Saturday Surprise

Saturday, July 18th, 1953

Four weeks later, Dean was at home. The stairs were still difficult with his healing leg, even though the doctors had removed the cast before he left the hospital. June had set the long sofa in the living room up as a bed, covering the rough gold tweed fabric with a sheet and she had made sure Dean had plenty of pillows.

The children had acted shy, nervous, and he wondered how much they had overheard when their mother returned from the hospital. Plenty, it appeared. The morning after he had returned, he awoke to Danny standing over him in the living room, staring at him gravely. “Mother said you were better now so you don’t have to go to Fulton State Hospital. Is it true, Father? Are you all better? Or do you still think we are all dead?"

Dean felt a spike of fear course through him. He had come close.

I can’t ever speak of Maggie, Teddy or Sarah again.

To do so could be incredibly dangerous. With that fear spike came a deep valley of depression. Was he doomed to live out his life working in a job that he hated?

“Dean? Danny? Is everything all right in there?” June’s voice interrupted the silent tableau. Danny stood there, waiting for a reply, and Dean’s face flickered with emotion.

“I’m fine. Just stiff, that’s all.” He swung his gaze to Danny, “Fetch me my robe there, son.”

Danny did as he was asked and, question forgotten, went to turn the television on. It was Saturday, and there was a full lineup of shows. Dean remembered this. Given the opportunity, Danny would not move from that position for the next three hours, possibly longer.

The boy clicked on the television. It took a moment for the tubes to warm up and then the screen filled with It’s a Great Day variety show.

Dean pulled his robe around him and followed June into the kitchen.

“I’ll make the coffee.”

June laughed. “You’ve never made coffee in your life, Dean!”

He ignored her and reached for the teakettle and jar of coffee. June stared at him. “Do we have any bacon?” Dean asked.

“Of course.” June stood there, watching him as he prepared the cups. “I’ll make bacon then.” She turned away, then turned back and asked, “Eggs too? And toast?”

“If you don’t mind.”

June shot him another look and he wondered if he was that different from the old Dean. He tried to remember his weekend mornings before the first crash.

The only crash. Believe it, or you might slip and end up locked up in Fulton State Hospital.

For the life of him he couldn’t recall ever standing with her in the kitchen and he doubted he had ever made coffee, until he was alone by himself all of those months.

He winced at the memory of his early attempts. It was either too weak, too strong, or filled with the grit of loose coffee grounds.

“My leg feels better today. I would like it if we could get out, all of us, maybe we could go for a drive.”

The 1953 Ford Customline sitting in the driveway was brand-new. Dean had asked Howard to pick out a good, solid car and had been pleased to see the gleaming vehicle in the driveway when he returned home from the hospital the evening before.

“Are you sure you are up to driving, Dean?” June asked, her hands busy as she cut the bacon into thick slices. He wondered briefly how she had fared without a car in the past month. Probably with help from neighbors. June had never driven, she didn’t even know how.

“Yes, but we could also give you driving lessons if you like.” She stopped slicing and stared at him wide-eyed.

“Me? Drive?”

“Yes, you.”

“But Dean, you...” June stood there, her lips quivering, “You said that women shouldn’t drive.”

“I said that?”

“Yes, right after college, when I asked you if you would show me.”

Dean blinked and thought about it. She was right, he remembered it now.

A rueful laugh escaped his lips, “I am so sorry, June. My dad said it all the time and I thought he was a right old fuddy duddy. I can’t believe I said that to you! And here I wondered why you were never interested in learning. What an ass I was!”

June’s mouth twitched in a way that he remembered all too well. She was trying not to smile.

Dean remembered the early days of their courtship, and the first months of their marriage, when he couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. Legs and arms entwined, skin slick with sweat, those endless kisses. How had they become so lost? How had their relationship dwindled to the rare dispassionate lovemaking, silent meals at the table, and angry words?

“Well?” he asked.

“Well what?”

“Do you want to learn?”

June smiled. It was a small smile, replaced a moment later with trepidation, “I don’t know. Would I even be able to learn now?”

Dean made a show of thinking on it hard. “I don’t know. It can be pretty hard to teach an old dog new tricks.”

The response was immediate. She gasped and he felt the kitchen towel smack his arm.

“Dean Edmonds, did you just call me a dog?” Despite her outraged tone, her lips curved into a bright smile.

“Daddy, Mommy is not a dog.” Betty stood in the kitchen, sleepy, her blond curls in disarray. She said it as she scowled up at Dean.

“Of course not, Sweetheart. I was teasing Mommy.” Dean reached down and lifted the child up into his arms gingerly, his ribs aching.

“Daddy, you never tease Mommy.”

“Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”

Later over breakfast, during which June complimented Dean on his coffee-making skills and Danny sulked over his lineup of shows being interrupted for the meal, Dean made an announcement.

“After we are all dressed, we are going for a drive.”

Danny immediately began to whine, “But Abbott and Costello just started and then there’s Big Top Circus and...”

