Chapter 56
It was a beautiful Friday night in Peach Creek, and around the same time that Marie had entered her grandfather's house with her family, Double Dee had departed Eddy's house to prepare for Marie's arrival. The boys had deemed a few pieces of music from Eddy's collection appropriate for the party, and decided to use Double Dees music library to balance out Eddy's old school hits.
Double Dee had finished his shower, and he was already prepared for Marie's visit. He was wearing a red button down shirt, as well as a pair of dark blue jeans. Double Dee adjusted his collar in the mirror, after which he smiled at his reflection.
Marie had arrived sooner than Double Dee had expected, as it was around 7:45 when the sound of Double Dee's doorbell began resonating throughout his house. Double Dee quickly adjusted his ski hat and brushed some lint off of his shirt before running out of his room and down the stairs to the front door.
Double Dee reached the front door and grabbed the golden doorknob. He was currently experiencing a feeling that Ed would describe as "being wiggly inside." Even though the feeling in question resembled a feeling of uneasiness, Double Dee enjoyed it. With a deep breath, he began opening the door to his house.
The door creaked open, revealing Marie standing on Double Dees front stoop. Double Dee felt a wave of warmth pass through his cheeks as his eyes soaked in Marie's beauty. She was still wearing her same v-neck tank top as earlier, although it happened to be covered with a grey hooded sweat shirt due to the brisk weather. Her jeans were the same exact color as Double Dees, although they were more form fitting. Her red slip on flats matched her tank top impeccably. Her black hair was adorned with her red headband, and her layered bangs retained their position over her right eye.
Double Dee stared into Maries green eyes smiling wholeheartedly. The same was true for Marie, who stood in the doorway staring into Double Dees blue eyes. She had missed his eyes for the last few days, and she couldn't help but notice how especially handsome her Double Dee looked tonight.
"Hello Marie," said Double Dee breaking the silence.
"Hi Double Dee," said Marie as she smiled and blushed slightly.
Double Dee moved to the side of the doorway and motioned for Marie to enter his house with his arms.
"Please, come in my lady," said Double Dee as he smiled.
Marie walked into Double Dees house, smiling as she passed and stood by his living room couch. Double Dee shut the door to his house, and turned around to face Marie, who was in the process of removing her grey sweatshirt. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head, revealing her slim fit red tank top. Marie placed her sweatshirt neatly on the sofa, and turned towards her boyfriend, smiling as she adjusted her hair.
"So," said Marie playfully, "Did ya miss me?"
"You can't even comprehend how much I missed seeing your beautiful smile Marie," said Double Dee as he ran his hand through Marie's hair. Marie smiled, after which she quickly pressed her lips to his, kissing him gently yet passionately. As Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck, locking her fingers on the other side, Double Dee placed his hand on her hips and pulled her closer towards him. Marie eventually pulled away from Double Dee and placed her head on his shoulder, after which she whispered into his ear.
"Come sit with me cutie!" said Marie as she patted the seat cushion next to her.
"Certainly," said Double Dee, "But first, I will retrieve us some refreshments from the kitchen."
Double Dee hurried himself to the kitchen doorway to grab drinks for he and Marie. He turned around just as he was about to turn the corner into the kitchen and once again locked eyes with Marie. She was sitting on his couch leaning back with her legs crossed, twirling her hair with her right hand as she grinned. Double Dee couldn't help but smile back, after which he walked to his refrigerator. By now he had known that Marie had enjoyed her soda, and he had stocked a fridge pack he had found stored in his garage in anticipation of her arrival.
Double Dee traveled back out to the living room and handed Marie her beverage. Marie opened the can and took a sip as Double Dee retook his place next to her on the couch. After placing her drink on the coffee table, Marie rested her head on Double Dee's shoulder, prompting him to place his right arm around her and pull her closer. Double Dee noticed that she was wearing Crankshaft #5, a scent which he had dearly missed during their hard times.
Double Dee decided to pose his first question.
"So what exactly made you come around and become willing to reconcile?" asked Double Dee.
"Well," said Marie, "It's a long story."
Marie spent a few minutes telling Double Dee the entire story of how Lee and May tried to wits end to convince her that Double Dee was a good guy, only for her to completely ignore their words. She told him of her mother's heartfelt conversation with her, which left Double Dee shocked beyond belief.
