Best Men - 8. Chapter Eight

Two days passed since the plan to entertain a first grader with a puppet and music at her surprise birthday party came into fruition. A day before, Beth arrived at the house again and showed me the printed marionette of the spider I sketched for her fiancé to create a three-dimensional model of. The final product looked incredible, every detail from the eyes to the etchings that resembled hair was done immaculately. The puppet almost looked like a puppy if it had six eyes and eight legs that is. The color of the plastic was gray, perfect since that was the base color I was going to paint it.

The night before the party, I managed to paint all the remaining details of the spider marionette before looping the strings onto the plastic creature and onto the crossbars that was also printed. Then after a night of sleep, I was awakened by Freddy who wanted to test out the songs that he picked for my marionette to dance to. I happily complied, and I had the newly made marionette dance to each song which helped me practice with moving this uniquely created puppet. Believe it or not, I used marionettes that were much more complicated than a puppet that had eight legs, so this practice was just a refresher.

Noon soon approached, and Beth had already left to prepare for the birthday party. Freddy and I left the house a while later in his police cruiser, and he parked about a block away from the house that the party was taking place with a line of other cars. This event truly was a surprise. Entering the house, we were greeted by at least twenty kids who were all jumping and scurrying about in the living room, while the parents and other adults did their best to tame the chaos. Party decorations were everywhere, lining the walls, floating against the ceiling, and protecting the tables from inevitable drink spills.

“Oh, good! You two are here!” Beth said excitedly. “You’re ready to be the live entertainment after Gabby arrives?”

“Of course!” I said.

“Freddy?”

“I’m more than prepared,” Freddy assured, strumming a tune with his guitar.

Beth clapped, and a person called out from the window that Gabby and her mother have arrived. The chaos was amped up twofold as everyone scattered to find a hiding place, like the kitchen and closet. Freddy and I followed Beth, and we hid behind a three-seater couch. Someone turned off all the lights in the living room, and a moment later the front door opened. A young girl and her mother entered inside, and a couple seconds passed before the lights all turned back on at once and everyone jumped from their hiding places to greet the birthday girl.

Gabby looked stunned at first, but then she smiled widely as all the party guests sung her a happy birthday. To my surprise, Freddy played a simple tune that complemented the singing, and when that was over Gabby cried out with happiness and thanked everyone for the surprise.

The birthday party then commenced with the kids returning to their chaotic nature as the adults located the food and presents to their appropriate places. Eventually the party migrated to the backyard where there was a bouncy castle and a small petting zoo where a few rabbits were hopping around in a small, circular fence.

As the kids enjoyed the party, Freddy and I just mostly stood around with a cup of orange juice in each of our hands. It was nice seeing all these kids having the time of their lives, making me feel nostalgic and remember the birthday parties I had as a kid that were very memorable.

Freddy did not appear to look comfortable as he sipped his juice while holding his guitar tightly with his other hand. However, that changed when Beth approached us with Gabby holding her hand. She looked up at us shyly, but when she saw the marionette I was holding by my side, she lit up instantly.

“Wow! Is that a spider?” Gabby asked.

“It definitely is,” I responded, lowering myself to her level and showing her the toy. “It’s specifically a marionette, a puppet, which I can control with strings. You want to see it dance?”

Gabby nodded excitedly, and I smiled as I moved the crossbars and allowed the spider marionette to dance with all of its eight legs. Gabby bounced on her feet, and soon the other kids gathered around to see what the birthday girl was so excited about. I turned to Freddy, gesturing my head for him to place his drink down and play a song that my marionette could dance to. He looked hesitant at first, gripping his guitar as he gazed at the kids like he was nervous.

I gestured my head again, and finally the first tune was played, and then a series of tunes that turned into a song of the itsy, bitsy, little spider. The marionette danced and moved like it was going up a waterspout before being washed out. The song repeated for another minute, and after the final note was played, and all the kids clapped, especially Gabby who politely asked for more. I looked at Freddy who just smiled back and began playing another song as I moved the marionette to perform a new series of choreographic moves.

