Tapes (Day 2 of Mercy76 Week)
So, so sorry this is late, everyone. I’ve been without power for a couple of days and I’m having to travel around to find places with wi-fi still running. Again, I’m really sorry.
The dirt roads were bumpier than Jack remembered. He slowed the car down, hoping he did not disturb Angela who was in the passenger seat. It was too late though. She was already stirring in her seat.
“Hmm?” Angela hummed. She rubbed her eyes and sat upright. Her eyes were greeted by the evening’s sun. Unfortunately for her it was still too bright to take in. “Mm!” She whined.
“Good evening,” Jack said. “Sleep well?”
“I’m still tired.” She mumbled, starting to curl back in her seat.
He couldn’t blame her. After going from Europe to Indiana in a little under two days, he expected at least a little bit of jet lag. “Don’t worry. We’re almost there.” He rubbed her shoulder. No response. She must have been making her way back to her dreams. Jack shifted his attention back to the road. The evening sky was still as breathtaking as he remembered. At least some things haven’t changed, unlike the roads.
The acres of hills and grass soon became acres of farmland with automated combine harvesters every few acres. The sun had set a little farther allowing the first stars become visible. Angela stirred in her seat once more. Her eyes opened to a more welcoming light this time. The vibration of the car moving along the road was enough to wake her to her senses. The first thing she saw was the car’s digital clock.
7:48 PM
Wait, she thought. I was supposed to take the driving over at six! She looked at Jack, who noticed her right away.
“Welcome back.” He said, looking back to the road. “It’s only a few more miles up the road. Good sleep?”
Angela sat herself upright. “Why didn’t you wake me to take over the driving?
“It’s been a few days since you had a good rest. You needed it. Plus, your snoring is cuter than mine. Probably.”
“I don’t snore.” She said, giving him a little punch.
“You weren’t awake. How do you know?”
She punched him a little harder this time.
“Ow! Ok, ok. You don’t snore. It’d still be cuter than mine though.”
He turned on to a road the split the corn fields. At the end was a house. The porch lights were on along with the first floor lights.
“There it is!” He said. Jack looked like he was on the verge of bouncing in his seat.
Angela wanted to be excited as well, but as soon as she saw the house thoughts ran through her head. She has spent almost an entire day in a car. What if his folks don’t like her? she thought. Her hair looked like a larger mess than usual and her attire felt too casual to her. She wanted to look like the best example of Jack’s girlfriend, but now she was having second thoughts.
“Angela, everything ok?”
She looked up. they were already in front of the house. Her breathing felt heavier than normal. She took a deep breath. “Just a little excited,” she said with a forced smile.
Her attempt to try and sound excited it did not fly over Jack’s head. He took careful hold of her hand on her lap.
Angela closed her eyes. She wasn’t fooling him. “What if I don’t live up to their expectations of the perfect woman for their son? I just-”
A hug from Jack cut her off before she could finish.
“I think you’re perfect. No matter what they say that isn’t going to change.” He withdrew from her and pecked her cheek. A soft smile spread across her face. “Ready?” he asked.
She nodded and stepped out of the car as Jack turned the engine off.
Both of them stood on the porch under the light. Angela took Jack’s hand as he knocked on the screen door. Her grip unconsciously tightened when she heard footsteps on the other side. The lock was undone and both doors opened. An older woman, a little shorter than Angela, stood in front of them. She smiled the instant she saw Jack.
“Jack?” she asked.
“Hi, Mom.” He said. He couldn’t control himself anymore. If he smiled any harder his cheeks would rip apart.
“My goodness, Jack!”
The two hugged each other with no signs of letting go. This was the proof that they had not seen each other for too long.
“I didn’t recognize you at first, you’ve gotten so tall.” She took a step back, but kept a hand on him as if he was about to run away. “But you still look like my little Jack.”
Angela nearly crushed Jack’s hand when his mother turned her attention to her. Stay calm, she thought. First impressions are key. Angela smiled.
“And you must be the Dr. Ziegler my son is always talking about.”
Angela felt a cold sweat run down her back. She braced herself.
“You look absolutely gorgeous, honey.”
