Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here is chapter fourteen of "Turnaround." This chapter has some Podcast/Phoebe. I plan to have Dino and Mina begin stalking and harassing the family very soon. Stay tuned for chapter fifteen.
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Chapter 14: Feeling Frustrated/Such Warmth
Dino sat on the Spitz-Lang apartment's living room couch. He was watching Top Gun: Maverick on DVD. The scene where Maverick trained the rookie pilots played. He grabbed a coffee-filled mug from the end table. He took a long sip of his black coffee. He laid it down before letting out a loud sigh. He rubbed his chin. He heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Mina coming into the living room.
"Hi, girl," he greeted.
"Hi, boy," she said and stopped next to the couch. She seated herself with a light grunt. "How are you doing?"
"Never better," Dino responded, looking up at the ceiling. "You?"
"I'm fine," Mina whispered and smacked her lips. "I am a bit tired, though."
Dino grabbed a pillow. He threw it across the room in which it hit the wall and fell to the floor. He stomped his foot frustratingly. He curled his hands into fists so tight that he would break glasses if he were holding them.
"I can't believe how disrespectful my kids were to us!" Dino yelled angrily. "This is especially true for Phoebe when it comes to you."
"She called me a bimbo," Mina said with an irritated scoff. She crossed her arms. "I am no bimbo. I am pretty smart. I manage our money very well."
"I don't how Callie got the funds to move here," Dino said, shaking his head in disbelief. "She was working two jobs when I divorced her. They didn't pay a ton of money at all."
"I did a little research," Mina said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her smartphone. She turned it on and swiped the screen. She brought up a news article titled 'Former Ghostbuster Purchases Old Headquarters.' The date was August 15, 2021. A picture of the Firehouse was under it. She showed it to him. "According to this article, Winston bought the Firehouse after years of abandonment. He started his own business after Vigo's defeat. It expanded across the globe. It is likely he gave Callie the money to move her family here."
"That does make sense," Dino admitted while raising his eyebrows. He emitted a soft snort. "Ghostbusters is such a lame name for a company. Why not call it Ghostcatchers since that is what they really do?"
"It does sound better," Mina replied with a nod. She touched the square button and swiped her screen to the side. She touched another browser and brought up an article titled 'Young Ghostbuster Announces She is on Leave Due to Pregnancy.' The date was May 15, 2025. A picture of Phoebe standing in front of the Firehouse was underneath it. She was smiling. "Here is your little girl on the announcement of her pregnancy."
"I bet Mayor Peck encouraged the family to let the city know, so they could put any rumors they may have heard to rest. It says she has chosen to be homeschooled," Dino commented curiously.
"I did other research," Mina added. "Mayor Peck used to have a grudge against the Ghostbusters. He worked for the EPA back in 1984. He was concerned about environmental impacts and asked to inspect the Firehouse's storage facility, but Peter wouldn't let him. He returned with documents allowing him to shut it down. He had a Con Edison man and a police sergeant with him. After an argument with Egon and Peter, he ordered the man to shut the containment unit down. The man did so with hesitation. The ghosts escaped. Mayor Peck tried to dissolve the Ghostbusters again last year, but Garraka's defeat made him reconsider. He was still a little hostile toward them. He turned into a believer when a prank-pulling ghost made it difficult for him to do his job. He found himself on good terms with them after they busted it."
Dino ran his hand over his face three times. He cupped his chin in it while clicking his tongue three times. Mina turned off her smartphone before returning it to her pocket.
"That group acted like they were way happier than we were. I don't know how they can be when Gary and Callie allowed Phoebe to get pregnant on their watch," Dino said, huffing in a soft manner.
"Teen pregnancy isn't easy. That's for sure," Mina pointed out truthfully.
"Phoebe has no idea what it is like to raise a kid, especially at her age. She has to think about buying clothes, food, toys, etc. Podcast won't stick around. He will abandon her once he gets tired of her and her little brat," Dino said, chuckling deviously. He whispered inaudible words in Spanish. "That's what teen guys do. They leave."
