Brother,
When You're Found
A
Sequel to "Is It College Yet?"
Jake
- I didn't mean to step on Dad's contact. The next day, he shipped me off to
military school.
Mr.
DeMartino - My mother didn't want her dates to know she had a son, so I spent a
lot of time at the neighbors. Strange, twisted people.
Jake
- I know! I had the same neighbors! (From
"The Daria Hunter")
Daria - Don't worry, Dad. I'm sure
you're doing better than your father did. For starters, wasn't he dead at your
age?
Jake
- Hey!
(From
"Jake of Hearts")
Helen
- Jake, if you want I'll call that Mr. DeMartino. He's a bit high-strung, but
he's a fixture at that school, and he can tell us if anything odd is happening.
(From
"The
Jane:
Wind, I don't know how to break this to you, but I don't think Mommy and Daddy
will be bringing us home any new brothers or sisters.
Jane
- Anyway, being in a relationship can't possibly hinge on physical intimacy.
'Cause that would mean our parents are still doing it.
Daria
- Which is absurd.
Jane
- No chance.
Daria
- I'd join the circus.
Jane
- Right behind you. (From
"My Night at Daria's)
Disclaimer: Daria's
a trademark of MTV. I only borrowed it for a weak attempt to continue the
myth...
Ages: At the
start of season one in 1997, Daria was 16; now she's 18. To calculate the ages,
I decided that this all happens in 1999. Jake is 46, so he was born 1953. His
father lived from 1924 to 1969. DeMartino is (according to Outpost Daria) 48 in
IICY, so he was born 1951. Trent's and Jane's siblings
are 28 (Summer), 27 (Wind) and 26 (Penny) years old;
their parents are 46 (Amanda) and 48 (Vincent).
Some
Warnings:
Continuity: This
fanfic sticks to most of what happened in the series and the other official
sources, but Jake did NOT graduate at Buxton Ridge (Jake's letters in the Daria Diaries) and "Mad Dog" died before
Jake met Helen, so he was NOT alive when they married ("Of Human Bonding").
Also, DeMartino does not have a buddy who married his mother ("Antisocial
Climbers") - at least he does not appear in this fanfic.
This story begins at the end of the
movie. Daria and Jane are sitting at Pizza King, talking about college and
future plans. They just brought up a toast to college...
I. Choosing
Partners
As
they lowered their coke cups again, Jane looked at Daria. "You know there's still one last obstacle before you can
forget Lawndale High for the rest of your life: the big prom. Ms. Li made it
mandatory for all graduates and next year seniors to come and to bring a partner. It's her last
chance to milk us for the benefit of school security."
Daria took a deep breath. "I know that. I hope it won't get as pathetic as the last
dance. Ms. Li's still mad at you for using water-resistant paints for your
mural, forcing her to take money from the budget to clean all the walls. One of
the best ideas you ever had." Jane smiled. "But this
partner thing's going to be hard. It's the first time since fifteen months that
neither of us has Tom hanging around."
"Aw,
that's sweet. Do you miss him already?" "Jane,
please!" "Sorry.
But you're right. I don't suppose Quinn could lend us two of her admirers for
that night?" "Forget
it. When I told her I had blown off Tom, she asked why I didn't wait until the
end of the vacations to do so. Besides, she'll soon have her own problems to
find a date for the dance..." Daria
managed to produce a small wicked smile. Jane's eyes widened. She leant over the
table. "Out
with it, Morgendorffer.
What rumor did you spread about your sister? If it's still the
Malaysian Toenail fungus..." Daria
shook her head.
"No,
I'm totally innocent... well, quite innocent in that matter. Quinn told me that
she would wait until the day before the dance to consider all incoming offers. I
think she expects the three J's to compete for her just as they did the past two
years." "And?" "Do
you remember the week when Quinn decided she needed a steady boyfriend because
that would be mature?" "After
you told her that more or less directly? Yes, it was funny to see all teenaged
males of Lawndale expect perhaps Kevin, Mack and Tom line up to be examined for
their possible use as Mr. Quinn." "She
really thought it would make her more mature. Anyway, she ended up by trying out
the three J's one after another." "Which
culminated at the day your parents made a big dinner to meet their daughters'
boyfriends, right?"
"Exactly. At the end, the female Morgendorffers were
left back because Tom and Jeffy decided to bond with Dad by catching a squirrel
and returning it to the forest." Jane
laughed. "That
must have been awful for Quinn and you."
"At
that moment, it really was. But Quinn calmed down after my mother told her she
should do what made her happy in that matter. And when Dad came back later, he
was so relaxed and happy that I feared he would want to have an own son. When
Tom had to sneak out of my room at 4 am because we both fell asleep two weeks
later, he met my father who had a night snack after too much sake. Tom told me
later he had serious fears that Dad might kill him on the spot, but Dad welcomed
him and even opened the door for him. I think Dad liked Tom, and was very sorry
for accidentally telling Mom he had met Tom when he returned to bed." "So
you two really didn't do you-know-what that night?"
"No,
we did NOT do 'you-know-what' that night, Jane!"
Daria
had answered very decisively to appear angry. In fact, she was nervous. She
wondered if she could ever tell Jane that Tom had come to her room in the
guesthouse when they visited Bromwell and that, after some smooching and
talking, they had slept together for the first and only time. Jane started
talking again. "You
wanted to tell me why Quinn'll have problems finding a
date for the dance." "Oh
yes. Most of her admirers became enraged when she chose first Jamie, then Joey
and finally Jeffy just because it was the easiest approach to the whole "steady
boyfriend" matter. And the three J's... well, they have
wooed her for two years now. It became part of their routine: going to school,
football team practice, doing things for Quinn. But when she decided to focus
her attention on one of them at a time, they recognized that Quinn will probably
never single out one of them to be her permanent boyfriend. She's just playing
with them and the whole competition is jeopardizing the friendship between the
guys." "Very
deep insight.
But how do you know about that? Did they tell you?"
"They
didn't. Mack told me they had a long conversation in the locker room. They made
a vow that none of them should try to get Quinn because she isn't worth the
trouble." "So
Princess Grace won't have a date for the dance although it's mandatory." "Yes,
but there's always Upchuck to comfort a lady in distress." Jane
smiled. "I'm
very sorry to disrupt your illusions, but he already has a date for the
dance."
For
one moment, Daria said nothing. Then she looked at her friend in mock fear.
"
"So
that's a surprise. But why should Jodie ask for both names?" Jane
chuckled. "Come
on, you know Ms. Li. She insisted on a list of all guests to know whom to accuse
for any attempts to make Laaawndale High look bad.
Jodie agreed to this to get the P.A. equipment for the dance." "Poor
Jodie.
But at least she has a boyfriend to take to the dance."
Jane
got a mischievous grin on her face. "How
about the easiest approach?
I know two very ambitious musicians who could need a rest from practicing."
"Are you trying to hook me up with
Daria
leant back. She knew Jane for three years now and knew her way of sarcasm and
joking, so she could tell that she was not sarcastic on this. She
nodded.
"You got me, Jane. I'll go to that dance with
Getting
to know guys had never been her problem, but her sarcasm and very nature had
driven all boys away after some days - except Tom. He wasn't put off by her art
priorities, her living conditions or anything else about her. He never tried to
impress her with his family's wealth or his social position. Jane had been
really sad when it went down the time Daria stayed at the Lane house, and the
"lady and the tiger" idea was originally - as she had
confessed to herself after Tom left her - an attempt to repair their
relationship. I
wonder what would've happened if Daria hadn't barged in when we became
passionate that day in front of my painting...
She was still deep in thought when she heard a familiar voice. "Daria,
can I talk to you?"
It was Quinn.
The
Morgendorffer sisters went home after Daria had agreed that Jane should ask the
boys about going to the dance. As soon as they had closed the front door, Quinn
turned to her sister. "Daria,
you gotta help me! I need advice from a totally honest
person." Daria
measured her sister with a short look. "Is
it about your clothing or about your looks?"
"Daria,
puh-leease!
I have a really big problem and I need you."
She
went to the living-room sofa and sat down. Daria followed her, wondering if she
should tell her sister about the vow the J's made when Quinn began to
speak.
"Look, Daria, you know that the school dance is next Saturday..."
Daria
interrupted her. "...and
you're wondering why no guy's yet asked you to go there with him." Quinn's
face got an alarmed look. "What
do you mean, Daria? I'm surprised that nobody has asked yet, that's right, but
since I told them I'd decide on the day before the dance whom to take, they
still have lots of time. Although I thought Joey, Jeffy and Jamie would ask me
as soon as possible." "They
will not ask you this time, Quinn. Mack told me
that
they decided to stop competing for you because it was ruining their friendship.
But I'm sure you have enough potential candidates to replace them." Surprisingly,
Quinn did not start to cry as Daria had expected. She just looked at the ceiling
for a second before she turned back to Daria.
"That's
sad, but that's not the reason why I wanted to talk to you."
She took a letter from her backpack and handed it to Daria. "It
was in the mail this morning. Read it." Daria
looked at the simple white envelope and read aloud: "To
Quinn Morgendorffer, 1111 Glen Oaks Lane,
Quinn
swallowed, then she began to speak slowly, as if she
could wake up someone by talking at normal speed. "I...
I'd like to see him and tell him how much the tutoring helped me this year.
And... and I would like to ask
him..." "Ask
him what?" Quinn
looked around the room like needing a hole to hide in. "Come
on, Quinn. Tell me what you want to ask David. I'm still not capable of reading
your thoughts." Quinn
managed to look at Daria's eyes. "I
would like to ask him... if he'd like to come to the dance with me!"
For
a moment, none of them said a word. Then Daria drew a deep breath. "Okay,
you would like to invite him to the dance. What's the problem?" "I
don't know how to tell him. What if he doesn't want to? What if he has got a
girlfriend at college?" Daria
barely managed to suppress a smile. "There's
only one way, Quinn. Ask him if he wants." "But
just imagine he says no! And how should you know? You haven't got much
experience with that. Just remember that
Quinn
looked at her sister, surprised at the outburst. "All
right, I'll ask him. But don't tell Mom and Dad about it!" "Why
should I do that? First thing Mom would want to know is who I'm taking to the dance. It'd be brave
of you to take David with you, since your fashion-worshipping friends will
probably drop dead at his sight. Didn't he drop them when they wanted to be
tutored by him?" "Yes,
he did. Sandi's still occasionally asking me what my "brainy geek-boyfriend" is doing. If he should really agree to come to the dance, I
just got to have someone take a picture of her expression." She
laughed, then she became serious again.
"But you said that you'll take
She
broke off when she looked at her sister. Quinn had sworn that she would not do
anything to humiliate Daria if she helped her with the decision about asking
David, but the imagination of Daria asking
As
they rose from the sofa, the door opened, revealing Jake carrying his briefcase.
He set it down on the sofa table and gave his daughters a friendly smile as he
picked up the remaining mail. Daria decided to start a conversation with him
before he would ask what she and Quinn were doing. "Hi, dad.
Anything for me in the mail?"
Jake flipped through the letters. "Let's
see... electricity bill, a postcard from Rita, the water bill..."
He held up one letter and opened it. "Look,
it's from my mother! I wonder what she wants..."
He started to read it while Quinn went to the kitchen. After a minute, he looked
up again. "She
says she'll visit us tomorrow!"
II.
Family Secrets, Part 1, Or: Sins Of Our
Father
Later
that evening, the Morgendorffer family sat in the kitchen, eating dinner. Helen
had just arrived and wolfed down Jake's new meal creation because she had to
leave again soon. Hearing that her mother in-law would come on the next day was
not her idea of a nice family dinner. "But
can't you call her to postpone this, Jake?
You
know that my workload is even bigger than usually because all the Schrecters are on a family reunion somewhere in
After
Helen and the girls left, Jake stayed at the table, obviously deep in thought.
He hardly noticed Daria who came in the kitchen to get a can of soda a few
minutes later until she slammed the door of the refrigerator shut. "Oh.
Sorry, dad."
Daria looked at her father. "Are
you worried about Grandma Ruth?"
Jake turned to her. "It
comes pretty suddenly. But, knowing my mother, she's just checking that Helen
treats me right. It's probably better that they won't meet immediately
tomorrow."
He chuckled. "Will
you be here tomorrow, kiddo? I could use your help in dealing with
her."
"I'll
be here until noon, I think. Jane and I want to go see a French movie at the
Megamultiplex."
"Thanks,
Daria."
Ruth
arrived very early next morning. As Daria entered the kitchen in their
nightclothes, she already sat there, sipping coffee. After Daria had welcomed
her, Ruth continued talking with her son. "But
why couldn't Helen wait until I'd be here before leaving for work, Jakey?"
"She
had an important case to be discussed at 8am, Mom. She said she'd be sorry not
to see you. But what was so important that you couldn't tell me by
telephone?"
"I
got a letter from the Department of the Army yesterday. They want to name a
barracks at
He
looked at his mother. "What
did you tell them?"
"I
told them that Dad would be honored and accepted it. You'll come there with me,
right?"
At that moment, Quinn entered the kitchen with her cell phone pressed against
her ear. "Thank
you Sammy. I'll be happy to come to your party next weekend. I suppose you also
invited Sandi, Stacy and Tiffany..."
Then she noticed Ruth. "Oh hi,
Grandma Ruth.
Anyway, can you believe that we have work to do in the vacation? O'Neill tried
to prevent this because it 'might harm our unburdened souls', but the PTA head
overruled him, saying 'If Anthony DeMartino can't...'"
CRASH!
Jake and his daughters gazes rushed first at the cup of coffee Ruth had just
dropped on the floor, then at Ruth herself, whose face
had turned white. "Mommy,
are you alright?"
He reached over the table and took her hand as Quinn terminated her phone call
with some words. "You
look like you had a stroke!"
Daria and Quinn also looked worried as Ruth tried to sit up straight but failed
miserably. "Shall
I call an ambulance?"
Quinn asked. Daria went over to the sink to wet a towel and placed it on her
grandmother's neck. After a minute, Ruth recovered from the shock and glanced
around at the worried faces of her family.
"I'm
OK."
she said. "Sorry
for that, but tell me Quinn, did you really say the name Anthony
DeMartino??!" Quinn nodded. "He's
our history teacher at
"What
do you mean by this?"
Daria asked finally. "Well,
if your father thinks you shall hear this, I'll tell you."
She looked at Jake. "Martin
and I met fifty years ago. I was working at the local store back then and he was
an army captain, serving at
Jake
gasped while his girls just looked at Ruth. "On
the next morning, I woke up and despite my condition called at
"But
what did you do afterwards?"
asked Quinn, who always liked a good love story with dramatic turns.
"I
didn't hear anything about Martin until he came back in February 1953. He
returned to
"I
hoped that with me and little Jake, he would settle down and realize all the
dreams he told me about when we met for the first time. But his war experience
and the knowledge that he had betrayed me as soon as he got the chance to
poisoned our marriage. We were neither good spouses for
each other nor good parents for Jake. After Jake's birth, Martin told me that he
did not want any more children. He found a job fixing drainpipes and he still
was a National Guard officer, but we both knew that he hated the life with wife
and child. And since he couldn't act out his anger on me, he terrorized
Jake..."
Now her eyes were both fixed on Jake, who stared at his feet, his brain
obviously full of bad memories. "His
only remaining dream was to make his son a perfect soldier, thus reliving his
career in Europe and
"After
Martin's funeral, I went through his things and found some photos of a two-year
old child with black hair, sitting on the lap of a very young-looking woman. On
the back of the photos, it said 'March 1953: Nora and Anthony'
and
an address in a small town near
Daria
stared at her grandmother while several memories went through her mind:
Her
encounter with Mr. DeMartino on the first day in
Ruth
sighed. "He
is, but I don't think he knows it. Martin sort of... well, he threatened his
mother to ensure that she would never tell her son about his father. I kept
silent about it for forty-eight years and wanted to keep silent until I died,
but when Quinn mentioned his full name, I nearly fainted."
"So
the only question is: shall we tell him?"
said Daria. "You
know, I talked to him when we sat together at the paintball range while it
rained... and he told me that his mother treated him badly... it would top
things off for him if he learned that his father was an SOB without the courage
to stand for what he did..."
said Jake absently.
"I
think we should tell him."
Suddenly, all eyes were on Quinn. "Why
should we tell him, sis?"
Daria asked her. "First
of all: I'll see him in school for another year. That means meeting him for
several times each week, always thinking of him as Uncle Anthony. He may be
screwed, but he's not stupid. One day he would ask me why I'm staring at him and
I'd blare it out, humiliating myself totally."
Daria smirked. "You
told everyone that I'm your cousin. That worked for years."
"Oh
come on, Daria. Everyone knew it after you told the whole school at that stupid
assembly. Anyway, would you like to live for almost fifty years with the feeling
that you don't have a father? I'll tell him if you don't have the
courage!"
To his own surprise, Jake began to smile. "Relax,
Quinn. I also think we should tell him all this."