Angela must have heard her incorrectly. “Um, th-thank you, Mrs. Morrison.”
“Oh, what am I doing? Please, come in!” She moved out of their way.
Angela was encouraged by Jack to go in first. The inside was felt so different than what she was used to. The light felt warm against her. Everything about it reminded her of Jack. It was all so welcoming. Many of the shelves had nostalgic items dating back into the late 1900s. Angela immediately spied a picture of a young Jack Morrison sitting on one of the automated combine harvesters. He could not have been more than seven, maybe eight.
“Darling, they’re here!” Mrs. Morrison called out from behind them.
Ahead of them was a hallway across from the entrance to the kitchen, just before the living room. An older man turned the corner of the hallway towards them. Angela recognized Jack in him before anything else, including the cane he walked on. He was a little taller than Mrs. Morrison, but still shorter than Angela.
“Oh my good lord. When did our son become a giant?”
“Dad, it’s good to see you!” Jack said as he walked up and gave his father a similar hug he gave his mother. His father returned the gesture with his free arm.
“It’s great to see you too, son!”
“Dad, what happened?” Jack asked as he released his father. He missed the cane at first as well it seemed.
“I’m old, Jack. I’m the one who’s supposed to be asking the strange questions. You might end up with one as well when you’re my age.”
“Not if I can help it,” Angela spoke up, with more confidence than earlier.
Mr. Morrison turned towards Angela. He walked over to her letting the cane take the weight with every other step. “So this is the woman that chose our Jack out of everyone else.” He leaned forward but still spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “You sure you know what you’re gettin’ in to, miss?”
Angela smirked a little and looked at Jack who playfully rolled his eyes.
“Now you see what I had to deal with growing up,” Jack said with a smug smirk.
His father turned to Jack. “What you had to deal with? What about what your mother and I had to deal with? Don’t make me get the tapes.”
Jack’s smugness dropped with almost no transition on his face. “No, Dad.” Jack whined. “Please d-“
“Screw it, I’m gettin’ the tapes.”
“Dad, whyyy?” It was too late. His father was already on the move.
To Angela’s surprise, Mr. Morrison moved quickly despite his dependency on a cane.
“Mom, can you stop him please?” Jack was near to the begging stage. He might have started if Angela was not in the same room.
His mother walked to the entrance to the hallway. “Darling,” his mother called out. “What about dinner?”
“Dinner can wait!” Mr. Morrison said from down the hall.
“Sorry, Jack.” His mother smiled at Angela.
Angela wanted to see a young Jack in action. She smiled back at his mother. Somehow she knew it.
“Jack!” His father called. “Come in here and give your old man a hand!”
The whining noises Jack made were ones Angela had never heard before as he walked down the hall.
“Dr. Ziegler, would you like to sit down?” Mrs. Morrison asked from the living room.
Angela did not want to be rude. She nodded and took the couch on the far end of the living room. All around the walls and above the counter bar windowing the kitchen were pictures of Jack and his family. Angela looked down from them. She remembered that she would never have the chance to introduce Jack to her family.
“Are you all right, sweetie?” The voice of his mother was more than welcoming.
Angela smiled. “I’m fine. Thank you.”
Mrs. Morrison sat on a single sofa next to Angela’s couch. “I’m no fool, honey. I know pain when I see it. I’m a mother after all.”
Angela Looked back to the pictures on the walls. “I’m just- I can’t introduce Jack to my family the way he can. And seeing your pictures, it’s just...” A tear rolled down her cheek. It was not normal for her to get worked up over her parents anymore. She hasn’t in a couple decades at least. But seeing the pictures reminded her how much she missed them. Mrs. Morrison lightly rubbed her knee. Angela breathed a little easier.
“Dr. Ziegler, my son loves you very much. The way he spoke about you over the phone was the first time I have ever heard him speak that way about anyone, or anything.”
Angela blushed a little. She wondered what Jack had told his parents about her. Hopefully he left some certain details out.
“Now, if my son does give you any trouble that you can’t handle, and you look like you can firmly hold your ground, you let me know. I’ve had to teach him lessons the hard way through all his childhood. I’m not afraid to teach him some more.”
