Chapter Thirteen

[Summer Child.]

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. "Kurtis?!" Jerry called out with a grin, running between the trees barefoot, the legs of his overalls rolled up and a long sleeved shirt tucked neatly underneath. He'd been running around with soft giggles as he chased after his friend, those howls of laughter they shared died down to only a gentle smile as he tried to keep up with him. But he couldn't. He'd lost him. He wasn't afraid, though worried for his safety. Had he fallen and scraped his knee? Was he trying to climb a tree and gotten a splinter? Or worse, had he gotten stuck on the top of one of the tall trees surrounding him, and was too embarrassed to seek help in his crisis? He'd always been stubborn this way.

The boy trampled over the rich soil, mud and dirt hardening from his blue knees to the heels of his feet, and paused once he'd found himself at the edge of a small clearing to catch his breath. He admired all the flowers and the weeds peaking out from the uncut grass, the smell of petrichor and pollin whisks through the gentle, humid breeze. He felt warmth in his soul as he moved to stand in the center of the clearing, his hands tugging on his sleeves. He basked in the rays of the slow sunset, hues of red and orange beam across the summer sky.

And he felt content as he looked up into the sky, yellow clouds scattered about, and he felt the wet grass beneath his feet, comforting his swollen soles. He felt a sense of safety in this place, one that he hadn't felt in a long time. His father had always had a way of talking to him, scolding at the boy whenever he did something he didn't appreciate all that much, and he didn't understand why. Aunt Quinn would never raise her voice, even when in an argument she remained calm. But his father always yelled. He wraps his arms around his little figure, and serenely hummed along with the calming lullaby od the wind, with his eyes closed lightly.

As his eyes slowly opened, his smile just as small and gentle, he noticed the boy in his oversized blue sweater, and denim shorts, skin tanned and feet bare as he jogged over to his friend, his hair bouncing with every leap he'd taken. "There you are!" Jerry dropped his arms to his sides and ran towards him, the two hugging once they've met in the middle of their distance. "I was worried about you!" He pushed him away in a hurry and crossed his arms over his chest. "How could you make me worry like that?!"

"I got distracted, sorry." Kurtis bowed his head in shame and rubbed his arm. "I saw duckies by the lake and you know how much I like duckies!"

"Hm," Jerry stroked his chin. "Duckies are very cute." He huffed within a second and turned away. "Does not mean you're off the hook." Kurt pouted and wrapped his arms around Jerry, holding him in a hugging position as he pressed his face into his shoulder blade.

"Please, forgive me!" He spoke in a pleading tone, drawing out the vowels into a whine. Jerry couldn't help but crack a smile at his efforts, he knew he couldn't remain upset with him, he'd never intentionally make his worry like that. He only wanted to see to what extend would little Kurtis go just to have Jerry not be mad at him. "I'm sorry! They just reminded me of you and stuff..." Kurtis sighed at Jerry's lack of response, tugging on his arm towards the lake. "Will you feel better seeing the duckies?" His voice sorrowful and his tugging delicate, he'd always had to be calm with him [Jerry], he'd never been too into roughhousing, which both was weird for Kurt, but understandable with his personality. Jerry hummed softly and looked over his shoulder at the boy, his eyes large and teary.

A gentle chuckle left the brunet as he held onto Kurtis' hand and nodded. "I guess, but I get to decide what to watch on the tv!" He grinned, Kurtis groaning as they ran off towards the lake, Jerry giggling shortly after.

"The things I do for you!" He teased with a grin, the two disappearing behind a few trees at the edge of the clearing.

And as the sun rises over the horizon, it's rays peek through the window blinds, and warm hues of red and orange glow in the sky. The sunlight shining as bright as every other summer day, it draws itself over her sleeping figure, the blankets restlessly kicked off of her body and her ginger hair untidy. Her eyes fluttering, she rolls over on the blow-up mattress, her brother on an identical bed on the other end of the room. She grabs her phone and pulls it off charge, scrolling through her Instagram feed for about an hour or two, her brother stirring awake slowly as a sweet aroma whisks into the room.

