It Started With a Coke
by: E Walk
(© 2009-2011 by the Author)
 

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Chapter 3  

Now You’ve Done It

When my Mother yelled no cokes, Mrs. Martz got the funniest look on her face, but she didn’t say anything.  I took the lawn mower from Mrs. Martz, “I’ll finish, Mrs. Martz.  Why don’t you sit and rest?”

“Thank you, Seth.  I haven’t been feeling too good, lately.”

She sat in the rocker on the front porch and watched as I mowed.  It was obvious to me that my Mother kept peering through the windows to see what was happening.  Mrs. Martz asked, “Why is your Mother watching you?  It's almost as if she’s expecting you to do something bad.”

“I guess she wants to make sure that I’m not being a pest.”

After I finished the lawn, I went and got the trimmer which the yard didn’t need, but it was so much fun making my Mother worry about what I was doing or going to do.  I finished the trimming and had put the equipment away. 

I started to go home, but Mrs. Martz stopped me, “Seth, come talk to me, a minute.”

I walked to the porch and stood so my Mother could see that I wasn’t drinking a Coke.  Mrs. Martz started, “Seth, I haven’t seen you very much for the past couple of years,  I see you going to school with your parents, in the morning, and coming home with your parents after school, except when Coach Richmond brings you home after tennis practice.  I never see you outside except when you’re mowing your parents’ yard.”

“Why in the world was your Mother watching every move you made while you were mowing and trimming?  And why is she watching you now, while we’re talking?  Are you in trouble with the law?”

I shook my head, no and she continued, “Why did she yell no Cokes?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

Mrs. Martz pointed a finger at me, “Okay, Seth, tell me what happened to keep you from talking to me for two years.  It has to have been something really bad, and I want to hear it all.”

Tears came to my eyes as I told here why she hadn’t seen much of me, since that day she had given me the Coke.  She was listening intently as I related what had happened since that incident.  She had tears in her eyes as she came and put her hands on my face, “Seth, I’m so sorry I caused you so much grief.  I need to make a phone call.”

I went home and went straight to my room.  I had no more than sat down when my mother entered and asked, “What were you and Mrs. Martz talking about?”

“We were talking about me, and what I was doing.”  I answered without looking at her.

The conversation was interrupted by the front door slamming.  My father stomped up the stairs and stormed into my room and pulled me up by my collar and pushed me against the wall.  “What have you been telling people?  Mrs. Martz just called me and said she was resigning her membership in the church, and would be stopping all financial support, immediately.”

“She blasted your Mother and me when she added, “I can’t be part of a congregation that had such an insensitive and unloving pastor in the pulpit.”

“Don’t you realize that she was one of the major financial supporters of our church?  We’ll never be able to make our budget without her financial support.”

I thought he was going to hit me but he must have changed his mind.  He turned and started out the door with my mother following him.  He turned back and muttered, “You can forget going to the tennis tournament, tomorrow.  We should have you committed.”

I heard him say to Mother as they were going down the steps, “This is all your fault.  You started it when you called him a sexual deviant.”

I could hear them yelling at each other, so I closed my door and covered my ears with my pillow.

It was about six o’clock, according to my homemade alarm clock when the doorbell rang.  I heard Coach Richmond’s voice,   Good evening, Meg, I’d like to speak to Seth about the arrangements for the tournament, tomorrow night.”

Before my Mother could answer, my father, answered, ”You’ll have to withdraw Seth. He can’t go.”

“Why?  Is he ill?”  Asked the Coach.

“He’s sick all right.  He’s mentally unstable.  His talking has caused the church to lose its biggest benefactor.”  My father was practically screaming.

I went down the stairs so I could hear and watch the interchanges.

Coach calmly said, “Yes, I know.  Ethel called me right after she talked to you.  She wanted me to make sure her name was withdrawn from the church rolls, immediately.  She mentioned that she did not want to be part of a church that had an unchristian like pastor.  I called the church and the secretary has done as Ethel requested.”

My parents both started to berate me.

Coach Richmond looked at my parents and said in his best teacher voice, “Mr. and Mrs. Morrison, sit down and be quiet!  I have something to say to you, and you’d better listen and listen well.  If Seth doesn’t go to the tennis tournament tomorrow, I will call a meeting of the ruling elders and have Mrs. Martz explain why she no longer chooses to be a member of our congregation.  If that happens, I’m guessing that you will be without a job or a place to live.”

My parents looked as if they had just had all their blood sucked out of them by a vampire.

My mother gasped, “Bill, he can’t do that, can he?”

Before my father could say anything, Coach said, “Mrs. Morrison, I can, and believe me, I will.  As president of the board of ruling elders, I have every right to do so.”

