Sick of Me

On Friday, Rita Mae brought Andy home from school on the bus. I met them at the stop and they were both being little chatterboxes. Apparently they had made tons of plans for the afternoon.

"Then I'm gonna show him the song Daddy taught me on piano!"

"Honey, that'll have to wait until Dad comes home." I watched her excitement fall as she asked why.

"He has all those things we shouldn't touch in there, duh!" Thankfully Andy was a bright kid.

"Ohh yeah!"

"So Andy when do you have to be home?" I was making their snacks and I wanted to know if he was staying for dinner.

"My mom said she's coming to get me after work. Six, I think."

Nope, no dinner here. For some reason Andy's parents just didn't like us very much. I wasn't sure, but I think Billie has a lot to do with it. The Perry's, Evan and Patricia, were very conservative and they made it clear that they didn't like what Billie did for a living, or that he was overtly sexual and drank excessively. I always tried to be cordial, but they despise what Billie and Green Day stand for, so it's kind of difficult dealing with them.

While Rita and Andrew were playing Connect Four in the living room because rain kept them from playing outside, Billie came home with a sleeping Jack in his arms. When Billie returned from putting Jack in bed upstairs he had a bunch of blankets and an extra sheet from one of our bed spreads.

"Who wants to make a fort?"

Andy and Rita looked up from their game with wide eyes, nodding enthusiastically.

"Hey Gray, wanna make a fort?" Billie raised his eyebrows and winked at me, making me laugh and say that I'd help. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten what happened the other day. Maybe he was trying to ignore it and move on.

It took forty-five minutes and a few collapses before we finished constructing a giant fort in our living room. Billie and I were sitting in it for a few minutes reveling in it's majesty before Rita Mae cleared her throat.

"This fort is grown-up free! Kids only!"

Billie looked offended but I wasn't bothered. I wouldn't want my parents invading my playdate.

"Fine! Don't come crying to me when someone invades your fortress!" Billie huffed as we left the fort and headed into the kitchen for something to drink. I stuck to water while Billie poured himself a glass of Pinot Noir that he had opened with dinner last night.

"What do you want for dinner?"

I looked at Billie, surprised by his question.

"You're going to cook?"

"I'd like to, if you'll help so I don't burn the house down!" I shook my head as I laughed, pouring myself a small glass of wine.

The phone rang before we could decide what to make and I picked it up quickly.

"Hello?"

"Grace? This is Patricia Perry, Andrew's mother…"

"Oh, hi Patricia!" Billie looked up, making a disgusted face and I had to hold back a giggle.

"I am so sorry, but I won't be able to pick up Andrew at six like I planned. My husband is out of town and something came up at my work. Would it be a trouble to ask if he could stay with you for dinner? I won't be done until around eight." I could tell Patricia hated having to ask me for a favor, but she had to do it.

"Of course! I have no problem feeding him. You just swing by when you get off and Andrew will be here."

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it and I'll see you in a few hours."

I said goodbye and hung up before going to tell the two that Andy was staying for dinner.

"Really?" Andy seemed shocked and I nodded.

"Your mom isn't coming until eight."

"Awesome!" The two were nearly in sync as they high fived and retreated to their fort.

While Billie and I were prepping to make hot dogs and hamburgers because the rain had momentarily halted, Jack wandered into the kitchen looking exhausted.

"Momma, I'm hungry." Jack rubbed his tired, red eyes as he stood in the archway to the kitchen. Before I could even make a move Billie had scooped Jack up and kissed the top of his head.

"We're gonna eat soon, dude." Billie held up the pack of hamburger buns and Jack looked disgusted.

"But I don't like those!"

I knew for a fact that Jack loved cheeseburgers, so I rolled my eyes, showing him the hot dog buns.

"Ooh! I like those!"

"That's the spirit! Go check out Rita's fort. I'm gonna start grilling!" Billie put Jack down and the little boy ran off into the living room.

Billie went and put the meat on the grill and he stood out there, staring at the sizzling food, almost willing it to cook. I peeked my head out the back door and asked if he needed any help.

"Get back in the kitchen, woman!"

"Men and their grills…" I set to putting plates out on the kitchen table and laughed to myself about Billie Joe being 'manly'.

---

It was nice having Andy over. He really brought out more of Rita Mae's personality. Their chatter during dinner was rather interesting too. They argued about which 'evolution' of some Pokemon was better.

"No Andy, you're stupid! Jolteon is totally better than Vaporeon!"

"Rita Mae, you know we don't use that kind of talk at the table or in the house." Billie Joe's parental voice, as he called it, clearly meant that she would be losing a quarter from her cup.

"But I think Flareon is way better than either of those two!" He smiled to lighten the mood after giving his daughter a warning.

Right after we finished dinner I wanted to do dishes but Billie declared that everyone was going into the basement. Rita Mae and Andy sat at the piano and Rita began showing him some songs. Billie picked up a guitar and plugged it into an amp, adding to what Rita was playing. I handed Jack a pair of maracas then sat at the drum kit and threw in a beat.

Andy looked around at us, amazed by everything that was going on.

"Your whole family is musical!" Rita's concentration broke as she halted her hands.

"Yeah, my mom and dad are in bands and play lots of instruments!"

Andy said that he wished he could play something, so I got up and motioned for him to come sit at the drums.

"I used to teach kids your age to drum." Andy's eyes lit up as I handed him a pair of sticks and started to show him what to do. While I did that, Billie played maracas with Jack and Rita Mae played more piano.

When Patricia came to pick her son it was obvious that the only child didn't want to leave. Patricia and I made small talk while Andy and Rita said farewell.

"Bye Rita Mae!" He hugged her tightly and I held back an awe.

"Mom guess what! Mrs. Armstrong started teaching me how to play drums!"

"Is that so?" Patricia shot me a dirty look and I smiled innocently.

"Yeah! And Mr. Armstrong- Billie Joe- is in a band!"

"I know honey, you say that every time."

Even while they were leaving Andy was annoying his mother with a spare-no-detail recap of his awesome day.

As the kids were getting ready for bed I told Billie that the Perry's were probably going to hate us even more now.

"Whatever! They're just jealous that we're rock-n-roll and awesome and hot. Well, you're hot." Billie eyed me up and down, making me laugh.

"You're pretty hot too, Mister! Now go put your daughter to bed so we can rendez-vous in the basement."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Billie skipped up stairs, excited for what was to come.