"Marie," said Double Dee, "My word, I'm speechless."
"I was surprised by the whole thing too," said Marie, "I had thought that my Dad was just another one of my Moms men that she fooled around with who somehow had enough sense to take responsibility for his actions when he produced May. I couldn't believe that they were actually in love."
The couple remained silent for a few seconds.
"It all makes sense though if you think about it," said Marie, "My mom made up that story that he cheated with a prostitute to cover up her own emotional problems, and to attempt to convince herself that she did the right thing by leaving him. I feel terrible for my mother. She still has feelings for him, and she wanted to take everything she did to him back more than anything. I could tell that those tears in her eyes were completely genuine."
Marie looked up into her boyfriends eyes.
"Her words have helped me realize the mistake I was making. If I kept ignoring you and acting stubborn, I would have lost you just as my mother has lost my Dad."
Marie paused before she began speaking once again.
"I wish that we could somehow convince him to give her another chance," said Marie.
There was a pause, after which a fun idea popped into Marie's head.
"You like martial arts Oven Mitt?" asked Marie.
"Well, as you know, I usually detest violence," said Double Dee, "But I must admit that the beauty, grace and discipline characteristic of the martial arts in unmatched, and I very much enjoy that fact that it used as a means of self defense, rather than for brutal assault."
Marie grinned.
"My dad taught us a bunch of the moves and defense strategies that he learned when he was in the military." Said Marie
"Really?" asked a curious Double Dee.
"Yes," said Marie as she wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck playfully. "The techniques he taught us really came in handy for beating you Ed's into submission whenever we needed a kiss."
Marie giggled as Double Dee cracked a smile with her. It all became very clear at this point. The Ed's were perfectly capable of escaping the Kanker's grasp as they were all physically stronger than them. However, due to the fact that all three Ed's, including Eddy, respected girls enough not to hit them, as well as the sisters knowledge of painful submission holds, the Ed's managed to be on the losing end of physical confrontations every time.
Double Dee had been so in tune to his thoughts that he had barely noticed that Marie had walked over to the middle of the living room.
"Let's go Oven Mitt!" said Marie enthusiastically, "It's time for your session of MCMAP training."
Double Dee knew he was in for quite a ride as he got up off of the couch and smiled at Marie, who playfully bowed towards him, as she placed her hands in prayers stance.
"I'll shall teach you all that I know young grasshopper." said Marie playfully as she did so, after which she giggled. Double Dee sighed, after which he reluctantly decided to join her .
"Okay Oven Mitt," said Marie, "Our first lesson is going to be on my favorite family of moves….take downs!"
"Take downs?" asked Double Dee, "May I request that we begin with something a little less rough?"
"Relax," said Marie, "It's gonna be fun."
Marie kicked off her slip on red shoes, and was now standing in bare feet on Double Dee's carpet.
"Besides, there are much worse things than take down that my Dad refused to teach us," said Marie as she smiled.
"And what may those be?" asked a curious Double Dee.
"Hmm, just a few techniques to instantly kill someone with your bare hands." said Marie as she grinned.
Double Dee froze in horror at Maries statement. Marie took notice of his nervousness and giggled.
"Relax Double Dee," said Marie, "I never even learned them and why would I use them on you?"
"Silly me," said Double Dee as he blushed rather nervously as Marie chuckled.
"Come on, it's time for your first lesson." said Marie
Marie pulled Double Dee out into the middle of his room so that they could have space to perform their maneuvers.
"Alright," said Marie, "I'll demonstrate on you first, and then you can try it on me okay?"
Double Dee appeared nervous.
"Don't worry, I won't be too rough when I show you," said Marie. "I forget what exactly this is called, but it's one of my favorites. I use it on May all the time when we wrestle."
Marie positioned herself in front of Double Dee.
"Pretend like you are going to punch me in the face." said Marie.
Double Dee reluctantly raised his fist into the air and held it up near his head for a few seconds.
"Are you sure Marie?" asked Double Dee.
Marie nodded her head as she smiled. After a sigh, Double Dee reluctantly began moving his fist towards Marie's face.
