YEARS AGO
"Think of it like this," Harold said, sitting across from Ernie in the cafeteria, "You are no longer a part of this family. I don't care if we're brothers, we were barely ever brothers to begin with and you know damn well that's true so don't even try and deny it. Don't pull the 'family first' bullshit with me, either. Toxicity is toxicity, family notwithstanding. You're a menace and what you did was inexcusable." "I guess we don't see eye to eye," Ernie said. "No no no, this is not about whether I like mayo on a sandwich and you like mustard. You beat a person, you literally beat someone almost to death," Harold said, "I can't excuse that, and I won't allow my father to either." "They lied to me!" Ernie screamed, catching the guards eye. He quickly simmered down and lowered his voice, "They lied to me. They lied right to my face." "For something that you have no business in as it is, so they didn't lie to you, they protected themselves," Harold said, "...you know...when we used to go to grandpas cabin, we'd go fishing by the lake, remember? You and me, during the summer days, and we'd take our poles and go out there to the lake and we'd go catch fish and I'd always throw them back and you'd take them back home to cook. Understandable, in a sense, as fishing has always been a way for man to feed himself and his family." "You goin' somewhere with this?" Ernie asked. "You ever read anything about serial killers? How they started out as children torturing animals, but eventually that stimulation, that sensation, wasn't enough for them and they had to move onto hurting humans? That's what you are. You're like a serial killer. You didn't throw your fish back. You didn't care that they might've had a family just like you did. God knows I'm no vegetarian or anything, but you didn't throw them back, I did. I have a wife, and you beat a woman to near death." Harold stood up from the table, one hand still placed on it and sighed. "I never really knew you could be related to people you don't relate to...but I wanted a brother, and that's not what you are at all. You're not a brother Ernie. You're a monster." And with that, Harold turned and exited the prison cafeteria. *** "This is the single most contrived way to catch a mouse that I have ever seen," Becca said as they set up this weeks game, Mouse Trap, on the living room floor. Betty smirked as she helped Becca put the pieces together to build the board out. "This was one of your fathers favorite games," she said. "Really?" "Mhm," Betty said with a slight nod, "He loved how involved it was. Everything else just gave you a board, you know? Some cards, some dice, a trinket to play as, but Mouse Trap...it was something you had to build. It was so inventive, and god he ate it up." Becca smiled as they watched their mother talk about their father. So rarely did Betty speak this openly, especially since Harolds death, she'd been kind of tight lipped about things, but this was lovely, and they wanted to coax more out of her without seeming pushy or making them uncomfortable. "Same reason he loved things like Fireball Island," Betty continued. "Fireball Island?" "It was another board game that had a whole setup with it, a sort of Indiana Jonesesque adventure game, but it also had a large set piece and everything like Mouse Trap. He felt those board games were few and far between, and he's not wrong. Everything is just that, a board game, but these were in depth games that allowed you to come up with a backstory or whatever you wanted to make of it. They had true character to them." Betty sat against the recliner on the floor for a second and started to sniffle as Becca crawled over to her and hugged her. "I miss him so much, Becca," Betty mumbled, crying a little as Becca held their mother and rubbed her back. "I know mom. We all do," they replied softly. *** Jason had his hands on his handlebars, deep in thought as he rode towards his parents house for game night. Amie, sitting behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, leaned forward a bit and rested her head on his shoulder. "So...how are you feeling tonight?" Amie asked. "I'm feeling good," Jason said, "I know exactly how I feel and I'm not going to let anyone change that." "That's my boy," Amie said, patting his shoulders, laughing, "You know, I really appreciate being invited to this repeatedly. Really makes me feel like you want me to be not just a part of your life but a part of your families life too. My family isn't broken up, we just all live too far apart to see one another regularly, so I really like having a new family to hang out with. I miss the warmth that a family can bring to you." "...yeah," Jason said, smiling, "You're welcome. I'm glad I can bring you into our world like this." The light turned green and Jason took off down the street. As he pulled up to the house a few minutes later, he noticed a car was sitting in the parking lot. He climbed off the bike and pulled his helmet off, Amie following suit. They both ran their hands through their hair, fixing their hair best they could, as they approached the car and Jason knocked against the window lightly. It rolled down and sitting in the car was Anna and Ashley. "Evening ladies," Jason said, smiling. "Heyo," Ashley replied, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Watcha girls doin?" Amie asked. "We're picking baby names," Ashley said, "How do you guys feel about Cynthia? Or uh...Megan?" "How