The girl rolls over, eyes widened slightly as she turns to Mortimer, the boy half asleep, but was present enough to be as confused as her. "Is dad cooking?" Summer asks in a soft voice - she knows he's cooked before, many times before since Beth was the one working in the relationship, but they were never used to Jerry preparing breakfast for them their first divorce. They could tell things wouild be different with his new state. He seemed to be happier, and this time, he didn't have any regret of walking away from house. Or at least Morty feels that way about this. He shrugs in response and rubs his eyes, confused by Summer's concerned expression. "I read somewhere that people who are suicidal tend to be, like, totally happy when they've decided to..." She raises finger guns to the side of her head, Morty frowning at her as he rises to his feet.

"Can't you just be happy for him, Summer?" He mumbles and pulls on a pair of pants, running a hand through his hair, before walking into the kitchen. "Good morning, dad!" He greets with a smile, growing anxious at the information Summer had shared, fiddling with his fingers as Jerry finished up cooking.

"Morning, son!" He greets in a chipper voice, and smiles at him. "Is Summer up already?"

"Yeah, she's just laying in bed so long." Morty responds and sits at the counter, hands resting on the edge whilst he watches his father dish out three plates of waffles, and place them before his son and the two open seats around the seating area.

"Summer, breakfast is ready!" Jerry calls out, taking honey out, as well as whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. Summer slowly makes her way into the room and sits at the counter, on the other end of the counter, as Jerry takes a seat in between the two. "Add your own toppings to it, add as much as you want." He smiles at the two, and he could swear, from the corner of his eye he'd caught a glimpse of his daughter's face, turning with concern. And Morty seeming as nervous as ever. The man glances between the two, holding his knife and fork in one hand as he unties his apron with the other. "What's up?"

"Are you going to kill yourself?!" Morty bleets out, Summer's hands clasped together and pulled to her chest.

"You're not going to, right?!"

"What are you talking about?" Jerry asks the two, their faces showing pain. He could tell they needed his reassurance. He sighs softly and places each of his hands on their shoulders, gaze gentle and smile calm. "I'm not going to. What gave you the idea?"

"You're happy!" Summer gestures to him, confusion forming on her face. "You weren't happy the last time... So, we thought..." He pulls them into a gentle hug with a soft sigh.

"I know, it's weird. Seeing me happy." He nods to himself, biting his lip slightly when pausing. "But there's nothing wrong. I'm just happy, you know?" He smiles softly, the smile contagious for his children. "I mean, I got a new job, a new apartment, my two kids to hang out with," Jerry rubs their shoulders and pull them closer, Morty laughing gently. "I'm just looking on the bright side."

Summer and Morty share yet another look, the girl humming as she looks up at her father. "No alien lady with an urge to kill another species of aliens this time?" She queries, continuing to speak despite seeing her dad open his mouth to respond. "Or will we have to kill off those aliens again whilst you eat out alien pu-?"

"No! No..." Jerry clears his throat, shaking his lead slowly. "Not now, not ever again." He assures, the two hugging his sides, before beginning to eat their breakfast. Praising his cooking, he moves to prepare a teapot the three of them, laughing bitterly as he looks past the two, and towards the living room. "You know, tv's are so expensive nowadays, it's cheaper to just stare out the window." Morty fakes a laugh in response to his joke, and Summer only rolls her eyes, and continues to scroll on her phone. Jerry smiles at them, though he'd love for Summer to show some appreciation towards himm, he understands that, for her, he may be the most uninteresting individual she knows, let alone someone she likes as a person. But he still loves her, and she'll always be his little girl in his eyes.

He hums softly, pouring the tea into their teacups after setting them out before their plates. "But that's all the more reason to go to the cinema today, am I right?" He extends his arms in a confident motion, the two kids turning to him with large eyes.

"No way, really?" Summer raises her eyebrows, Jerry takes the milk out of the fridge, and places sugar in front of them.

