Chapter 6: The Shabbat Dinner Part 2
Back in the Whipple's house, Wade is lying on his bed as he softly cries. Hey soon hears the sound of door banging.
Wade wipes the tears from his eyes as he says, "Um, don't come in here!"
But the door opens to reveal Knuckles.
He walks in and asks, "Wade? Are you injured? I thought I heard the quiet sobs of a child."
"I know. I don't know what you heard because everything in here is fine. I'm just, uh, curled up in the fetal posish, you know?" Wade says and sniffles a bit, "My mental health has never been better," and lets out a sigh.
Knuckles looks around Wade's room, "Your quarters are fascinating."
"Yeah?" Wade asks.
"Oh, yeah," Wade says and sits up, "My old room."
Knuckles soon notices the posters on the wall, 'What are these?"
"My posters? I got all the greats up there, " Wade says and points to each of them "Stallone, Keanu, Bryan Adams. Gods."
"Ah, yes. I see. This is your pantheon of heroes!" Knuckles says.
"Yeah," Wade answers, "Spent a lot of time in here alone. Mostly dealing with my childhood abandonment issues, but…"
Knuckles soon notices this one poster, "And who is this magnificent and powerful man?"
Wade looks to see a specific poster of a man holding a bowling ball in his hand. The poster reads: "Pistol" Pete Whipple.
"Oh, that guy?" Wade says.
Knuckles reads the poster, "'Pistol' Pete Whipple," but quick to notice, "Wait. This great bowling warrior shares your family name!"
Wade sadly sighs, "Yeah. That's 'cause he's my dad."
"Your father is the champion?" Knuckles says in shock, "He will be at the tournament?
Then questions, "Wade Whipple, is this why we are going to Reno? To confront and dethrone your father?! This quest only grows more glorious!"
Wade reacts "What? No- I didn't know that- Are you telling- Start from the beginning 'Cause wait a minute. My estranged father is also gonna be at the bowling tournament? That is news to me. Uh, definitely didn't have anything to do with my decision-making process in the matter."
"I see," Knuckles says.
He then notices something, "What is this?"
Wade turns to what Knuckles is looking, "That? You wanna know what this is?" and picks up the device to reveal the cd player, "This is my old Discman. Plays music. You wanna see something cool?"
"Mm-hmm," Knuckles replies.
Wade opens the device and shows the disk, "Wadejammerz '99." He lets out a laugh and says, "The single best CD ever to be burned. This mix is front-to-back bangers. I wonder if she still works," and puts on the headphones. "And…" and presses the button as he laughs.
Soon, music begins playing and the music muffles, "All the Small Things' by Blink-182 playing.
"Oh, yeah," Wade says loudly, "Yeah, you don't get quality like this from the streamers. Yeah, this is my jam. You got to hear this."
He then removes the headphones and lets Knuckles listen to the music.
That pique Knuckles interest, "Hm."
The music continues playing.
"Ah," Knuckles replies, "What does that mean exactly? To have a jam?"
"It's like, um, your favorite song," Wade answers.
"I don't understand," Knuckles replies.
Wade stops the music and asks, "Like... You don't have a favorite song?"
"No," Knuckles says.
"A jam is like something that pumps you up. You know, gets you jacked. It gives you the courage and bravery to do things that are out of the ordinary," Wade explains.
"Is it a form of magic?" Knuckles asks.
"It is a bit like magic," Wade says, "You know, I had a friend who, when he listened to Alien Ant Farm, could lift a Toyota Corolla over his head. Swear to God, on my mom's life. Hm…"
Then Knuckles asks, "And this mix you made, it has jams?"
"Oh, yeah. 'Wadejammerz '99'? Chock full of 'em," Wade says, "You listen to this mix," Lets out a scoff, and adds, "I guarantee you will be uttering the phrase, 'That's my jam.'"
Wade lets out a soft laugh and says, "My dad used to say that all the time."
"Your father. Is he... the 'schmuck' of whom your mother spoke?" Knuckles asks.
"That's the guy," Wade answers.
And he abandoned you? Giving not a second thought to his own flesh and blood? Discarding his only son like a piece of worthless junk!" Knuckles says, sounding upset.
Wade answers, "Mm, your phrasing is rather hurtful, but yes," He then explains, "Every Friday afternoon, my dad and I would drive to the bowling alley, and we'd listen to this mix... You know, it was our thing, until it wasn't, but."
"Hm…" Knuckles responds. He then turns his head to notice something else, "And who is this?" and walks over.
This has Wade in a panic, "Oh. That is... nothing. Please don't look at that. Please don't investigate."
However, Knuckles does it anyway, and takes out a cardboard cutout of a woman with blonde hair and is wearing white, red, and blue color bodysuit tank top with shorts. It also reveals her to have muscles.