The Coach had seen me standing in the hallway, He walked over to me, “Seth, I’ll take you to the stadium right after school tomorrow.  Make sure you have good meals between now and then.”

I shook my head, “We’ll probably have something out of the freezer for dinner, since my Mother was too busy watching what I was to doing at Mrs. Martz’s house to fix any food.  I’ll probably have to have a cheese sandwich.”

“What?”  Coach asked in a raised voice.  “I thought we got the matter of meals squared away, several years ago.  Why haven’t you said anything if your parents aren’t feeding you properly?”

He put his arms around me, “Beth has a nice pot roast with vegetables cooking”

He turned to my parents, “I’ll have Seth back by ten.”

My father was red as a beet.  He started to stand up but slumped back in the chair as if he didn’t have the strength to move.

When we arrived at the Richmond house, Mrs. Richmond was dishing up the food with the children’s help.  Everything smelled wonderful.  She had made homemade biscuits and a big fruit salad.  She had cooked the biggest roast I had ever seen.  My Mother always bought the smallest roasts she could find so there couldn’t possible be any leftovers.  The roast was surrounded by roasted potatoes and carrots.

The Coach asked his youngest son, Tip, to say the blessing.  Tip said the usual prayer of thanks and as he ended he added, “Bless all of the people gathered here especially our friend, Seth, and give him the strength to do his best, at the tournament tomorrow. Amen.”

Tears had come to my eyes during Tip’s prayer.  I had never been included in a prayer in such a personal way.  Mrs. Richmond started to pass the food, “Seth, make sure you get as much as you want.  There won’t be much left after the vacuum cleaners get their fingers on it.”

“Yeah!”  Philip the twelve year old said and made a whooshing sound the rest of the kids followed and everyone was laughing.

The Coach looked at his wife, “I hope you bought plenty of cleaner bags.  I think we may need to change these vacuum cleaners when dinner is over.”

Lizzie, the eight year old complained, “Oh, Dad, not that. You know how much it tickles and then I need to go to the bathroom.”

I couldn’t believe I was hearing talk like this and how much fun they had to together.

Judy, the thirteen year old daughter, asked, “What’s for dessert.  I hope it’s something that will give Seth some energy.”

“I’ll get it as soon as the dishes are done and put away.”

The six children rose and took their eating utensils to the kitchen, so I did likewise.  Cindy washed the dishes, I dried them and Mark put them away.  The three young children cleared the table while Judy put the leftovers away.  They worked together like a well oiled machine.  Judy asked, “Mother, can we have a Coke with dessert?”

“No, dear, I don’t think Coke and the dessert would go well together.  I think milk would be better.  Please bring your Dad and me cups of decaffeinated lemon spice tea.”

When everyone had sat down, Mrs. Richmond brought in a big angel food cake with chocolate whipped cream for frosting.  When I tasted it, I thought I had gone to heaven, myself.

As we were eating, Mark asked, “Dad and Mother. Can Matt spend the night tomorrow?”

“Oh no, don’t let Matt spend the night. You know that none of us ever get any sleep when the two of them are together,” sighed Cindy.

Judy picked up the taunt, “Maybe you could take the rest of us to the movies so we don’t have to watch them play kissy-kiss and cuddly-wuddly all night.”

Mark turned red and tears started to form in his eyes.  He turned away from me and looked at his parents.  Tip went and put his arms around Mark, “Mark, it’s okay.  Seth won’t say anything.”

Coach Richmond added, “I’m sure that Seth is the last person who would ever say anything to embarrass you.  You may ask Matt, but you know the rules.”

Mark nodded, but Philip piped in, “Don’t worry, Dad and Mother, I’ll make sure they have their socks glued on before they go to bed.”

Mark announced, “Seth and I will do the dessert dishes.”

The other five children cheered.  Lizzie turned to me. “Seth, you gotta come to dinner a lot.  Mark never volunteers to do the dishes.  He’s always trying to bribe one of us to do them for him.”

Everyone laughed and took their own dishes and set them on the counter.  Mrs. Richmond brought the serving pieces and I noticed that there wasn’t a single crumb left on the plate.

I started to draw water for the sink, “I’ll wash the dishes and you can dry and put them where they go.”

When everyone else had left the kitchen, Mark said, “Seth, I hope you will keep Matt’s and my secret.  We have tried very hard to not let anyone at school find out.”

“As your father said, I would never say anything.  He knows that I think I’m gay, but I’ve never had an opportunity to find out for sure.  My parents have been treating me like I’m a prisoner since they think I’m a sexual deviant.”

“Seth, I feel so sorry for you.  Aren’t your parents intelligent enough to realize that we didn’t want to be gay?  We were born that way.  I don’t know what I would have done if my parents hadn’t been able to accept the fact that I was gay.  My parents got together with Matt’s parents.