"Yes way!" He grins from ear to ear, and he dishes three spoons of sugar into his cup, stirring it as Morty takes the jar. "We can pick a movie when we get there, just finish your breakfast and shower before we go." The two nod, and continue eating their waffles.

"Thanks, dad." Morty smiles at his father, Jerry nodding in response with a soft expression. After breakfast, they get ready for their outing, shortly taking a drive to the cinema further downtown. There, they take a look at all the movies showing, the two teenagers giving glances towards their father every time someone greeted him with a call of his name or a hug with a minute of the two exchanging conversation. Jerry buys their tickets, and moves towards the snack bar his children trotting after him.

"Since when were you popular?" Summer remarks with her arms folded, her father rolling his eyes with a smile stitched on his features; usually that would have hurt his feelings and he'd fall silent within an instant, but this joy he'd started developing with his newfound happiness was no match for the stinging pain he'd felt at her cold, bitter words.

"I worked here as a teenager," He responds, "When I turned fifteen, I thought it'd be cool to get a job of my own, and so I did. Kurtis worked across the street at the Walmart, we'd take my money and play at the arcade, and use his to get snacks. Our other friend, James, he'd work with me."

"Isn't Kurt's first name James?" Morty raises his eyebrows, Jerry ordering three packs of popcorns, two slushies and a root beer. He hands one slushie to Morty and the root beer to Summer, the three taking their own orders of popcorn.

"That's one of the upsides of calling him Kurtis. For some reason, we ran into a ton of Jerry's and James' than we expected." He responds, pouring butter over his popcorn as Summer and Morty powder theirs with fruit chutney and cheese and chives. "We had another friend named Jerry, which is why I sometimes went with my full name."

"What's your full name?" Summer tilts her head out of curiosity, the three moving towards their room and showing their tickets to the security guard.

"Gerald Smith." He responds, before they walk into the room and take their assigned seats. Once the movie has finished, they throw their trash away, and make their way out of the building, Morty and Summer in a heated debate on the plot of the two hour film. They climb into the car, Jerry driving them back to his apartment, but pulls over at the mention of spotting an ice cream parlor. They get out with eager, and get various flavors of ice cream, their father limiting them to three scoops, or two if they want toppings. Summer gets a strawberry and vanilla cone with chocolate sprinkles over, Morty orders a cone with banana as the base, vanilla on top, and chocolate in the middle, and Jerry gets rum and raisin with strawberry on the top.

And after they order, they make their way towards the car, and drive back to his apartment, where they resign on the sofa and lick their ice cream cones. The girl faces her father, who's seated on a pile of pillows next to the couch, leaving them with enough space to stretch out and relax comfortably.

"Today was really fun, dad," Morty speaks, the radio playing in the kitchen slowly being drowned out by their soft voices.

"Yeah, I didn't expect it to be... not boring." Summer completes, nodding to herself. Morty playfully nudges her side with his elbow, Jerry and his son sharing a gentle laugh. The man sighs shortly after, catching his children's attention instantly. Panicked, the older teenager straightens her posture and waves a hand in dismissal to what she'd said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it too harshly-" She tries, worrying he may have lied about what he'd said in the morning. It's bizarre to her that he's happy, a sighting she'd see once in a blue moon. She doesn't want to weigh on his feelings, she always felt like she was a burden ever since her mother had told her she was never planned, and that she caused them to not pursue their dreams. And to think she could possibly be the final push over the edge, she fears that.

Jerry shakes his head, "I'm not sighing because I'm upset, Summer," He assures his daughter, eyes glued to the wooden planks beneath him. "I just feel guilty." He states, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know going through a divorce can be tough on you guys, but going through two, it must suck. I'm sorry you have to go through this."

"Dad, it's okay." Summer smiles, undoubtedly.

"Yeah, you seem happier than ever!" Morty moves to his knees, and wraps his arms around his father, his sister taking place on the other side of him, the man accepting their embrace.

"We're happy you're happy. Just no more psychotic alien girlfriends!" She giggles softly, Jerry nodding with a soft chuckle, watching the two move to wash their hands in the bathroom, a bit sticky from the ice cream. Jerry pulls out his phone and rises to his feet, licking his ice cream as he walks after them.