"Now, this is a warrior," Knuckles says, impressed, "Who is this?"
"Uh, this is actually, um, just a cardboard cutout of, uh, Zap from the hit morning show American Gladiators," Wade answers.
"Ah, yes. She definitely belongs in your pantheon of heroes," Knuckles says.
"Yeah, yeah, she was a beast. I've had her since I was a kid. I actually didn't even know I still owned it though," Wade says.
Knuckles then asks, "But, what are these little indentations on her shoulders?" noticing the marks on the shoulder
"Uh, nothing! Definitely not where I hugged her too hard," Wade answers and lets out an awkward laugh.
Suddenly, Wendy calls out, "Dessert! Dessert, everyone!"
Wade then turns to Knuckles, "Uh, y-you know, y-y-you should go for dessert. I-I'm not really feeling like it tonight."
And Knuckles notices something else about the cutout, "Wade! These marks. They seem to be everywhere."
"Okay! Enough time with Zap. Thank you," Wade says and laughs
"Okay," Knuckles says and takes his leave.
Once he's gone, Wade whispers to the poster, "I'm sorry you had to hear that."
Sometime later, Knuckles, Eve, and Jazz join Wendy in watching a movie as they have dessert.
So, I spent the next 14 days wandering through an alien desert. My enemies had ambushed me and left me for dead.
"Oh, God!" Wendy says, surprised, "Well, listen. Joshua wandered for 40 years, lost in the desert, looking for the Promised Land, so big whoop about your 14 days," and laughs, "No offense."
"40 years, huh. My brother, Sonic and I have been living in the forest and in a cave for around 10 years before we started living with Tom and Maddie," Eve says.
Then Knuckles asks, "Is this part of the Jewish tradition? To eat pies of limes that are key and watch old movies?"
"No, no Jewish. No, no," Wendy answers with a laugh, "God no. Look, I got money to spend... But we do like a good flick. This is a Whipple family tradition. Every Shabbat, after dinner, we'd eat dessert and then watch a movie till the candles burned out. It was nice."
"It does sound very nice, but I'm guessing it's not like that anymore," Eve says.
"Yeah. Not much," Wendy says.
Then Knuckles asks, "Why has this tradition been broken?"
"Who knows? Families, they drift apart. Time. Yeah, well, I guess this is what my life is now. Empty nester. It's pitiful," Wendy says, " You know, every Shabbat, I light the candles myself. I make the dinner, the whole schmear. I even make dessert!" and chuckles a bit, "And then, I sit back and watch one of my old movies. You know, even when the kids are home, they can't be bothered."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Eve says, sadly.
"It's okay," Wendy replies.
"I guess, it's because I couldn't even imagine being estranged from my brother," Eve says.
"You have a brother?" Wendy asks.
"Yeah," Eve says, "For the past ten years, Sonic has been the only family I know. Before that, I had no idea where I came from, and I don't remember either."
"I see. It must have been hard for you," Wendy says.
"True, but I ended up having Sonic and he became my family. Then there's Tom, Maddie, Ozzy, Tails, Jazz, and Knuckles, even Wade became family. Though some of them are friends," Eve says with a smile.
"Well, it sounds like you became a strong independent girl," Wendy says.
"True, but even I still have a lot to learn and still have some growing up," Eve says.
Knuckles soon asks, "Hm... I don't understand. This young streetwalker with a heart made of gold. Why do the others treat her with such disdain? Is it so wrong to walk the streets?"
"Because they are ignorant and judgmental, Knuchles," Wendy answers.
But then says, "But, you wait. She'll get the last laugh."
They continue watching the conversation as the tv says, "I was in here yesterday. You wouldn't wait on me. Oh... You work on commission, right? Uh, yes. Big mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now,"
Wendy turns to them, "I love her."
The group continues watching television.
However, outside the Whipple residence, a group of men slowly walk towards the house with weapons and look like they're ready for hunting.
In the living room, Wanda is reading a book called, "HOW NOT TO BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD, SOPHIE HOLLAND." Wanda is busy reading that she didn't see the goons sneaking around the house.
Eve turns to Wanda and asks, "So what is reading here?
"How not to be caught off guard," Wanda answers, "Something you need to learn while being in the FBI."
"Sounds rough," Eve says.
"Well as long as you learn how to fight, it's not so bad," Wanda says.
"I see," Eve says, and soon takes her leave, "I'm going to wash my face.
Meanwhile, Wendy walks into the kitchen and places the candles on the counter, unaware that another one of the goons is walking towards the door.
In his room, Wade is able to calm down a little, but still depressed.
He turns to the poster and says, "Miss you, Dad."
Wade continues looking at the poster, unaware that a shadow approaches the window. However, Wade senses something off.