Dean cut him off, “We are going to spend time together today, as a family. Besides, I have a surprise for everyone.”

“A surprise?” Betty immediately perked up. She had been pushing her eggs around her plate, uninterested.

“Yes, a surprise, now finish your breakfast.”

“What’s the surprise?” Danny asked.

“If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Dean replied, winking at his son. “Now go and get dressed.”

The boy disappeared upstairs, taking them two at a time. Betty was a moment behind him, having shoveled the last of her eggs into her mouth and headed for the stairs, still chewing.

“Dean?” June queried, looking apprehensive.

He shook his head, “Nope, I’m not telling you either. It’s a surprise for all of you.”

Half an hour later, they pulled out of the driveway, easing the large car onto the street. Dean loved the smell of it. The leather was rich and soft to the touch. It was brand new, driven once by Howard, who had handled the transaction and delivery according to Dean’s precise instructions.

“Where are we going?” Danny demanded, bouncing in the back seat in excitement.

“Downtown. I have a stop to make and then we will proceed directly to the surprise.” Dean answered. His son’s foot connected with the back of his seat. “Sit still, son, or I’ll pull this car over and we won’t go anywhere.”

Danny settled down and both children fell to whispering in the backseat. Dean could hear them discussing what the possible surprise would be. It was too early for a movie, and they hadn’t seen any fishing poles or picnic basket. He smiled as he heard them agree that it had to be a candy store.

As they pulled up to the General Typewriter Company on Grand, June looked at him askance, a confused and somewhat guarded expression on her face.

The children appeared confused as well. “This doesn’t look like a fun surprise,” groused Danny under his breath.

“Dean, they can’t possibly be open on a Saturday.”

He didn’t answer her. Instead he parked and left the car running. “I’ll be just a moment.” He reached for his walking stick, and gingerly made his way to the front door.

The door swung open, the owner had been waiting for him. “Mr. Edmonds, so good to meet you. Mr. Jenkins said that you had a special order for us?” The man mopped his face with a handkerchief. It was mid-morning but already the heat was oppressive.

“Yes, I heard that you are stocking a new electric typewriter, the new IBM model. I will need one delivered to 5900 Grand today, and the other ten delivered to Edmonds Manufacturing on Monday. Can you do that?”

“I...uh...yes, yes, of course!” The man looked overjoyed. The electric models were a hard sell due to their higher prices. A sale of eleven of them was well worth the man’s time to open for Dean on a Saturday. He bustled about, preparing the paperwork as Dean filled out a check and signed it. He took the receipt from the man, tipped his hat, and left.

June looked at him questioning, “Dean?”

“Just some business I needed to take care of.” He turned and looked at the children, “Is everyone ready for their surprise?”

“Yes!” Danny and Betty chorused.

“Excellent, here we go!”

A few minutes later, having turned to the right onto Twelfth Street, they coasted to a stop in front of Kansas City Pet Shop.

June gasped, and Danny looked as if he were set to go airborne at any moment.

“A pet shop, Dean?” June asked, her eyes wide.

“We talked about getting a dog and never did it. No reason not to. We have a nice sturdy fence and plenty of room.”

Betty let out a shriek of pure joy. “Rin Tin Tin!”

The two children bolted out of the car, feet flying as they ran to the front door of the store.

“Ah, ah!” Dean admonished them both before they could push it open. “You will be calm and quiet, you hear me?” The children quieted, although Danny looked rebellious. Dean leaned down, putting his hand on his son’s shoulder, “We don’t want to scare them now, do we?”

Understanding dawned in the boy’s eyes and he shook his head, “No, Father.”

“Good, good. Quietly now.”

An hour later, the family emerged with not one, but two new pets. Danny clutched the small collie pup to his chest in a delirium of joy and Betty held a tiny orange and white striped kitten, a fiercely protective smile on her face. A store clerk followed, his arms weighed down with additional packages. There were collars, a leash for the pup, bowls, food, toys and more inside of several large bags.

June’s face held a mix of bewilderment and amusement. She kept giving Dean sidelong looks as well as nervous smiles. He felt oddly ashamed.

We always see ourselves in the best light. I thought I was a little abrupt, distant, but was I this bad?

As they settled into the car, Dean could hear Danny whisper to the puppy in his lap. “I don’t care if you don’t look like Rin Tin Tin. You are perfect.”

Dean smiled back at his children. “Betty, have you thought of a name for your kitten?”

She looked back at him, her face serious, “He says his name is Aslan, and he’s a lion, Daddy, not a cat.”

Dean matched her serious tone, holding back his laugh, “Of course, he is. Nice to meet you, Aslan.”

He reached over and shook the tiny kitten’s paw. It didn’t stop purring for a second, the steady rumble vibrating under his fingers and the kitten’s claws contracted with pleasure. It butted its head against Betty’s palm, demanding she pet him more.

“And Danny, what about your pup? Have you thought of a name?”

“Cassie,” the boy said without any hesitation. “Like Lassie, only better.”

Dean nodded and the children happily held their pets all the way home.