He turned to Ruth and his face hardened. "I
don't know what part you had in this from the beginning, but Quinn's absolutely
right. This has gone much too long."
At
that moment, Helen entered in a hurry. "Hello everybody!
I just have time for a microwave meal and then..." she broke off when she saw the looks of her family.
"What
has happened? Has somebody died? Dear God, please tell me..."
Jake stood up and hugged her. "The
exact opposite, sweetie.
You'll never believe what Mom just told us."
Helen listened with fascination as Jake repeated the
story.
III.
Baby, What A Big Surprise
Later
that day, Jane called. The Morgendorffers had discussed about the new family
member and the several ways to break the news to DeMartino - though the use of
his surname had become more and more frequent during the last hours. Daria had
supported the point of Jake and Quinn that DeMartino had a right to know about
his origins and his half-brother. As a result, she had completely forgotten
about Jane and their plan to meet for a movie. After waiting for thirty minutes,
Jane went to the next phone.
"You've
reached the Morgendorffer lair. All cats disappeared after being seen near our
house are in a better world now."
Daria said. "Hello
Daria. It seems that your way to the top didn't lead past the Megamultiplex today."
"Oh yeah.
Sorry I forgot it, but I went through a situation you might know from
experience."
"Since
there are so many several situations to master every day, give me a
hint."
Daria prepared for the revelation. "How
about the discovery of an unknown family member?"
"I
always told you that you had enough intelligence for two people. So they found
your moron twin?"
"Actually,
my grandmother broke down and confessed that Dad's father impregnated a woman
two years before Dad was born."
"So
the infamous 'Mad Dog' had two kids? I assume the person showed up today and
your Dad went crazy."
"No,
Quinn mentioned the name of a certain inhabitant of
For
a moment, Jane was silent. When she continued, her voice was full of disbelief.
"Are
you sure? DeMartino is your... father's brother??!" "According
to Ruth, her beloved husband had a one-night stand with an underage girl
forty-nine years ago. The result was our dear history teacher. And the best part
is that he doesn't know it. We had a real battle here about the question of
telling him or not."
"And
you were against it?"
"No,
I supported Quinn and Dad in telling him."
Daria heard someone knocking at her door. "I
gotta go. Bye."
"Give
Uncle Anthony my regards if you see him."
"I
will. Bye."
Daria hang up.
While
Daria returned to her family in the kitchen, Jane continued to stare at the
phone. DeMartino
as Daria's uncle? Jeez, I know my folks are weird, but at least they wreak havoc
in other parts of the country/world than
In
the Morgendorffer home, the family council (plus Ruth) reached a decision. Quinn
would try to call DeMartino the next day to tell him "that she had some
questions about her homework" and ask if she could
visit him at his house. If he should agree, Jake would accompany her and drop
the bomb on his lost brother, hoping that he would believe the
story.
As
Jane arrived home, she went to
She
looked around to spot any kind of coffee mug or a trace of some kind of illegal
substance to cause this behavior, but she could see neither.
"They
came from some kind of WWF event where Mom studied Asian pottery and Dad
photographed wild yaks. The important fact is, they come home tomorrow, and they
sent a letter."
"So what?
They come for their annual visit. What's so important about this? They don't
bring all our siblings with them, right?"
Jane looked curious at Trent, who managed to smile. "They
won't bring any of our older siblings this time, Janey... but they'll bring a
younger one!"
For
a moment, Jane was petrified. "What
do you mean, younger sibling??! Did they..."
"Now
what favor do you want from me? Need a ride?"
"No, not this
time.
But Daria and I need an escort for the school dance, and since neither of us is
willing to ask Tom, I thought that you might escort Daria and ask Jesse if he
wants to join us as my escort... Hey, don't smile like that!"
"Sorry,
Janey.
Couldn't help it. So your need of an escort is not
another plot to hook me up with Daria?"
"Of course
not.
What do you think I am, a matchmaker?"
"Yes,
you are. And it's a pity you chose me and Daria as targets for practice. She's a
nice girl, but she needs someone having the same character traits as she has.
That's something I can't offer her."
Jane
fixed her brother with a steady gaze. "Thanks
for the deep insight, but will you and Jesse come? Li made it mandatory for the
senior students to have a partner with them."
"Sure
we'll come. I believe Jesse has even more motivation to step on Li's toes than I
have. You know Li tried to bust him for ‚conduct unbecoming a Laaawndale High student' after she learnt of his
moonlighting at that club for lonely housewives?"
Jane made a pained face. "No,
I didn't. That must've been some torture."
"He
vowed to pay Li back for what she did to him, so he'll be delighted to come.
Shall I go call him..." he paused, "or
do you want to invite him, dear sis?
I think he'd like that even better."
Jane frowned. "And
you say that I'm a matchmaker. You call him now, and I'll call Daria later.
Okay?"
"Hello?"
"Um... good morning, Mr.
DeMartino.
This is Quinn Morgendorffer. I've got some questions about my vacation
work."
"And
what are these questions?"
"Well...
I can't give them all on telephone. Would it be OK if I came over to your house
today... to ask them personally?"
"But
why can't you ask me now, Quinn?"
"Um...
eh... my parents just told me to cut down my excessive use of their phone, so
I'd rather visit you at your place... that is, if you aren't busy..."
For a moment, DeMartino was silent, then he answered,
sounding thoughtful. "OK,
Quinn. I'll be home until five, so you can come before then..."
Quinn interrupted him "Thanks,
Mr. DeMartino! I'll be there!"
and terminated the call after finishing her sentence.
DeMartino
looked at his phone, then addressed the person sitting
on his sofa. "A
student of mine called to clear some details about her work. I told her to come
over later to talk with me personally."
The person grumbled. "But
you know that I wanted you to take me to the bingo at the "Olde Tea Cuppe"
at 5:30. You promised me, Tony!"
"She'll
be gone by then. I told her I'd to leave at five, so there'll be no problems
about your bingo, Mother."
On
the other end, Quinn still stared on the telephone despite knowing that four
pairs of eyes - Helen's, Jake's, Daria's and Ruth's - rested on her. Finally,
she turned around. "He
said I could come over today, but he'd leave home at five."
"That's
it? He didn't suspect anything?"
Helen asked incredulously. Daria managed a smile. "It's
nice to see that even a teacher with years of practice hasn't adopted the rough
attitude to life which seems to be common with lawyers these days."
"Daria!"
"So,
we'll visit him this afternoon?"
Jake asked to prevent his wife from giving her elder daughter another lecture
about life and its circumstances. "Are
you sure you want to do this, Jakey? Maybe we better
wait some time before we..."
Jake turned around to face his mother, his face bearing a determined expression
neither his wife nor his daughters had ever seen before.
"Now
listen, Mom. This man's probably had a terrible childhood because his mother was
used by a man who wanted some fun for one evening. A man who not only declined
to support his child, but also forced the girl he got pregnant never to tell the
child about his father. A man who did all this because his fiancée - YOU - had
made him do so. As a result, this man grew up fatherless and with a mother who
was probably too young to raise him as a child should be raised. If you would
visit him to tell him about all this, he would freak out completely - and many
judges wouldn't hold him responsible for whatever he would do."
His
voice was stern now. "I
will visit him to tell him the story you've told me and the girls yesterday. I
hope that he will believe me, but I wouldn't be surprised if he threw me
out."
Nobody said anything for a moment. Finally, Daria spoke in a quiet voice.
"He
has a right to know about his origin, Grandma Ruth. I think it's better to send
Dad to talk with him."
"Thank you,
kiddo.
Quinn, we'll leave at 3:00."
Jake started to walk up the stairs when Helen called him. "Jake?"
"Yes,
honey?"
She smiled. "I'm
proud of you."
IV.
Brothers In Arms
Two
hours later, a blue Lexus arrived in front of a modest house without much
decoration or personal notes. Quinn and Jake left the car and walked up to the
front door, hesitating a moment before ringing the bell. They heard some noise
in the house, then the door opened and DeMartino looked at them. "Hello
Quinn. Nice to see you."
His gaze shifted to Jake. "Oh,
hello, Mr. Morgendorffer."
Jake pulled a key from his pocket and gave it to Quinn. "Wait
for me in the car, kiddo. If this takes too long, drive home by yourself. I'll
get a taxi then."
"OK,
Daddy."
She turned and walked back to the car.
DeMartino
eyed Jake curiously. "What
does this mean, Mr. Morgendorffer? Quinn said that she'd want to talk with
me."
Jake drew a very deep breath, then he stiffed. "Quinn
said so because I asked her to do so. I have to talk with you, Mr. DeMartino,
and this was the only way to ensure that you'd listen."
Now DeMartino looked even more curious. "Well,
if it's about your daughters' grades, I think..."
Jake interrupted him. "It's
not about school, and it's also not some kind of business. As a matter of fact,
it's kind of private, and I'd prefer you to sit if you hear it."
He paused. "May
I enter?"
"Oh, sure.
Excuse me for being so impolite."
The two men entered the house, being watched by Quinn.
At
the Lane homestead, Jane had slept till noon before having breakfast with Trent,
this being a rare treat for both of them (especially with Trent buying fresh
bread instead of taking whatever could be considered edible for anyone whose
standards allowed food to have odd colors, toppings or shapes). Jane's amazement
about her brother's behavior turned to joy as he told her that Jesse had agreed
to be her escort to the dance and had even promised to wear a decent shirt - if
he could borrow one from Trent, who had access to his father's wardrobe. After
eating, running for an hour and a fast shower, Jane felt so happy that she had
to fight her inspiration in order to phone Daria.
"Welcome
to Radio Gaga. If you have a special wish, please sing it for us so we can
replay it on air to humiliate you."
"Hello
Daria. Since I don't want to torture you with 'Old McDonald had a farm', let's
skip the formal stuff."
"Ah, our favorite
customer.
Anything new in the world of lonely loonies?"
"Several
things.
For starters, consider yourself as the soon-to-be queen of the school dance,
partying the night away with my brother at your side."
Despite herself, Daria felt a smile forming on her face. "That's...
nice. Will Jesse also come to keep you from stealing my thunder on the dance
floor?"
"Hah!
You wish! Have you never seen Jesse when he worked... forget it, forget anything
I said."
"Jesse
worked where?"
Jane cursed her swift tongue. "Ask
Trent or Jesse. If they tell you, it's OK, if not, please deny that I told you
anything."
"Alright, amiga.
Now what else?"
"Not
so fast. li'l lady. How's
Uncle Anthony?"
"I
don't know yet. Dad's just visiting him to fulfill the traditional family rites
on the new member."
"So
may I come over to see Hero Jake's return - may it be victorious or
not?"
"Come
over if you like, but first tell me the other news you've been holding
back."
"It's
too big to tell it over the phone. I shall fill you in when I'm at your
place."
"Now
you made me curious. I even told you about 'Dear Uncle Anthony' on the
phone!"
"Like I
said.
See you!"
Jane hung up, leaving Daria with her imagination about the big
news.
DeMartino
sat down on his sofa and looked at Jake. "Have
a seat, Mr. Morgendorffer."
"Um,
no, thank you. I prefer to stand. Well... how can I begin..."
Jake cleared his throat. "Please
excuse me for asking a personal question. Who is your father?"
DeMartino stared at him. "Be
assured that I've a good reason for asking this. Do you know your
father?"
"I
never met my father. According to my mother, he was a young soldier who died in
the Korean War before I was born."
"Did
she tell you more about him? Sorry, but I must know this, Mr.
DeMartino."
"She
told me that he had promised to marry her before he left for
DeMartino
rose from his seat and walked to a desk standing in the corner of the room,
searching for some seconds before taking out an old photograph and giving it to
Jake. It showed a young man of about eighteen or nineteen in an army uniform
standing in front of a huge emblem of the 36th U.S. Infantry
Division. Despite his youth, the man looked aggressive and proud.
Jake
stared at the man who had made his own childhood a living hell and who had
ruined the life of a young girl nearly fifty years ago in one night.
"What...
what was his name?"
"Corporal
Martin M. Dylan."
DeMartino noticed the look on Jake's face. "Mr.
Morgendorffer? Do you need a glass of water?"
Jake sat down on the sofa and looked up to the man who had just proved to be
Jake's elder brother. "Yes,
that'd be nice. Better bring one for yourself also. I have to tell you something
very important."
When
Jane arrived at the Morgendorffer's house, Helen opened the door. "Hello
Jane. Have you heard about my husband's brother?"
"Yes,
Mrs. Morgendorffer. Daria told me yesterday. Is she up in her room?"
"I
think so. Have you seen Quinn on the way? Jake told me that he'd send her home
to talk alone with DeM... his
brother."
"No,
I haven't seen her. Maybe she's taking a shortcut through Cashman's."
Helen turned white. "Oh
my!
I hope she hasn't taken my platinum card..."
She began to dig in her purse while Jane went up the stairs, smirking to
herself.
DeMartino
brought two glasses and a water bottle and placed them on the table.
"Serve
yourself. Now why did you ask all this about my father?"
Jake took his glass and emptied it in one gulp. "Listen,
Mr. DeMartino. I'm sorry to tell you that your mother has lied about your
father."
DeMartino jumped from his seat. "What?"
"Your
father did not die in the Korean War, he died in 1969. He was also not as old as
your mother, he was ten years older. He abandoned your mother because he was
already engaged to another woman."
Now DeMartino stood completely, fixing Jake with a look that most students at
Lawndale High would have interpreted as "RUN - NOW!".
"I
want an explanation, Mr. Morgendorffer - IMMEDIATELY!!!"
Jake stayed calm and motioned DeMartino to sit down again. "The
photograph you've shown me was made 1942, not 1950. I know this because I've
seen it before. However, the man on the photo is your father, but his name is
Martin Dylan - MORGENDORFFER. When he
met your mother, he was a captain serving in
After
Jake had finished, DeMartino stared at him for a moment, then the realization
hit him square in the face. "Did
you say... Morgendorffer? You
mean like your name?"
"Yes.
The man on the photo is my - our father. He threatened your mother never to tell
you about him because he feared for his military career. Like I said, I don't
blame your mother for what she did. Martin Morgendorffer was a menace to anyone
who questioned his power. I lived fourteen years with him as father, and my
shrink still unearths new bad memories about that time in my mind every time I
visit."
Jake paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm
sorry for all the disadvantages you and your mother suffered because of that
bastard, and I hope to meet your mother to tell her the same."
"Mr.
Jane
still grinned at her way to brush off Helen when she entered Daria's room. Daria
sat on her bed, reading a novel. Her absent look cleared as she saw Jane.
"Hello,
amiga."
She paused for a second, noticing Jane's grin. "Now
I told you not to eat any kind of stuff your parents left behind. Just look at
your smile!"
"Gee,
I'd love to do so, but you don't have one of these cute mirror thingies in here.
Do you think your sister would help me out? I'll go find her..."
Jane answered with a high, Britanny-like voice. Daria stood up and closed the
door. "Now
seriously, why are you grinning like that? Met some new boy?"
"No,
unfortunately not... I just broke the record for escaping your mom before being
talked down again."
"Congratulations,
I'm so proud of you. Now what can be such a big secret that the guys bugging my
phone may not participate in its discovery?"
Jane
sat down on the floor next to Daria's bed, shifting several times until she
found the right position, all the time being anxiously watched by Daria.
Finally, she started to speak slowly, but clearly. "After
we talked yesterday, I came home to tell
Daria
stared at her friend. "Are
you serious? Your mother must be about... fifty-odd or something! I mean... no
offense Jane, but is that possible?"
"As
a matter of fact, she's forty-six. When Summer was
born, she was just eighteen. But can you imagine how I felt
yesterday?"
Daria smirked at the thought. "Since
I have a younger sibling, I might have experienced that kind of feeling. But
Quinn's eighteen months younger than me, not eighteen years."
"That's
it. I've survived four older siblings up to now, but I can't cope yet with the
thought of a baby brother or sister which could be my own child due to the
difference in age!"
Jane sighed exasperated. "You
know the weirdest thing about it? I learnt to expect any kind of strange
behavior from my parents: they left us alone for years at a time, spending their
life with things like wanting to paint the sunset in the arctic winter or
hugging yaks in
Daria
looked at her friend again. "You
have to see the positive effects of it. Maybe both your parents and Trent will
grow up to be 'honorable members of the adult society' and learn from the
valuable experience."
"That'll
be the day! The only way to transform
After
several wet towels and a sip of brandy, Nora DeMartino had regained her
consciousness. Her son and Jake placed her on a seat and waited for the
inevitable questions from her. Finally, she spoke, still sounding emotionally
disturbed. "Excuse
me... but did you really say Morgendorffer?"
Jake rose from his seat. "Yes,
Ms. DeMartino. I am Jacob Morgendorffer, son of Martin Morgendorffer. I'm very
sorry for what my father did to you."
"Who
sent you here? Does... does Martin still live?"
Her face had turned anxious when she asked the second question, so Jake answered
quickly.
