Lost in a Dream
He/him - Metal head
- Feb 22, 2020
- 2,100
39
Jeremy was happy as he took a big bite out of his mushroom burger while his sister filled all the empty cups with pop from a two-liter; he tasted the burger itself which was very good, but he also tasted the cabbage, the onion, the vegan cheese he got, and the vegan bacon strips.
"Wow, this is very good!" Jeremy said excitedly.
"Fuck yeah it is, Office," Calvin agreed after taking a bite of his own burger.
George laughed with a mouthful of food. "I've had regular burgers with mushrooms on em before, but never an actual mushroom burger!"
Sandra laughed too after sitting down across the table from her brother and taking her first bite. "You guys chose well! If I was vegan too, I'd buy these all the fucking time."
Jeremy laughed. "No reason you can't be, Sandra! Just think about the animals suffering and the rest will fall into place."
Taking another bite, Sandra chewed her food and explained, "Cal told me you guys saw a newscast about the protesters and the slaughterhouse. Not surprising you went vegan because of that ya know?"
Jeremy was suddenly curious about his sister's opinions on veganism, so he had to ask, "What do you think, sis? Any chance you might make the change too?"
"I'll think about it," was Sandra's answer.
Her reply was good enough for Jeremy. She probably hadn't seen the same newscast he did, so it made sense to him why she would need time to think. Perhaps if he showed her how bad the footage of the animals dying really was, it would be enough to give her that final push.
Taking another bite of his burger, Jeremy smiled at Sandra with the food still in his mouth, but after gulping it down, he said, "At least see if you can get more of these mushroom burgers and see if you can go vegan for them."
Sandra chuckled and then ate more of her burger too. Calvin and George were too busy devouring theirs to say anything else for a while, and that was when Jeremy glanced over at his father, who was still standing by the grill, getting ready to cook some of his regular animal burgers.
Sandra had her back turned towards her father, but when she noticed Jeremy looking over at the grill, she glanced over her shoulder, before asking her brother a couple questions. "What's up, Jer? You okay?"
Both George and Calvin glanced at their younger buddy, who frowned suddenly. "I'm just wondering what's going through Dad's mind right now. He hasn't even really looked at my shirt yet."
Sandra looked at it, and when she saw the phrase "PEEP THE MYTHOS" and the artwork that went along with it, she chuckled. "I love your shirt, little bro. Where'd you get it?"
Jeremy smiled at her. "Cal got it for me at the store when we were shopping. I mainly wore it to freak Dad out, but he hasn't noticed it yet."
"You think I can get a better look at your shirt?" Sandra asked. "Stand up for a bit."
Getting up from his side of the picnic table, Jeremy showed her the rest of his shirt. When Sandra saw the temple with the chomping teeth on the outer walls and the horns on the roof, she smiled. "Don't wanna get too close to that temple do ya?"
"Nope!" Jeremy agreed, which caused Calvin and George to laugh as they too inspected his shirt. "Getting eaten alive by giant gaping jaws isn't my idea of a fun time."
Sandra laughed along with Jeremy's friends, and then he laughed too, which caused his father to glance over at them while he was cooking his own burgers. Jeremy briefly met his gaze for a moment, waved to him, but got no response before his father returned to cooking.
That made Jeremy feel sad, and his friends noticed it. As he was about to sit down, Calvin looked up at him. "Go talk to him, man. If anything goes wrong, we'll be here."
Realizing he should do that, Jeremy picked up his plate and started walking over towards the grill. "I'll be back guys."
Anxiety filled his chest as he walked over to his father. Though he had been around him already since arriving in the bus, it would be the first time he had actual time alone with his father in a while.
"Hey, Dad," Jeremy said when he was close enough to be heard.
Ted glanced at him before flipping his burgers, of which there were only a couple and one hotdog cooking on his grill. "Son, how's the mushroom burger?"
Taking another bite, Jeremy enjoyed the flavors and swallowed before giving his answer. "Very good! Ya know, you cooked em well."
A faint smile formed on Ted's lips as he looked at his son again. "That's good to hear. I always do my best when I'm cooking."
"Right," Jeremy agreed. "So, how have you been?"
"I've been alright," was Ted's answer. "Just been worried about you and your sister."
Jeremy stood there awkwardly as he held his plate, not sure what to say next. "So... Sandra said there was an old lady down the road selling hats for cats. I'm kinda curious to check them out."
"Oh, you have a cat now?" Ted asked, looking surprised. "That's nice!"