Angela’s laughing made Mrs. Morrison smile. She took a couple of tissue sheets from the stand next to her and dried Angela’s face. “You be sure to let my little Jack know just how lucky he is.”
“Oh, I let him know every time we’re out on the field.”
“You two keep each other safe out there.” Mrs. Morrison said. “I know it can be dangerous, what you two do.”
“Of course, Mrs. Morrison.”
“We found ‘em!” Mr. Morrison said, coming down the hall. He turned in to the living room and was followed by Jack who carried a box with the writing “Little Jack” on it. What he did not carry the same enthusiastic look his father did. “Set it there on the coffee table please, son.”
Jack set the box down and sat next to Angela. Something felt different to him. “Is everything ok, Angela?”
She took his hand and gave him a small kiss in front of his parents. “Everything is just fine,” she said with a smile. Angela got a look at the box’s contents. “Those are all tapes! Do your folks have a working VCR?”
“Indeed we do. Right over there under the shelf the TV is on.” Mrs. Morrison said.
Angela completely missed it. she had never seen one in working order before. It was bulkier than she expected.
“His father loved collecting archaic things from the past. God knows why. He insisted that we film everything on tape,” said Mrs. Morrison. “Until we ran out of his VHS stash.”
“I’ve told you, these are more than just things. These are relics! Ancient relics that hold the memory of Little Jack here.” Mr. Morrison said, rooting around through the box. “Ah ha! Oh, she’ll love this one.
The way the VCR ate the tape took Angela by surprise. Mr. Morrison turned the television on and sat down on the chair next to his wife. On the screen was the entrance to the living room. The camera was being held, judging from its unsteadiness. The stairs in the hallway were visible. Before anyone appeared on screen, the sounds of feet coming down the stairs were accompanied by the childish sounds of gunfire and explosions.
All of a sudden, a boy with blonde hair came from the stairs and ran in to the living room. Angela immediately recognized this boy from the pictures on the walls. Her Jack as a young boy! She leaned forward as much as she could, gripping Jack’s hand. The young Jack on the TV was holding something.
“What do you have there, little Jack?” asked his mother on the TV. Angela was about to ask the same question.
Young Jack acknowledged his mother holding the camera. “Commander Soft Bear!” He said, presenting the stuffed animal to the camera. It was a teddy bear about the size of his arm. It wore an outdated, early 21st century Army uniform. Complete with patches a uniformed hat.
“What does he do?” Asked his mother behind the camera.
“He’s in the military!”
“Do you want to go into the military too?”
“Yeah!”
“What do you want to do in the military, little Jack?”
The young Jack paused for a moment and looked down. After a few seconds he looked back up to his mother. “I’m wanna save the world!”
Angela could not stop giggling over how cute he was. She looked at Jack, who sat with a hand covering his face. She could tell he was holding back a few laughs of his own.
“What do the dog tags say?” asked his mother on the television.
“Huh?”
“Soft Bear’s tags. Can you read them?”
Young Jack turned the bear towards him and brought the tags close to his face. “Teddy 76!”
“And we have your room over here on the left,” Mrs. Morrison said. “This used to be Jacks old room, believe it or not.
Jack did not recognize it at first. The entire room had been re-fitted into a guest room. Jack and Angela set their suitcases on the bed. It was more than big enough for the two of them.
“You two sleep well. it’s a long drive you’ve got tomorrow.” She said before turning the hall light off. The stairs echoed as she walked back up them for the night.
Angela spotted something under one of the pillows. Before Jack could notice it, she removed it. It was the same stuffed teddy bear in the first tape his father showed.
“What’s that?” Jack asked.
Angela turned only her head to him. “It’s Commander Soft Bear!” she said, spinning around with the bear in front of her face. “Can I keep him for the night? Just to snuggle with.”
“But you already have a commander to snuggle with!” Jack playfully whined.
“Oh, I can snuggle with you both I suppose,” she said, hugging him with the bear behind his back. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of this new commander.” She teased.
“Yes I am!” He said.
“Don’t you worry. You’ll always be my Teddy: 76, Jack.” She gave him one last kiss for the night. “Let’s get to bed. I’m driving tomorrow.”