"She has no future, even as a Ghostbuster," Mina commented, a big smirk forming on her face. "Homeschooling basically means letting her do whatever she wants."
He made a funny noise. "Only weirdos homeschool their kids."
"That article said she and Podcast would be relying on a private tutor," Mina murmured.
"I bet he will let them do whatever they want without any thought for consequences," Dino responded, his nostrils flaring. "Gary and Callie did that with Phoebe. Look where it got that girl. She is pregnant at sixteen. She can claim Podcast fathered her baby all she wants. I will believe it when I see evidence."
"It seems Trevor did not go down the same route as Phoebe did," Mina said and smacked her lips.
"That boy may not be book smart, but he is street smart," Dino added and smiled slightly.
She nodded in agreement. "Yep."
He rubbed the back of his neck with both hands. He mumbled inaudible words before laying his hands in his lap. She stretched her arms above her head. She suppressed a yawn.
"I curse Callie for destroying my bond with Trevor. She could've let me have custody of him but no. She said he and Phoebe 'had' to stay together," Dino growled in rage.
"She and her little family do not deserve to be happier than us," Mina said and pretended to spit at the floor.
"You are so right," Dino said, nodding sharply. "I wished Gary had punched me. I would have gladly filed assault charges against him."
"Unfortunately, it would have left you with a shiner," Mina pointed out with a nervous chuckle.
"I can live with a black eye," Dino admitted. "I can't live without my head."
"No one can live without their head," Mina commented. "We should do whatever it takes to destroy that family, especially Gary and Callie."
"I agree," Dino replied with an evil smirk. "Following them around would be one way to do it."
"Leaving notes and sending letters are two other ways," Mina added, giggling maliciously. "We've got the address to the Firehouse."
"I bet they throw their phone bills in the trash. We could get their phone numbers and send ugly texts to them," Dino said, clapping twice. "We can use masking software to hide our phone numbers."
"That would be great," Mina said, nodding fast. "We should start our little campaign as quickly as possible. I can't stand to see that family happy another minute."
"That is a great idea," Dino whispered and rubbed his chin. "We have to be careful when we follow any of them. Their ghostbusting experience has likely made them aware of their surroundings."
"Sure," Mina agreed. She proceeded to talk about making calls to the Firehouse and sending the Ghostbusters on wild goose chases.
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Podcast massaged the middle of Phoebe's back as they sat on their bed in their room at the Firehouse in the late evening. She sighed in relief as the pain vanished. Lightning lit up the room. They looked toward the window to see rain splattering against it. The rain blew sideways in a gust of wind. It became straight quickly.
"Another night, another storm," he said with a shake of his head.
"The forecast is calling for more nighttime storms over the next few days," she added with a roll of her eyes. "Some could be severe."
"I hope we do not deal with any tornadoes," Podcast said, swallowing hard.
"The chances of a tornado hitting New York City is extremely slim," Phoebe said and smacked her lips. "However, they have hit this place, even downtown."
"An EF2 tornado tore through Brooklyn on August 8, 2007. It was the costliest tornado to hit New York City," Podcast pointed out and emitted a nervous chuckle. "I can only imagine how scared people were when it came through that area."
"Did a tornado ever come close to Summerville?" Phoebe wondered curiously.
"I did take shelter in my house several times during tornado warnings, but no tornado ever came close to Summerville," Podcast admitted. "Tornadoes are a way of life in Oklahoma. Moore is the tornado capital of the world. It has been hit by more violent tornadoes than any other place has. The 1999 F5 tornado and the 2013 EF5 tornado come to mind."
"The 2013 El Reno tornado is the widest tornado on record. It was 2.6 miles wide. It killed four storm chasers. They were caught off-guard by how large it was," Phoebe explained. "It was rated EF5 due to detection of winds near three hundred miles per hour, but it was downgraded to EF3 because it never hit any major structures. That is absurd."
"I agree," Podcast said while sliding his hands down to her lower back. He proceeded to massage it. "They need to change it back, but I doubt it will ever happen."
