Chapter 51
Around the same time that Marie and her sisters had left their trailer, Double Dee had finished mopping the tan colored tiled floor of his kitchen. After quickly taking out the garbage (and washing his hands of the filth that went along with touching the bag), he proceeded to prepare himself for school. Double Dee sighed as he looked himself in the bathroom mirror while he brushed his teeth. From the way Marie had been behaving, it seemed as if all intentions of convincing her to come back to him were hopeless. He began to wonder if anything would ever be the same, even if Marie didn't want him anymore.
At the sound of those words in his head, Double Dee's eyes began to water. The thought of him losing Marie seemed absolutely absurd, and he had no intentions of giving up what they had. He could only hope that Lee and May could somehow convince her to give him another chance.
Double Dee adjusted his black ski hat, and headed downstairs, fully dressed. Today was the day that welcomed the month of March to Peach Creek. Although it would be around another 20 days until spring would be officially welcomed in, the weather was beautiful. The temperature had already peaked at around 65 degrees, and was expected to rise another 10 degrees as the day went on. Double Dee had dressed in his long blue pants, but had traded in his long sleeved shirt for his red short sleeved summer shirt.
The sky was a beautiful blue, and the sunshine was reflecting brightly off of all of the cars that Double Dee had passed on his bike as he made his way towards Peach Creek Junior High. As he approached the school, he began seeing the faces of many of his fellow students playing various sports and otherwise hanging outside. Most importantly, he took notice of his good friends, Ed, Eddy, Kevin and Rolf, taking advantage of the warm weather by playing a quick game of basketball before homeroom.
Double Dee jumped the curb with his bike, and rode into the confines of the chain link fence that surrounded the school grounds. He drove the bike across the black asphalt to the designated rack, and chained it up directly next to Kevin's prized chrome low-rider bike. After he had finished locking his bike, he proceeded to walk towards his group of friends.
Double Dee walked over to the basketball court and took a seat on one of the benches on the side of the court. Ed was currently in his own little world, as he had found a caterpillar on one of the trees around the court. He had named it "Georgie" and was currently watching it crawl along his arm. The boys were currently playing a game of H-O-R-S-E and it was Rolf's turn to set the shot standard. He was currently dribbling the ball.
"Observe boy Kevin," said Rolf, "Rolf will now place the bouncing sphere in the basket using only his colossal noggin!"
"Make my day!" yelled Kevin, playfully challenging his friend.
Rolf had been practicing the shot he was about to make, and had perfected it to a point to where he could make it without even trying. Rolf lifted the ball over his head with both of his hands and slammed it down onto the concrete. The ball bounced to a height of around 8 feet, with an audible "ring". Rolf waited for the ball to return to the height of his head, at which point he bumped the ball using the top of his forehead with force. The boys watched as the ball soared through the air and landed perfectly in the basket.
"Ho ho" said Rolf, "Rolf does not lie yes!"
"Alright Rolfie Boy!" yelled Eddy as he walked towards the basketball , "I'll sink your prized shot no problem!"
As Eddy picked up the basketball, he glanced around the court and noticed Double Dee sitting on the black bench observing their game.
"Yo Double Dee!" yelled Eddy, "We came by your house this morning but ya didn't answer your door. We thought ya weren't gonna show!"
Double Dee looked towards his short stubby friend.
"Greeting Eddy," said Double Dee in a melancholy voice, "I'm terribly sorry for not responding to the doorbell, I must have been in the shower at the time of your arrival."
"Don't sweat it," said Eddy, "Come on play with us!"
"No thank you Eddy," said Double Dee, "Your invitation is greatly appreciated, but I'm afraid I have no energy to even attempt to participate in your schoolyard game."
Double Dee buried his face in his hands. He was not only physically exhausted from receiving almost no sleep the previous night, but was also extremely emotionally exhausted. Eddy took notice and walked over to Ed who was laughing dopily with his caterpillar.
"Yo Ed," whispered Eddy into Ed's ear, "Make yourself useful and go cheer Double Dee up!"
Ed looked over towards Double Dee and smiled.
"Come on Georgie," said Ed to his new friend, "Let's go introduce you to Double Dee."
Ed walked over towards Double Dee's and took a seat on the end of the bench.
"Hiya Double Dee!" yelled Ed.
Double Dee looked up into Ed's smiling face.
"Greetings Ed," said Double Dee.
"Cheer up mister, for I have found us a new friend!" yelled Ed as he held out his green caterpillar towards Double Dee.
"Say hello to Double Dee Georgie!" yelled Ed, after which he raised the pitch of his voice and made Georgie say hello to Double Dee.
Double Dee had no response to Ed's antics and continued staring forward.
"Don't worry Georgie, Double Dee is nice, he's just sad because Marie doesn't want to talk to him." said Ed.
At this point, Double Dee put his head back down into his hands at the sound of Marie's name. Eddy who was watching, slapped his right hand to his forehead and motioned Ed to come to his position with his fore finger.
"Ed you idiot!" yelled Eddy, "You're supposed to be cheering him up, not making him feel worse!"
"Relax Boys, we'll cheer ya up!" yelled a familiar voice from behind Eddy.
Eddy turned around to see Lee and May Kanker standing in the middle of the basketball court. May was wearing an emerald green, knee-length ranch dress, accented by a brown leather belt around her waist. The belt was secured in place by a large, silver buckle. On her feet were a pair of brown leather cowgirl boots, with a slight heel; a lighter brown pattern in the shape of an anchor, was woven into the front of each boot, reflecting the Kanker family's love of fishing. Her blonde hair was parted into two pony tails that hung down in front of her shoulders. Both ponytails were secured by blue bows at their ends.
Lee had traded in her usual blue jeans for a black skirt, although she still wore her black shoes. Her loose red polka dotted t-shirt was gone, replaced by a blue form fitting shirt that showed off stunning curves that had previously been kept concealed. The most notable change in Lee was her hair; she had applied conditioner to the curls to keep them silky smooth. Her curls were no longer wildly rising above her head, but were delicately draping over her ears, just enough to cover the tops of her earlobes. Lastly, she had pushed her bangs out of her eyes leaving her blue irises completely exposed. Lee walked over towards Eddy.
"Mind if we join your game Eddy?" asked Lee while grinning.
Although Eddy had claimed to hate Lee, and Lee had claimed to hate him back, his hormonal impulses had inadvertently caused him to check Lee's body out from head to toe, admiring her curves. He quickly shook off his feeling, and attempted to regain his sense.
"Yeah, sure whatever," said Eddy as he passed the ball to Lee, "But don't get any funny ideas."
Eddy leaned into Lee's ear.
"How are things goin with your sister?" asked Eddy.
"Don't worry," replied Lee, "Just be patient, I have a feeling that today's gonna be the day that our little love birds finally kiss and make up."
Lee winked at Eddy, who couldn't help but grin back at her.
Double Dee watched as Lee dribbled the ball with both of her hands and took a shot at the basket, sinking it much to Eddy's chagrin. As the kids continued their game, May had made her way over towards Ed and was currently conversing with him rather shyly. Double Dee took notice that his Marie was not in school once again, and was quite disheartened that he would have to face another day of emotional turmoil, not even being able to speak to his Marie.
Just as Double Dee was once again drifting into his thoughts, he felt something hit the back of his head. He looked down towards the concrete and took notice of a balled up piece of stationary paper. Double Dee reached down and un-balled the paper to find handwriting in blue ink. His eyes lit up, as he recognized that hand writing from his note he received the day before Valentine's day, as well as the note he received with his photographs of Marie. On the paper were four words:
Turn Around Oven Mitt! (smiley face inserted in ink)
Double Dee wasted no time and whipped his head around, after scanning his surroundings, he took sight of who he had hoped to see. Marie stood leaning on a tree, with her arms folded smiling at Double Dee. She was wearing the red tank top that Lee had picked out for her and a pair of blue jeans. On her feet were slip on flats, the same color as the shirt she was wearing. Her black hair was accented by her flower beret once again.
Double Dees face filled with a smile when he finally laid eyes on Marie's beauty. As the couple stared at each other from across the court, the rest of their peers had taken notice, watching the reunion between lovers unfold. Double Dee sat smiling at Marie for around two minutes after which Lee began walking over toward him.
"Jesus Christ, do I have to do everything," said Lee as she walked over towards Double Dee. Lee leaned down into Double Dees ear.
"What the hell are you waiting for!" yelled Lee, "Go get her!"
With that Double Dee stood up off of the bench and began walking over towards Marie, rather nervously. Everyone in the court watched as Double Dee finally reached Marie and stared down into her green eyes. He decided to break the silence.
"Um….He…Hello Marie." said Double Dee rather nervously.
"Hi Double Dee," said Marie as she stared up into Double Dees eyes. Double Dee noticed that her eyes were glistening as if they were beginning to tear up.
Double Dee was just about to speak when Marie suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck in a tight embrace. She buried her face into his chest as she did so. Double Dee wrapped his arms tightly around Marie's back, something which he had longed to do for the last couple days. He took notice that she was wearing Crankshaft #5, an odor which he had missed dearly.