Jeremy chuckled. "Well, it's not actually my cat. My buddy George has a cat named Earl and he's a cute little guy. I might get him a little hat."
"Ah, I see," Ted said before flipping his burgers again. "She's selling em just a little ways down the road from here."
"We didn't see her when we got here," Jeremy said. "So she must be selling them a little further down the road in the other direction."
"Yep, she is," was Ted's answer. "She's got a little stand out there and sometimes her grandkids spend time with her while she's sewing the hats and selling em."
"She sews the hats by hand?" Jeremy asked, suddenly curious.
"Oh yes," Ted replied. "I went for an early morning jog one day and passed her by. She tried to sell me a hat, but I told her I didn't have a cat and said to have a good day."
Then Ted paused to look at his son's shirt, and when Jeremy noticed him looking at it, he looked down at it too. "I got this shirt at the store. Cal bought it for me."
"Interesting," Ted said, looking genuinely puzzled. "What does peep the mythos mean?"
Jeremy shrugged. "It could mean anything, honestly. Truth is I'm not really sure, I just thought the artwork was awesome."
"I see," was his father's reply. "That temple has teeth on it..."
Jeremy laughed. "Just don't get your fingers too close to it or it might bite them off."
Ted didn't laugh, he just stood there and frowned. "Perhaps. I like your friend Cal, he seems very nice."
"Oh, he is," Jeremy agreed. "I saw you guys talking earlier. Did he tell you he's a veteran?"
Ted looked genuinely surprised. "No, he didn't mention that yet. A veteran you say? What branch?"
"Army," was Jeremy's answer. "He served during Desert Storm and for a little bit after Nine-eleven."
"Well, I should thank him for his service when I get a chance," Ted said to him with a faint smile on his face. "He seems like an interesting man."
Jeremy completely agreed with his father's assessment of Calvin. "He is, for sure! If it weren't for him and George, I... I don't know where I'd be right now."
Ted chuckled. "Still stuck in that pothole I bet. Cal told me about it."
Jeremy wasn't the least bit surprised. "When I hit that damn thing, it really sucked, but after meeting Cal and George, it feels like the best thing to happen to me."
"Well, maybe you hitting the pothole was God's plan all along," Ted suggested. "Could be he put those guys in your life for a reason."
"I don't know about that," Jeremy said with a shrug. "I'm glad they're in my life for sure, but I dunno how much God has to do with it."
Suddenly looking irritated, Ted said, "He probably has quite a lot to do with it. All he wants is the same thing I do, for you to get right with him and go back to church. This could be the time for it."
Feeling a little irritated himself, Jeremy furrowed his eyebrows. "If that's true, then why wasn't God there for Billy?"
Ted gasped when his son brought up the name of his childhood friend who killed himself when he was a teenager. "Now listen! I know what Pastor Sherman did to Billy was wrong, I won't argue with that, but you have to understand-"
"I don't have to understand shit," Jeremy said as he set his plate down on the table beside the grill. "I told Cal about Billy's death, but what I didn't tell him about was how Pastor Sherman molested him and that is why he ended up taking his life. I blamed myself for it for a long time, but I realize what happened wasn't on me."
"Are you suggesting it's God's fault?" Ted asked, now looking angry again. "You can't blame God for something Pastor Sherman chose to do with his free will."
"You sure about that?" Jeremy asked. "God had to have known what Pastor Sherman was planning when he was still our Youth Pastor. He could've put a stop to it and saved Billy but he didn't. Me arguing with Billy about what happened to him afterwards was just the final straw."
"Still, that isn't God's fault," Ted told him.
"You say God was just respecting Pastor Sherman's free will," Jeremy said. "But what about Billy's will to not be abused? Where was his free will then? Why didn't God protect that?"
Ted didn't have an answer, but his face turned red with anger. Jeremy became angry again as well and he put his face up to his father's face. "You know I'm right, Dad. God could've saved Billy but he didn't."
"Billy could've turned to God afterwards and he would've been fine," Ted growled. "He could've recovered from what happened to him while Sherman was in jail, but instead he rejected God and took his own life."
"In his place, I would've done the same fucking thing," Jeremy growled back, now baring his teeth like an angry dog.
Then the fight that was beginning to ensue between them came to an end when they both heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Glancing to the side, they saw Calvin standing there, plate in hand, as he approached them to get some corn and beans.
"You guys okay?" Calvin asked, looking at Jeremy specifically.
Returning to his grill, Ted said nothing, but Jeremy calmed his expression and smiled at Calvin. "I'm okay now. I think I'm just gonna go sit down with Beard and Sandra again."
