Ten Words No. 16:
The Rebel of Orange County
A Short Story by Edward Hothi
(See 10 Words Intro for an explanation of the concept.)
The random words:
vocations, Hitler, Convair, perspiration,
cranes, chivalrous, telegraphed,
reviewers, resultantly, unheeded
vocations, Hitler, perspiration, cranes, chivalrous, telegraphed, reviewers, resultantly, unheeded vocations,
vocations,
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When Frank Convair woke up on his fortieth birthday, he kept his eyes closed and lay in bed listening. Marla, he could tell was already downstairs, no doubt fixing a big birthday breakfast. The twins were also up. He could hear raucous TV sounds from the den. The house was filled with a certain anticipatory energy. "Daddy’s Big Day" was here at last. They were going to fill it with activities they could scarcely afford, but how often did Daddy turn middle-aged? If the ten-year-old Taurus with its broken air conditioning was in the mood, they would drive down the freeway to San Diego and the zoo, then up the freeway to Anaheim and Disneyland. At age four, the twins had no trouble believing that these two places were where Daddy most wanted to go on the day he stopped being young. Frank and Marla, who this evening would come home exhausted, perspiring, and probably a little cranky, were happy to set up a day which would give such pleasure to the children, no matter what it cost (Frank figured $300). Since his life was now as good as over, Frank thought, what better thing could he do than give pleasure to the young? But, secretly, he had already decided to give himself a free present. He showered, dressed, went downstairs and, heart racing, stepped outside to get the paper. A neighbor, whose name Frank could never get right—he looked like a "George" but was actually something else, Bob? Fred? was walking his Labrador and called out, "Good morning." Stooping to pick up the paper, Frank paused, then said, "Yes, actually it is, isn’t it?" "At least till you open that up and read how the Dodgers figured out another way to lose," George-Bob-Fred laughed. "They’re only human," Frank said, and, not waiting for a reaction, went back in the house. So far so good, he thought. With a deep breath, he entered the kitchen, which was filled with the smell of maple syrup. A special day indeed, this Thursday (Frank couldn't remember the last time he had taken a Thursday off). Carla and Darla were devouring a mound of pancakes, which Marla normally prepared only on Sunday. And the silver decanter, their best wedding gift, with two etched cranes flying toward distant mountains, was filled with coffee near his plate. He sat and quickly tugged at his crotch. Marla smiled at him, then nodded at the girls. They giggled. Darla reached under the table and brought out a small package, which they both presented to him. Frank laughed and said, "It’s like Christmas in August!" Opening the little box, he saw a silver, chain-link bracelet bearing the letters "WWJD". He put the bracelet on. "What would I do without my girls?" he said and gave hugs and kisses all around. When Frank was halfway through his second stack of pancakes, the blue wall phone rang. Marla answered, then handed it to him. "Yeah, Charlie… yeah, but you know what the deal was with OCVHS… OK… go ahead and sign my name…" Frank put the phone back on the wall and returned to the table looking disgusted. "It’s those two trainees we got from Orange County Vocational High School. Neither one of them showed up this morning. Third time it’s happened. Our two warnings obviously went unheeded, so Charlie wants to give them the boot. I told him to go ahead." Frank leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee, staring meaningfully out the window into the backyard. Knowing how much responsibility weighed on him as assistant sales manager at the Chevrolet dealer in Irvine, everyone waited in silence, not wanting to disturb his thoughts. Frank put his cup down, fumbled briefly with his crotch, smiled at the twins, got up and chivalrously stood behind Marla’s chair, ready to pull it out when she got up. "Let’s hit the road, guys. We don’t want to make those seals wait!" They were following the well-traveled path out of their subdivision—the car almost seemed to know the way—when Marla spoke. "Oh, Frank, I just remembered, I need to stop by the office for just a moment. I was supposed to call Dot this morning about getting the Xerox machine serviced and with all the excitement, it slipped my mind." While the girls were in pre-kindergarten, Marla worked as a volunteer in the Orange Country Republican Headquarters. Marla was sure that by the time the twins entered first grade, she would be hired full-time. Frank directed the aging Taurus across the barren hills of Irvine and pulled up in front of a midrise. "Won’t be a minute," Marla said as she got out. True to her word, she was back quickly, and beaming. She got in and said, "Wait, before we go let’s put this on. Our latest bumpersticker." She held it out so Frank could read it: What luck for the rulers that men do not
