29-03-2019, 05:43 PM
"Well, with Propappou gone too, and you and Mrs. Andrews retiring to Arizona, I figure there's no need to keep the house. I'm going for my doctorate in Seattle; I'll sell it and find something there."
Tom finished with the Garand, got up, and packed it into a case before returning to his seat. He put his hand on Troy's shoulder.
"Well, that's neither here nor there. My point is, you deserve to be happy, son. And so does my daughter. And the happiest I've ever seen either of you is when you're together. And I know you're gonna get that Ph.D. Hell, every time we've let the boy next door do our taxes, we got money back; and what you did with Julie's savings got her through college without having to turn to Uncle Sam. Now she's looking at Seattle too; gonna be a new phase in both your lives. I'd feel a lot better knowing she's going into it with you." Troy reached for the whiskey and poured a little into his coffee before responding.
"Is... is that another order, Colonel," he said with a half-smile as he took a drink.
"Of course not, son. I'm just trying to say that if some day, you ever DO want to ask for my daughter's hand, don't bother. You can consider yourself pre-approved."
"Thanks, Tom. I'll give it some thought," Troy replied in a way that made it clear that he'd never given it any real thought before that moment.
Tom took the bottle and his now empty coffee cup and poured himself a finger as well.
"To that, then. Or something. I dunno, it's early." He clinked his coffee cup with Troy's. "Now, that Walther's looking real nice; a Bond nut like you's probably gonna want the Beretta next, right?"
* * *
Julie and Vanessa Andrews watched the men disappear into the den. Julie loaded the dishwasher as her mother handed plates to her.
"You know, Mom," Julie said. "They CALL this thing a dishwasher. As in 'a machine that washes dishes so you don't have to.'"
"Oh, you know those things are more like dish-polishers. They don't get the job done."
Julie closed the dishwasher and started it.
"Technology's come a long way since the 70s. Why they've got these new-fangled phones here..." She took out her phone and held it like she was introducing it to her mother for the first time. Vanessa walked over to the coffee pot and poured the last two cups before refilling it.
"If we can cut the sarcasm now, sweetie, I promise to look into a new one in Arizona." Julie smiled and grabbed the hazelnut creamer from the fridge.
"It's just gonna be so weird not calling this place home. Going to see you at Christmas and not seeing snow on the ground. Shit, seeing you any time between October and March and not seeing snow on the ground." They took their cups into the living room and sat on the couch. Julie looked out the side window at Troy's house. "Not seeing that door out the window." She looked out the front window at the shared yard with two For Sale signs flanking the mailboxes. "Fuck, even that sight bothers me."
"Things change, hon," her mother said, seeing what Julie was looking at and letting the profanity slide. She'd accepted that she'd lost the war to make her daughter speak like a lady long ago. "People get old, they retire." She looked over at Troy's door as well. "Sometimes, they die, too."
"You're not allowed to talk about that, mother." Julie took a drink of her coffee. "Especially now that Troy needs parents too."
"Well, like Daddy said, I changed his diapers alongside yours. He still has parents." She took a drink and decided to change the subject. "So, are you two moving in together again in Seattle?"
"We haven't talked about it yet, but it seems like a good idea to me. He'll be there for grad school, and it's a good place for an artist to get a start, so it'd make sense."
Tom finished with the Garand, got up, and packed it into a case before returning to his seat. He put his hand on Troy's shoulder.
"Well, that's neither here nor there. My point is, you deserve to be happy, son. And so does my daughter. And the happiest I've ever seen either of you is when you're together. And I know you're gonna get that Ph.D. Hell, every time we've let the boy next door do our taxes, we got money back; and what you did with Julie's savings got her through college without having to turn to Uncle Sam. Now she's looking at Seattle too; gonna be a new phase in both your lives. I'd feel a lot better knowing she's going into it with you." Troy reached for the whiskey and poured a little into his coffee before responding.
"Is... is that another order, Colonel," he said with a half-smile as he took a drink.
"Of course not, son. I'm just trying to say that if some day, you ever DO want to ask for my daughter's hand, don't bother. You can consider yourself pre-approved."
"Thanks, Tom. I'll give it some thought," Troy replied in a way that made it clear that he'd never given it any real thought before that moment.
Tom took the bottle and his now empty coffee cup and poured himself a finger as well.
"To that, then. Or something. I dunno, it's early." He clinked his coffee cup with Troy's. "Now, that Walther's looking real nice; a Bond nut like you's probably gonna want the Beretta next, right?"
* * *
Julie and Vanessa Andrews watched the men disappear into the den. Julie loaded the dishwasher as her mother handed plates to her.
"You know, Mom," Julie said. "They CALL this thing a dishwasher. As in 'a machine that washes dishes so you don't have to.'"
"Oh, you know those things are more like dish-polishers. They don't get the job done."
Julie closed the dishwasher and started it.
"Technology's come a long way since the 70s. Why they've got these new-fangled phones here..." She took out her phone and held it like she was introducing it to her mother for the first time. Vanessa walked over to the coffee pot and poured the last two cups before refilling it.
"If we can cut the sarcasm now, sweetie, I promise to look into a new one in Arizona." Julie smiled and grabbed the hazelnut creamer from the fridge.
"It's just gonna be so weird not calling this place home. Going to see you at Christmas and not seeing snow on the ground. Shit, seeing you any time between October and March and not seeing snow on the ground." They took their cups into the living room and sat on the couch. Julie looked out the side window at Troy's house. "Not seeing that door out the window." She looked out the front window at the shared yard with two For Sale signs flanking the mailboxes. "Fuck, even that sight bothers me."
"Things change, hon," her mother said, seeing what Julie was looking at and letting the profanity slide. She'd accepted that she'd lost the war to make her daughter speak like a lady long ago. "People get old, they retire." She looked over at Troy's door as well. "Sometimes, they die, too."
"You're not allowed to talk about that, mother." Julie took a drink of her coffee. "Especially now that Troy needs parents too."
"Well, like Daddy said, I changed his diapers alongside yours. He still has parents." She took a drink and decided to change the subject. "So, are you two moving in together again in Seattle?"
"We haven't talked about it yet, but it seems like a good idea to me. He'll be there for grad school, and it's a good place for an artist to get a start, so it'd make sense."
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