Double Dee was surprised as Marie used her left arm to force his fist downward, while moving her body to the left to dodge his lunge. Her right arm ascended, and she placed her inner elbow on Double Dee's Adam's apple, a maneuver which would commonly be called a clothesline. As she pushed with her elbow, her right foot managed to travel behind Double Dee and sweep his feet out from under him. In a matter of milliseconds, Double Dee was on his way towards the floor. He was sure that he was to hit his red carpet when he felt Marie grab his body and stop him right before he hit the floor. She laid him down gently on his back, and proceeded to lie down next to him, laughing as she did so. Marie laid her body down onto her boyfriend and leaned into his face.
"How did ya like that one?" asked Marie in a seductive voice.
"I must admit, I was quite surprised." said Double Dee, "I was sure that my head was going to slam into the floor."
"Relax, I would never try to hurt you cutie pie," said Marie in a whisper.
Marie looked into Double Dees eyes.
"I think it's about time I showed you my next move," said Marie jokingly, "Here is the position to properly execute it."
Double Dee had no time to think before Marie passed her right leg over Double Dees hips to place herself in a straddle position.
"It's time to celebrate our little reunion in a physical way." said Marie as she twirled her hair.
The couple enjoyed each other's company, for lack of a better term, celebrating their reunion with a passionate kiss. The couple spent around twenty minutes expressing their love physically before relocating back to the couch. The couple sat in silence for a few minutes staring at the ceiling before Marie chimed in.
"It's funny how much things have changed," said Marie.
"Whatever do you mean?" asked Double Dee.
"Well, I mean with us Kankers and you Eds," said Marie, "To be honest with you Double Dee I never thought that I would sitting next to you like I did in my dreams."
Marie paused.
"But I guess dreams really do come true." said Marie as she smiled into Double Dees eyes.
Double Dee smiled at Marie, after which she leaned in and kissed him on the lips quickly before placing her head back on his shoulder
"Speaking of changes," said Double Dee, "While observing Ed's behavior around May, as well as his way of words when speaking of her, I would say that Ed is on his way to reciprocating her romantic advances."
"Really!" said Marie, who's eyes lit up with excitement for her little sister.
"Yes," replied Double Dee, "Ed has always had a fear of the female sex, but it seems that talking to May without qualms has stimulated his mind. She has allowed him to realize that girls are people too, and that May is a wonderful, caring, sweet individual."
"You and those sexy big words!" said Marie after which she kissed him on the lips quickly, "Simply put, you're saying he's gaga over May too."
"Correct assumption Marie," said Double Dee.
The couple remained in silence for a few more minutes before Marie began speaking.
"It's kind of hard to believe that Ed and May might wind up together too thinking back on all of the things that happened since we moved here." said Marie, "He's always been the first to run away from us."
Marie paused.
"Remember that day last summer when we showed up, crashed your jawbreaker bank scam, and chased you guys into that kid Johnny's house?" asked Marie.
"Yes, how could I forget," said Double Dee, "Even though we managed to take refuge for a few moments, you girls somehow managed to track us down."
Marie giggled.
"Yep, we never let our Ed's down when they deserved a kiss." said Marie after which she winked, "Anyway that day was the day that I saw Ed run away from us faster than he ever did before. He grabbed you guys under his arms and hauled ass down the lane so fast that for the first time he lost us around the corner."
"I guess in Ed's mind, his story was true," said Double Dee as she chuckled.
"Story?" asked Marie.
"Oh yes," said Double Dee as he chuckled, "After our jawbreaker bank scam fell into shambles just as most of our scams did, we were chased by you into Johnny's house. He promptly asked us to tell him how we came to be in his house. Of course I attempted to stick with the facts, and tell the truthful story, but Johnny found it quite tedious and boring. So I allowed Ed to take over telling the story, and his portion happen to be the part pertaining to your "attack"
Double Dee paused as he looked into the eyes of his smiling girlfriend, who was waiting for him to finish his story.
"As you know, Ed immerses himself in a world of science fiction, and his interpretation of your arrival was quite hilarious. He started by claiming that you girls had eaten "over radiated mashed potatoes" and due to the stimulation caused by the said spuds, you and your sisters turned into giantesses and gained villainous super powers."
Double Dee chuckled, and continued to tell his story, not realizing that Marie's face was beginning to fill with sadness.
"And the strangest thing was that you had also been given the combined super power to fuse your heads together into one super being and blow a powerful kiss as strong as a cruise missile. I can only imagine what was going on in Ed's head that day."