"Say, why don't we get some take-out for lunch?" Take-out would be cheaper and is faster to get than making food, He thinks to himself, biting his lip slightly, And they have to eat, it's 12:30, and they haven't eaten since eight. He awaits their response, smiling at them as they turn to him, nodding with gentle grins. "How's McDonalds sound?"

"I'm fine with anything." Morty says calmly.

"Sounds good, Big Mac with a ten piece nuggets please, strawberry milkshake on the side." Jerry nods, ordering it online. I can just quickly run across the street to get it, good thinking moving next to a McD', Jer.

"I'll just get a Cajun chicken meal with coke please, nothing special."

"I know your orders, guys, you act like I've never ordered you McDonalds before." Jerry teases with a soft chuckle, putting in their orders, deciding on getting a simple, small meal for himself, his usual McDouble with large fries, no beverage, since he knows it'd cost extra, and has his own drinks here at home. It may not be much of an apartment, he'd converted the dining room into a guest bedroom for his children, and uses the closet for storage of his unpacked boxes. The living room window is cracked, the toilet-paper holder in the bathroom is broken, and so is the lock for his bedroom door. The balcony is small, but large enough for his two deck chairs to be set up, and an upside down bucket as a stand for his cactus. His bedroom is small, he doesn't have curtains, and the doors to his closet take maximum effort to close, his bed is the twin bed he'd used throughout his college years when staying with his parents, who gave it to him charitably. This place could really use some work, even his real estate agent wasn't too sure of this apartment.

But he'd accepted this place, in the nook of the complex, as his own. He made this a home for himself.

He rests against the wall, paying for the meal and checking the time it would be ready. "Okay, so, I'll be getting it across the street in about ten minutes, okay?" He smiles at his children, the two nodding and seating themselves on the couch, both on their phones. He had to make a decision, between having wi-fi monthly or buying a cheap television, and he'd realized he made the right decision the moment Summer walked in through the front door and asked for the wi-fi password. He smiles at them, their little giggles filling the room as they tap away on their screens, and it fills his heart with felicity. Jerry drops his gaze to his phone, a soft shade of pink resting on his cheeks. A message from Kurtis? Is he okay? He hums softly, clicking on it to read the full thing.

'Hey, Jer, just finished a sale in your area, and wanted to know if I could come over? Need to unwind, was there since four.'

Jerry smiles, happy to have created an environment he feels safe to relax in, and joyous to have the opportunity to spend time with his friend, If I can even call him that anymore. He shakes his head slightly, responding cheekily.

'I ordered McDonalds.'

'And...?'

He responds within an instant, Jerry has a feeling he's sitting in his car, waiting for the response to his question. He could almost see Kurtis seated in his truck, parked on the edge of the sidewalk.

'You mind picking it up for me? My kids are here, don't want to leave them alone in this neighborhood,'

'Sure thing, is it already paid for or?'

'Already paid.You can have my fries if you want.'

'You're a lifesaver, I'm starving.'

Jerry hums softly, contemplating whether he should order something for him quickly, but assures himself that he'd buy something for himself. He's a grown man with his own money, he can look after himself, right? Jerry sighs softly, sending a quick 'See you soon,' with a smiley face before putting his phone away.

"Hey," He calls out, making his way towards his children. "Do you mind if Kurtis comes over? We haven't hung out in quite some time with our busy schedules." He explains, his kids shaking their heads.

"Mom's picking us up in an hour anyway, so we don't mind you having friends over." Summer says with a shrug, Morty humming after. Jerry nods, moving to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, knowing Kurt would enjoy a mug 'round about now.

A few minutes pass by, and a familiar truck pulls into the parking lot, walking up the stairs and soft, struggling knocks on the door to the apartment. A gentle smile on his features, and a loving gaze in his eyes, he greets Jerry as he opens the door, holding the two bags in his left hand and the two foam cups in the holder in his other hand. He walks in, setting the food on the counter as Morty and Summer walk towards them. They take their meals whilst greeting Kurt, and seat themselves at the counter, Jerry pulling his chair to the end of the counter. Refusing to sit down, Kurtis stands tall on the opposite end of the counter than the two kids, and pours himself and Jerry two cups of coffee each, with their preferred quantities of sugar and milk.