"Double Dee!" yelled Marie, "I'm so sorry for being so stubborn. I knew in the bottom of my heart you wouldn't do anything like that to me. I love you Double Dee, and I don't want to loose you!"
Double Dee looked down into Marie's eyes, as she stared back up at him in tears of joy waiting for a reply. Double Dee thought for a few seconds and finally came up with something romantic to say.
"Don't you worry Annemarie," said Double Dee as he touched his hand to her lips, as if to silence her, "You have me."
Double Dee had retorted using the same exact quote and action that Marie had used to declare the start of their relationship on Valentine's Day. At this point, Marie smiled from ear to ear and began releasing even more tears of joy.
"Marie," said Double Dee as he placed his hand on her face, "I am terribly sorry for all of the drama that had occurred. I can't help but think what kind of emotional turmoil you were forced to face for the last couple da…."
Marie cut Double Dee off by grabbing him by his collar, and pulling him down close to her face.
"Just shut up and kiss me already!" said Marie quietly.
Double Dee obliged to Marie's wishes and pressed his lips to hers in front of all of his friends and Marie's sisters. Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck and pulled herself closer to his body. After around five seconds, Double Dee pulled away and embraced Marie tightly, lifting her up off of the ground and spinning her around twice. Although Double Dee was usually quite shy when it came to public displays of affection, he simply did not care at this moment. He was just happy that he was able to hold Marie in his arms once again. All of the cul-de-sac kids in the basketball court watched happily as Marie and Double Dee shared a beautiful emotional reconciliation.
Unbeknownst to Double Dee and Marie, they had also had another distant observer. Tabby Kanker had stopped by the school grounds on her way to work and was currently standing outside the chain link fence smoking a cigarette. She smiled as she watched her daughter reunite with her boyfriend.
"That a girl Annemarie," whispered an extremely proud Tabby, after which she took a draw of her cigarette and proceeded down the street towards work.
Double Dee put Marie down, and touched his lips to hers once again. After locking lips for around 30 seconds, Eddy decided to break the silence in a playful manner. He cupped his left hand over his mouth, and raised his right fist into the air.
"WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO!" yelled Eddy in a deep voice, as he pumped his fist in the air. His antics eventually caused Ed, Kevin and Rolf to join him, as well as other boys standing around the school grounds. Lee and May chuckled at the boy's jokes while Double Dee and Marie pulled away from each other, smiling, but at the same time blushing. Double Dee grabbed Maries hand and walked her over to where the rest of the students were standing.
"Thank you very much for your encouraging vocalizations Eddy." said Double Dee jokingly.
"Anything for my best bud!" said Eddy, "Now get over here you stud!"
Eddy grabbed Double Dee away from Marie, and placed him in a headlock. At that point, Ed, Kevin and Rolf joined in on the fun, tackling Double Dee playfully. Although Double Dee generally was not a fan of rough housing, he knew the headlocks and playful body slams were just a way for his friends to show that they were happy for him. As the boys played rough, Lee and May had their arms around their sister, and all three girls were jumping up and down excitedly.
The situation had eventually died down, and as Kevin, Ed and Rolf continued to congratulate Double Dee, Eddy decided that it was time to formally apologize to Marie. He walked over to the black haired Kanker sister and looked up into her eyes.
"Marie," said Eddy, "I am so sorry for everything that I did, I re…."
Marie cut him off.
"You don't need to say anything Eddy," said Marie, "I heard what you said at the trailer yesterday, and I could tell that you meant the words you said. That took guts to admit what you did!"
Eddy smiled at Marie, after which she walked away to join her love once again. As Eddy watched Marie walk towards Double Dee he felt a hand touch him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Lee Kanker staring down at him.
"Looks like our little plan finally worked," said Lee as she smiled.
"Yep," said Eddy.
Lee leaned down into Eddy's face.
"Ya know," said Lee, "It really did take guts to admit what you did. I'm proud of you Eddy."
Lee smiled and kissed Eddy on the cheek. She pulled away and began walking back towards the center of the basketball court, leaving Eddy to rub his cheek dry.
At this point, Kevin and Rolf had resumed shooting hoops together. While Eddy, Lee, Double Dee and Marie shot the breeze in the middle of the basketball court, a very happy Ed sat quietly on the bench. May had taken notice of Ed's prescience on the bench and decided to join him to make conversation.
"Don't they look so cute together Ed?" asked a happy May.
"Double Dee and Marie are happy couple once more!" yelled Ed.
May decided that it was time for her to ask an all important question; a question she was quite afraid to ask.
"Um…Ed?" asked May, "Um…I know we were only supposed to work together to get Marie and Double Dee back together, but I really liked hanging out with you."