Double Dee glanced down towards his girlfriend with a smile, expecting her to return a smile of her own. Instead of a beautiful smile, he saw Marie's face filled with melancholy, and her eyes were beginning to tear up.
"Marie?" asked Double Dee as he stroked her hair, "Are you alright?"
Marie looked up into Double Dee's eyes once more.
"You guys really did literally think of us as monsters when you first met us, huh?" asked Marie in a calm voice with a slight sadness on her face.
"Marie I'm so sorry," said Double Dee, "It was meant to be a joke, I had no intentions to offend you."
"You didn't Double Dee," said Marie, "I'm just disappointed in the way that we have acted in the past. By turning into bullies and pushing you guys around all the time, we were no better than those kids that teased us for all of those years back in the city school."
Marie paused trying to hold back tears.
"All's we ever wanted were friends." said Marie, "Ever since we were in kindergarten we were always trying to make friends, but nobody wanted to hang out with us. Then we finally got the opportunity to make new friends and start on a clean slate when we moved here, and what did we do? We tortured everyone here just like we were tortured back in the city. Somehow we thought hurting other feelings was gonna help us cope with our pasts. All's it did was leave us as outcasts with everyone judging us once again."
Marie looked up into Double Dee's eyes.
"And just think, I could have been laying in your arms a whole lot sooner if I wasn't such a scumbag to you and your friends." said Marie.
Double Dee squeezed her tightly. After a few seconds, he placed his hand on her chin and guided her face so that it was positioned towards his.
"We'll Marie," said Double Dee, "That may be, but what really matters is that we have each other now."
Marie smiled at Double Dee
"And dry your tears," said Double Dee as he wiped her face off, "You have friends. You have stated earlier that circumstances are changing. Just as I have seen your true colors, all of our friends are beginning to finally see the real Annemarie, Annalee and Annamae Kanker. Did anyone protest your invitation to the party tomorrow night?"
Marie shook her head from side to side as if saying no.
"My thoughts exactly." said Double Dee, "And as I have stated before, Ed is beginning to show affections of his own towards May. In addition, much to my surprise, Eddy and Lee are slowly but surely learning to get along with each other."
Double Dee paused.
"As you said Marie, things are changing," said Double Dee, "And I am glad they are, or I would have missed out on this beautiful moment with the most enchanting lady I have ever laid my eyes on."
Marie smiled up at Double Dee after which the couple sharied another passionate kiss.
"You are so sweet Double Dee!" said Marie, "How do you always know just what to say to make me feel better?"
Before Double Dee had a chance to respond, Marie pressed her lips once again to his for another few seconds, before finally placing her head back on Double Dee's shoulder. The couple laid in silence enjoying each other's company, until Marie decided to finally chime in with a joke.
"It would be so sweet if Lee and Eddy got together," said Marie, "Then we could triple date."
Double Dee glanced into Marie's eyes, not entirely sure if she was joking or not. The thought of Eddy and Lee in a relationship seemed completely bizarre as the two were constantly bickering at each other's throats. With a quick grin from Marie, Double Dee realized that she was joking, and shared a laugh with his girlfriend.
The couple shared a few more laughs, after which Marie realized that the clock was reading 11:30 p.m. The couple decided that it was time to say goodbye
Double Dee had opted to walk Marie home. The couple laughed and conversed about the finer things in life as they passed through the construction site on their way to Marie's trailer. The walk went all too quickly, and the couple soon found themselves in the trailer park, ready to part.
"I guess this is it for tonight cutie," said Marie.
"I suppose it is," said Double Dee.
Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck and looked into his eyes.
"I would love to see you tomorrow afternoon, but we have to run a few errands." said Marie, "We're picking up some more food and sodas from my Mom's restaurant for the party but I'll definitely see you tomorrow night, you can count on it!"
"That's quite alright", said Double Dee, "Ed, Eddy and I have to run some errands to prepare for the party as well."
The couple kissed each other goodbye, after which Marie entered her trailer, waving goodbye to her boyfriend as she closed the door. Double Dee began his trek home, an extremely happy young man.
As Double Dee crawled underneath his large orange quilt, he was comforted to sleep by soothing thoughts of Marie, and wished that he could hold her in his arms as he slept. Although he wasn't as mentally prepared as he hoped to be for the party he was to host the next night, one thing was certain; he couldn't wait to look into his beautiful Annemarie's eyes once again.