Nocheat: Thetus Bendett and Truth Laide
Again, we'll be bouncing between two housholds for this update (you'll see why).
(Background: Since the death of his wife, Thetus Bendett has thrown himself into his work. His son, Milo, has thrown himself into Bubble.
Since winning the lottery, Truth Laide's life has been easy. So easy it's almost boring. But all his money can't get him the one thing he wants the most.
Households: Thetus lives with his son, Milo. Truth lives with his wife, Maude, and two kids, Ambrose and Rigadoon.)
"He's in there studying. He'll never know."
Milo really didn't care if his father knew about the Bubble or not.
It was harmless fun.
Ok, there was ONE side effect.
The Munchies. But that wasn't anything a nice grilled cheese couldn't cure.
The Bubble helped Milo cope with the loss of his mother. The house was haunted by memories of her.
And that plant.
Milo had agreed to care for it while his brother Andrew was away at college. It was a repellent chore, but Andrew had made him promise.
And slowly a new routine blossomed in the Bendett household.
Milo off to school before his father was even up.
His father out the door an hour later.
They returned in the evening for pleasantries over the evening meal before Thetus retired to his studying and Milo to his new pursuit.
Writing.
He had landed an assignment with the yearbook staff. He liked the work and. . .
. . .the new friends he made.
Some friends were more friendly than others.
He knew it was cliche, wanting to settle down with his highschool sweetheart, but Milo didn't care. He daydreamed about his life with Rosalie.
He couldn't wait to get out of his father's house and away from that plant.
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"There's a big demand at that hoitey toitey school of yours, Ambrose."
Olive Row had approached Ambrose to do a little freelance work for the Soulja Girls. The Thurston Howell III School for the Financially Gifted was ripe for the picking. Spoiled rich kids were always looking for the next big high.
"I don't know, Olive. It's not that I'm some kind of straight edge guy but I'm not going to be growing stuff in my bedroom or anything."
"Don't worry about production, we have that taken care of elsewhere. You're just the middle man. A salesman if you will. The perks are great."
Ambrose agreed. Not because he cared about the money or the perks (he didn't even like Bubble) but he needed something to do. The Thurston Howell III School for the Financially Gifted was a joke, to put it mildly and Ambrose was bored. He'd get Rigadoon in on the action and they'd have a great laugh at the stupidity of their classmates.
While Ambrose was hatching a plan with his sister, his parents were going through the ritual that had become their evenings.
"So you'll be out here all night, then?" Maude used to argue with her husband about his obession but had finally given up. Truth was convinced aliens would come for him, giving him the baby he so desperately wanted.
"Ok, then, I'm going to bed. If you see the aliens, say hi for me."
Target One sighted. Locking on.
Why do they always struggle? Moron. You're coming along, now just let go. . .farg it all, we have a witness.
"Rig, RIGGY! Oh my gawd. . ."
"What?" Rigadoon was glad to see Ambrose. Her mother's co-worker was getting a bit overzealous with his conversation.
"ALIENS. I saw it with my own two eyes. It was. . .wow. They took dad."
"You just saw. . .tonight. . .aliens take dad? Quit shitting me, Brosie."
"I shit you not, girl. It was HUGE, this saucer and a beam of light. JUST like dad kept saying they would."
Rigadoon started to laugh.
"Do you know what this means, Brosie?," she kept laughing and Ambrose joined her. "The DRAMA llama wil be paying the Laide household a big ass visit, huh? Mom's going to shit. Especially if. . ."
They both snorted laughter, replying in unison, "A baby."
Ambrose and Rigadoon began making plans for their father's triumphant return. They'd make sure their mother was awake for the big moment.
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Target two sighted. Locking on. Oh, how I do love a nice three way.
Welcome aboard, sir. May I take your pants?
Milo watched from the third floor computer room window, frozen with horror. He couldn't believe it. His dad, floating up in the air. . .aliens. He had to get the details down while they were still fresh in his mind.
---------------------Somewhere in outerspace, aboard an alien vessel------------------------
Oh, ooh, yeah. Nice, very nice. Oooh, *grunting*. Why hadn't I thought of this before. . .mmm, lower. . .*gasping*. . .I love my job.
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*yawning* I'd holler too. . .they things you did. . .you're going to be so sore tomorrow.
Wwwhoooeee, am I beat. It's true, the rich ones are always so easy.
Out you go.
I'll call, I promise. *laughing*
Ambrose and Rigadoon were disappointed at their mother's reaction. She just hugged their father and said she'd go fix breakfast before she left for work.
"So, was it like a carnival cruise. . .did Kathy Lee Simford sing that irritating song? If they could see me now. . ."
Rigadoon and Ambrose's laughter was cut short.
"Oh, dad, I'm sorry. I was just. . ."
"Daddy, Brosie was just being silly."