Ed looked into Mays eyes with a dumbfounded expression on his face. May looked down at the ground away from Ed and blushed as she spoke.
"I was just wondering if you …uh… maybe wanted to start over. You know as friends?"
May looked up into Ed's eyes waiting for a response. To her dismay, Ed said absolutely nothing as he stared down into her face. May was quite heartbroken.
"I see why you wouldn't want to, after I chased you and kissed you without asking, and beat you guys up, and….."
May was suddenly cut off by Ed, who grabbed her in a bear hug. Ed paused for a split second before he yelled.
"A friend of Double Dees is always a friend of mine!" yelled Ed
May had no idea what to do, she was literally paralyzed out of pure joy. After a few minutes she smiled up into Ed's eyes, and then glanced over at Marie, who winked at her sister, congratulating her for her success in becoming slightly closer to her crush.
"Looks like we got another Kanker-Ed match made in heaven coming along!" yelled Lee jokingly.
Eddy walked over to Double Dee, who was standing with Marie holding her hand. Eddy leaned into Double Dees ear.
"Yo Double Dee," said Eddy, "Just wonderin, are your parents gonna be home Saturday night?"
"It's funny you should ask Eddy," said Double Dee enthusiastically, "It just so happens that mother is going to be working all night on Saturday, and father is not expected to be back from…"
Eddy had not let Double Dee finish his sentence before he cut off his friend. Eddy began yelling.
"Alright everyone!" yelled Eddy, "Listen up!"
All of the kids in the court turned their attention towards Eddy.
"The reunion of our favorite little egg head, and his lovely lady calls for a celebration." said Eddy, at which point he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs.
"PARTY AT DOUBLE DEES HOUSE ON SATURDAY NIGHT!" yelled Eddy,
"Righteous!" yelled Kevin.
"Now that's what I'm talkin about!" yelled Lee.
"Now wait just a minute Eddy," yelled Double Dee, "You can't possibly be thinking of hosting a party at my residence"
"Come on Double Dee, lighten up." said Eddy, "We won't break anything in your house, we just wanna have a little innocent celebration for you and your girl."
Double Dee looked around the basketball court, and noticed that everyone was staring at him with a grin waiting for a reply. Double Dee sighed.
"Party at my house!" yelled Double Dee in an unenthusiastic tone.
Everyone in the basketball court cheered at Double Dees statement. Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck and whispered into his ear.
"Don't worry pumpkin, it'll be fun!" said Marie after which she smiled into her boyfriends eyes. Double Dee smiled back at his girlfriend, after which she delivered him a peck kiss on the lips.
Just then the school bell rang, signaling all of the students to report to homeroom. Kevin and Rolf immediately began running out of the court towards the school. The Kankers and the Ed's shared different homerooms, thus the two groups of three would be forced to say goodbye until lunch time.
"I really missed you Double Dee," said Marie as she hugged her boyfriend.
"I really missed you too." replied Double Dee as he embraced Marie.
"I'll see ya at lunch okay cutie?" said Marie as she stared into Double Dees eyes with a smile.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." said Double Dee as he smiled into Marie's eyes.
A few feet away from Marie and Double Dee stared into Ed's eyes for a few seconds before she began speaking.
"So, Ed do you wanna sit together at lunch again?" asked a nervous May.
"At lunch time, with me you will sit." said Ed in a dopey, yet enthusiastic tone.
May smiled, and darted towards Ed quickly, wrapping her arms around him. Ed was taken aback by Mays embrace at first, but slowly yet surely began to wrap his arms around the much smaller May as well.
The two embraced for a few seconds after which May pulled away and began walking towards the school. Marie had just kissed Double Dee goodbye, and joined her sister on their walk to first period.
"Yo Eddy, we'll talk later about how we're gonna make this party a night to remember!" yelled Lee as she playfully blew him a kiss before turning around to walk away with her sisters.
The boys watched as the Kanker sisters began their trek towards the school talking amongst themselves.
"Well then," said Eddy, "I guess we gotta start thinking about this party you got goin 'on Double Dee!"
"Excuse me!" yelled Double Dee, "This party I'vegot going on? You were the one who suggested to use my house as the venue for your social gathering Eddy."
"Hey, it's the least I could do for ya!" yelled Eddy as the boys began walking towards the school.
"Besides," said Eddy, "Parties bring chicks, and that means it's my time to shine!"
Double Dee looked at Eddy in the face and cracked a smile.
"Boy's" said Eddy as he put his arms around his two best friends, "I'll be finding a dream girl of my own on Saturday night."
The boys all shared a laugh as they approached the entrance to the school.
"Let's go," said Eddy as he opened the steel door to the school for his friends, "We got some planning to do."