Calvin watched Jeremy pick up his plate and pass him by as he approached the picnic table all over again. Feeling glad that he had his friends there to break up the fight, Jeremy took his mostly-eaten burger back over to where he had been sitting before getting up to talk to his father.
40
Calvin watched Jeremy until he took a seat at the table with George and Sandra, before looking at Ted. "What was that about?"
Ted looked at Calvin and gave him a smile. "Nothing to worry about. Just family drama."
Calvin scooped a couple spoonfuls of corn onto his plate and a couple spoonfuls of baked beans. "I see. So, when we get done eating, ya think we can check out that zero turn?"
"Absolutely," Ted said to him as he flipped his burgers one more time. "I'll bring my plate with me while we're eating and I'll show it to ya."
Calvin chuckled. "Sounds good."
Using a spoon that he grabbed from the picnic table, Calvin started shoveling the corn and beans into his mouth, while Ted put one of his burgers on a bun with some ketchup, mustard, and his pickles, and the remainders that he cooked, he put on a plate so he could have another one later if he chose. As they walked up to the house, they turned and headed around to the left where the driveway circled around it, until they reached the massive garage to the left of the house that was surrounded by small pine trees.
Leading the way inside, Ted opened a side door and took a bite of his burger before saying, "This is it, Cal!"
The inside of the garage was large, so large in fact, that there was enough room to stash Ted's dark-blue station wagon as well as the zero turn. Along the back wall of the garage was a large peg board with dozens and dozens of different tools hanging from it.
Calvin whistled as he took a look around the garage. "I like this! My garage is a bit smaller, so I can only fit the bus and my push mower inside."
Ted took another bite of his burger and gestured towards the zero turn with his sandwich. "Go ahead and have a look."
Calvin ate his corn and beans while he circled around the mower, trying to get a good look at it from every angle. "This is nice!"
Ted took another bite from his burger and smiled. "It sure is! You wanna try it out when you get done eating your corn and beans?"
"Sure!" was Calvin's answer.
"Oh, and by the way, Jeremy mentioned you're also a veteran," Ted blurted out, changing the subject suddenly.
Calvin took another bite of his corn and smiled. "This is true!"
Ted picked up his burger again, but before he took a bite, he paused and smiled. "Thank you for your service, Mister."
Calvin gave him a slight bow of his head. "Feels good to be appreciated. Did you ever serve before?"
Ted nodded. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. It was before Sandra and Jeremy were born though. I served during Vietnam, but never went overseas."
Calvin's eyebrows perked up in surprise. "Lucky you! You missed out on being exposed to Agent Orange!"
"That I did," Ted agreed before taking a bite of his burger. "I feel terrible for all the servicemen who went there, but unfortunately the war had to be fought."
"You sure about that?" Calvin asked, suddenly feeling curious. "Most wars are fought for money and oil these days, and not for the benefit of our actual country. World War Two was probably the last just war, because Hitler and his allies had to be stopped."
"And don't forget Saddam Hussein or Osama Bin Laden," Ted said." Those guys had to be stopped too."
Eating more of his corn and beans, Calvin paused to think, and then he added, "Some people think Nine-eleven was an inside job, at least partially... I don't know how I feel about that to tell you the truth, because our government intentionally keeps a lot of secrets from us. Secrets that probably won't ever be brought to light until the world ends and God judges us all."
Ted seemed surprised. "You believe in God, do you?"
Calvin chuckled and took another bite of his beans before he answered. "I do, but I'm not exactly his biggest fan."
Ted seemed a little annoyed as he stood there holding his plate with his partially-eaten burger on it. "What does that mean?"
Explaining a little more, Calvin shared his opinions on God. "It means I'm not the type to bow down and sing his praises."
Now getting angry, Ted pointed a finger at Calvin. "Now I see why my son spends so much time with you."
Calvin was confused. "Only reason is because I helped him after he hit that pothole."
"No, there's more to it than that," Ted growled. "You and Jeremy both hate God..."
"Can you really blame us?" Calvin asked with a chuckle. "Look man, the things I've seen in all my years of being on this Earth...The news stories I've read... All the evil God could've prevented, but yet he did nothing."
"What are you referring to?" Ted asked.
Calvin finished up eating his corn and beans before setting his plate down on the cement floor beneath them and folding his arms over his chest. "I'm referring to a lot of things. War crimes, abuse, human trafficking, rape, you name it! It's especially vile when the victims are only children but yet... God does nothing to stop it, and for whatever reason demands that us humans with our limited capacity to do anything fix things he could fix with the snap of his fingers."