"No,
Ms. DeMartino. Like I told your son - my brother - just now, Martin died in
1969. He will never come back to threaten you."
"I
know that it might sound hard to you, but I'm glad to hear that. But I still
don't know why you came today, Mr. Morgendorffer."
"That's
what I wanted to ask you, Mr. Mor..."
"My
mother is currently visiting us in
"But
why did you never tell me about my real father?"
Anthony asked his mother. "Tony,
you have to understand my situation back then. Many of my friends went out with
soldiers, I just wanted to do the same, having some fun and maybe have one beer
or two, so I went to town and met that... that swine. When I woke up the next
morning in a cheap motel, he was gone, leaving not enough money to pay for the
room, so I sneaked out the back door with a heavy head and few memories about
the last evening. When I realized I was pregnant, I called
"At
last I found a corporal telling me that Captain Morgendorffer had only stayed
there for some days and had gone back in
"Martin
came to see me - us in October 1953. When I asked him for money, he told me that
he had left the army, was married and had another son, so he could not help us
in any way. I made a mistake by telling him that it was his damn duty to pay for
his child."
Nora touched her cheek with her hands, trailing the bone. "He
slapped me so hard that I lost my right eye vision for some days and then he
told me that I could have a one-time payment of 10.000 dollars for my child's
education if I promised never to tell him about his father. I asked him about a
different way to handle things, but he told me that I should better take the
money before he would beat me up again. He vanished after that, leaving a wad of
bills. I lived from it for the next year, after that I took a job as a
dishwasher in the local milk bar. When Tony first asked me why he had no Dad
like the other children had, I made up a story about a young soldier who died
before he could marry me."
Jake
had listened silently, regarding Anthony's expression while his mother talked.
His brother had looked first shocked, then angry and sad, but when Nora
finished, his face looked strangely calm. He rose to comfort his mother.
"It's
alright, Mom. Like Jake said, he can't hurt you anymore."
Jake cleared his throat. "I
can only repeat it, Ms. DeMartino, I'm sorry. I must add that my mother didn't
want me to come here. Her marriage was poisoned by Martin's behavior, too; since
she knew that he had betrayed her one time, she never trusted him again and they
grew apart. None of this is an excuse for what my parents did to you,
however."
"So
what are we going to do now, Jake?"
Anthony asked after a short moment. "Sell
this touching story to the next paper?"
"I
had an idea on the way. It might sound somehow melodramatic, but I hope you'll
like it."
Jake waited a moment before he continued. "My
mother is visiting us currently because the Army wants to honor my - our
father's achievements by naming a barracks at
Anthony
smiled slightly. "No
problem with that. I'm a former member of the Army's Historical Division and a
Lieutenant Colonel of the Rangers."
He turned to his mother. "But
do you want to do this, Mom?"
Nora straightened in her seat, her eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. "Of
course I want it, Tony! This swine treated me like dirt and publicly destroying
his good reputation is what I've wanted for nearly fifty years!"
Jake smiled. "I'll
arrange it, Ms. DeMartino."
He looked on his watch and rose from his seat. "I
should leave before my family reports me as missed in action, but I'll call you
as soon as I know anything new."
Anthony
walked him to the door. "I
can call a taxi for you, Jake."
"Thanks,
but the walk will be good for my health. Oh, by the way, as soon as my mother
has left us, I'd like you to visit us for dinner. Bring your mother if you
like."
"Thanks,
Jake. I'll gladly come."
He stopped at the door. "Bye,
Jake."
Jake looked at him. "Bye,
brother."
Daria
picked up her phone while Jane idly threw Daria's nightshirt back on the bed.
"Yes?
...Oh, hello
"...He
was a dancer at the 'Dirty Dancer Club'? ...Yes, I know that club... No, I've
never been there, but my dad once tried to get a consulting job there... I just
hope you haven't worked there, too..."
"He
didn't have enough muscles for that."
Jane said to no one in particular. Daria smirked and covered the mouthpiece.
"Yes...
okay..."
She turned to Jane. "Trent
wants me to tell you that my phone is excellent in picking up background noises
and that he will await your return to show you how to tickle annoying little
sisters without having enough muscles."
Jane laughed. "Tell
him that little sisters have to be caught before being tickled. He'll be asleep
before I come back anyway."
Daria listened to
Jane
took the receiver from her friend. "Hi,
V.
Rituals
As
soon as the girls reached the stairs, they heard Ruth's voice from the
living-room. "But
Quinn, you really need to practice cooking before leaving school! Your mother's
not the best example with that, I know..."
She was interrupted by Quinn's high voice. "I
know how to operate a microwave, Grandma Ruth. Besides, I can cook a
bit."
"But
don't you think there's still much room for improvement? I could teach you how
to make more sophisticated meals while I'm here... and I could also include
Daria and your mother in this. I'm sure your sister would appreciate
it..."
On
the stairs, Jane turned to Daria. "You
heard that? There's still hope for your future husband."
Daria glared at her. "One
more word and I'll tell her about my poor abandoned friend living without
parents and proper food. Believe me; she'd love to help you."
"OK,
you win. Let's get out before she sees us."
Both proceeded to the door when Daria suddenly tripped over a shoe lying in her
way and fell on the floor with a loud noise, causing Ruth and Quinn to stop
their talk and go to the corridor. Quinn reached her sister first, looking
somehow exhausted. "Daria!
I didn't know you were here! Grandma and I were just talking about
you!"
She
leant towards Daria's ear and whispered. "Help
me! Grandma's on the 'women don't need education' trip again! Do something about
it!"
Daria turned to the cause of her fall, immediately recognizing it as part of
Quinn's shoe collection. "That's
why you're building traps in the house, right?"
Quinn looked surprised as Ruth entered. "Hello
Daria. Nice to see you're there. You can help me with making dinner
now..."
She stopped, seeing Jane at the door. "Who's
that?"
Daria
rose from the ground, brushing off some dust from her skirt. "I'm
fine, Grandma, thanks for your concern.
That's
my friend Jane. Jane, this is my grandmother Ruth."
Ruth looked critically at Jane's earrings, her boots and the rest of her
clothes. "It's
nice to meet you, Mrs. Morgendorffer. I'm very sorry, but Daria and I were just
leaving for my house."
Daria smirked at her friend's fast reaction as Ruth adopted a sad look.
"But
Quinn and I wanted to cook for the whole family so that we can all eat together.
Your father just called to say he's on his way home and your mother'll be here in about an hour, so we can have dinner
then. Maybe your little friend would like to participate also..."
Daria
started to open her mouth for some kind of polite apology, but Jane was faster.
"Thank
you, Mrs. Morgendorffer. I'd like to have dinner with you and your
family."
Both Quinn and Daria looked shocked. "However,
my mother's in hospital and I promised to bring them some things to the hospital
with Daria's help. But we'll probably be back for the meal."
Daria smiled now while Quinn's face had turned from shocked to angry.
"That's
right, Grandma. I'm afraid you and Quinn have to cook alone. See you later,
sis."
She went outside with Jane as Quinn stared after them.
When
they were outside, Daria turned to her friend. "Now
that was purely evil. My grandmother got the expression that you're a nice
polite girl who likes doing things for your parents and eating with my family,
but in fact you managed to pull me out of 'Cooking for future husbands 101'
while condemning Quinn to the full blast of it. And since I know my grandma can
cook, you'll get sensible food for once while
"At
your service, oh sarcastic one.
But you just mentioned
As
the girls arrived at
Daria
raced up to witness the family battle, but stopped short as she heard Jane a
second time. "That's
not fair... haha, don't do that... stop, stop, I
surrender, you win!"
When Daria arrived on the top of the stairs, she saw Jane and Trent both sitting
on the floor. Jane was giggling uncontrollably while
Instead
of answering to that, Daria glanced at
After
apologizing through the closet door about 'making
an extremely tasteless joke'
and a quick run through her parents' clothes, Jane drove to the hospital with
Daria riding shotgun. As they parked the car and got out, Jane turned to Daria.
"You
know you don't have to do this. If you want, you can wait in the lobby until I
come back. I just told your grandma you'd help me to save you from making
dinner."
Daria smirked. "Yes,
I know that. But maybe your parents mistake me for Penny and will be happy about
her supportive daughters. Besides, my presence will give you the moral right to
leave after the usual 'hi Mom, here's your stuff and good luck with the birth'
instead of getting caught in family talk."
"Hey,
not every family's as screwed up about 'getting to know each other' as your
folks are."
"Now
remind me please why every Lane older than 24 travels the world alone instead of
living with his 'loved ones' at
They
went inside and walked towards the information counter to see a bored blonde
sitting there. Jane stepped up and slapped her hand on the counter, making the
blonde look up hastily. "Hey,
lady!
I've an urgent delivery for a patient here. Can you tell me the room number of
Finally,
the blonde turned again. "The
room number's 209, second floor.
The elevator's over there."
She paused for a moment. "Say...
this name Lane... we once had a student with that name here volunteering to work
with sick children. She painted the whole ward with so horrible motives; we had
three lawsuits from parents with traumatized children. Do you know if there's
any connection between them?"
Daria watched her friend as Jane's face adopted the color of her jacket.
"Um,
no sorry... I don't know that. Y'know, I'm just the
messenger..."
Jane stuttered before she strode to the elevator with Daria behind her, the
latter fighting to keep a straight face.
As
soon as the doors closed, Daria started to laugh. "See?
It's just knowing how to answer them!"
She looked at Jane whose face slowly returned to its normal color. "But
why didn't you tell me you scared children with your mural? I'd have loved to
see it!"
Jane cocked an eyebrow. "To
be frank, I didn't know it. They threw me out for my idea to paint a scalping
scene. They must have tried to clean the wall with normal methods to get the
Wild West scene off and discovered the oriental masks I painted
underneath."
She smiled as the doors opened. "I
almost forgot it."
Room
209 turned out to be the biggest one of the ward, overlooking a nice hospital
garden. When the girls entered after knocking once, Jane's father rose from the
only bed, looking anxiously at them. When he recognized his daughter, his look
became sad. "Oh, hello
Janey.
I hoped it'd be the doctor..."
"Hi Dad. Nice meeting you too. Have you met Daria?" "Mhmm... you're
Jane's soul mate, right? I think I met you when we were in
Jane
frowned. "Now
where's Mom?
When
the girls returned, they were welcomed by Quinn. "Finally! I was
just thinking about calling at Jane's house to ask for you!" "It's good you didn't; you'd have
woken up Trent." remarked Jane. "Now who are you and what..." "Don't give me that, Daria. Dad rejected to say anything
about his meeting with Anthony until you'd be here. Now come for
dinner!" "Yes,
Mom." The three girls went into the dining room
where the older Morgendorffers were already waiting at the table. Jake looked
relaxed while both his mother and wife were obviously waiting as hard as Quinn
was. "Here they are, Dad. Now please tell us what
he said,!" "Yes,
tell us, Jakie."
Jake
smiled at his older daughter and her friend as both sat down. "Hi, Daria, Jane. Do you want to hear about Anthony, too?" "JAKE!!!" "Just
kidding, honey. Now first thing: Mom was
right, he is my brother. He showed me a picture Dad left when he returned to
bribe the girl and which she gave to Anthony. She told him that his father was a
war hero who died in
Jake
glanced angry at Ruth before continuing. "His mother
was there. She came in and Anthony introduced me. The poor woman fainted on
hearing my surname, and when she recovered, her first question was if HE had
sent me." Quinn and Helen looked shocked,
Daria's face became angry and Ruth seemed helpless as Jake spoke on. "I told both of them he was dead, buried and forgotten. I
also apologized to her for Dad's sins and offered them the chance to pay him
back."
Daria
smiled. "Do you want them to vandalize the grave?
This should be nice to film..." "Daria!" "Nice idea, kiddo, but I thought of something
different." Jake turned to his mother. "You said the Army wants to honor Dad with a ceremony next
weekend at
Jake
interrupted her before she could find a suitable expression. "And I don't want you to meet them, Mom. You'll have to meet
them next week at Fort King for the ceremony, but since you told me you'd leave
tomorrow to participate in your local church baking sale, I see no problem."
Helen sensed the friction between Jake and Ruth and tried to defuse it by
small talk. "Will you go to the prom, Quinn? I met
Stacy's mother today and she told me her daughter was so excited about it she
could barely sleep." Daria smiled. "Of course she will. Better swallow your platinum card
before she finds the catalogue of ‚Grand Dresses'"
Quinn
glared at her sister, then she smiled too. "Yes, I will go. It's mandatory for the juniors and
seniors anyway... oops." Ruth smiled. "Does that mean Daria and Jane have to go to that prom
also?" She turned to Daria. "How nice! Tell me all about it, Daria! Whom will you take?"
"Thank you very much, dear sis. Yes, we must go and
bring a partner and yes, I already have one and no, I won't ask Tom." Daria said before Helen could start with the obvious
questions. "But whom will you bring then, Daria? I
mean..." "Since we don't want two of Quinn's
leftovers, Daria can take my brother and I take one of his friends." Jane chimed in. "And Quinn
still tries to find the courage to phone David."
Daria added. "Hey!"
"Oh, sorry
Quinn. Thought they knew
that."
VI. New
Perspectives
After a good and wholesome dinner
(even Helen had to admit that Ruth could cook better than any member of her
closer family) which included some further inquiry from Ruth about Jane and her
family as well as about Quinn's friends, Daria saw her friend to the door. Once
outside, they both took a deep breath and relaxed, Daria being the first to
speak again. "Now that you've seen the madness of my
paternal ancestry clearer, what do you think?"
Jane smirked. "If old 'Mad Dog'
was only half the swine you told me, it's clear why 'Jakie' went screaming into the night first chance he got,
ending up as a hippie. But at least your parents dumped their ideals about
twenty years ago and went for the ruthless capitalistic world while mine tried
to make do with occasional jobs for symbolical pay, if any." "Now don't tell me you'd rather have my parents. I'd still
prefer being a butterfly on its own than being treated like a court witness
every second time I forgot to put my plate into the dishwasher or left soda
stains on the carpet!"
Jane
smiled at Daria's short summary of
"You know that Quinn and I will from now on be measured
according to the high standard you showed off, don't you!" She smirked. "Seriously, that
was really clever. Telling her about how wonderful you and Trent work along to
help your poor parents with their medical problem was just amazing to see,
especially since you forgot to say that this ‚medical problem' is the sixth baby
in nearly thirty years." "Yeah, that might have
sabotaged the touchy story a bit. But the best part was Ruth asking Quinn why
she can't manage to find such a nice friend like you did." "Including the question if
‚this snotty bitch with the male voice' had found a
good place for rehab." "And Quinn trying to tell
that Sandi's red eyes during Ruth's last visit were caused by an allergy against
a fascinating new peach mascara. It was really hilarious." Jane looked at
When
Daria returned to the dining room, Quinn and Ruth were clearing up the remains
of the meal while Jake already sat in the living room, watching TV. Just as
Daria left the room again, Helen appeared at the other door. "Daria, I wanted to talk about the prom with
you." Daria groaned. "Mom, you heard that I'll be taking
Now
Helen smiled broadly. "She said that if you were
ever in the situation to need a formal dress, you should rather take hers
instead of buying a new one with money we would need to clothe Quinn." "Okay, that sounds like her.
Where is this dress?" "I hid it in the back of Jake's wardrobe. He'd never look
there." Daria looked at her father staring
mesmerized at the television. "Good idea. But why
didn't you hide it in your dresser?" "Well... the last time I had bought a dress for the 'Legal
Limbo' at the county court, Quinn found it and gave me a thirty-minute lesson
about how the Bordeaux color clashed with my hair and my shoes. I didn't want
her to find the dress and assume it was mine... it wouldn't fit me, you see." "I see."
After
both women had gone to the master bedroom, Helen shut the door. Daria smirked as
he mother dug between Jake's suits and coats and finally drew out a big grey
packet. Helen placed it on the big bed and turned to Daria. "Okay, now turn to the door." "Mom, it's not my
birthday." "I know,
but I want to see your face when you see it. Please, Daria." "As you wish." Daria turned to the door as Helen started unpacking the
dress. "Now turn around again, honey." Daria looked on the bed to see a three-quarters length,
sleeveless black dress with green ornaments at the sides and a dark blue
neckband lying on it. Just as her face adopted a look somewhere between shock
and joy, she heard the unmistakable click of a photo being made and saw her
mother sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a camera and smiling her head
off. "Sorry, Daria, but Amy asked me to do that. How
do you like it?"
Daria
fought between the anger about her mother's trick and a genuine feeling of
happiness. Finally, she smiled at Helen. "It's
beautiful. But are you sure Quinn won't want to wear it?" "She won't be asked, Daria.
This is your prom dress, if you don't want a new one." "Why should I want a new one?
It's..." She stopped for a moment, then she
suddenly embraced her mother. "Thank you."
Ten
minutes later, they went down again after Daria had tried on the dress to learn
it fitted her perfectly. As they sat on the sofa, Jake looked up for a moment.
