“What are you so upset about?” Charlie’s dad hollered at his wife. She stamped her feet and headed into the kitchen. “Your son thinks that Eddie and Brian did a horrible thing again. Why doesn’t he just let up on those two boys? Is he jealous of them?” She almost screamed as she grabbed a can of Coke from the fridge. Charlie’s dad just continued to watch football as she mumbled and groaned in the kitchen, getting ready to cook dinner.

Charlie walked up the stairs with the department store bag in one hand. “Charlie! Why are you getting your mom upset again?” Charlie’s dad stopped him immediately. He turned down the volume of the television set and walked over to the stairs. Looking up, he hollered at his only son.

“Why do you say bad things about those boys? You know they are good boys. Their fathers are good buddies of mine.” His mean eyes stared right at Charlie.

“You mean golf buddies, you have nothing else in common with them except golf. I don’t exactly call that deep friendship.” Charlie responded back but not with a tone of anger or frustration but rather with “as a matter of fact” tone. Charlie’s dad didn’t take his comments well.

“Those are good boys, you ought to learn from those two. Are you jealous of them?” Charlie’s dad inquired with sarcasm in his voice.
“Heck no, Dad!” Charlie frowned at his father. He hardly showed dismay towards his old man except when he starts his usual sarcastic and cynical remarks. His eyebrows came together and continued to frown at his father. The sunrays plummeted from the hallway window upstairs and didn’t let the old man catch his frown. He squinted and looked at the bright light where his son was supposed to be standing.
“Well, if you’re certainly not jealous of them then stop talking bad about them. This town doesn’t need another gossip, you hear?” He looked at his wife when he said the word “gossip”. Everyone knew she’s guilty of this vice, probably the guiltiest of all.

“Yes, dad.” Charlie obliged himself to answer back just to get his old man off his case. Then he closed his bedroom door and felt the whole world was against him. The only safe place he had ever been was his bedroom where he could think out loud, complain and grumble without anyone stopping him. Behind those closed doors, Charlie felt safe to be himself, to be a dreamer. He looked at his posters on the wall. He turned his television set on and threw the department store bag with his new pair of pants in it on the floor, right next to the hamper.

“I don’t know why he would say those things about those two bright boys.” Charlie’s mom yelled out from the kitchen as if her husband was 5 miles away from her instead of 5 yards away. “I think you’re right dear, I think he’s jealous of those boys. Do you remember when he was 5 and you would go fishing with him down the lake? You guys had the best times back then. Now it seems like you’re on each other’s throats.” She slapped the beefsteaks with some salt and pepper then dunking them in her secret sauce.

“What do you mean, we?” defended her husband. You guys were the ones fighting when you got home. Keep me out of this one, alright?”
“Yeah, yeah but you know, you should take him fishing soon just like old times. Maybe he needs that father-son bonding I hear about. Will you take him fishing soon hon?” Her hollers slowly turned to sweet requests.

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. I just don’t think it would help the boy. He’s got something against those two boys and fishing ain’t gonna help him. What he needs is a good kick in the rear.”

With his bedroom window open, Charlie could hear his parents talk about him in a demeaning fashion. It wasn’t the first time he heard them talk behind his back and he knew it wouldn’t be the last one.