about something like Teal?" Amie asked, cutting in, "I always wanted to change my name to Teal when I was growing up." "She's not going to be a 90s Icelandic pop star," Anna said, "Also, I don't wanna name my daughter after a color. I wanna give her a normal name. Something like..." "...Priscilla?" Jason asked. "Do you WANT her to get beaten up?" Anna asked. "Are you kidding me?" Ashley asked, looking at Anna, "Priscilla is a bonafide bad ass name for a girl! She would smoke in the middle school girls bathroom and she'd wear leather jackets and get in cat fights all the time, obviously winning of course." "Of course," Jason and Amie said in unison. "What the hell kind of child do you think we're going to raise?!" Anna asked, half laughing, "She's not some CW tween drama bad girl! And for the record, no child of mine is going to take up smoking until she's in college and can screw up her own life by making her own decisions, thank you very much." "We're gonna head in," Jason said, taking Amie's hand and walking her up the steps of the porch and into the house. Ashley put the pad of paper down and looked at Anna, exhaling heavily. Anna pushed her bangs out of her eyes and cocked her head to the side, looking puzzled. "What is it?" she asked. "I guess I have to talk about it at some point, may as well be now," she said, "Um...I don't...I'm scared. I don't know that I'm going to be a very good mother, and like...I hope you're not expecting a whole lot from me. To be honest, I never really thought about having kids or raising kids, not that I was that against it or anything, it just...I don't know that I'm fit for it." "Hey, you're going to be a wonderful mother," Anna said, leaning in and kissing Ashley on the cheek before getting out and heading into the house, leaving Ashley to mutter under her breath before getting out and following her. Sitting in the kitchen at the island was Jason and Becca, Amie at the sink washing an apple, as Jason and Becca ate an orange together. Anna and Ashley walked into the kitchen to this scene and Anna quickly sat down at the island with them. "You're SO wrong," Becca said to Jason, "Mr. Ed couldn't really talk, see, Wilbur was hallucinating the whole thing because his son had died after falling off the horse, and he couldn't bring himself to put Mr. Ed down because he was the last connection he had to his late son, but then Mr. Ed started being able to talk to him to help him with his grief and move on with his life." "It was a comedy!" Jason shouted, "There's no dramatic dark backstory! It's a sitcom about a horse and a guy!" "That's just what THEY want you to think," Becca said, "See, they got to you." "Who got to me? Who is 'they'?" Jason asked. "You know, THEM," Anna said, taking a piece of orange from Becca. "You people are nuts," Jason said. "They've turned him against us, it's time to take him out," Anna said. "On it," Ashley said, grabbing Jasons neck from behind, pretending to strangle him as Ernie came in from the garage, and everyone stopped and stood quiet, staring at him. "What?" he asked, "Don't stop goofin off on my account. Jeez. So are we playin' a game tonight or what?" "Yeah. We are. You, Becca, Ashley and me," Jason said sternly, "We're gonna play a little game called Mouse Trap." "How do you know?" Becca asked, furrowing their brow at him. "Because I suggested it," Jason said, smirking, "Now come on, let's get to the living room. We've got a mouse to catch." *** YEARS AGO Ernie and Jason were sitting at a picnic table in the yard, watching a few guys play basketball in the court beside them. Jason sighed and looked away from them and back to his uncle, as his uncle nodded at him. "You may wanna unbutton that collar button, lest you wanna get your ass beat," Ernie said. "That's really a thing they'll beat you up for, huh?" Jason asked, starting to unbutton it. "These guys take the signals pretty seriously," Ernie said, "...you know, I never thought I was like them. I knew I wasn't like my brother, but I never thought I was like them either. You like to think of yourself as a good person, an accepting person, and then one single moment just takes that fantasy you've built as your reality away from you in a heartbeat." "Why did you do it?" Jason asked quietly, as Ernie shook his head and scratched the beck of his neck. "I...I panicked. I've always been a GUY, you know what I mean, Jason? Like, I've always prided myself on being a guy, a mans man, I drink beer, I ride a motorcycle. I mean, I'm not crude, I'm not going to make fun of minorities or anything for the sake of it, that's just cruel, but...but then I met them and...and it just...I guess I wasn't as good a person as I thought I was. I lost it. I thought it made me gay or something, and...and I just, I started hitting them, and-" "It isn't gay, they're a woman," Jason said, "Just because they weren't born-" "Jason, just...just stop, I'm trying really hard to work on this. I feel awful, but I don't expect forgiveness. I didn't expect your father to completely cut me off either, but I...I didn't...It wasn't like it was premeditated or anything. I didn't even know until she told me, and before I knew it they were bleeding, and their jaw was..." Ernie shuddered and wiped his eyes. "I did a horrible thing...it's taken me a long time to realize that, but...I did. I am extremely sorry for what I did. I want to apologize to her, but I know she'd never talk to me. Besides, it's