"What were you two doing up there?" Helen kept a straight face. "Oh, just a short talk about putting back the lid on the
laundry bin." "That's
nice. Did the dress fit you, Daria?" For the
second time in ten minutes, Daria was flabbergasted. "How did you know, Dad?"
"Give me some credit, Daria. I was searching for my
blue tie two days ago and found the dress. I remember Amy wearing it back when
we drove her to her prom - and I was the one fetching her at 3 am when her
partner had tried to open it and she had knocked him out cold before walking two
miles to the next telephone. It's quite a story, but you better ask her about
it." Daria smiled. "I'll do that as soon as I'll see her again. It fitted
perfectly - and I like it. I wonder what
Ruth
came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a frilly blue apron Helen had
received as a Christmas gift from her years before they had moved to
Quinn
entered the room, still wearing Jake's long 'Kiss the cook'
apron. She glanced at her parents and at Daria. "Thank you all for the big help. Wait... neither of you
helped me and Ruth. Just forget it." Helen rose
from her seat. "Sorry sweetie, but your father had
enough stress today with his meeting Anthony, and you know I worked ten hours
again." "It's okay,
Mom, I know that. I meant Daria." "Quinn, you know that Daria helped her friend
today." Quinn crossed her arms, looking
doubtful. "She still could have helped with the
menial labor. By the way, why did Jane need help, anyway?" Ruth chimed in. "Oh yes,
that's what I wanted to ask this nice girl after dessert." She paused. "Of course, if
it's personal, you don't have to tell."
Daria
looked around her family, feeling all eyes resting upon her. Finally, she
decided to tell them. "Jane's parents came home today
because her mother is going to have another baby. That's why she and I had to
bring some things to the hospital. Jane has promised to call if she's got a new
sibling already." Ruth looked confused. "But Jane must be your age, Daria. I mean... how old is her
mother?" "She's my
age, Ruth." Helen said. "Still it's unusual. If you think about Jane's four older
siblings..." Now Ruth's face had turned to an expression of shock. "She has four older siblings?" "Yes, Grandma Ruth. Her older
sisters are 28 and 26 and her brothers are 27 and 23. The Lanes are a big
family." "Does that
mean
Jake
rose from his seat and gave his mother a stern look. "Maybe it is, Mom. Still I think that
Five
minutes later, the other Morgendorffers retired to their respective rooms. Daria
was just changing into her night garments when the telephone rang. Okay, that's
either Eric Schrecter remembering that Mom hasn't had
her weekly fifty calls from him yet - or it's Jane announcing the arrival of
another Lane. She sat down on her bed and lifted the receiver. "Morgendorffer Manor?" "Hi Daria. You're speaking with the second-youngest member of the
Lawndale Lanes." "So you're a big sister now? Congratulations. What is it?" "It's a boy. My parents called
ten minutes ago and told me.
"Nice style. We didn't have a ritual, if you don't count my
throwing mashed carrots at Mom when she told me she'd found me a sister to play
with. Mom loves to tell that story on Quinn's birthday - each and every
time." "Ouch. Anyway,
now I'll need advice on being a big sister to fulfill my role properly. Can you
help me out?" "I'm
sorry,
"Not much after you left. Oh, wait: I destroyed your
new-found glory by telling Ruth and the others what 'medical problems' your parents have. Ruth gave us the benefit of her
POV about eighteen-year-old mothers until Dad reminded her that her own husband
impregnated a sixteen-year-old girl.
That silenced her." Jane whistled audibly.
"Seems like having a brother works wonders with your
Dad's self-esteem. Say thanks to him for defending my parents next time you see
him." "I certainly
will. Don't tell anyone, but I like this new Dad better than the oblivious one
of the last six years." "Why six?" "It's a long story, but until I became twelve, we lived in
Daria
paused for a moment. "He hated
Jane
waited some seconds after Daria had stopped talking. When she was sure that her
friend would not continue, she spoke. "You never told
me that, Daria." "Well, it's not the kind of story one tells lightly - not
even to a close friend, Jane." Daria added to
prevent Jane from saying anything. "But like you said
yourself; having a brother works wonders for him. I hope he'll stay that way,
for his sake as well as for my mother's." She
looked around her room until her eyes were back on the dress in the wardrobe.
"But I wanted to tell you something different. After I
returned from seeing you off, Mom told me that my Aunt Amy had left her old prom
dress here so I could use it some day." "Let me guess. Either Quinn saw it and whined until she got it
or it was hideous and now you're looking for a way to avoid wearing
it." "Not exactly,
Jane. Quinn doesn't know about the dress yet and it's fantastic."
She
withdrew her ear from the receiver because of a loud clacking sound Jane had
produced by hitting her phone with the flat hand. "Sorry, Daria, but I just heard the word 'fantastic' in relation with a dress. Quinn must have
interfered somehow." "No Jane, I said
'fantastic'. My mother showed me the dress and I genuinely like it." "That must be some garment. Shall
I tell
VII. Family
Values
Jane rose very early the next morning and prepared for her usual run
before breakfast. When she went down to the kitchen, she found
After five kilometers and a quick stop at the supermarket for rolls and
jam, Jane returned to her house in good mood. Her mood improved even more when
she saw her father's old Volvo standing in front of the house and smelled fresh
coffee as soon as she opened the door. As she passed the kitchen, she started to
laugh when she saw Trent and Vincent sitting at the table, both having small
eyes and scuffed hair and were holding on to coffee mugs. Vincent raised his
head to look at his daughter.
"Good morning, Janey. Had a good run?" "Yes,
Dad. If you had arrived earlier, you
could've participated," Vincent smirked. "No, thanks. I know that it's been the sixth time for me to father a
child, but waiting for the birth without being able to help still wears me out.
At least Danny was born in a hospital like you were. That karmic birth helper
down at the commune might've been a help with the first two, but somehow I
prefer midwifes and doctors." Jane grinned.
"
One hour later, a properly showered and nurtured Jane sat down in her
room to call Daria. After the second ring, someone answered. "Quinn Morgendorffer."
"Hi, Quinn, it's Jane. Is Daria there?" "Oh, hi
Jane. I thought... it might be
David." Quinn said disappointed. "Hasn't he called yet?" "No, he hasn't. I wonder if he's already got my
letter." "He'll call
back for sure, Quinn. In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you could give me
Daria." "Oh sorry. Just
a moment." Jane heard Quinn call through the
house. "Daria! Telephone! It's Jane!"
Ten seconds later, Daria's voice came through the phone. "Hello Jane. What's new?"
"You mean apart from the fact that Quinn is anxiously
waiting for a male being to call her for the first time in her life?"
Daria
sounded surprised. "How do you know?" "When I said my name, she blurted
out that she's awaiting David's call." "Yeah, I know. I hope he'll call her. For most of my life, I
wished that Quinn would be stood up in that kind of situation, but now,
ironically, I would pity her if it really happens." "You're getting soft, Daria."
Daria snorted. "I know. But there must be more
interesting topics than Quinn's yearning for an older man." "Sure there are. My father came
back from the hospital this morning and told us that the new baby will be named
Danny. He probably meant Daniel, but Danny sounds good also." "
On
her end of the line, Daria smiled. "Yesterday you
said we should meet to discuss things for the prom." "Oh yes. I told
After
some further prattling, the girls finished the talk and Daria went down to the
kitchen. When she entered it, she found Jake and Ruth sitting at the counter and
talking about the invitation to
She
noticed Daria. "Hi,
darling. Don't you want to accompany
your father to
Any
further discussion of this topic was prevented by Quinn rushing into the room,
waving an open letter. "Dad, Grandma, Daria! David
just wrote me he'll come to the prom with me! Now I can start planning my outfit
and the accessories..." She drifted off while mentally already digging
through her inventories. Daria smiled. "So he really
wants to see you again? Congratulations, sis. Now you'll just have to find a
dress as good as mine." Quinn looked up from her
letter. "No offence, Daria, but that can't be very
difficult, judging from your normal style." She
paused. "You won't wear that horrible bridesmaid
dress, will you?" Jake attempted to say
something, but Daria was faster. "Sorry, Quinn.
You'll have to wait for the big evening to see, just as all the others. By the
way, do your fashion friends already know about your partner for the
prom?" Quinn grinned broadly. "They'll have a big surprise."
Later that day, Jake drove his mother to the station to see her off
before he stopped by at his office at Halcyon Hills. When he entered it, his
gaze fell on the family picture on the wall. It had been shot 9 years ago on a
trip to
It's
funny how everything's changed in the last decade, Jake thought. In 1990, everyone
looked so happy and all the problems of the nineties were so far
away. He looked at the picture again and felt the usual twitch of
nostalgia creeping up his neck, but then he shook his head. That's nonsense!
My girls are grown-up now and as far as I know, they are happy. Daria has
overcome her isolation and found good friends in Lawndale; Quinn has passed the
stage of being a fashion fanatic and is not ashamed to show her intellect
anymore - so I don't have to dread the day when some smartass designer comes up
with a design she can not wear. He smiled at this thought. And Helen is
succeeding at her career - this time without sacrificing mine for it.
He eyed the old picture once again before leaving his office. If the Jake of
1990 would have been on the photo too, knowing what his family would be like
nine years later, I bet he would have smiled his head
off.
When
Jake returned to his home, Daria stood outside waiting for him. "Hi Dad. Anthony has called and asked if your invitation for dinner
tonight is still standing. He wants you to call him back." "I'll do that as soon as I've
changed my clothes. Your grandmother objected to me seeing her off in casual
clothes, so I had to put on my grey suit." Daria
looked at his appearance as they entered the house. "Figures. It was
scary talking to DeMartino as my uncle after three years of knowing him as a
teacher, by the way. Are you going to invite him for tonight?" Jake nodded. "You realize that,
with Grandma Ruth gone, one of us will have to cook dinner, right? Mom does have
some lasagna in store, but I doubt this will be fitting for a family reunion. Of
course, I could try to cook..." Jake shook his head. "Thanks kiddo, but I prefer to cook myself."
Daria
put her hands to her hips in mock outrage. "Hey, I
thought parents must encourage their children in trying out new things to become
independent adults. My self-esteem could be permanently harmed by your
distrust." Jake smiled. "Unlike your teachers, I know you since your birth, Daria.
You've always had enough self-esteem for several kids - at least since the day
you preferred to almost break your nose trying to learn to walk at the age of
fifteen months instead of taking my hand." "Thank you for that awkward mental image. Can I at least
help you with tonight's dinner preparations? I'm sure Quinn would be happy to
participate also." "Sure."
Quinn
was buried deep in her wardrobe when Daria knocked at her door. "Yes? Come i... mmphh!" Daria entered to see
her sister sitting on the floor, looking angrily at a heavy dark-blue coat which
had obviously just fallen on her head. "Damn thing!
Oh, hi Daria." Daria smirked. "Are you fighting with the coat? If your clothes attack you
without provocation, you should use more mothballs - or this counter curse stuff
Stacy tried to poison Sandi with." "Ha-ha, very funny Daria. You know that was only Stacy's
desperate try to heal Sandi from laryngitis - although Sandi deserved each
second of being speechless. However, don't quote me please." She giggled. "Now why're you
here? Need some advice on clothing
for the prom, sis?"
Daria
drew a grimace. "I told you I have a prom dress which
you as well as all other people will see on the very evening, not before. No, I
wanted to summon you to a joint father-daughters effort to cook dinner for
tonight when Anthony comes with his mother. Dad is just calling him to repeat
his invitation." "And I'm supposed to be big help in the kitchen because I
wasn't fast enough to escape Grandma and her rants about ‚the true calling of
womanhood'... hey wait, did you say ‚daughters'? You are also part of
it?" "Of course I am,
sis. Can't you see me working in the kitchen to prepare an edible
meal?" "Given the
fact one of us had to inherit Dad's illusion that he can cook, I always feared
I'd be the one since you spent every chance you got - and many dollars also - at
Pizza Prince." "Well, since Dad humored me by
telling me how much he'd like my help, I'm somehow trapped in it. Now come
on."
Two hours later, Helen returned from her
work to find her family preparing dinner. Daria was laying the table in the
dining-room while Quinn supervised a pan with beefsteaks a la Jake and shredded
some carrots in a mixer. Jake appeared from the cellar where he had gone to
fetch a good wine and some beer. When he saw his wife, he placed the bottles on
the next table to embrace her. "Hi, honey. You're just
on time for dinner with Anthony and Nora. They'll arrive in about ten minutes, I
think, so you still have time to change clothes." "Don't you need help with the
meal, Jake?" Jake smiled at her. "No, the girls have helped me already."
He
looked at the bottles. "I hope our guests appreciate
the wine I got from my staff as farewell when we moved to
VIII.
Family Secrets Part 2, or: Join The Army And See The
Worst
Anthony and Nora arrived fifteen minutes
later and, after a cordial welcome, had a good dinner with the Morgendorffers.
During the meal, nobody started a conversation deeper than a request to pass the
gravy, the salt or the potatoes. After everyone had finished, Jake leant back
and looked at his daughters sitting opposite him. "Could you please clear the table and put the remains into
the fridge, girls? We'll move over so
you'll can work better." While the girls started
taking away the dishes and other things, the others went over to the living-room
and sat down again.
When
everyone had settled with a glass of wine and some crackers, Anthony was the
first to speak. "Thank you for the meal, Jake. It was
excellent." "Well, my
girls deserve some praise too; they helped me making it. Thank you for coming,
too. I was shocked when my mother told us about you and your mother yesterday;
but your shock must've been much worse." Anthony
looked at his mother, who sat next to him and looked quite pleased with the
situation. "I was shocked, believe me. But now after I
know about my... our father, I feel like having an old problem off my back.
However, I'd like to know more about him and his family. Since Mom's family
threw her out because of me, I never had much of a family." He looked at his mother again before turning towards Jake.
"Were all the Morgendorffer ancestors like Martin, or
was he just the occasional black sheep?"
Jake adjusted his position before answering.
"Dad seldom spoke about his origins, but my mother
told me after his death what he'd told her when they met each other for the
first time." He paused for a moment. "From what I know, John Morgendorffer - our grandfather - was
born in
"When the U.S.
command realized that John knew not only the operation plans of a possible
Austrian intervention, but had also learnt about the complete German plans in
the American sector, they offered him a deal: if he told them everything he
knew, he would get a ticket to America, the U.S. citizenship and a small
allowance for his help. He accepted and arrived in
Jake took a sip from his wine glass and looked
at his daughters entering from the kitchen, then he
continued. "In 1928, John planned to return to
Jake nodded sadly. "John stayed at home, but it must've been a hard shock for
him, especially since he lost his job one year later because of the depression.
In the next years, he and his family lived at the edge of poverty. In 1934, the
department of the Army offered to take ten-year-old Martin as pupil in
Nora gasped as Jake carried on with his story.
"John committed suicide in late 1940, leaving behind a
note explaining that he killed himself because he'd failed to make a difference
in any way. His widow Susan later found work in the Pentagon when the Army
needed women fluent in German to translate enemy documents; she died in 1944
from cancer. Martin entered the Army in 1942 and was not present at his father's
funeral. He neither attended his mother's funeral because he landed in the
The DeMartinos looked
expectantly at Jake, then they leant back when he did
not continue his story. Helen gazed around and, seeing that they all still had
some wine in their glasses, shifted her position on the love-seat closer to
Jake. Anthony cleared his throat. "So our grandfather
was an Austrian aristocrat? It's a pity neither of us ever met him; he seems to
have been a nice man according to what you say, Jake. At any rate he didn't
deserve to have such a son like... he had."
Nora smiled at her son for a moment, then she gazed towards Jake and Helen again. "I think it's our turn now to tell what our lives were like.
When I met Martin Morgendorffer, I was a normal high-school girl in
"After the end of the Korean War,
Martin came to my home town to cure his sin with money; I took it only after he
violently attacked me for telling him he had a son to care for and that he
couldn't just throw some money at me and leave again. After the money was spent,
I worked again, leaving Tony alone often for long times in our little shabby
apartment. When he started going to school, I soon had to learn from his
teachers that he had problems with the other children."
Anthony took over the story. "To be frank, I became a big bully feared and hated by other
kids. Mom tried to change this, but our situation forced her to work the whole
day while I had much time for boredom and mischief. At the age of 11, I broke
the arm of another boy, who was the son of the richest family in the county.
They dragged me and Mom to court for that and the judge gave me a choice: to go
to juvenile prison for three months or to enter a special institution where I
would learn discipline and rules. I took the latter and left my mother in 1962 -
for
Now
it was Jake's turn to look flabbergasted. "You were
also... I mean, you went to military school during your teenager
years?" "Yes, Jake. It
would've pleased our father to know that his illegitimate son followed his path
just like you had to, don't you think?" "Like hell it would. How long did you go there?" "Wait a moment... from 1962 to
1969, seven years. After the initial shock wore off, I adjusted to it and did
what they told me. Since I went there on court order, the state paid my fees and
living until I was 16. By then, I'd grown accustomed to the school and had
friends there, so I stayed two more years since Mom had saved enough money for
the fees due to not having to feed and clothe me for five years except on
vacation. When I graduated in 1969, the government was already frantically
looking for trained men to send to
Anthony
emptied his wine glass, then he continued. "I made three tours in
"It
took me five more months to rehabilitate and to get away from the painkillers.