Ted became increasingly angry. "What makes you think he can fix things just by snapping his fingers?"
Calvin chuckled again. "He's all powerful, is he not? Seems to me he only respects the will of the perpetrators in every act of evil that happens, while failing to protect the will of their victims to not be harmed. If anyone should be judged, it's God. He should be sent to Hell for his negligence and malevolence, but unfortunately, we live in a reality where might makes right."
Ted stood there gripping his plate tightly in both hands; so tightly in fact that his hands were shaking. "Might makes right... Is that really how you think it works?!"
Calvin shrugged. "The position of God isn't exactly an elected position, it's more of a, 'This is how it is now deal with it' kinda situation. At the end of the day, it's a dictatorship, and for him to send people to Hell just because they didn't love him enough, that would be like if Kim Jong Un had God powers. It's like being in North Korea forever. Most religious people like yourself adore him for some reason, but I think you guys just have Stockholm Syndrome. That's why you love your abuser and lie to yourselves about him being loving and merciful which is all bullshit."
Ted smashed his plate down on the floor, sending shards of glass and pieces of his burger and pickles flying everywhere. Pointing at Calvin with a shaky hand, he growled, "Get off my property... Now!"
Calvin held up his hands and sighed. "Okay, I'm outta here."
"And take my son and your friend with the beard with you," Ted growled. "That way you can all hate God together!"
"Fine by me, Dickhead," Calvin said, now becoming angry himself. "I told Jeremy I wasn't gonna call you that, but now that you've shown me your true colors... I can see why you guys' relationship fell apart."
"Get out of here!" Ted snapped. "Now!"
Finally leaving the garage, Calvin walked over to the picnic table where Jeremy and George were both chatting with Sandra, but when they saw the angry look on his face, they were surprised.
"What's wrong, Hippie?" Jeremy asked.
"We're leaving," Calvin told him. "Office, Beard, let's go."
Sandra got up from the table, suddenly confused. "Uh, wha- What?! What happened?"
"It's a long story, but your old man told me to get off his property and to take Office and Beard with me," Calvin explained.
Sandra blinked her eyes a couple times, looking surprised. "But why? I thought things were going so well!"
Calvin smiled at her. "I told him my opinions on God and he flipped the fuck out. After that, I called him a Dickhead and here we are."
Taking off her glasses, Sandra put a hand over her forehead and sighed. "Shit..."
"Now do you see what I have to deal with?" Jeremy asked suddenly. "I've had to put up with his shit my whole life!"
"You guys need help bagging up your stuff?" Sandra asked as she put her glasses back on over her eyes.
Calvin nodded. "Sure. We still gotta bag up the cheese, onions, and cabbage."
Hurrying over to the other table where the grill was sitting, Sandra helped Calvin bag up their stuff and since the cut up onion was in a tupperware bowl, she stuck a lid on it but took out the spoon.
"Don't worry about giving back the tupperware," Sandra told him. "It was one of mine anyway."
"Thanks," Calvin said to her with a smile.
"So, what exactly did you say that got my Dad so riled up?" Sandra asked while Jeremy and George were walking over to hear their conversation.
Calvin chuckled. "I compared God to Kim Jong Un, the dictator of North Korea, and told him that God should be judged and sent to Hell."
Sandra sighed. "Yep, that would do it alright! He doesn't like anybody saying bad things about God. It's one of the things that piss him off the most."
"And to think, I was gonna invite him to go on a road trip with us, but I never got the chance," Calvin told her, just as Jeremy and George arrived to pick up their grocery bags. "Of course you're more than welcome to go with us if you like, Sandra."
She seemed pleased with the idea. "A road trip? Fuck yeah I'll go with you guys!"
"We still gotta pick a place," Calvin told her. "I'll have Jeremy call you in a few. See ya around."
"See ya," Sandra said sadly, just as Calvin, Jeremy, and George began their walk over to the bus.
As they were getting in, Jeremy said to Calvin after buckling up, "I still wanna check out those hats for cats if we can."
George got in the back like before, while Calvin buckled himself up in the driver's seat. Once they were all set, Calvin glanced at Jeremy. "Hats for cats, huh? Where would we get those?"
Jeremy smiled at him. "There's an old lady selling em just down the road from here. I want to get a little hat for Earl!"
George laughed. "Let's go check out those hats then! Little sum'bitch would look adorable as fuck in a hat."
While Calvin was backing the bus out of the driveway, Ted finally emerged from his garage, where he stood out by the main, front door and watched the bus leave.