He munches on Jerry's French fries, watching as the kids begin to eat, Morty eating his fries with a bit of ketchup, and Summer dipping hers into the foam of her strawberry milkshake. "What? It brings out the flavor." She tells her brother after he pulls a face full of disgust. And Jerry lifts up his burger, knowing she'd gotten her taste-buds from him, smiling at the two.

"Jerry always loved that," Kurtis shakes his head slowly, "Fries and milkshake, a weird combination. I always thought it was disgusting, I still do, but it tastes pretty good." He shrugs, sipping from his coffee as Jerry takes a bite of his burger. A bit if the sauce spills onto his cheek, going unnoticed by the man - confused when watching Kurtis snicker whilst he turns to him. "You got a little something there." He gestures to his cheek, Jerry wiping the wrong spot unintentionally. The farmer moves to grab a napkin, and brings to to his face, "Here, let me get for ya." He says calmly, and gently wipes the sauce off if his face, dropping the used tissue into the trash can.

"All gone?" Kurtis hums in agreement, placing the empty fry holder into one of the McDonalds' bags. As they all finish their meals, they reside in the living room, the two adults resting on the ground and the kids seated back on their spots on the sofa. They share a calm conversation, Jerry cracking dad jokes beside his friend, the only one who genuinely found them funny. And Summer types away on her phone, as she continues to add small comments every now and then. Mortimer stutters along his words, but still tries to hold the decent conversation with his father.

After a few minutes, they rise to their feet and move to the guest room, beginning to pack their belongings as their mother would arrive to fetch them in ten minutes. They leave the two men, when turn to face each other, Jerry sitting crisscross and Kurt resting on his knees with his hands on his thighs. Jerry always admired how handsome he looked in overalls, the sighting of him wearing suit pants and a grey pullover on top of a button up shirt, was strange, but lovely nonetheless. He smiles at him, the two continuing to talk amongst themselves.

"So, what was the sale about?" Jerry questions, both of his hands holding his mug of coffee. Kurtis sighs, shaking his head slowly as he relives the morning, overly dramatic for all the wrong reasons. The table flipping, the yelling he'd received for no apparent reason, and the punch he'd dodged, watching the fist go through the wall beside him; all just because he was the one to communicate the rise of prices on his beer. He'd made a sale, of course, he needed the money for the gift he planned on getting, unsure of whether or not it was more for himself than for his companion. He shrugs.

"My beer stock is lowering now that Rick's buying a dozen bottles a time," He explains, reaching over to take his mug off the floor and drink from it. "And because it takes so long to make, I'd be making less if I kept the price the same."

"Oh, I see." Jerry comments between, wanting to show he's listening.

"Yeah. So, I raised the price to ten bucks a bottle, that way, when Rick buys twelve, he wouldn't be paying sixty, but rather 120 bucks."

"That'd a lot of money."

"It's a lot of beer." He states, sipping the bitter drink. "I mean, if people stop buying fo much at a time I wouldn't need to buy so much supply to make it, and I wouldn't have to raise the prices. Plus, it's just me who's making it, so it's even more difficult to make it all on time, and still be able to sell as much as I do."

"Yeah, it's not like you have a factory."

"Exactly," Kurtis sighs, "I sold only ten bottles to this guy, he usually gets like twenty."

"So, he paid the same price for half the amount of beers he'd usually get?"

"Yup. Meaning, I still have like fourteen beers in the truck." He paces his empty mug on the coffee table, Jerry smiling softly as he fiddles with his sleeves. "If you want, we could share a few bottles and talk about stuff..." He offers, smiling at the answer he knew he'd receive. "I mean, I worked hard on them, I too should enjoy them, you know?"

"Sure," Jerry smiles. "that sounds fun."

[28 July 2022.]