After my return to service, I learned that I had to spend eight more months in
the army because my months of rehabilitation did not count as ‚having been in
the service'. In late 1976, I finally started to study history at
Daria
refilled his glass. "So you went back to the army
after you finished college?" DeMartino nodded.
"I graduated in 1983 with honors and got several
offers for teacher's posts in
Quinn
took up the item and examined it closely before she handed it to her father.
"Dad, do you know what this is?" Jake looked at it for about five seconds, then he stared
at his brother. "But this is... you really
received..." "It looks like a sheriff's
star, Dad." Quinn said as Daria took the item
up. "This is the Congressional Medal of Honor, Quinn.
I never knew it's being awarded in peacetime."
She looked at her uncle. "Well, this puts you in a
row of American heroes like Forrest Gump."
"You really received the Medal of Honor? From the
Congress?" Helen asked incredulously. Anthony
shrugged.
"Actually, it was a small ceremony in an office at Capitol
Hill. The Reagan government didn't want too much publicity about the
He
looked directly at Daria and Quinn. "Guess
who." Quinn thought about it. "Well, I'd say Coach Gibson is an ex-soldier. But that's
probably the easiest one." "Correct. He participated in the
Anthony
smiled. "They look like it, I know. But not every
soldier is John Wayne with a gun in each hand and a knife between his teeth. How
about Tim O'Neill?" Now Daria laughed. "No way, Uncle
Anthony! I'd rather say Bennett or
Manson. Even that pedophile I replaced as substitute looked more army than
O'Neill. Wait... you're serious, aren't you?"
"Yes, I am. I know Timothy O'Neill for almost twenty
years now. We first met each other in 1980 when I was a major planning the
operation against the
Anthony
looked at his glass, then he fixed Quinn in his gaze.
"Please don't ever let him know that I told
you." "But why not?
Was it something illegal?" Anthony sighed
heavily. "Much
worse. He met a wonderful woman at
college which he married in 1989. Laura and Tim were the nicest couple I've ever
seen. They often invited me to dinner or for holidays, knowing that I lived
alone and had no family to be with. Tim almost never drank alcohol, especially
not when he used his car. Now after Ms. Li took over the post of principal in
late 1993, she made a rousing party at her place in Oakwood and most people got
pretty drunk, including Tim. When the party finally broke up, I offered him a
ride since I'd stayed sober the whole evening. He declined it because his wife
needed the car the next morning to drive to her job. Despite his inebriation, he
managed to drive the whole route back and almost up to his place - but when he
arrived there and accelerated to get his car up the curb to park it, he
overlooked someone standing there and ran that person over. He stepped out and
saw his wife lying under his car, bleeding."
The
Morgendorffers gasped while Nora just nodded sadly, knowing the story already.
Anthony continued. "He stood there in his stupor and
his shock, just holding her until a neighbor came out, saw them and called an
ambulance. She died that very night in the ‚Cedars of
Quinn
smiled at him. "In the name of Lawndale High's
under-age students, thank you for that. If it wasn't for Li's non-fraternization
policy, they might compete with Britanny and Kevin for the best make-out places.
Brrr." She shuddered.
Helen
looked around the group and offered another refill of wine and soda, which
everyone declined, then she sat up straight. "Since Jake's already told you about the family origins and
Martin's parents, I think I'll complete the picture with our past life. After
Martin was killed in
Helen
smirked. "I still remember the first time I met him.
I ran the school paper and, being interested in politics and the current
situation, had already clashed with the principal over several articles in the
paper before. One day, Jake entered the room we used as office and told us he
wanted to join. When I saw his formal appearance and his buzz cut, I immediately
suspected the principal had sent him to replace me as editor. I soon discovered
that spineless abiding to authorities was the thing he was least likely to do at
that moment." "I had jumped on other people's
calls for over six years at Buxton Ridge back then. The most attractive idea for
me about being with the school paper was the thought that I could do - and say -
what I wanted and tell things I didn't like to other people." Jake said.
"Helen accepted me as writer and we became colleagues
before even thinking about other relationships."
"I was part of a
liberal clique in my town which included several rich children as well as smart
blue-collar kids and some older people earning money for college. Jake became
part of it when he started to go out with a girl named Eleanor who was the
school's biology genius and a member of the group. Soon, we saw each other at
the work for the paper and after school in the only decent diner that town had.
We never thought about any romantic feelings then, especially since I also had a
boyfriend, a boy from my class whose over-religious parents had named him
Jeroboam." "Weren't there any people with cool
names, Mom?" Daria asked her mother. "No,
Quinn... oh, sorry, Quinn. Very funny,
Daria. Well, a
friend of ours had a mountain cabin at
Daria's face lit up. "So that was the famed '
Jake took over while Helen took a sip from her
wine glass. "It was a rocky time for everyone
involved. We attracted other youngsters who moved in and soon lived on the farm
with about twenty people and thirty pets or farm animals. Some people changed
their names to cement their 'transition' into a higher being, better humans or
just to escape the draft - I don't remember it exactly. Thus Eleanor and
Jeroboam became
Helen swallowed the last of her wine, then she went on. "In early 1975,
Jake and I finally admitted two things to ourselves: that we had grown very
close to each other and that we wanted more from life than the daily political
discussions and the ritual squabble about whose turn it was to give the organic
waste to the animals. We married in June 1975 in a ceremony at the next lake,
just like several commune couples had done before - including
"After we both made it through the basics successfully,
Jake earned himself a MBA with honors and we started thinking about children
although I was still in law school. Daria was born in February 1981 and Jake
became an assistant in a consulting firm in
"Finally, I applied to ‚Schrecter
et al.' in
The
DeMartinos left four hours later after more
reminiscence and talk about family and school matters. While the girls went up
to their respective rooms, Jake and Helen had another glass of wine before they
also retired to their room.
IX. That
Which Does Not Kill Us...
On
the next morning, Daria woke up to the sound of her phone. She shook her head
and felt her brain ache. I hate it when Mom's right, she thought. That damned wine
they had last evening really isn't compatible with teenagers. Well, at least
Quinn had her part, too. After a moment, she lifted the receiver just
to hear a very agitated voice on the phone. "Hello?
This is Stacy. I got to talk to Quinn. Is she there?" Daria drew a grimace before answering. "Hi Stacy. This is Daria. Quinn's here, but..." Now let's try out
how dear little sis' digested that rotten grape
juice. "...if you wait a moment, I'll put
you through." "Thank
you, Daria." Daria pushed the ‚wait' button before she rung up Quinn's phone. After about
ten seconds, a tired Quinn answered "...whatsehellson,
Mom?" Daria put every ounce of cheerfulness she
could muster in her voice. "Good morning, Quinn.
You'll be so delighted to hear that Stacy's on the phone and eager to talk to
you." "Cut it out,
Daria. Mmmm... okay, put her through."
Daria relayed the call, then she dropped the phone back
on the floor and rose from the bed to collect her thoughts.
Last
time I woke up in that state, I had Tom's arm - and leg - lying right over my
body,
she mused. I
wonder if that's what he was up to when he came to my room to comfort me after
my talk with that idiotic Bromwell woman. She pushed her boots aside
and opened her dresser. It was a good thing he had this crappy wine with him,
otherwise I would've been all over the minibar... and
that might've been difficult to explain to Mom, being on college tour and
all. Daria
grabbed some underwear, socks and her usual t-shirt/skirt combination and went
over to her desk, still reminiscing about Tom and their night together in the
Bromwell guest house. On second thought, Mom would've fumed over an emptied minibar, but it still would've held less danger than the
story of what really happened: Tom came to my room with a bottle of wine, we
drank it, got tipsy, made out - and if Tom hadn't brought that neon-colored
device with him, we might've... Brrr, that thought is
just too icky to pursue it on an empty stomach. I better go occupy the bathroom
as long as Quinn's glued to the phone with Stacy. She opened the door
and left her room.
Daria showered, brushed her teeth and clothed
in the bathroom, then she went down and prepared breakfast. After some time, her
parents came down also, Jake looking unshaven, but very chipper while Helen had
tired, mole-like eyes and walked unsure. Daria looked up from her cereals and
smiled at her parents. "And the winner of the
unofficial drinking contest between consultants and lawyers is... the
consultant. Congratulations!" Jake grinned at
her as he sat down on his chair. "Good morning to you too, Daria. How come you're already up and eating?" "Quinn got a call from Stacy
and is still on it, I think." She noticed that
her mother searched the kitchen for something. "Sit
down, Mom. Your coffee is already prepared; just push the button on the
machine." "Thanks
sweetie." Jake put some jam on his bread and
fixed his daughter in his gaze. "How did you like the
wine, by the way?" Daria's answer was prevented
by a disheveled but smiling Quinn entering the kitchen, who sat down and started
talking immediately.
"Hi
everybody. Stacy just called and told me
that they were invited to the prom by Joey-Jeffy-Jamie. Sandi and Tiffany
accepted at once, but Stacy wanted to clear it with me in case I had dibs on
either of the three. Talk about your true friends." "And what did you
tell her, honey?" Helen asked from the counter.
"I told her she should choose Joey, he's the
brightest of the three - and I've blown him off worse than the other two when I
tried out boyfriends." "Did you tell her that you'll bring David?" Daria asked. "No way. I want
Sandi to think I'll come without a date. If I told Stacy, she would blurt it out
first chance she got." Quinn grinned
expectantly. "I told Stacy we'd meet each other in
front of the school tonight and that I had no time before that because of
important family stuff."
Daria finished her meal and rose from the
table. "Did you also teach her not to call other
people in the middle of the night?" "Come on, Daria. You know I... wait, you had a headache
from the wine too, right?" Jake grinned as he
regarded his two daughters. "See, Helen, that stupid
guy at the commune was right after all: let your kids try out everything at
least once if you don't know for sure it's poison." "And if your kids happen to
like what they had?" Quinn asked. "Depends on what you took; if it was just alcohol or
something else derived from organic stuff, you're supposed to tell them about
risks and side effects of the stuff." Daria smirked. "If it happened to be a sample of the ‚advanced chemistry
kit' however, go get the stomach pump and the rubber
coat." Helen added hurriedly to anticipate Daria's comment about Jake's
ill-timed hippie reminiscences. Daria shrugged her shoulders and stacked her
dishes in the dishwasher as the telephone rang. When she took up the receiver,
she heard a very familiar voice at the other end.
"Hi,
Daria. Hope I don't wake you, but I
wanted to know how the evening with DeMartino and his mom went." Daria went to the living-room and sat down.
"Well, first you didn't wake me, I was having
breakfast with my family." "Aw, how sweet, Is that what real families do?" "I think so, but don't get
mushy on me, please. Anyway, Anthony and his mother were here until about twelve
yesterday, and I learnt many interesting things about him - as well as things
about Dad's family he never told us before. Remember when I envied you for
having a surname no one ever wanted you to spell out?" Jane chuckled.
"You mean your
recitation of ‚101 different ways to misspell Morgendorffer'? Yeah, of
course." "Dad told us
his grandfather was a major of the Austrian army named von Morgendorffer who deserted to the
Jane whistled. "So old
DeMartino is an American hero, eh?
Jane waited for a witty answer from her friend,
but Daria was silent. "Hello? Earth to
Daria?" Daria cleared her throat. "Sorry, Jane. I just thought
Jane sighed through the line. "Listen, I know you must think that Trent was as aimless and
sloppy in school as he's now, sleeping twenty hours per day and giving a damn
about his future." "Well, I mean..."
Daria hesitated. "He wasn't, Daria. He was no Jodie
Landon - and no Daria Morgendorffer, I must add..." "I get the point, Jane." Daria said. "...but his overall performance was always satisfying if you
don't count math, which has been a mystery for all Lanes and will ever be.
Anyway, he went through high school without any problems until half through his
senior year." "And
what happened then?" "Almost all the time in high school,
Daria drew her breath audibly as Jane
continued. "Trent and Pat met at the first day of high
school and fell for each other immediately. Pat was a leading member of Lawndale
High's drama club and convinced
"Neither Trent nor Pat
herself knew that she had a rare kind of allergy against stronger alcoholics
which had never shown before - mostly because she'd never been much of a drinker
for all I know. They left an hour later after Pat told
Daria found her voice back. "So
"After learning this,
"What?! I know she's a bitch, but
that..." Daria cried
furiously. "I know that, but please have mercy with my
ear, Daria." "Sorry, Jane. What
happened then?" "When
Dad asked Li for a talk about the whole matter, it became clear that Li, who'd
never taught Trent herself, had been influenced in her decision by the math and
science teachers as well as Morris, who'd struggled with my other siblings and
had branded Trent to be just another Lane troublemaker - despite his good grades
in English, History and other subjects. After Dad proved this to Li, she had to
concede that Trent wasn't the kind of bum our three older siblings had been, but
couldn't be persuaded to give in about the graduation issue for official reasons
- until DeMartino threatened to inform the PTA and the superintendent of schools
as well as every single newspaper around here." Jane sighed. "Trent graduated with the same grades he'd had before Pat
died, but we all knew that he wouldn't go on to college after what he'd gone
through. Since then,
Daria swallowed audibly. "But why did DeMartino do this for
Jane laughed. "Poor Anthony. Just
imagine what he's missed by now:
X. Girl
Talk
After some time of reading and a short brunch
with her family, Daria prepared to leave for Jane's house. She was just walking
down the stairs when the doorbell rang. Before Daria could get it, Quinn rushed
past her from the kitchen and jerked the door open to reveal David Sorenson
standing in the entrance. David stepped in and gave Quinn a short hug. "Hi, Quinn. Are you sure your friends aren't going to burn you on a
pile of outdated clothes if they see you associating with me?" Quinn
smiled at her former tutor. "They'll drop dead at
your sight, David." She scanned his rumpled blue t-shirt, his slacks and
sneakers critically. "Although they probably
wouldn't recognize you in this look, I think. We'll have to get you something
that flaunts your intelligence and style..." Daria called down the stairs.
"You better run now, David. She's not in full
predator mode yet, so you still have a chance." David looked up and
noticed Daria. "Hi,
Daria. Nice to meet
you again and congratulations to graduating from Li-dale Hell." "Thanks. How are your studies going?" "Fine, thank you." He turned back to Quinn. "I'll promise I'll look my best tomorrow night, okay? In
the meantime, I wanted to invite you to a fat-free salad somewhere to
talk." "Give me five minutes, David. I'll be
back." Quinn turned and ran up the stairs to her room with David looking
after her. Daria smirked.
"Do you think she's
changed since last summer?" "From what she
wrote me about once a month, she has. Is it true that she's among the best
students in her class now?" "Believe
it or not, she really is. It seems like you've
created a brain-beauty hybrid, David." "My pleasure, Daria. How's your life going these days?" "School's out, life's normal and future... I've been accepted
at Raft in
David leant against the doorframe and gave a
thumbs-up sign. "Count on me, Daria. I'll keep her
safe and harmless at the other end of the mall if we're there." "Don't tell her I told you, but I think you're the only guy
around with any chance to bring her to a mall and keep her out of the clothes
shops." Quinn came down the stairs again and entered the room. "I've got to run, David; we'll see each other at the dance,
I'm sure. Bye." "Bye, Daria." Quinn
looked after her departing sister. "Okay, I'm
ready. What did you two talk about, by the way?" "Oh, school, college, life - you know, brains
stuff." "Very
funny."
When Daria arrived in front of Lane Manor, Jane
already stood outside and welcomed her. "Hi, amiga. Ready to get a sparkling dress worthy to
be worn by me?" "Not really, but if we find some kind of fabric suitable to
cover the more intimate areas of your hardly-trained body, it'll
suffice." Jane hit her friend playfully on the arm. "Come on, you're just envious of my lean figure and good
style." "The only envy felt by anyone will be
the one our usual combinations will feel if we neglect them for this stupid
dance. Now move it before I come to my senses and run away screaming. Didn't
your sisters leave some dress you could wear?" "Summer got her first kid when she was still a junior and thus
never went to a prom, and Penny hasn't worn a dress since her seventh birthday.
She also missed prom because Li frowned on the idea of her wearing jeans and a
"Satan Rules" t-shirt to the prom. Mom's got some dresses, of course, but they
are either from their hippie era or have big clay stains."
"Oh, by the way,
Quinn might be at Cranberry Commons too." Daria said as they approached
the mall. Jane stopped immediately to look at her friend incredulously. "You didn't!" "Actually,
she'll be at the
Five minutes later, the two friends entered the
"Memorable Days" store in the mall and were approached by the next saleslady,
who showed them to a big rack of dresses in the back of the store. Jane scanned
them critically, then she took three dresses from the
rack and disappeared in a dressing room while Daria sat down on a chair and
started to read a novel she had brought with her. After five minutes, she was so
concentrated on her book that she did not notice a girl with wavy black hair
sweeping past her. The girl stopped in her tracks, turned and looked directly at
the sitting figure, exclaiming. "Daria! I'd
never imagined finding you here!"