not like she's related to me. It's different when they're related to you. You feel somewhat responsible for how they turned out, you know what I mean?" Jason shrugged and started to stand up. "I have to get going," he said, "I'll come by next week, alright? I'll bring you some cigarettes." "You're a good person Jason, you don't abandon people simply because of ideological differences. There's so much anger on both sides these days, but you've got a level head on your shoulders," Ernie said, "I respect that." But Jason 2.0 wasn't the old Jason. The Jason who forgave toxic family members and tried not to get involved. Now it was personal. Now it WAS in his family. Now it was time to catch a mouse. *** "This game is bullshit," Ashley said, clearly irritated, "I don't...I don't even LIKE cheese that much!" "I remember playing this as a kid," Becca said, taking their turn, "Haven't played it, or thought about it, in a long time. I'm glad you recommended it Jason, thanks." The game had been going for a while now, with both Ernie and Ashley nearing the end of the board, both right under the trap. Everything had worked out to Jasons advantage. Well, okay, he'd have to make his sister take the loss, but she was just a casualty. Jason took his turn as Ernie scratched his mustache. "I think the only goddamn board game I played as a kid was cribbage, which isn't much of a 'board game' if you wanna get into semantics," Ernie said, "But I mean, it has a board, so." "Sure," Ashley said, "I'd count that as a board game, why not." "So Ernie," Jason said, as he watched Ashley take her turn and end up where the cheese was, Ernie taking his turn next and ending up right behind her, "You ever call her?" "Call who?" Ernie asked, looking up from the board. "You know, the transwoman you beat the hell out of, the reason you went to prison," Jason said coldly, as he took his turn, played the trap and caught both his uncle and his sister under it; he folded his hands and looked up at Ernie, dead eyes locked, "Did you ever call her and apologize? You said you wanted to. Now you're out, now you have the chance. I mean, you said it wasn't like it was personal, because they weren't part of your family, like your niece here." Ernie looked at Becca, their eyes wide with shock. Apparently, they had never been told the reason Ernie had gone to prison. "Wait..." Becca said, "Wait, you...you beat-" "You're just as bad as your fuckin father," Ernie said, standing up. "Look at the little mouse," Jason said, standing up as well, fists clenched, "Caught in his own trap, his own words used against him, in front of the 'family' he so claims to care about." "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Ashley screamed, surprising everyone as they all glanced at her, "How could you trap me like this?!" "Sorry, I know you wanted to win, you were just-" "No!" Ashley continued, "No! Not in the game! I'm trapped, picking names with your ex wife for a child I don't even know if I can raise! You put us in this situation!" "Not such a good person after all, are we?" Ernie asked, smirking at Jason. "I'd watch your goddamned back, you may not be in prison anymore, but that won't stop me from shanking you," Jason said coldly, their faces a mere inch apart. Ashley quickly gathered up her things and ran out of the house, Anna trying to get up to catch her, but Betty going instead. She found Ashley in the driveway, kicking the tires of her car. Betty cleared her throat as Ashley turned and threw her coat on the driveway. "Sweetheart-" "Mom, I don't want a goddamned pep speech right now, okay?" "I was just like you," Betty said. "...what?" "I was just like you. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was terrified, even though we were trying to have a family. I wasn't sure I could be a mother though, I...I didn't think I was cut out for it, you know? I was worried and scared and I often fantasized running away but I didn't, because I knew that it was all because change is scary. Do you love Anna?" "...I do, yeah, of course I do." "You never said you didn't want children." "I never said I DID either! I can't...I just can't, not right now, I have to go. She...she can stay here tonight, in my old room, I just can't," Ashley said, grabbing her jacket off the ground, opening the car door and climbing into the car. As she started it up and pulled out the driveway, Betty chased after the car into the road, but Ashley was gone into the darkness quickly. Betty sighed and stood there, hearing shouting from the house. She put her hands around her mouth and screamed. What. was becoming. of her. family. Meanwhile, back in the house, Becca, Jason and Ernie were still going at it. "How could you do that?!" Becca screamed, "I want you out of this goddamned house!" "It ain't your house, sweetheart," Ernie said, "You don't get to decide whether I stay or go, alright?" "You're a liar, you're an asshole, you're a bigot, and you're not allowed around my goddamned sister," Jason said, fuming at him. Aime was beaming, watching this man she believed in stand up for what was right, and she looked at Anna, their eyes catching for a moment. Finally, Amie understood why Anna had loved Jason to begin with, because he was a good person deep down, and now more so on the surface. "This is my brothers house, and I-" "Get. OUT," Betty snarled from the front door, catching everyone off guard, "Get OUT of my HOUSE!" Ernie started to back