“After they told them that we were gay, it was really weird; before Matt and I could say anything more, my father spoke up, ’Boys, we are not thrilled that you are gay, but that will never change how much we love you.  We had thought that you might be gay for some time, now.’”

“Matt’s Dad, Mr. Mullins took over, ‘We hope you realize that you must keep your activities private.  If anyone ever suspected you were gay, and were a couple, you would be treated like outcasts, not only at school, but everywhere, especially in Mobile.’”

“Matt’s Mother added, ‘Boys, we have one ground rule that we would like for you to adhere to and that is that you refrain from having anal intercourse while you’re minors.  When you reach the age of eighteen, you can decide what you want to do.  We will always respect your privacy, as long as you respect us as your parents who love you.’”

“Matt and I were stunned at what we had just been told.  After several moments, we spoke together, ‘We promise to do as you as you want.  We want to thank you for understanding, and still loving us.’”

“Seth, I think we’d better join the rest of the family before they come looking for us.”

I followed Mark to the family room.  When we got there, Tip, Lizzie and their parents were watching television.  I was to find out that they were watching The Sound of Music.  Needless to say, I was enthralled, having never seen much television let alone a movie.

Philip asked, “Can we have a Coke and some popcorn?”

Mrs. Richmond frowned, “You can’t really be hungry.  I guess your tapeworm is acting up.  Yes, you may have sodas and popcorn.  Make sure you have enough popcorn for everyone.

Philip brought two big bowls of popcorn and handed me a Coke.  He handed Tip and Lizzie a Seven Up and they started to whine, “Why can’t we have Cokes, too?”

“What’s the rule?” asked the coach.

Tip frowned; "We can’t have a coke after dinner until we’re twelve, since we get all hyper.”

Mrs. Richmond laughed, “If you know the rule, then why are you complaining?  You can always put the Seven Ups back in the refrigerator and have them tomorrow, if you don’t want them.”

Philip was working on the computer, “Seth, come here.  You gotta read this.”

Philip got up and I sat down.  He told me he had an article from the daily paper he wanted me to see.  He pointed to the screen and I started to read. 

This year’s state, boys' tennis finals are being held here in Mobile.  One of the finalists in the championship is Seth Morrison, from Mobile South High School.  He will be facing Troy Matthews of Birmingham High.

Most of those who have been following the tournament think Mr. Morrison will be victorious.

Philip asked, “Seth, would you like to look at anything else on the computer?”

I was spared from having to answer by Coach Richmond, “Seth, I think I had better be getting you home, before your parents send the police to arrest me for kidnapping you.”

When we were driving, the Coach asked, “Seth, you acted as if you hadn’t seen the news article about the tournament.”

“Coach, I hadn’t seen it.  My parents don’t get the paper at the house.  My father brings home the church’s copy to read at home in the evenings.  The parents don’t let me read the paper.  They say there is nothing but filth in it.”

I asked, “Coach, did you tell Tip what to say in his prayer?”

“No, Seth.  The children never know which one of them is going to be asked to say the prayer to bless the food.  Let me assure you that what Tip said tonight were his own thoughts.”

Coach had pulled his van in front of the house.  I started to get out and he surprised me by turning off the engine and walking me to the house, “I need to talk to your father for a few minutes.”

I opened the door and took the Coach to where my parents were sitting in the living room.  “Thank Mrs. Richmond for the wonderful dinner, Coach.  I’d better go to bed, so I can be rested for my match, tomorrow night.”

The Coach grinned, “I’ll see you after school, in my office.  Don’t forget your racquet.”

Coach, I keep my racquet in my locker at school along with my clothes and shoes.”

Mother stood and went to the closet, “Seth, why are you lying? Your racquet is right here in the closet.”

I shot back without thinking, “That’s my old one.”

That caught my father’s attention, “Where did you get a new one?  You don’t have any money.”

The Coach answered, “I guess Seth didn’t tell you that the school bought him a racquet that would fit his hand.  His old one needed to be restrung, and was so old.  Bill, I wanted to tell you we are going to have a meeting on Saturday at ten o’clock, to discuss the new addition to the church.”

I heard the Coach say, “Seth’s match is at seven.  I’ll see you there.”

“Oh we won’t be there.  The Smyths have invited us to dinner,” answered my Mother.”

I went into my room thinking, ’So what is new.  Seth doesn’t count for anything in this house.’  

To be continued...

Editor's Notes:  E Walk, I don't think I have ever read a story with any meaner, nastier parents than Seth's sub human egg and sperm donors.  I have yet to find any redeeming characteristics in either one of them.  They seem to be some of the most hateful individuals I have ever seen.

I certainly hope that Seth can get help changing his terrible situation improved, soon.

Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher     

Posted: 01/07/11