Daria looked up to see Elsie Sloane standing in
front of her. She collected her thoughts and smiled at the other girl. "Hi Elsie. How are you?" "I'm
fine, thank you. What're you doing here?" "I'm
helping Jane to find a dress for the school's prom. She's still in there if the
clothes monster hasn't eaten her yet." She looked at the two black
dresses over Elsie's right arm. "Are you shopping for
the Starry Night Ball again?" "I'm afraid
not. You see, our Grandma died the day before yesterday and now we'll fly down
to
Elsie held up her hands in defense as Daria
looked critically at her. "No offence, Daria. I
know that he asked you about it and that you accepted, but I also know you two
decided to cancel it after you broke up. The hard time I meant was in fact the
one Mom gave Tom because she wanted to make sure that the chosen girl would fit
to him socially, so she rejected three of his female classmates who were
interested." Daria smirked. "I guess I should
be honored because I would've 'fitted socially', right?" Elsie nodded.
"You really should be, Daria. Don't tell him, but
my parents really appreciated you and your relationship with Tom; before he'd
met Jane and you, the girls he used to bring home were really bad."
"Meaning that they never had a chance to become a
member of the clan, right?" Elsie hesitated for some seconds, then she answered. "To tell you
the truth, Mom honestly believed you two had a future, especially after she
learnt of your night together at Bromwell..." "What??!"
Both girls turned rapidly to see Jane standing
behind them, wearing a blue ankle-length dress without sleeves and looking
totally flabbergasted at her best friend. "You and Tom
did what?" Daria shushed her down with both hands and gave Elsie a look
that made the younger girl flinch back from her. "Ehm..., I'm
sorry, Daria. I thought Jane knew already..." Jane sat down beside them and
fixed Daria in her gaze. "So you and my ex did the deed
after all and you didn't tell me! Now how..." Daria interrupted her.
"Listen, Jane! First
thing: lower your voice, for Pete's sake! I know several colleagues of my Mom
who shop here, so hold it until we're out of the store. Second thing: Yes, I
did, and I'd planned to tell you - after the prom." She turned to Elsie.
"How do you know, by the way?" Elsie
hesitated, then she answered. "Well, after you two and Mom returned from Bromwell, she
told Dad late in the evening... just when I happened to walk by quietly for a
nightly snack. I don't think they noticed me, but I overheard most of it. I
didn't tell Tom, if that lightens your load." "Well, he knew anyway." Jane said and received another
deadly gaze from Daria.
Elsie rose from her chair and looked straight
at Daria. "Listen, I'm sorry I blurted this out.
Can I invite you two to a pizza as an apology?" Jane smirked. "Aha! I sense another chance to freeload on the famed Sloane
fortune! Let's go immediately!" She started to walk straight towards the
entrance. When she had almost reached it, Daria called after her. "Jane, don't you think you'll be slightly overdressed for
pizza, wearing an unpaid prom dress?" Jane stopped and looked at the
dress. "Oops, I forgot. Do you like the dress, by the
way?" Elsie smiled. "It's stunning, Jane.
Buy it." "And you, Daria?" "I second that. Let's go, I'm
hungry."
After Jane had paid for the dress, the three
girls proceeded to the nearest
"Alright, here's for
my so-called love life." She gulped down some soda. "You remember that Tom, Kay and I went looking for colleges
some weeks ago and first visited Bromwell to have interviews with the admission
officer. Tom went first and dazzled the woman by mentioning about hundred of his
relatives who practically built and made the place, which gave him the
birthright to become a member of the chosen few to be admitted this year. No
offence meant, Elsie." "None taken, Daria. In fact, you're right about the whole nepotism
thing stinking like hell, but since Dad's been pushing Tom towards Bromwell for
the last ten years, I guess he's accepted his fate. Carry on." "Anyway, he came out - after almost an hour of talk - and
the first thing the interviewer asks me is 'Are you as full of Bromwell lore as
Tom?' before I was even sitting." "Ouch"
"Well, I needed some time to remove my mental
blockade about the stupid questions like what I'd hope to reap from the unique
Bromwell experience, then it went more or less smooth."
She took another bite of pizza and some soda to
swallow it. "I had planned to proceed to
Jane leant forward. "The
'Horatio Alger Sloane Wing? Now that's
talking about influence." Elsie smiled awkwardly. "Well, like Dad would tell you..." she lowered her
voice in a good imitation of Angier "...it's only a
wing, Elsie; those damned Shearersons from Hyannisport actually had the nerve to donate the whole
biology building." Jane laughed. "Okay, so you
were stuck in Bromwell for the evening. What happened then?" "Well, Tom's mother insisted on entertaining Tom and me with
stories about life at Bromwell; you know, where to eat, what to do, which places
to avoid - the whole freshman program. It wasn't until quarter to twelve until
we all went to our rooms." "Where at least one person didn't stay." Jane
remarked. "Do you want to hear the story or use your
dirty mind to imagine the details by yourself?" "Sorry, Daria. Please
continue." "When I was finally alone in my
room, I was so frustrated with the whole day and the Bromwell machinery that I
was mad at Tom for bringing me there and mad at myself for accepting. In fact,
if I'd have had a car of my own, I might've left immediately. Then someone
knocked at my door and shook me out of my gloom."
Daria finished her slice and fixed the other girls. "Before I continue: no one's going to know except you two,
understood? It's hard enough to tell you, but if my parents or Quinn knew, I'd
be dead meat." "Sure,
Daria." "Of
course." Daria sighed again. "It was
Tom, of course, planning to apologize for everything from the interview up to
the behavior of both his mother and Professor Woods towards me. He had scrounged
a bottle of red wine from somewhere as a peace offering - I'm sure from some
servant who'd already organized booze for the preceding Sloane generation - and
offered to drink some of it together. We killed most of the wine and... got
intimate, so to say. I guess it was both the frustration and the need to hold on
to something... or someone, in that case."
She held up her hand to stop Jane's upcoming
comment. "Let me just answer the questions in your
mind according to curiosity and dirt. One: yes, we knew what we were doing
despite the wine. Two: yes, Jane, it was fun... and you should try it yourself
some time. Three: no, Elsie, you're not going to be an aunt; we used protection
- each time, which provokes question four: no, we did not screw around like two
horny gorillas although we repeated 'it' later that night - twice, to be exact.
Finally question five: Tom stayed the whole night with me
before he sneaked out in the dawn to get back to his room and to destroy the
evidence."
Elsie smiled. "And
that's where your nefarious hormone- and wine-soaked plan failed, Daria. Did you
two really think that a Bromwell servant would find some wine for Tom without
checking first with Mom whether she allowed it or not? She told Dad that the man
asked for her consent, and she took a lucky guess about Tom's plans. In fact,
she said - but don't tell Tom, please - that if he'd ordered a six-pack of beer,
she'd have declined since he would've drunk it alone in his room and caused a
scandal at breakfast." "How could she be sure
that Tom wouldn't court Daria with beer?" Jane asked slyly. Now Elsie
grinned from ear to ear. "Mom told Dad that if
their precious only son would've intended that, it would've meant that eighteen
years of high-rate education had gone down the drain." All three girls
laughed before Elsie pushed back her chair and rose from her place. "I have to leave now. Thanks for the insight in my dear
bro's love life." "Thanks for bringing it
up." Jane joked, which earned her a kick from Daria's left foot. Elsie
was already two paces away from the table when Daria called after her. "Elsie, wait." Surprised, the younger girl turned.
"Yes?"
Daria hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
"Listen... give Tom my regards and... if he still feels
bad, tell him I'm sorry. I guess I never told him, but apart from Jane, he's
been the best friend I've made around here - and it's been a real pity that we
didn't meet sooner. Just... tell him that if you think he needs it, okay?"
Elsie frowned. "Anything
else?" "Tell him Jane says hi."
"Jane, you're absolutely no help. Ehm... tell him I'm already looking forward to seeing him when
we return home for the vacation. Now leave before I get even mushier."
Elsie grinned. "I'll be happy to. Have a nice
vacation. You too, Jane." She waved as she walked
away.
Jane fixed her friend. "Now that was the most emotional Daria I've seen for months.
Are you sure that you're not regretting the decision to break up?" "It was inevitable, Jane. He'll go to Bromwell, where he'll
continue the 'ancient and most noble tradition' of the Sloanes, and I'll have Raft and its opportunities. About the
emotional side... you don't need me to tell you how nice it felt to have him
around, I think." "Well, you still have me,
amiga." Jane quipped. "Yeah, I know." Daria smirked maliciously. "But one day, dearie, you'll find
yourself a nice gentleman and discover that men were
made for a reason... even if no one's found it yet." "I'll be happy to. In the meanwhile, let's go and find some
shoes to go with my new dress." "I asked for
that, didn't I?" "Of
course. Now
move."
XI. Making
An Appearance
Thirty minutes later, the girls left Cranberry
Commons after Jane had found a pair of medium-heeled blue shoes to wear for the
prom. Daria walked Jane home before she continued her way towards her own house.
When she entered it, she faced Quinn who had run towards the entrance after
hearing the sound of the lock. The redhead looked eagerly at her sister, then she frowned. "Where are
your shopping bags?" Daria smirked. "Hi sis. Why do you
ask?" Quinn looked outside. "When I returned
from downtown with David, Dad told me you had gone shopping with Jane. Didn't
you buy anything?" Daria pushed off her boots and smiled at Quinn. "Did David really drag you downtown? Remind me to give him
an A for effort; I only asked him to keep you away from "Memorable Days" at the
mall." "Aha! So you really were at the mall.
Didn't you say you already had your dress for the
prom?"
Daria went to the kitchen and took two sodas
from the fridge, giving one to Quinn. After the first sip, she fixed her younger
sister. "I do have a dress for tonight, Quinn.
However, Jane still needed one and asked me to help her finding a dress - and to
ensure that you wouldn't enlighten us with your encyclopedic knowledge about
color and style combinations." Quinn frowned again. "Sorry, sis, but you know I'm right. What will you wear, by
the way?" "I'm not sure yet, but I've
succeeded in narrowing it down to five choices. Shall I show them to
you?" Daria held up her hand. "Please not,
Quinn. I've got my share of clothes modeling today and there's still the prom to
survive." "Have it your way. Will Trent and
Jane come to pick you up?" "They won't. I was
afraid that Dad would want to immortalize this important station of my life by
ambushing us with a camera, so I told them I'd come over to
Quinn smirked. "In
other words, you'll leave the whole fame to me and David. Thank you."
"I'm sure you deserve it more than me, sis."
"You mean because my partner's a Yale undergraduate
instead of a grungy dropout musician..." she broke off when she saw her
sister's pained face "...no offense, Daria. I'm sorry
for that." "It's okay, Quinn.
I think that's how he sees himself, I'm afraid. If we could only persuade him
otherwise..." Quinn looked confused. "I'll tell
you later, Quinn. Right now, I must go and pack my stuff." She emptied
her soda and threw it into the trashcan. "If Mom and
Dad come, tell them I've already gone to Jane. See you at the prom."
"Okay. Don't do anything I wouldn't do,
sis." "Likewise.
Bye."
When Daria arrived in front of
As soon as Daria had entered the house, she
heard a loud thumping sound, followed by a muffled curse. Seconds later, a door
flew open and Jane appeared at the top of the stairs, in a long, paint-stained
shirt and nylons, smirking at the sight of her best friend. "Hi, Daria. Not in your fabulous dress yet?" "Not until later." She fixed Jane. "You don't seem to be either." Jane looked unhappy.
"Well, I just had a little problem...
Daria and Jane left Jane's room forty minutes
later, both wearing their prom dresses and fine shoes. Just as they walked down
the stairs, they heard loud clattering in the kitchen, followed by a baby cry
and several voices. When they had turned the corner, they saw Trent and Jesse
standing besides the refrigerator in black suits and
At
that moment, Vincent entered from the living-room with a tattered blanket under
his arm. "Here's the baby blanket, honey. See, I told
you I'd..." he broke off and looked at the two girls. "Wow, Janey, you look fantastic. Hi, Daria; the same goes for
you." He laid the blanket on the chair next to his wife and walked out
again. Jane used the interruption and gestured to Trent and Jesse to leave the
room along with Daria, then she went up to her mother
and embraced her. "We have to leave now, Mom."
She gave the baby a smile. "Hi,
Danny. See you both tomorrow."
Amanda smiled. "Have a nice evening,
honey."
Just as the four prom-goers went out of the
house, Vincent called after them. "Hey, stop it. You
won't escape before I made one or two nice photos." Jane turned. "Please, Dad. Do we really have to do this?" Vincent
looked pleadingly at her. "Come on, Janey. You know
that your siblings didn't go to their prom for various reasons." He made
an apologizing motion to
Vincent made them stand together and shot
several pictures, then he lowered his camera again and
smiled. "See, that didn't hurt a bit. Jesse, Daria,
I'll send you some prints as soon as I'm through with developing them."
"Just don't forget that Mom and the baby might need
the bathroom, Dad." "I thought since we're back
permanently now, I might install a darkroom in the basement. That might be
better for everyone's bladders." "Thank you from
the bottom of my stomach. Let's go, folks." They entered
The parking lot of Lawndale High was already
almost full when the
Jodie pointed towards the gym. "Li made him my assistant with the special task to ride
herd on his team buddies. After last year's disaster, she wanted to assure that
none of the jocks will try to ruin the fun with animal waste or rotten
fruits." She noticed Jesse. "Who are you, by
the way?" Jane shoved him forward. "This is
Jesse Moreno; he graduated with my brother and will be my escort for
tonight." Jesse shook hands with Jodie. "Nice to meet you, Jesse." She grinned
suddenly. "You wouldn't be the elder brother of
Danny Moreno, the sophomore who tried DeMartino's patience last month by asking
him to sponsor the introduction of a 'Manly Rock Music Club'?" "Yeah, I am. Did you hear that Mr. D. accepted to piss off
Li?" Jodie laughed. "He didn't!"
The four turned when a huge white limousine
stopped in front of the entrance.
The three waited for ten minutes for
When the teacher released Daria again and
turned away to welcome Jesse and Jane, Daria looked around and saw at once that
the people most flabbergasted were Sandi, Stacy and Tiffany, who stood next to
the faculty lounge door. Finally Sandi walked over to Daria. "Say, Quinn's sister... is hugging teachers a new thing
among unpopular people or did I miss something?" Jane smirked. "I'd like to fill you in, Sandi, but I think it's Daria's privilege to do so." "Huh? I don't understand?" Daria smiled at Sandi
(which was already enough to make the younger girl uncomfortable) before she
spoke. "Please let me introduce my long-lost uncle
Anthony, Sandi. I think you know him." Sandi looked as if a dinosaur had
just flattened her wardrobe. "Your... your
uncle? Mr. DeMartino's your uncle..., now wait just a
freakin' moment, does that mean he's Quinn's uncle
too?" "Since you know that we two are full
sisters: yes, he's Quinn's uncle too." "But
I don't understand! How can he be your uncle... I
mean..."
Stacy came over to them after noticing Sandi's
astonished face. "What has happened, Sandi? Can't
Quinn come?" "I just told her DeMartino's my
and Quinn's uncle, so she's still fighting to cope with it." Daria said.
"And no, Quinn will come to the prom, but I won't
spoil her surprise about who's escorting her." She gave Sandi a short
push. "Go take her to the next girls' bathroom,
Stacy. I think she might need a moment to digest the information." Stacy
took her friend by the arm to guide her, supported by Tiffany who had approached
also and the three girls walked away from Daria when they saw Quinn entering.
Sandi immediately brushed off the other two, straightened herself and walked
back towards Quinn, adopting a look of faux concern. "Hello, Quinn. It's brave of you to come even though no
guy asked you to be his date tonight." She leant towards her friend.
"You know, we could persuade Stacy to let Joey be
your escort for tonight. If we tell her that his black hair clashes with her
brown, she'll probably accept." Quinn frowned, then she smiled at Sandi. "Oh, Sandi.
It's so sweet that you'd like to help me with finding an escort - at Stacy's
expense, of course - but I don't think it's necessary." She turned and
knocked at the door. "I asked a very good friend of
mine if he wanted to be my escort and he accepted. I think you know him,
Sandi." The door opened and David stepped in, giving Quinn a kiss on the
cheek.
Sandi was petrified for a moment, before she
started to stammer something inaudible and ended up just staring at David like
someone trying to fight a serious hangover. David glanced over to Quinn - who
visibly enjoyed every second of the situation - then he took Sandi's limp hand
and shook it. "I'm delighted to meet you again,
Sandi. Quinn told me that she made so much progress this year. I hope we'll meet
each other again later so that you can tell me about your studies." Sandi
stared at him, then she stepped back, muttering "Uhmyesl...
sorry...Igottagotothebathroom." before she ran
towards a door at the other end of the hall. Quinn smiled at David, then she turned to see something that amazed her even more
than Sandi's reaction: the sight of her own sister in a stunning dress, laughing
her head off along with everyone else present, including Stacy and
Tiffany.