up, pulling his jacket on as Betty approached him. "Now, calm down, okay, your son is the one starting all this, dragging up the past and shit," Ernie said, stammering, "This...this has nothing to do with you or-" "This has EVERYTHING to do with ME," Betty said, her voice rising with every word, "You come into MY home. You disrupt MY family. You ruin MY game night. I worked HARD to make this family love one another, and they're welcome here, this is THEIR home, YOU are not." "Bets, alright, just calm down, let's have a drink and discuss this, okay? I am different, I have changed, I DO want to apologize to that girl, because-" "No. You don't get to make amends. You chose your route in life. You CHOSE to go down this path. You don't get to change. You don't get to be like Jason. You don't actually recognize how bad a person you are, you're just trying to make everyone THINK you wanna change so we'll feel bad for you while you continue to bring down everyone around you with your awful beliefs and behaviors!" "Betty-" Ernie said, backing up against the coffee table, everyone else moving out of the way. "This is a FAMILY game night, and you are NOT a part of this FAMILY!" Betty shouted, bringing her arm back and socking Ernie in the jaw so hard that he stumbled and fell right ontop of the coffee table, bringing it to the ground. Betty shook her hand, clenching her teeth as she muttered, "Now get the FUCK out of my house!" And with that, Jason helped Ernie up and carried him to the front door. Ernies nose was bleeding, as he wiped it on his sleeve, he looked at his nephew. "Jason," Ernie said, stammering, "Jason, I don't have anywhere to go, okay, I wanted to be with my brothers kids, okay, I just-" "I'm sorry," Jason said softly, "But this is a 5 player game, we don't need a 6th." And he threw Ernie onto the porch and slammed the door behind him. *** Sitting in Ashleys old bedroom that night, Anna was going through some photo albums when the door opened and Ashley came in. She kept her eyes glued to the floor, playing with her ponytail as she stood in the doorframe. "Do you wanna come in?" Anna asked, "I mean, it's YOUR room, so." "I...I want to apologize," Ashley said, coming in, shutting the door and sitting down next to her, "Um...I...I am so sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out. My mother was right, this isn't about whether I wanted kids or didn't, because frankly, a woman doesn't have to have children, there's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't something I ever gave much thought to. But...but with you...it's different. It's hard to explain, like...growing up I always had this image in my head of being with a woman in our own home and...everything was great and..." "Ashley, you don't have to try and explain anything to me," Anna said, "I understand, change is terrifying, and we've been through a LOT of it lately. Your father dying, me leaving your brother, there's been a lot of change and all within a short period of time, so I-" "I love you, let's get married," Ashley said, taking Anna by surprise. "Excuse me?" Anna replied, half laughing, "What? I JUST got divorced." "I know, so let's get married, right now, we'll go out and we'll get married and then later we'll have a nice ceremony with everyone there but let's just go do it right now," Ashley said, "The longer I try not to embrace change, the more change is going to come, and soon enough I'm going to be left completely behind. I love you." "I don't want to get married, not right this minute, all I want is to lay here with you and look at these photos of you as a cute kid," Anna said, "Maybe we'll do that tomorrow." Ashley smiled and kissed Annas cheek and they laid down together on the bed, looking through the photo album. Meanwhile, down in the kitchen, Becca was sitting at the island drinking some coffee while Aime was talking to Betty in the living room, helping her clean up the mess from Ernie while Jason came into the kitchen and saw his sister sitting alone. He sat down at the island across from them and sighed. "So, I know that-" "You are the best brother," Becca said, cutting him off, "I am so sorry about anything I've said to you that was mean lately, because you just stood up for me in a way nobody else ever has, and that...that meant so much to me. I told mom from day 1 that guy was bad news, and nobody listened to me. What made you change your mind?" "Well, you've been here for the last 20 years and he hasn't, who am I going to feel more loyal to?" Jason said, smiling, "Besides, I saw a lot of old Jason in Ernie, and it disgusted me the person I could've become. But unlike Ernie, I actually am putting in the effort to change, I'm just crying foul and saying my hate speech disguised as free speech is being squashed." "I love you, Jason," Becca said, the first time they've told their brother that in years, "I really do love you." "I love you too," Jason said, "Now come on, let's go help mom clean up." The two got up and started to head out of the kitchen. "So," Jason asked, "What's the deal with Francis The Talking Mule then?" "Francis was CLEARLY an agent of satan," Becca said. "You don't say?"
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Family Game Night follows the Fuller family, a (possibly too) tight knit family who meet every Thursday night to play board games...and air their dirty laundry. Archives
March 2019
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