An hour passed with more than a dozen songs played and countless dance moves performed by the spider marionette. I then revealed to Gabby that the marionette was hers, and she jumped, completely ecstatic as she thanked me. I showed her the basics of how to move the marionette and make it dance before letting her go and practice with her friends watching.

With the exception of a scraped chin that happened when a boy jumped off the swing and fell face first onto the ground, everything was so wholesome as I watched Gabby play with her new marionette. I believed the birthday party and the live performance Freddy and I offered was a complete success.

I looked towards the wooden table where the remainder of the birthday cake was served. Freddy was sitting at the table, moving his plastic fork around a glop of frosting and fondant. I waved at him, and he smiled back at me.

I approached him and said, “Great party, huh?”

“If you call balloons, cake, and non-alcoholic drinks a party, then sure,” Freddy said before placing his paper plate down. He must have registered the concern on my face because he then said, “Oh, don’t worry. I actually had fun. It was very nice to play my guitar for people other than myself. And you amazed me with your marionette-dancing skills.”

I smiled. “Thanks. Today has just been very wholesome, don’t you agree?”

“It has. However, like everything else, it should be taken in moderation. I’m going to split. Want to come with?”

I looked back at the party with Gabby still playing with the marionette. It seemed Freddy and I fulfilled our purpose, and I was hungry for something other than pure sugar.

I nodded and said, “Let’s go.”

Freddy grabbed his guitar, and we walked back inside the house and to the front door. We were quickly stopped by Beth who hugged us both.

“Thank you so much, you guys. This was way better than I could have expected,” Beth said happily. “You two are heading out?”

“Yeah, we had our fill of screaming kids to last a lifetime,” Freddy quipped. “Never understood why you became a teacher, let alone to kindergarteners.”

“What can I say? I’m the nurturing type,” Beth said before squeezing her brother’s cheek.

Waving her hand away, Freddy then strode to the front door. “You coming, Rick?”

“Just a moment. I need to talk to Beth about something. Wait for me at your car,” I said.

“All right, but if you’re not inside after five minutes, I’m leaving,” Freddy warned before exiting through the front door.

“What’s up?” Beth asked.

“Nothing, it’s just…how did your fiancé get a hold of that printer he used to make that marionette?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Online, of course.”

“Yeah, I know that. What I meant was, what’s the printer’s brand? And what computer program did he use as well?”

The fact that it only took one day to fully create a detailed marionette made me wonder if I could ditch my old tools and use modern-day technology to create even more puppets. It was going to be a steep learning curve, but if I set my mind to it, I bet I could master the craft of computer modeling easily and create the marionettes I could only dream of creating.

“I don’t really know. But I can you offer his phone number, so you can call and ask him yourself.”

“I really appreciate it.”

“It’s a thanks for making this birthday party something that Gabby will remember for a long time.” Beth winked.

Beth quickly exchanged her fiancé’s phone number to me, and I gave her another hug before walking out to the police cruiser a block away.

“Took you long enough,” Freddy said as he buckled his seatbelt.

“I was only gone for two minutes at most... So, we’re heading home?” I asked, buckling my own seatbelt.

Freddy raised an eyebrow. “Yeah… Home.”

Starting the ignition, Freddy then drove out of the quaint, little neighborhood and onto main street.

Freddy stopped at a red light, and as I scrolled through the news feed on my phone, he then turned to me and asked, “So, what’s the deal with you and my sister?”

I quickly drew my attention from my phone to Freddy’s serious face. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, first you accept her offer to be the best man of the wedding, you stay at my parents’ place, and you immediately jump on the chance to help her with this birthday-party favor. What are you planning?”

Offended, I said, “I’m not planning anything… Anyways, I could ask the same thing about you.”

Freddy narrowed his eyes at me. “What the hell are you saying?”