XII.
Dancing With Stars In Your
Eyes
Fifteen minutes later, the Morgendorffer
sisters stood at the buffet with Jane, Trent, Jesse and David. Daria took a
glass of punch and toasted towards her sister. "To
Quinn Morgendorffer, who has silenced the great
Daria gave Quinn and David a last look before
she turned to her friends. "I still wonder if he's
got any serious designs about her, but even if he has, he'll treat her better
than all the boys of her age." Jane laughed. "Are we jealous that Quinn got herself a nice college student
as dance partner?" Daria rolled her eyes. "Nah, I rather dance with
Fortunately for Daria (and Trent), the DJ was
just playing something easy to dance to, so they managed to dance for several
minutes without making bigger mistakes. Jesse and Jane were visibly enjoying
themselves and, since Jesse was really an excellent dancer, they were the center
of attention after the first song. When the music stopped for a moment, neither
of them realized it until the people around them started applauding - and a
camera flashed. Jane looked at the source of the flash and immediately saw the
camera in Daria's hands. Jane scowled for a moment, then she grinned at her friend. "Tell me you caught my best side." Daria smirked back.
"Regarding how Jesse spun you around, I think I
photographed your rear - so yes, I caught your best
side."
Before Jane could produce a suitable comment to
her friend's witticism, Anthony came over from the buffet where he had been
standing talking with Mr. O'Neill. "Nice dancing, Ms.
Lane. Did you learn this when you were a cheerleader?" Daria burst out
laughing, but was silenced by her friend's glare. "Actually I'm a natural when it comes to dancing, Mr.
DeMartino. Would you like me to show you?" Anthony smiled. "Only if you start calling me by my first
name." He glanced at Daria. "Do you
mind?" "Not at all,
Uncle. I'll wait for my escort. I
believe he's gone off to some corridor reminiscing." Anthony's face became serious. "That's something I wanted to ask both of you. Is
Anthony looked down. "It's really a shame. You both know I don't tend to praise
students..." Both girls nodded. "...but
Several hours later, the party came to a close
and the four friends went back to
She leant back in her seat as the pictures of
the night passed through her mind: Sandi had mysteriously vanished after her
first dance and left Jamie free to stalk other prey while Stacy had danced for
hours with Joey and they had left together practically hanging onto each other -
they were
probably at Lover's Lane now, Daria mused. Tiffany and Jeffy had also
gone their separate ways soon after the first dance, Tiffany leaving later since
two of her friends had already gone and Quinn had been inseparable from David
for the whole evening. Maybe there is something between them, Daria
thought for a moment, but it seemed more like her sister had - finally - found a real friend like she had had
all the time in Jane. Her thoughts wandered to her fellow graduates. Britanny
had danced with Kevin, but everyone present who'd seen before through the past
years could tell that her heart was no longer in this - and Kevin must've
felt this too, Daria thought, since she'd seen him leaving later,
looking rather downcast.
Sad though this was for the former lovebirds,
it had given Jodie and Mack the chance to enjoy the evening without riding herd
on anyone. Daria had known Jodie for three years now, but she had never seen her
friend as happy and relaxed as an hour ago when Jodie and Mack had been elected
Prom Queen and King - make that announced, Daria corrected herself. Small chance of
anyone else winning this even when Kevin and Britanny had still been a real item
- these still had made second place for old times' sake. The big
surprise of the whole election had been the fact that the third place had gone
to Upchuck and Andrea, who had obviously enjoyed themselves and - as strange as it sounded even to herself - Daria
had to admit that she was happy for them. I was also a
loner when I came here, but then I met Jane, Trent, Jodie, Mack - and Tom.
Andrea and Upchuck - Chuck, she thought - had always been
on their own because of their special personalities and their behavior; it was
comforting that, in the end, they had found each other.
Jane looked over to her friend and, when Daria
kept staring out of the window, nudged her gently. "Hey, amiga. Penny for your
thoughts?" Daria turned her head slowly and smirked. "I'm just reminiscing, Jane. Now that the nightmare's over,
we've got to start idealizing high school as 'the best time of our
lives'." "You mean rather than telling the next
generation: 'I was young and needed the degree?' You aren't going mushy on me,
are you?" "After all that's
happened, maybe. Still, if I start
saying things like 'this day is the first day of the rest of my life', please
make sure that the rest of my life is limited to this day." "I'll be glad to."
The car stopped in front of the
XIII. The
Day A Legend Died
When they arrived at
The
captain waved at two seats on the podium. "That's
where you will be sitting during the ceremony, Ma'am." He turned to Jake. "Oh, by the way. Colonel Blunt asked if you would like to speak a few
words about your father to the audience. It would be a wonderful gesture,
Sir." "Don't worry,
Captain Fox. Please tell Colonel Blunt that I'll be happy to say some
appropriate words about my father's merits." He
smirked. "I've got another question, Sir. The
colonel wants to introduce you, and I couldn't find out whether you had also
served in the army. If you did, it would be nice to mention something about
that, too." Now Jake looked slightly amused. That's for you,
Dad. "I did not serve in the Armed forces,
Captain." And soon you and
about 1000 other people will know why.
Fifteen minutes later, an old Volkswagen sedan arrived at
"That's nice, corporal, but we wanted to visit the ceremony
at the base." "Sorry, Sir, but this is a non-public ceremony. You can
only enter with a personal invitation." I bet this old
idiot thinks it's like the cookie-sale at his local church. Go see ‚The Longest
Day' if you want to have a look at the
The
man had finished searching in his wallet, took out a small rectangular item and
turned to the corporal again, who sighed inwardly. "This should be enough to let us enter." Now he's surely showing me some photo from
A
split second later, the corporal had opened the gate and snapped to attention.
He did not dare to relax his position until he could hear that the car had not
only passed him, but had also crossed the next street and left his field of
vision. Then he drew a very long breath, took off his helmet and wiped off his
sweat. I'm
pretty sure that NEVER happened to John Wayne.
After a short performance by
The
colonel made a short pause before continuing. "In
1950, Captain Martin Morgendorffer was transferred to the 25th
Infantry Division in
Blunt
turned and gestured at Jake and Ruth, who both rose and got a short applause
before they sat down again. "In spite of his regular
work, Martin Morgendorffer always kept a keen interest for the army and his
country. When the 99th National Guard Brigade was founded in 1956, he
played a vital role in its induction and held several important posts in it:
after being its first operations officer, he took over the command of the first
battalion and finally became deputy commander of the brigade in 1964. One year
later, his country called him back to service and for the third time in
twenty-four years, he answered the call without hesitation." He looked up
for a moment, then he spoke again. "Lieutenant-Colonel Morgendorffer, as he was by then,
received an extremely difficult command: a garrison in the Mekong Delta, which
was infested with enemies fighting a guerilla war against the South Vietnamese.
For three years, Martin Morgendorffer held this garrison with American and ARVN
soldiers and proved the truth of his nickname "Mad Dog". This earned him another
Silver Star, two more Purple Hearts and a full colonelcy. In 1969, his name was
on the list for promotion to the rank of brigadier general in spite of being a
National Guard Officer of 45 years. One week before his assignment would have
ended, Colonel Morgendorffer died in a VC bomb trap which was laid out for him
personally."
Now the colonel took a deep breath. "As a young private, I was a member of Colonel
Morgendorffer's 'Task Force Firebird' and had the privilege to meet him as well
as to experience his handling of critical situations. He became one of the
reasons I decided to stay with the army and become an officer. Today, I'm
standing here as CO of the unit Colonel Morgendorffer built up almost from
scrap. It is a great honor for me and every day, I'm trying to follow his
example of leadership and courage." He turned
around to the gigantic picture behind him and saluted. "Thank you, Sir. I wish our country had more people like
you." The audience clapped as the colonel looked
at Jake, giving him a sign to step towards the microphone.
Jake rose slowly, scanned the audience as he
adjusted the microphone and smiled as he saw Anthony and Nora sitting at the end
of one of the middle rows. Let's start the show, he thought as he looked at
the people in the audience who were now waiting for him to begin to speak. Now we'll have
some honest words about your merits, Dad. That's for all the years of
mistreatment.
"Thank you for your
warm words about my father, Colonel Blunt. I think you were able to present his
military achievements and merits better than I ever could." He cleared his throat. "Ladies
and Gentlemen, you just heard that my father entered the army at the age of
eighteen and died at the age of forty-five while being on duty in
Jake readjusted his hands before continuing his
speech. "Indeed, when I was a boy, I never understood
why my father had ever left the place he called 'the perfect work for him' whenever he talked with me about his time of service.
Those of his friends who had stayed in the army after the
Korean War and who visited us occasionally, never understood this either, as far
as I could gather from their talks with my father. He always said that,
as a guard officer, he still was a part of the army, which meant he would be
present if his country needed him. But his friends saw as well as I did that a
few weeks of duty each year could not make up for a past where every day had
been dedicated to the army. Therefore, my mother and I were happy for him when
he was sent to
A woman in the audience stifled a sob, an elder
man who wore a shabby coat with several medals wiped his face to hide a tear,
and even Ruth, who knew what her son would say next, felt touched by the speech.
Jake surveyed the audience with a short glance. I have them where
I wanted them. Now for the honest part of this.
"It was not until ten days back that I
learnt the real reason why my father left the army in 1953. Back in 1950, my
father was subpoenaed for a trial at
Despite the almost collective gasp of the
audience, he continued. "On the next morning, he left
before the girl woke up, 'forgetting' to pay the bill
on the way. Three days later, he went back to Korea without having left Fort
Campbell a second time and without another contact to the girl, who found out
two months later that she was pregnant." Now the audience was a beehive
of whispering and mumbling as Jake looked on his notes. "My father had only made one mistake: he had mentioned his
name to the girl and, Morgendorffer being a very unusual name, she remembered it
even two months later. However, when she called
Colonel Blunt rose from his seat in the first
row. "Mr. Morgendorffer. Don't you think you should
finish your speech now and leave the microphone?" "I'll need just two minutes more
to give the audience an idea about the true values of my father,
colonel." Jake gave his father's portrait behind
him a short glance, then he focused on his notes again.
"When my father
returned from Korea in 1953, my mother met him and gave him a choice: either he
would marry her, leave the army and find a way to make the girl forget him and
his crimes forever, or she would contact the girl herself and ensure that he
would have to face punishment both from military and civil justice for what he
did. He chose the first way and asked for release from active service and
transfer to a National Guard outfit, which my mother accepted as a compromise.
Then he went down to
"My parents married
in 1953, shortly before I was born. By then, my father had got work as a rain
pipe mender and we settled down near
Jake glanced through the audience. The higher
officers looked shocked about his speech, but the lower-ranking people and
almost everyone in civilian clothes seemed sad and touched about his words. And here comes the
crowning detail, he thought as he cleared his throat to signal that
his speech was not finished yet. "For almost fifty
years, I could not understood my parents' actions against me or each other, not
knowing about my father's crimes which doomed several people as well as himself
to live a sad life." He raised his voice to prepare for his next words.
"Please let me introduce two people on which Martin
Dylan Morgendorffer inflicted an even more terrible life than on his lawful wife
and me, needing just one night and a short visit three years later to do so.
This is Miss Nora DeMartino from Roaring Spring, Kentucky, and her son Anthony
DeMartino, who was born in 1951 - nine months after Captain Morgendorffer used
his mother as a cheaper alternative to a prostitute and then chickened out of
his responsibilities."
Both Nora and Anthony rose from their chairs;
Nora looking very awkward, her son with a determined expression. Jake smiled at
them before he concentrated his gaze on the colonel in the first row who had
turned his head as well as many other people, looking totally flabbergasted as
Jake addressed him directly. "Colonel Blunt, dear
members of the Armed Forces, ladies and gentlemen. My half-brother, his mother
and I hereby ask you to reconsider the idea to honor Colonel Martin Dylan
Morgendorffer by giving his name to a military building or institution. There
may be a reason to acknowledge his purely military acknowledgements during the
Second World War, the Korean War or the Vietnam War, although I can not imagine
that his leadership in training and combat will have been different than his
behavior towards his wife, his son and Miss DeMartino as well as her son
Anthony."
He cleared his throat. "Let me say just one more thing: For forty-six years, I
wished that my father had stayed in the army because I thought that he might
have been a better father and husband if he had continued the only career which
ever satisfied and pleased him. When I learned, ten days ago, why he had been
such a failure in civil life and what he had been capable to do even while being
part of his beloved army, I could only imagine which atrocities he might have
done if he had lived longer and risen to the rank of general, commanding
thousands of men in peacetime or war. I am sorry for wrecking a celebration for
which many people must have worked very hard, but I can only repeat what I said
before: Martin Dylan Morgendorffer was a ruthless man who never cared for others
except if they proved useful for his military or private aims. His premature
death saved me and my mother from a lot of grief, but he nevertheless used his
time to cast at least four people into decades of despair."
Jake nodded to the colonel and returned to his
seat. The colonel rose slowly like he had to concentrate on each single motion,
then he went on the podium and took the microphone. "Ehm... thank you
for your speech, Mr. Morgendorffer. I think it gave us all some previously
unknown information about Colonel Morgendorffer and his nature." He paused for several moments before speaking again.
"In the light of these new developments, the
XIV. The
Power Of Free Speech
When Jake and Ruth descended from the podium,
they were awaited by Nora and Anthony who had pushed their way through the
leaving audience. Much to the surprise of the others, Nora embraced Jake who
just smiled at any uniformed person passing by. "Thank
you so much, Jake. I waited fifty years for that." Anthony looked around at the crowd, then he also embraced Jake shortly. "That was excellent, Jake."
Several civilians passing by gave them a friendly nod or a smile, which made
Ruth look awkwardly around herself; once or twice, she even tried to hide behind
Jake.
Suddenly, Jake got a hard slab on the back from
behind. When he turned around quickly, he faced an older man with many medals
and ribbons on his green uniform and a murderous expression on his face. The man
looked at the DeMartinos for a moment, then he fixed Jake again. "Good
evening, Morgendorffer. Do you remember me?"
Jake measured the stranger for a moment, then he shook
his head. The man grinned and waved a thumbless hand.
"Last time I saw you, I told you we'd meet again.
Still not able to climb a rope, I think?" Jake
stared at him. "Ellenbogen!" The old man snarled at him. "So
you remember me, don't you! What do you think you just
did out there?" Jake looked to his companions,
then he smiled. "Well, you just heard it yourself,
Ellenbogen. What do you think it sounded like?"
Ellenbogen made a step towards his former pupil. "You
defiled your father's oath and his honor, you punk! If he'd still live, he
would..." Jake cut his former instructor off with one motion of his hand.
"He doesn't live
anymore, thanks to some VC who spared me the task of doing it myself. Why do you
think did he order you not to let me participate in weapon practice? He damn
well knew he was the only man on earth I'd use a gun against - apart from
you." Ellenbogen fumed. Just as he drew back his
arm to strike Jake, Anthony stepped behind him, blocking Ellenbogen's move and pulling back his arm. "Sorry, Mister, but I can't have you attack my
brother." Ellenbogen looked back to him. "You're his half-brother, right? Leave me alone, you little
bastard!" He spat out towards Nora, who had
watched the encounter silently behind Jake. For one moment, Anthony's eye became
bloodshot, then he shoved the other man away. Before
Ellenbogen could stop his momentum, he tripped over Jake's right leg and landed
on the ground with Anthony towering over him. "Your
name, please?" "Corporal J. Walter Ellenbogen, former instructor at
"Corporal,
eh? Nice to see the ladder of
promotion is still as slow as it used to be." Ellenbogen rose and brushed off his uniform pants, then he looked at the two men. "It's First Sergeant now, Morgendorffer. You're way behind
the news." Anthony looked at him almost
pitifully, then he pushed the old NCO back on the
ground before he pulled him up by his jacket collar again. "Okay, First Sergeant Ellenbogen. You've insulted my brother,
my mother and me and you also tried to attack my
brother - as an army member on army terrain. Either you apologize for that at
once or I'll go over to Colonel Blunt and demand at least two of your stripes
for that." Ellenbogen laughed. "And how do you
want to do that, you damned civilian?"
Anthony took out his ID card and waved it in
front of his opponent's face. "Don't underestimate me,
Ellenbogen. I'm a Guard officer who knows the laws about struggles with
civilians. Tomorrow the local newspaper will say that
After Anthony had finished his tirade,
Ellenbogen stayed in his sitting position and looked up to the other man, his
face white now. Then Jake stepped towards them and smiled at his brother. "Now I have to return the compliment, Anthony. That was
excellent." He turned to his old nemesis. "Get up, Ellenbogen. It's a shame to see you sitting there
like that!" Ellenbogen rose slowly. "Now listen. We won't complain about you now. You've got one
week to hand in a resignation due to age and exertion to the Colonel. If you're
still here next Sunday, we'll have your rank and your decorations for what you
just tried to do and what you did to me back at Buxton. The choice is yours, but
like my brother just said: Don't underestimate us." Anthony grinned at the old soldier as he laid his arm
around Jake's shoulders. "You heard him, you
blockhead. Now drop dead." Ellenbogen nodded
hurriedly to the women before he walked off at a fast pace. Nora laughed and
even Ruth smiled now as the four continued their way through the
crowd.