Just then, the window bursts open to reveal a man with dark hair and a shaved beard and mustache. He is wearing dark clothes and is holding some device in his hands. He looks around to notice the room is supposedly empty. He then climbs into the room, and searches around for Wade. Unknown to him, Wade is judging behind the Zap cardboard Cutout. He slowly reaches for a football player figure, but then grabs the menorah. The goon continues searching around for Wade.
Wade then sneaks behind him, "Shabbat Shalom," and hits the guy's back with it, but the guy is not phased.
What's more, the man turns around to see Wade.
"Well, that was a bad idea," Wade points out to himself.
The guy smacks Wade in the face, causing him to scream, "Ow! Why?!"
The man then says, "You got a price on your head, Whipple. And I'm here to collect."
The guy, who is a bounty hunter, activates his device to reveal a dangerous taser towards Wade's face. And soon he notices a familiar silhouette coming towards the room. Wade suddenly begins to laugh.
"What's so funny?" The bounty hunter questions.
"Oh, nothing. You just picked a fight with the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy. And I'm his favorite student," Wade answers.
The hunter turns around to see Knuckles, energized and is not looking pleased and lets out a growl. Knuckles then charges, throws a punch at the guy, and sends him crashing through the wall.
Wade coughs and sits up, "That's gonna affect resale."
Suddenly, Knuckles hears chain rattling, and says, "We've got company."
Wanda is still in the living room. She hears the sound of chain rattling and turns to see another bounty hunter has entered the house. It's a black dressed man with dark hair, fair skin, and wears a red headband on his head. He is also holding a long line of chains.
Wanda ends up laughing and says, "What the heck are you supposed to be?"
"Your worst nightmare," The hunter says.
"Nice chains, bro. You look like you popped out of a '90s video game," Wanda says in a mocking tone, "Where do I put the quarter?"
He then swings the chain around.
"Smart move, genius!" Wanda says, "You just broke into a house full of cops. You wanna give up now, or you want me to give you about 14 seconds?"
"Enough!" The Hunter says.
"Ah, crap," Wanda says, shocked.
Wanda dodges in different directions as the chain guy continues cracking his chain like a whip, and soon gets behind the chair.
"Wanda tries to shout, "FBI!" and shows her badge.
But the guy continues swinging his chain forcing Wanda to hide behind the chair to protect herself. The chain causes the chair to be broken in half, forcing Wanda to use what remains to protect herself. Then the guy throws the chain towards her, but is caught by a familiar glove. That glove belongs to Eve, who has just returned. She turns as she angrily glares at the man. The bounty hunter tries to pull the chain, but she's too strong. Eve then pulls the chain, causing the hunter to get coiled in it. She then throws him across the room with the chain.
"Told you, loser," Wanda says.
"He is a loser," Eve says.
Jazz flies to the bounty hunter and kicks him at the head.
Wanda and Eve chuckle at the display.
In the kitchen, Wendy is all alone as she is ambushed by two of the hunters with baseball bats as she hotels a frying pan.
"Your move, creeps," Wendy says.
Soon, Knuckles and Eve rush in as Knuckles, "Mother Whipple!"
"Knuchles. Eve. Protect the candles at all costs," Wendy says.
And with that, Knuckles, Eve, and even Wendy fight against the two thugs.
Song:
Ve-nismecha
Hava nagila, hava nagila
Hava nagila ve-nismecha
Hava neranena, hava neranena
Hava neranena venis'mecha
Hava neranena, hava neranena
Hava neranena venis'mecha
Uru achim, belev sameach, Uru achim, belev sameach
Uru achim...
Knuckles and Eve both punch the guy in the face as Wendy gets him with the frying pan. He almost falls on the candles, but is caught at the last minute.
That someone is Wade and throws him to the side.
Song:
Belev sameach
Wade rushes over in concern, "Mom!"
Wanda also walks into the kitchen to see the mess.
Wade apologizes, "Sorry about the, uh, house."
"Mm," Wendy replies.
"You okay?" Wade asks.
"Hm," Wendy replies as she smiles and chuckles.
Confused, Wade asks, "Are you happy? Did I miss something?"
"My kids finally came home for Shabbat," Wendy says, "The whole family came together. To protect one another, to care for one another. What more could a mother want?"
And turns to the two, "Thank you, Knuchles. Thank you, Eve.
Then Wendy says, "This... is the best damn Shabbat dinner we ever had," and kisses Wade on the cheek, "Good Shabbos, sweetie.
Wanda laughs.
"You, too, darling," Wendy adds and kisses Wanda on the cheek.
"Thanks, Mom," Wanda says.
Wade smiles and says, "Good Shabbos, Mom," and lets out a sigh.
Everyone looks to see the two candles have melted and reached the bottom of the holder, and soon, both candles have gone out.