Feeling brave and stupid, I said, “I mean, you accepted Beth’s offer to be the best man. You came to stay at your parents’ place. And you offered to help Beth with the surprise birthday party. What’s your angle, huh? From what I heard and observed, you clearly hate this town and everyone who inhabits it. Why are you here?”

“Because I care about my sister!” Freddy declared. “I want to see her happy, and I’ll do anything to make that happen.”

“Well, same here, Freddy. Yes, I used to be her boyfriend before I ended it and broke her heart. But we both moved on, and I want to see her happy. And if that means becoming her second best man, then so be it… Why do you think I have some kind of mal intent?”

“I don’t. It’s just…I’ve always been suspicious of people’s true intentions, all right?”

“Is that because you’re a cop?” I asked, curious.

“No, it happened years before I even decided to enlist into the police academy.”

“Did somebody break your heart?” I said, thinking back to what Beth said about Freddy’s past relationship.

“What makes you say that?” Freddy asked menacingly.

“Nothing. Just curious,” I said quickly.

Freddy sighed and to my surprise he said, “Yes, it has to do with someone I used to date. It was way back during my high-school days, and the person I was dating was the world to me… The first song you heard me play with my guitar…he wrote that song. For me. Right before I moved to this hellhole of a town.”

Freddy looked so vulnerable right then, and all I could muster to say was a simple, “Oh.”

Taking a deep breath, Freddy then said, “Yeah… Anyways that explains my broken heart. Some might say I was too young to know what true love was…but I knew.”

“I’m sorry your heart got broken,” I said with sincerity.

“We tried to stay connected, and I actually went back to the city without my parents knowing. I wanted to surprise him with a visit… Well, it turned out he wasn’t the only one surprised when I entered his house with a spare key he gave me and saw him in the living room kissing…another person. A girl.”

My eyes widened.

“My boyfriend, who was the most out gay guy in my high school was still closeted to his family and was with a girl who was the daughter of a prestigious family. Can you believe that shit?”

I shook my head. “No. I can’t.”

“Fuck. He was seeing both of us without the other one knowing…and I fucking watched as that girl went at him like an animal, and then he finally noticed me. His expression was indescribable, like every emotion mixed into one face. I left before he could explain anything, and I only knew after all the text and phone messages he left on my phone… Ah, man. I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you.”

“No, it’s okay,” I assured.

Sighing heavily, Freddy then said, “So, if you were wondering why I’m the suspicious type, now you know.”

“I’m…I’m sorry that happened to you. I can see why you were suspicious about me returning to Beckett to be at your sister’s wedding.”

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t like you were dating a dude behind my sister’s back or anything like that… I’m sorry for assuming the worst about you.”

I smiled. “Apology accepted.”

Freddy offered a small smile back, but then he looked passed me with furrowed eyebrows and turned to see what looked like the sun setting at the horizon. However, the setting sun flickered, and I knew something was different.

“That’s not the sun setting, is it?” I asked.

“Nope. It’s that phenomenon that all the news networks are talking about. Apparently, the areas affected shine like its daylight twenty-four seven and whoever is exposed to the light are unable to sleep. They then lose their minds and that’s the extent of what’s being told through the news.”

“Yeah, I heard all kinds of rumors about that affected area. Some people call it the Dream.”

“Well, fortunately for us that Dream is dozens of miles away from Beckett…but there are also rumors that it’s slowly spreading.”

I continued to gaze at the light, becoming almost entranced by its radiancy until a car horn blared, and I looked at the rearview mirror to see a car behind us and saw that the stoplight had already turned green.

The car horn was heard again, and Freddy said, “All right, I’m going!”

Freddy continued to drive with the Dream still appearing through the side window. I really wondered where that light was coming from since even at night the light shined brightly. Whatever it was, hopefully it would not come close to Beckett since the towns that had been affected by the Dream have been completely deserted with the people who were unable or unwilling to evacuate not being heard from again.