6Chapter 7
The Drinker's Name
"Achoo, achoo, achoo!"
"Gee, Ken, is it safe to sneeze that much while you're driving?" Davis taunted.
"It's not like I can control it. My allergies have been horrible ever since we left the mountains," Ken whined.
"Maybe he's allergic to it," TK suggested, eyeballing the monkey that was currently poking around his backpack.
Davis shot a look at the blonde before saying, "OR it's because of this town. There are weird plants everywhere."
"What town is this anyway? It seems familiar," TK marveled. It wasn't that he recognized any landmarks so far; there was just a certain atmosphere to the place.
"It's too small to be on the road map," Davis mentioned, "By the way, are we going to eat soon? I'm starving!"
"Achoo, achoo, achoo!" Ken erupted, "Ugh, that's it! We're stopping at a drug store and getting medicine."
After driving through the busy part of town for the better part of twenty minutes, a drug store was spotted out of Davis's window. They all went inside, Davis insisting on bringing Ricardo, to get Ken's medicine and maybe find something to eat.
"You do know there are only snacks here?" TK commented, "You're not going to find anything worthwhile."
"I don't care if I eat a bag of Cheetos for breakfast," Davis announced, "We were in the mountains all day yesterday, and we never got to eat."
"Tthat's why I brought the cooler. There was frozen food in it," Ken informed.
Davis's mouth fell open. "And I find this out now? I could have actually eaten more than just breakfast yesterday!"
Rolling his eyes, TK ignored Davis's outburst. "So you need some medicine for sneezing?"
"If it wasn't obvious, yes. I need allergy medicine which should be in the back of the store at the pharmacy."
"Great, you go get that, and TK and I will find some unfrozen food," Davis ordered.
TK and Davis proceeded to search the aisles for something to eat. Somewhere along the line, Davis lost track of Ricardo, so he was assumed to be wandering around the store. With being unable to cook anything, they ran into some difficulty.
"I give up," Davis decided, "Let's buy junk food."
TK kept looking around as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was sure he'd been here before. "Davis, do you ever go somewhere and feel like you've been there before, but you can't remember when?"
"All the time," He said flat out.
TK blinked. "I'm serious. I know I've been here before."
"TK, is that you?" A seemingly unknown high-pitched voice exclaimed.
The blonde turned with a start. "Lexi?"
"Lexi?" Davis repeated. "Who's Lexi?
"My cousin," TK answered as the owner of the voice came into view. Lexi, a pretty, green-eyed girl, who looked about their age, ran up and hugged TK before she started talking speedily.
"Wow, TK, I haven't seen you in forever! How are you? How's Matt? What brings you to town anyway?"
TK laughed, "I'm fine, Matt's fine, and I'm on a road trip with this guy, Davis, and my other friend, Ken, who's trying to find medicine for his sneezing."
"I bet Ken is allergic to all the pollen around here. A lot of people are," Lexi informed before turning towards Davis. "Hi, Davis, I'm Lexi. It's nice to meet you."
He didn't know what it was about her, but Davis was positively stunned by Lexi's sudden appearance. She just seemed so exuberant and fresh. Suddenly realizing he never answered, Davis nodded, "Y-you too."
Lexi merely giggled. "So how long will you guys be in town?"
TK shrugged. "As long as we want."
Lexi insisted, "Well you have to spend the night at our house! My dad hasn't seen you in forever, TK."
"Will there be food?" Davis piped.
"Sure," Lexi responded.
"We'll be there."
"Wait, uh," TK started suddenly remembering what might pose a problem. "We have someone else with us."
His cousin looked confused. "They can stay too."
"It's a monkey."
She enunciated each syllable slowly. "You own a pet monkey?"
Davis tapped the side of his goggles. "Well we're in possession of a monkey."
TK lowered his head. "It's a long, painful story. I'll tell you later, but will your mom be alright with it?"
"I can't say I know her feelings on monkeys," just then Ricardo ran up and leaped onto Davis's shoulder causing Lexi to grin, "But who could say no to that face!"
"Hey, Mom, I have a surprise!" Lexi called as she stepped into her family's townhouse. Promptly taking the invitation, TK, Davis, Ken, and Ricardo were to spend the rest of the day and night at Lexi's parents', TK's aunt and uncle's, house.
"Achoo, achoo, achoo!" Ken exploded.
"Wasn't the allergy medicine supposed to stop you from sneezing?" Davis questioned.
"It is," Ken grumbled, "But it'll probably take awhile to kick in."
Just then a petite, brown-eyed woman appeared from what seemed to be the kitchen entrance. "What is it, Lexi? Oh, is that TK?"
"Last time I checked," TK joked.
"Hello, TK! It's been too long! How's your dad? Who are these two? Is that a monkey?" It was easy to tell where Lexi got her excitement from.
"Hi, Aunt Lindsey, he's fine, and these are my friends Davis and Ken, and yes, that's Ricardo the baby macaque."
Lexi explained, "I told them they could spend the night."
"Great!" She exclaimed. "Just show them to the guest room, but it's a little messy. I wasn't expecting company."
"That's fine," TK assured. "Thanks for letting us stay."
His aunt shook her head. "It's no trouble at all."
"So you don't have any concerns with the monkey?" Ken piped up surprised.
"Of course not! I love animals!" As she spoke TK's aunt was already taking Ricardo from Davis and letting him swing on her outstretched arm. She squealed in delight. "Can I feed him? What does he eat?"
Ken shrugged. "Bananas probably." Lexi left to retrieve the desired fruit from the kitchen.
Davis folded his arms. "A banana? That is so offensive."
The genius skipped a beat. "What?" Lexi returned with a banana and was holding it out for Ricardo.