think. Frank also beamed. He put the gear lever in Park, got out, and attached the sticker to the rear bumper. Getting back in the driver’s seat, he nudged his crotch. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that Marla had taken note of this activity. He smiled to himself, thinking of later surprises. Shortly, settled into the right lane of the Five, where the Taurus could lumber along comfortably at 50, Frank winked at Marla, adjusted the mirror downward so he could make eye-contact with the twins in the back seat, and said, "How about a movie tonight, girls?" Marla smiled with pleasure. "Oh, Frank, can we afford it?" The girls erupted with screams of delight. "Yes, yes, can we, Daddy, can we?" He glanced at Marla. "The reviewers on CNN and E last night both had a lot of good things to say about the new Disney." They rarely went out to the movies, partly because of the expense and partly because they had so often been misled my advertising and had been offended by both words and pictures which they did not wish to expose themselves, much less the girls, to. The San Diego Zoo did not disappoint. The seals were in top form. The snow cones were as good as ever. And Disneyland was its usual unchanging self, clean, entertaining, reassuring. As they pulled back onto the Five to head south toward home, Frank and Marla felt fulfilled. So much goodness all within a few miles of their home. Though neither spoke of it, they were further comforted knowing that they were also passing the true bedrock of their lives, Robert Schuller’s magnificent Crystal Cathedral in Anaheim. Every Sunday morning, after pancakes, they dressed themselves and the girls to the nines, got in the Taurus, and drove to the gigantic parking lot outside the Crystal Cathedral. They always arrived early because they enjoyed so much seeing the glass walls of the church slowly open, revealing the interior to the thousands of drive-in Christians parked in their cars. They would tune their radio, get their hymnals and Bibles out of the trunk, and sing along with the service. It was as if God Himself were telegraphing His Truth directly from heaven, which surely could be no more beautiful than that magnificent crystalline structure sparkling in the Southern California sun. Back at home, aglow in the resultant good feelings from another splendid day in paradise on Earth, Marla sent the girls, loaded with Disneyland souvenirs, to the TV room while she headed to the kitchen to prepared a light supper. Frank caught her arm and whispered, "Come upstairs. I have a little surprise for you." "We’ll be late for the movie…" "It’ll just take a minute." Frank had intended to wait until bedtime, but the euphoria of the day made him impatient. He guided Marla up the stairs, into the bedroom. He was nervous, now that the moment was here. Should he say something? "Uh, I also decided to give myself a little present. But it’s for you too. Don't worry. It didn't cost anything." Marla stood uncertainly by the door, not sure what was going on. "Just close the door," Frank said. Marla closed the door. Frank took a deep breath, undid his trousers, and let them fall to the floor. Marla wasn’t looking at him but knew what he was doing. "Oh, Frank, not now, please, we don’t have…" "Marla!" He spoke more loudly than he’d intended. She stopped speaking but still didn’t look at him. He pulled up his shirt and said, this time softly, "Marla…" She glanced at him, saw, then quickly looked away and put her hand over her mouth. It was not the reaction he had hoped for when she saw his gift to himself. He had gone the entire day of celebration without underwear. He thought for a moment she was going to scream. He didn’t know what to do. They both stood frozen for a moment. Then, hobbled by the pants around his ankles, he staggered to the chest, opened a drawer. He felt himself blushing deeply. "It was a mistake… I’m sorry… I just thought… it felt so good… so free." He pulled out a pair of Jockeys, kicked the pants off, put on the underwear, pulled on his pants and went to Marla as quickly as he could. He knew he had destroyed a perfect day. He folded her in his arms and said, "I’m sorry" again and again as she started to cry. END
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