"It's ok, dad. Just think about the good side. . ."
"Yeah, daddy, you'll get the baby you wanted."
"And now you can tell everyone you're an astronaut."
Ambrose and Rigadoon spend the day trying to ease their father's worried mind and avoid his crying jags.
While across town. . .
"Dad, what's wrong. . ."
"You ok, dad?"
*wretching* "Milo," *gagging* "call my work and tell them I won't be in. . .*spitting*. . .today, please."
Milo made two calls, one to his father's employer as requested and the other to. . .
"Andy, I don't know what to do. No, I can't speak up. It's dad. Aliens took him and now he's sick. . .really sick. Are you sure? Please, yes, this weekend? Ok."
Andrew showed up just as Milo had requested. And he brought along a friend. Someone who had a bit more experience in the alien abduction/male pregnancy field than he did.
"Dad, this is Cloche. Her dad was abducted, too. If you want, she'll introduce you to her dad, if you need a support system or something."
Thetus was in no mood. "You brought a stranger to see me? Like I'm some kind of circus freak?"
"Uh, he's just a little moody. . ."
Eventually both families accepted the new facts of their lives.
Once his crying jabs subsided, Truth took to pregnancy quite well. Maude found her husband's condition quite interesting. Ambrose and Rigadoon found it amusing (and slightly grotesque) and eagerly anticipated the arrival of their new sibling.
After his run in with Andrew's friend, Thetus kept even more to himself. Milo's multi-part series on alien abduction was so successful in the school paper that the Nocheat Picayune had run it in there "Writer's to Watch" column. After reading the column (all about him) Thetus stopped speaking to his son, which only served to increase Milo's Bubble consumption. Thankfully his dealer made deliveries.
He invited Rigadoon in, forgetting his father had not yet retired to his room for the night.
"Rig, wait. I, uh. . .my dad's in the kitchen and. . well. . ."
"Oh, I know. I read the story in the paper."
"Why do you think I was so excited to come over here? You're not one of my regulars, you know. But you're so much more interesting than those Bubble-brains from TH3 Moneybag's school."
"And don't worry, I won't stare or anything. My dad was abducted, too , you know. He's big as a house. Brosie and I can't wait to see the baby. We both want a girl. Brosie is already planning its makeovers."
"I don't know, Rig. My dad's kind of grouchy about the whole thing."
"Hey, you invited me in for dinner and I'm starving. You can't go back now, Milo. I'll be good, I promise."
True to her word, Rigadoon was quiet and polite. Thetus was his usual charming self, choosing to take his plate to his bedroom.
Rigadoon wasn't normally so pushy, but she had promised Ambrose she'd stay out of the house while he was entertaining his guest.
He'd met a girl, Rubina DeTreville, and was sure she liked him as much as he liked her.
Ruby'd been at the house all afternoon, going on and on about some wedding she was going to. Rigadoon found Ruby's excitement annoying and Ambrose's attempts to woo her hilarious. But she loved her brother and wanted him to succed in love, so she agreed to get lost for a while.
"It's just going to be something really simple, that you can do at home by yourself. Simple, but elegant."
Ruby wanted a new look for the party and Ambrose was more than happy to oblige her.
"See, simple and. . .beautiful."
After the cold reception at the Bendett household, Rigadoon was ready to go home, whether Ambrose was done trying to get into Ruby's pants or not.
She arrived home just in time to witness her brother's success. While tempted to run out and embarrass him, she maintained her self control. They were cute together and Ambrose seemed very happy.
The next morning would prove very eventful for both families.
"Is it the baby? Are you in labor?" Any sudden moves on Thetus's part were grounds for immediate worry from Milo.
"Calm down. I'm going to take a shower, is that alright with you?" Thetus appreciated his son's concern but found it more than a little annoying.
Milo tended to the dirty dishes and was just about to head off to school when. . .
"Milo. . ."
He heard the bus pull up but didn't care. His father had called out to him and he wasn't going to leave.
It was over as quickly as it had begun and Milo found himself face to face with his new baby brother.
"Hey baby. . .what are you going to name him?"
"I was thinking abut Calvin. You think it suits him?"
"Hey Calvin. . ." Milo listed to the sound of it. "Yeah, that sounds good."
"Here, take him for a minute, I need to make a call."
"No, my son won't be at school today. Why? Does it matter? I'm his father. . .oh, for your records, I see. Well, for the record, I just gave birth to a baby and I need my son's help." Thetus slammed down the receiver. "Assholes." He turned to Milo.
Watching Milo holding Calvin, Thetus knew he owed both his older sons an apology.
Truth's famly was gone for the day when he was stirred from his slumber.
He was a little relieved his children weren't around. He'd never hear the end of it if they saw him like this.
And wouldn't they be excited when they came home and met their new baby sister, Autumn.