"He's a monkey, so he has to like bananas, huh? I see how it is, you monkey-ist."
"Davis, he just ate the banana." Ricardo indeed had peeled the banana with his feet and was munching at the top of it.
"Oh… It's still rude to assume things," Davis grumbled.
There were a few moments of silence. "You know, adding 'ist' onto something doesn't make it-"
"Yes, it does!" Davis protested not wanting to be proven wrong again.
Lindsey watched the monkey contently. "Now, there's only one bed in the guestroom, so the monkey tamer can have that."
Davis whispered to TK, "Ha ha, your aunt likes me best!" The blonde just rolled his eyes.
"And, TK, you can take the couch down here, and, Ken, would you mind a blow-up mattress?"
"That'd be fine, thank you," Ken responded politely.
She spent a few more moments admiring the monkey before calling out, "Tony! Show Davis the guest room! Lexi, help Ken with the air mattress, and, TK, you and I can search around for some blankets and pillows for everyone."
"Uncle Tony's here? Doesn't he have to work?" TK asked surprised.
Lexi laughed. "It's Saturday."
"…Right."
Davis surveyed the small, exotic guestroom in awe. It was full of knick-knacks, small statues, boxes, colors, and patterns that Davis never thought he'd see all in one place.
TK's Uncle Tony, a husky man with thick brown-hair, laughed at Davis's awestruck expression. "Close your mouth, son. There could be flies."
"Where'd you get all of this stuff?"
"From back when I traveled the world with my trusty steed," he joked.
"Really?" Davis asked completely serious.
The man stopped. Was this kid really the gullible? Getting a sinister idea that his wife would reprimand him for but he knew would be hilarious in the long run, Tony spoke, "Yes, of course, except for that box over there." He pointed to a large box that, unbeknownst to Davis, had an old, beat up stereo in it.
"What's in there?"
"Not what, who."
"Who?" Davis repeated.
Tony sighed trying to sound as sad as he could without laughing. "My dear mother, rest her soul, has been turned into ashes and placed in that very box, so don't touch it, or you'll disturb her spirit and be haunted for all of eternity."
Davis gulped. "And you're sure you can't take it out of the room?"
Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "It was her room first."
Davis gulped. This was going to be a long night.
After setting up the various sleeping arrangements, TK, Davis, and Ken sat down for tonight's dinner, hamburgers, with TK's aunt and uncle and Lexi. Aunt Lindsey had set Ricardo up in a high chair with oddly little protest.
Realizing that his hamburger was missing the most important ingredient, ketchup, Davis reached across the table for the bottle, but at the same time, Lexi seemed to be reaching for the same purpose. Looking up from his grip on Lexi's hand, which was originally meant for the bottle, Davis sheepishly withdrew his hand.
"S-sorry," He mustered.
Lexi attempted to smile politely but instead blushed harder than before. "N-no problem."
Ken snickered at the exchange causing Davis to quickly elbow him under the table making Ken laugh a little harder.
Unaware of the exchange, TK's uncle was chatting up his nephew. "So what are you going to college for, Kid?"
"I'm majoring in literature, Uncle Tony" TK answered. He always enjoyed having his uncle around. He used to live closer and TK always loved going over to his house. In some ways he was the opposite of his brother, TK's father. Tony was relaxed, calm, and laid-back while TK's father was usually tense and stressed. Like his mother, his father could also be accused of being a workaholic.
"Ooh," Tony cooed, "Sounds fancy. Are you going to still play basketball in college?"
"He doesn't want to," Davis replied for TK, the hostility definitely audible in his voice. Davis had always made sports a priority. He was, after all, going to college on a soccer scholarship.
TK sighed and directed his explanation at both his uncle and Davis, "It'll get in the way of everything else and be a waste of time. It's not like it could ever be my career."
Davis sat back and grumbled, "Says the captain of the high school team."
Tony laughed, "Well I guess it's TK's decision, Davis. Even if we both know he'd be great."
That's good old Uncle Tony for you: Always on your side.
"So," Lindsey started, "What's your dad been up to?"
"Work, work, and in his downtime, work."
"As expected," Tony dismissed, "Any girlfriends?"
TK shrugged. "No one worth mentioning."
"I swear," Tony muttered before going on louder, "Ever since your mother cheated on him and they got divorced he just can't get into a new relationship. It's probably why he works so much too."
That's also good old Uncle Tony: Always speaks his mind even when you don't want him to.
In all TK's years of knowing Davis and Ken it had never come up (or he had avoided telling them entirely) that his parents divorced because his mother had been having an affair. TK glanced over at them, not looking for any specific reaction but still for something. Davis' eyes seemed to have bugged-out a little in surprise, but he wasn't actually looking at anyone or anything. Ken on the other hand seemed very interested in his hamburger.
Now having everyone at the table's attention, Tony went on, "The guy she cheated with was a real jerk too; one of those constantly drinking guys; Mike Christopher was his name I'm pretty sure."
"Uh, honey, did you want another hamburger?" Lindsey asked.
That was the good thing about Aunt Lindsey. She could control Tony or at least get him to stop talking when he's not saying what he should be saying.
'Mike Christopher, a drinker' TK thought. He had been aware that his mother had had an affair, but no one had ever bothered to mention the man's name to him nor had TK really cared at the time. Now he could give a name to the imaginary man he had made up in his head as a child. He had always pictured him to be an angry man ready to steal his family and wreck his life just for fun, but it was different now. He had a name for the man, he had a description; drinker. The man was now real.
Thank you for reading!
Long chapter, abrupt ending, but this was the best stopping point.
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! They're appreciated!