The year is 1995 and the Terrell’s were sitting down for family dinner after a normal fall weekday.
Randall takes the head seat of the dining table, while Penny sits opposite him. The boys, Edmund and Clyde are seated between their parents. The dining room table sits comfortably in the bay window that overlooks the front yard.
Lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and steamed green beans are on the menu for the night. Even after working a full day at the school, Penny always makes dinner. It’s tradition. Her mother cooked every meal and so shall she. And no easy meals, such as Mac’N’Cheese from a box. No, every meal had meat with a side of starch and one serving of vegetables. And a baked good made from the weekend before. It’s all about balance and Penny could do it all. Well, do most of it. “How are the lamb chops, Randall?” Penny asks after the first bite.
Without hesitation, Randall responds, “absolutely delicious and so tender.”
“Yeah mom, it’s all yummy!” Edmund says a little too enthusiastic.
“Except for the green beans,” adds Clyde who pushes the green objects around with the fork. “I hate vegetables.”
"We all hate vegetables but you know the rule mister. No greens eaten, then nothing sweeten for you,” Penny says.
“Or rather you get beaten if no greens are eaten,” Randall adds with a chuckle.
A slight threatening undertone was applied even after Penny tisked the comment off. Clyde resentfully picked up the fork and stabbed a single bean only to slather it in mashed potatoes, put the concoction in his mouth and swallow before chewing. Penny considers scolding but chooses otherwise. After teaching all day, she was exhausted and the last thing she wanted was more disciplinary action. “So tell me about your day. Clyde once you swallow that bite, tell me what you learned today.”
A dramatic gulp slips through the youngest child’s lips, followed by a ravishing drink of milk to wash away the remaining green bean flavor. “I am learning about the times’ table. I am a master at one’s. Quiz me, momma!”
“What’s one time three?”
“Three!” Clyde says without hesitation.
“Nice job! What about seven times one?”
“That’s easy, it’s seven.” He says with a dramatic eye roll. Shockingly it melts Penny’s heart. If one of her pupils did just that, they would immediately be sent to the corner of the room.
“Looking for a challenge huh?” Randall says. “What is two-hundred and fifty-seven times one?”
A furrowed brow shows on Clyde’s face. “Hmmm, it’s 257. I think.”
”Well is it 257 or not?” Randall asks. “Believe in yourself, champ. Just like I taught you on the mat.” Clyde has been into wrestling since he was three years old and has shown a real talent for it. Each boy was allowed to play in one sport, Edmund chose basketball which was fitting for his tall figure but Clyde chose wrestling. Whether he chose that sport due to parental pressure or to finally face a real opponent besides his older brother, his parents will never know. However, they both saw raw talent on the mat and encouraged him to hone that deep underlying rage into something more productive, like wrestling.
“It’s 257,” Clyde says.
“Ha, that’s my boy!” Randall says with a slap to the table, reverberating the dishes. “And what did you learn Edmund?”
Now, attention was turned to the eldest, patiently waiting for the limelight away from his little brother. “I learned that Kelly has a crush on me.”
A smile stretches across Randall’s face. “Oh did you learn that while in class today?”
“No, it was during recess when she tried to hold my hand.”
“GROSS!” Clyde yells with a mouth full of food. “You have girl cooties!”
“I do not! I pulled my hand away.”
“Ma looks like our boys are growing up!” Randall says.
“Kelly and Edmund sitting in the tree. K.I.S.S.I.N.G.” Clyde sings.
“Stop it, Clyde! I don’t even like her!”
Penny could see a rowdy situation escalate before it reached the breaking point. “That’s enough Clyde,” she commands in that authoritative teaching voice.
His response was to make loud and sloppy kissing noises towards his older brother. Randal was holding back a fit of laughter and Penny also found it a struggle not to laugh at such a childish but innocent gesture. This was a sibling relationship, especially between two boys. They were meant to tease, fight and ultimately love one another. Seeing this memorable moment unfold, Penny muttered a little prayer under her breath begging for this brotherly love to continue through adulthood.
But now Edmund’s ears were turning red. Either by embarrassment or rage. The boys did inherit their father’s anger. They were tightly wound up like a cork on a champagne bottle that had been shaken vigorously. If not properly addressed, they would spew that bottled-up rage all over the walls, allowing The House to absorb the poison of hate. As if on cue, the lights flickered and the floorboards creaked above their heads as if someone was walking across the room. A low rumble bubbled up from deep down below the house. Guests would say they had a loud heater but the Terrell’s always knew the truth. It was something or rather someone who fed on the rage.
Needing to diffuse the situation quickly, Penny changed the conversation altogether. “Randal, what did you learn today?”
Thankfully by now, Clyde was bored of the teasing and continued stuffing his mouth full of mashed potatoes. Edmund sat still while staring down at his brother. Penny noticed the rhythmic movement of his chest, watching as he controlled his breathing. The temperature in the room returned to a comfortable warmth, for now.
“I learned that I love spending time with my family around the dinner table and I do believe I have discovered a new favorite meal,” Randal says.
“And what would that be?” Penny asks.
“Lamb chops and mashed potatoes,” he shovels another forkful into his mouth and flashes her a wink.
“Glad to hear, it was an easy meal to make. Now would you all like to hear what I learned today?”
The three most important men in her life nod back enthusiastically and she dives right into the story about a rowdy classroom who lost the privilege to a pizza party. Of course, she couldn’t help but twist this story into a life lesson and by the end, all men were standing taller. She inwardly smiles and pats herself on the back.
Dinner had concluded and as the boys cleared the table, Penny cleaned the dishes. Randal was moving around in the upstairs bedroom, making quite a ruckus. At one point, the remaining family members looked towards the ceiling, as if to decipher the noises. All went silent and a few seconds later, Randal’s shoes echoed off the stairs as he made the descent.
“Okay boys before we have any dessert, we should review your spelling words for the test.”
“Mom, we already know them,” Edmund says while wiping the leftover crumbs onto the floor.
“Don’t wipe that onto the floor! Place them into your hand and throw it away in the bin,” she snaps.
“We went over them like one hundred times over the weekend,” Clyde says while bringing over the butter dish. He mostly walks around the table, acting like he is cleaning off the table but the truth remains that he could barely reach the top of it. So Edmund did the heavy lifting and handed stuff to Clyde in support.
“Well if you’re so confident, it will take no time to recite the words. Now grab the lists,” Penny says. Randal enters the kitchen with his shoes and jacket on. “Where are you going?”
Zipping up the jacket he says, “going to grab a few drinks with the boys.”
“But we’re having canned peaches and oatmeal cookies. Your favorite!” Penny tried to hide the disappointment in her voice but noticed that she sounded desperate instead. Randal worked hard for ten days and had four days off in a row and she treasured that time with him. But she also didn’t want to be a controlling wife. Although he had been frequenting the bar with the ‘boys’ here recently. She was about to protest his leaving when he kissed Penny squarely on the mouth and yelled, “alright you two listen to mom and go to bed on time. I’ll be home before midnight.” And with that, he headed out the front door without a second look back.