"The people who downgraded it are idiots," Phoebe hissed bluntly.
"Yep," Podcast said with a sharp nod. "Those idiots need to have their noses honked and their underwear pulled over their heads."
"Podcast, I have one request for you. Stop watching The Mask so much," Phoebe said.
"Sure," Podcast said with a chuckle. "Sure."
Podcast increased the pressure on his girlfriend's back somewhat. He pressed his lips together as she let out a relieved sigh at the pain vanishing. She looked up at the ceiling.
"Damn. That feels so good," Phoebe whispered in a warm voice. "Pregnancy back pains suck ass."
"Maybe I should wear a sympathy pad to experience how you feel," Podcast joked with a snicker.
"I remember when Jesse and Becky made a bet over his wearing a sympathy pad for a full day in Full House. The winner could choose the wallpaper. Jesse was doing good, but his back was killing him. He asked Danny to watch the door and took it off. Becky witnessed it and massaged his back. He thought Danny was doing it. He realized who it was when he was asked to take a guess. He tried to put the pad back on, but she told him she could not unstrap her baby bump and announced he lost," Phoebe explained and giggled. "That served him right for making such a dumb bet."
"Becky said the nursery would be full of clowns laughing at him. I can imagine him seeing and hearing that," Podcast said, a big smirk forming on his face.
Phoebe smacked her lips. "The nursery has already been done, thanks to you and Dad."
"It was fun doing that. I got caught off-guard when he ran his paint brush across my back. We had a paint brush fight. We got covered in paint," Podcast said, laughing in delight.
"I never imagined any of us raising a kid in this place. I am glad it is happening," Phoebe said.
Podcast patted her back. "Me too, Pheebs."
Podcast wrapped his arms around Phoebe. He planted a kiss to her temple and pressed his cheek against it. She brought her hands up to his arm. She squeezed it somewhat tightly.
"My stomach turns at the image of my birth father and his bitchy girlfriend playing in my mind," Phoebe muttered in bitterness.
"They may have ruined our evening temporarily, but we were able to enjoy the rest of it after they left," Podcast pointed out.
"I admit I wanted to punch Mina in the face. Her snootiness pissed me off just as much as Dino's horrid comments did," Phoebe said, her teeth clenching a bit tightly.
"She is not prettier or smarter than your mom is," Podcast said and formed a big smirk on his face. "I would say she has rocks for brains."
"It's not rocks. It's beads from a baby's rattle," Phoebe commented and broke into a fit of giggles.
"Good one, Pheebs," Podcast said and kissed her temple.
"Thanks," Phoebe said and breathed deeply. "Just don't let your brain get replaced by such beads."
Podcast slapped his girlfriend on the shoulder. They looked toward the window, seeing the rain splatter against it. A bolt of lightning went across the sky. A thunderclap sounded right after.
"I think the storm is going to continue for a little while," she said seriously.
"Yeah," he agreed. "I will say I do like watching the snow fall through windows."
"Some snowstorms have dropped up to two feet of snow in this city," Phoebe said in amazement.
"We haven't encountered such a snowstorm here yet, but I did back in Summerville when I was a young kid," Podcast admitted.
"We often saw snowstorms back in Chicago. The snow we got was different from most types," Phoebe commented and rubbed her nose. "It is called lake effect snow. It results from winds moving over the Great Lakes and picking up moisture from the surface. It forms clouds over land. Heavy snow falls. Sometimes, it snows up to two inches in an hour."
"That is crazy," Podcast responded with raised eyebrows.
"It is," Phoebe agreed and let out a long yawn. "I am ready for bed."
"Me too," Podcast said, nodding slowly. He kissed her temple once more. He hugged her tightly. "I love you."
"I love you too," Phoebe responded lovingly. "Now and forever."
Podcast and Phoebe got off the bed and pulled the covers down. They slipped back in and pulled them over their bodies. They turned off their lamps. She took off her glass to lay them on her nightstand. She laid on her side facing the window. He did the same next to her. He placed his arm around her. They closed their eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep.