence chuckling.
"It was kinda funny what May said that got Lee so angry that she hit her." said Marie.
"What did she say?" asked Double Dee smiling.
"She started yelling about how she was renouncing her 'sistership' to Lee, and how her last name isn't even Kanker." said Marie laughing.
Double Dee laughed at Marie's statement.
"She was really going off the deep end!" yelled Marie trying to hold back a laugh.
"Wait," said Double Dee, "Pardon my curiosity, but May's last name is not Kanker?"
"Technically no." said Marie, "She took my Dads last name. Her birth certificate says Annamae Lynn Lonergan, but my mom filled out all of the school papers as Kanker to make easier on her, as her and my Dad already broke up by the time May started school."
Marie paused.
"If you ask me, she's lucky she doesn't have our mom's last name." said Marie as she laughed.
"Excuse my persistent questioning Marie, but can you remember yourfather living with you?" asked Double Dee.
"Don't be silly Double Dee, I'd love to share stories about me with you." Said Marie before she continued.
"I can." replied Marie, "He isn't a bad guy, he did some wrong things to my mom that I'm not particularly proud of him for, but at least he stayed in his daughter's lives, not like Lee's coward of a father. I think the same way about Bubba, because he probably wouldn't have wanted me, even if he found out I existed."
Marie and Double Dee sat in silence for a few more minutes. Marie seized the moment to bring a lighter tone to the conversation. She grabbed the music box that was sitting the coffee table and opened it.
"So this little girlie melody actually scared you and your friends?" asked Marie as she giggled.
"What!" said Double Dee laughing, "It surprised me, what else can I say?"
"What were you thinking when we finally got you down to the basement and you saw us in the wedding veils?" asked Marie.
"I was thinking about jumping out of that trash can and kissing you even before Lee recited the vows." said Double Dee, joking with Marie.
Marie slapped him playfully.
"The one time my Oven Mitt loosens up and jokes, it has to be when I want to ask a serious question." said Marie as she smiled.
To two shared a laugh before Double Dee intervened.
"Marie, I have a few questions that have puzzled me and my friends about that day." said Double Dee.
"Well don't keep me in suspense cutie." said Marie, "Ask away."
"Well first off, how did you possibly manage to know that we would be in the house that very day for you to set up all of the traps?" asked Double Dee.
"I'm afraid that's top secret Kanker classified information." said Marie, smiling. Double Dee's naivety had no idea whether she was joking or not. He was relieved when she continued.
"Well each of us set up the traps for our respective 'boyfriend' using things that we knew you guys were interested in. Lee used money, May used food, and I used books. We had set the traps up a few days before that, and were planning to do something so we could lure you into the house the next day to put the plan into action."
Marie paused before she continued.
"By some coincidence, and stroke of luck on our part, I happened to be hanging out in the upstairs library, putting the finishing touches on your trap. Then, as I walked toward the broken window, I heard that little kid with the headgear that hangs out with Ed's sister scream and say that a 'dark figure just cast a shadow in the window'"
"So it was you that Jimmy saw!" said Double Dee.
"Yes, I quickly ducked down and continued listening to the conversation. Someone brought up the idea that the house was haunted, and then you guys showed up. I heard Kevin dare Eddy for you guys to go into the house to investigate. I knew that Eddy would not pass up the opportunity, so I went downstairs and mobilized the girls. I think you know the rest of the story."
"I most certainly do Marie." said Double Dee chuckling.
"Any other questions?" asked Marie.
"Yes, how did you possibly get Ed in his barrel? We questioned and pestered him about it and he just says he doesn't remember. Typical of Ed though." said Double Dee as he laughed.
"May lured him onto the dumbwaiter with a box of Chunky Puffs cereal. After she felt his weight tug in the rope, she pulled him up to the upstairs bedroom. While he was immersed in eating his food, she took his hand, lead him out into the hallway and told him to get in the barrel. Piece of cake." said Marie chuckling.
"That sounds like something that would happen to Ed." said Double Dee smiling,
"Alright, my third and final question. Did Lee really anticipate Eddy getting his finger stuck in the doorknob and being able to pass it off as his wedding ring?"
Marie laughed.
"No she didn't," said Marie, "She was going to use the socket end of a small wrench to fit around his finger, but she decided to play it smooth and claim that he had already found his ring."
Marie and Double Dee laughed together for a few seconds.
"We're good, but were not that good." said Marie smiling, as Double Dee chuckled. The two sat in silence for a while, after finishing their last statement.
"We've come a long way Double Dee." said Marie, "Just last September, I had to bribe and blackmail you in order for you to say that I was your girlfriend." Marie began laughing.
"We have come a long way Marie," replied Double Dee. "And I am so glad that we have." He said smiling into her eyes.
The two shared a gentle kiss on the couch for a few minutes and then resumed talking about past memories and making jokes. Before they knew it, they had talked the entire night away and the sun was beginning to rise over Peach Creek.
"My goodness," said Double Dee, "I had so much fun talking with you that we have once again lost track of time."
"I guess we can say goodbye to a good night's sleep." said Marie laughing.
"I suppose we can." said Double Dee as he got up off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "Seeing as its morning, what do you say I make us breakfast?"
"Sounds good to me, I'm starving." said Marie
The couple spent the next half hour cooking and eating breakfast, sharing laughs and smiles together. Marie and Double Dee were in a seemingly flawless relationship. They trusted one another and their conflicting personalities balanced each other out perfectly. After they had finished breakfast, they decided that they would travel together to school early to avoid potential conflict. The couple headed out into the back yard, and rode away towards Peach Creek junior high on Double Dees "Ed Mobile" bike as the morning sun rose over Peach Creek. The rest of the kids were just waking up as the happy couple shared this beautiful moment.