Five minutes later, the four arrived at their
cars. Just as Jake pulled out his key, he heard an exasperated voice calling
"Mr. Morgendorffer!" from behind. He turned to see the young captain who had
led him and Ruth around hurrying towards him. The officer stopped in front of
them and paused for a moment, then he spoke. "Thank God I found you, Mr. Morgendorffer. Colonel Blunt
sent me to ask you if he could speak with you for a moment." Anthony looked at him critically. "Does he want to talk with me, too?" "Of course, Mr... DeMartino, right?"
"Yes, Captain Fox. Is this about my brother's
speech?" Fox hesitated. "Well... it will be, I think." Jake looked over to Ruth and Nora, the he turned to
Anthony. "What about our mothers? I don't think we
could drop them off at the next PX for a coffee." "I don't want any coffee,
Jakie!" Ruth called
from the car. "OK, then you stay here, Mom." Jake winked to Anthony. "Let's
take your car to the colonel's office. We can drop your mother off at the next
coffee shop. Captain Fox, can you drive with us to show us the way?" "Sure, Mr.
Morgendorffer." Ruth looked after the car until
it turned at the next corner.
After a short drive on the main road and a stop
at a small mall to leave Nora there in a café, the three men arrived at the
headquarters building and walked up to the CO's office. Colonel Blunt already
stood in front of his office door and awaited them. "Ah, Mr. Morgendorffer, Mr..." "DeMartino, Colonel.
Lieutenant Colonel DeMartino, to be exact."
Blunt looked surprised, then he shook their hands. From behind, Fox said
something inaudible which made Jake turn to him. "What
did you say, Captain?" Fox's face became red.
"It answers the first question Colonel Blunt had:
how Mr. ... sorry, Lieutenant Colonel DeMartino and his mother could enter the
base without an official invitation for the ceremony." Blunt led the other three into his office and gestured to
a group of seats, then he took a thick file from his
desk and handed it to Fox. When everyone had settled in a seat, Blunt addressed
Jake.
"First of all, I
must express my surprise about your speech, Mr. Morgendorffer. It might've been
better if you had told Captain Fox or me about the contents before the ceremony.
If we'd known that..." Anthony finished the
sentence. "...you could've rescinded your friendly
invitation towards him and his mother to control the damage. Pardon me for
saying this, Colonel, but I spent enough time in the army to know how you and
your staff would've handled this situation: total silence to the media, no
acknowledgement whatsoever to my brother or his family and - after some months -
another honorable officer from one of the many American wars of this century
would've replaced Martin Morgendorffer as the All-American Hero a thankful
country honors with a building."
Blunt looked angry for a moment, then he calmed
his expression. "Maybe, but still it wouldn't have
been such a scandal like today. Whatever your father did to you and your
mothers, gentlemen, he still served his country loyally for many
years." Jake leaned forward. "That's exactly what I came here for also, Colonel. Our
father was an active member of the army for fourteen years and spent thirteen
more as National Guard officer. If his character was only half as rotten as I
remember, he must've violated army regulations more than once - especially in
the treating of subordinates." Captain Fox
opened the file Blunt had given him and looked up. "To be exact, fifty-three times." Blunt's head darted to him.
"Captain Fox! How the hell can you reveal classified
information to civilians!" Anthony smiled like a
cat which just found a crippled mouse. "Thank you,
Captain." He turned to Blunt. "Fifty-three violations? The only similar case I heard of was discharged
dishonorably after thirty violations of army laws and regulations. Either he
must've had pretty influential friends at G1 or he had photos of the JCS in a
gay orgy." Jake laughed, then he also fixed the colonel who had shrunken in his seat
while Captain Fox still looked nervously at the file in his
hands.
Finally Blunt straightened himself and drew a
deep breath. "The truth is that your father was
really prosecuted fifty-three times for several kinds of violations against army
regulations, but in all trials except four or five, other soldiers leapt up to
his defence and swore that the respective accusations
were wrong." "Meaning that he
had either very dedicated enemies or dedicated friends,
Colonel. I accept that this can happen
five times, maybe ten. But fifty-three times? Did
anyone ever think that ‚when there's smoke, there's fire'?" Fox looked into the file again. "Actually, some did. When your father left the army in
1953, he benefited from a law that officers transferring to National Guard units
received an amnesty from every present or future investigation against them for
crimes committed while in the service. That law was rescinded later, but it did
apply to your father. Moreover, thirty of the charges filed against him are
about his role in
He gazed towards Blunt, who stayed silent, the
he continued. "The truth is: being charged for what
he did to Ms. DeMartino in 1951 would have been one of the few things which
could've removed him from service at once. The early fifties were a different
age, for the military as well as for civil life. Being accused of - if I
remember correctly - giving an underage girl alcohol, then taking advantage of
her and, on top of that, first weasel out of the consequences and then coercing
the girl to keep quiet would've reduced General MacArthur himself to the rank of colonel in 1953; a young
captain risen from the ranks doing that would've been busted with a dishonorable
discharge after five minutes trial - and the sheriff's men would've waited for
him at the gate, I guess. By consenting to leave the army, he ensured at least
that he could maybe return one day with a clean record."
Jake nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you very much, Captain. Did you study law, by any
chance?" "Yes, sir. When
I leave the army, I'd like to enter a law firm."
Jake pulled out a card. "Call me then, please. My wife
is a lawyer and, after what I saw in the last half hour, she'd be happy to help
you." "Thank you,
Mr. Morgendorffer." "No problem, Captain."
Colonel Blunt cleared his throat audibly. "Excuse me,
but weren't we talking about something else here?" Anthony smirked. "We were, Colonel. If I remember correctly, you were just
starting to give me and my brother an explanation what you - and the army - will
do now that you can't name your new buildings after a man who proved himself to
be unworthy of wearing his country's uniform." "Well... I think... maybe..."
Jake cut him off. "Listen, Colonel. Since you seem a bit unsure about what to
do now, let me help you. My brother and I give you a choice: either you advise
the Pentagon to give Ms. Nora DeMartino a financial compensation for her
treatment by an army officer and drop the idea to honor our late father once and
for all; or you stick to the ‚Colonel-Martin-D.-Morgendorffer-Complex', in which
case I guarantee you I'll have every left-wing and liberal newspaper in front of
your gate by the end of next week as well as make an official complaint to your
superiors for lack of investigations about the officer you wanted to
honor." "And please don't be so stupid to
depose of Colonel Morgendorffer's file or anything like that." Anthony added. "I still know
several high officers at Pentagon - like the Chief of the PR Division, who
doesn't like possible disasters like this here at
all."
Blunt looked helpless at Jake leaning back in
his seat, at Anthony regarding him sternly across the table and at Fox still
holding the open file, then he sighed. "All right,
gentlemen. I'm not comfortable with it, but it looks like I don't have a choice
here. Tomorrow I'll recommend my superiors to support your proposal to cancel
all present or future plans to honor Colonel Morgendorffer in any way. I'll also
inform the local press that the plan to name the new installations after your
father has been drawn back since new information has come up which proves him
unsuitable for giving his name to a military structure. Do you agree with
that?" Anthony and Jake looked at each other,
then Jake rose from his seat and shook Blunt's hand. "We agree,
Colonel." He turned to Anthony, who had stood up
also to thank Blunt. "Let's go. I can't wait to tell
my mother about this."
XV. Ghost
Busters
Six
days later, two men walked across a cemetery somewhere in the
"Martin
Dylan Morgendorffer, Colonel
Half
an hour later, another man went through the same row. He was an old man making
his annual visit to his brother's grave which had become routine for him. As his
gaze went across the tombstones and their inscriptions, he wondered about the
two men he had passed on the parking lot. Usually people were quiet and subdued
when they came to the cemetery, but these two had looked happy and satisfied.
From the corner of his eye, he had seen the older one pulling out two cans of
beer, passing one to his friend.
They
might've been bums, but they had looked very respectable and well-off... One of
them had even worn an army uniform with many medals and several rows of combat
ribbons which showed when his coat opened from the wind. Maybe a former war buddy...
He
shook his head to stop thinking about total strangers as he reached his
brother's grave. Everything looked like it should be; some flowers, the stone
recently cleaned and the rim trimmed.
Not
like the grave to the right,
he
thought. From his visits, he knew that it belonged to an army colonel who had
died approximately about the same time as his brother.
When
he kneeled down towards his brother's grave, he noticed a newspaper lying on the
other grave. The paper's headline said: '
Yep,
must've been a war buddy of the dead colonel,
the man thought as he examined the second photo which showed a man and a woman
in the mid-forties along with two teenage girls; a
family picture obviously.
He identified the man on the photo as the second stranger from the parking lot.
The woman - his
wife, probably
- smiled into the camera with a look of true happiness while embracing the girls
with one arm each. The red-haired girl on the photo - quite
the poster girl,
the man thought - gave the camera a professional smile while the other girl,
with brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses, looked aside, seemingly uninterested.
The old man examined the photo closer for several seconds before he discovered
that the girl did not just look aside: she glanced at her father with an
expression that showed her pride and care for him and for the other members of
her family around her.
The
old man laid the photos back on the grave and stood up. Those
two men must have loved that colonel very much,
he mused, to
place photos on his grave which showed
their achievements in work and life.
He smiled as he started to turn back to place the flowers he had brought with
him on his brother's grave. Wait,
there was something new about that grave itself,
he suddenly thought. It was still pretty messed up, but the headstone looked
different. He started to read the inscription.
Martin
Dylan Morgendorffer,
Epilogue:
Fifteen years later...
Daria
Morgendorffer left
Thomas
Sloane studied
journalism and law at
In
2007, Tom returned from
When
Daria and Tom visited Jane after their honeymoon to surprise her, they were
shocked by Jane's true fate and promised to help her; first by getting her a job
as museum guide in the Bromwell art collection, then by lending her money to buy
a partnership in the "New York Modern Art Gallery", where she could exhibit her
works as well as manage the place with some other people. After some successful
deals and the chance to show her art at the
Quinn
Morgendorffer
graduated from Lawndale High in 2000 and went to NY University to study for her
MBA. After getting it in 2005 and some months of unsuccessful job-hunting, Jake
offered her to return to
Jake
and
Helen
Morgendorffer
stayed
in
Ruth
Kent Morgendorffer
lived for five more years before she died from a heart attack caused by
diabetes. Her last wish included having a photo of her husband in full dress
uniform to be put into her coffin. Jake respected her wish in a special way:
after her death, he destroyed all remaining pictures of his father in uniform
except one - the one destined to be buried with his
mother.
Anthony
DeMartino
endured three more years as history teacher under Angela Li's rule before he
finally managed to get her fired for several charges of using book funds for
security measures as well as for neglecting urgent reconstruction programs. As
Li's deputy, he became principal himself and immediately started a thorough
reorganization of Lawndale High. Over the next two years, DeMartino changed the
school significantly and also finished his doctoral thesis about war crimes of
the U.S. Army in the Korean War. In 2004, he was recalled to active service in
the Army Historical Division with the rank of Colonel, where he worked on
violations of the
After
the Bush administration stepped down following the landslide democratic victory
at the 2008 elections, he quickly ascended the promotion ladder to become Major
General and Chief of Military History in 2009. In the same year, he was
appointed deputy chairman of the Clark Commission, which investigated the direct
involvement of the Bush administration in several scandals and war crimes. The
final report of the commission and DeMartino's testimony in front of the
Congress were instrumental for the decisions to ratify the Rome Statute
concerning the International Crime Court at The Hague and to prohibit the use of
mercenaries as substitutes for US armed forces in future conflicts; the heads of
the mercenary forces used for the 'dirty work' in Iraq
were extradited to the ICC in 2011 and are currently serving long-term sentences
in Scheveningen or Leavenworth.
Lieutenant
General Anthony D. DeMartino, PhD, finally retired in 2011 after two years as
army member of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Group. His mother Nora
died in 2007 from cancer after living eight years from the compensation money
the Army paid her due to Martin Morgendorffer's behavior towards
her.
Timothy
O'Neill
used his new-found backbone to assume a greater role in the school policy with
the help of Anthony DeMartino and Claire
Defoe.
His relationship with Janet
Barch came
to a sudden end when DeMartino had to fire Barch along
with gym teacher Ada
Morris
in 2003 after they made a joint attempt to drug and then castrate star
quarterback Chris Griffin. After DeMartino went back to the army, O'Neill took
over as principal and continued his friend's reorganization program as well as
hiring new teachers. In 2008, he married his deputy Claire Defoe after living
with her for three years. Their wedding was especially remarkable for its best
man and maid of honor: a former colleague (now brigadier general) and a former
student (now gallery owner). In 2014, Timothy O'Neill is still principal of
Lawndale High and loves his profession so much that he sent his former superior
a letter to Leavenworth, enclosing a photograph of the whole faculty holding a
"We DON'T Miss You, Angela"-banner and the annual superintendent's report,
declaring Lawndale High to be "the best-led school the district ever
had".
After
two years of substituting,
Amanda
and Vincent
Lane stayed in
Elsie
Sloane
graduated from Fielding in 2001 and went to
For
the next two years, she lived from the tiny rest of the Sloane fortune that Kay
had managed to hide from the official confiscation, later from occasional jobs
as secretary and as clerk at J.J. Jeeters. In early
2008, Daria and Tom pulled a few strings among relatives and friends to get
Elsie into the Sun-Herald, where she soon managed to become a regular writer on
local politics and social matters: her series of articles about the traditional
families of Lawndale and their darker sides has earned her the dubious fame to
be the first person who has become officially persona non grata on the whole area of Crewe
Neck.
Brittany
Taylor went
to
Kevin
Thompson repeated
his senior year at Lawndale High, flunked it again and left the school. His
relationship to Brittany Taylor ended the day she left
Michael
J. Mackenzie went
to
Sandi
Griffin
spent
her senior year at Lawndale High. Two days before the final exams, she realized
that her overall scores were disastrously low and that she needed an A in
literature to avoid flunking. Since her ability for concentrated learning was
virtually nonexistent, Sandi used the assets she had - she tried to seduce Mr.
O'Neill to get the A. Unfortunately (for her), Ms. Barch overheard Sandi's "come and get me"-talk as well as
O'Neill's negative answer before she entered to face Sandi. After two weeks,
Sandi was released from hospital only to learn that Ms. Li had announced by P.A.
what Sandi had done. In the same night, Sandi fled from
Her
friends and family didn't get any news about her until her father set out to
find her in 2006. After five months of following cold traces and vague hints, he
found her - in a hospital for mentally-disabled people. He was told that his
daughter, who worked as a prostitute in
Stacy
Rowe
graduated
from Lawndale High in 2000. For the next five years, she studied politics at NY
University. After finishing her MA, she returned to
Tiffany
Blum-Deckler failed
her senior year at Lawndale High and left the school after the first three weeks
of her second senior year to work as a waitress at the local "Good Time" Chinese restaurant. When she got fired after constantly
forgetting what the guests had ordered, she applied at Cashman's for a job to
fill racks. Her habit to give advice about clothes to the "fashionably
challenged" earned her a quick promotion to assistant manager after only two
weeks; after her second year, she became chief manager for Cashman's Lawndale
shop; after three more years, she became county chief manager. In 2010, she
topped her career by changing to the Cashman's central as assistant director for
styling and design. Tiffany Blum-Deckler is known
throughout the clothes industry both as an expert on fashion and style and as
incredibly uninterested in every other possible topic (which makes her a rare
guest on cocktail parties and similar occasions).
Jeffrey "Jeffy"
Brown and James "Jamie"
White both
graduated from Lawndale High in 2000 and went to Big Tree College. After one
year, both were fired because of their permanent stalking of a fellow student
with reddish hair ("she looked remarkably like a school crush of ours", they
said at the trial) and joined the army. Corporal White was severely wounded in
an infantry assault on
Sergeant Brown died in the first days of the
short war against
Andrea
Hecuba
and Charles
Ruttheimer
were together for two years while he studied in Yale for his MBA and she took
Medieval History and Creative Writing at Connecticut State College. In 2003
Charles was forced to take over the family's newspaper chain after his father
died from a heart attack in a hotel room he shared with his 'secretary', a girl
of Charles's age. Due to his sudden life change and the need to move to
Angela
Li
ruled Lawndale High for three more years until the PTA had finally enough
material to bring her to court. Facing the choice of resigning on her own or
going to prison, she chose the first option and took up her National Guard
commission as POW interrogator at Guantanamo Bay. In
2010, she was discharged dishonorably from the army to be tried at the
First
Sergeant
J. Walter Ellenbogen,