I rolled my eyes at that, and bit my tongue before replying, ‘You want stupid people defending you?’ No, I didn’t say that. “Well, as I explained, the army is paying for me to go to school, so this is how I pay them back.”
“You couldn’t get any scholarships?”
“I did, Mister Lefleur. I got an army scholarship.” He looked shocked at that. This was simply an argument we would never settle. The Lefleurs, none of them, not even Marilyn, simply didn’t understand the concept of public service. “Sir, let me explain. In my family, we were brought up to be good citizens. We vote, we pay our taxes, we sit on juries, we obey the law, and we defend the country. I’ve known my family served since I was their age,” I said, pointing at Ruth and Peter. “Why shouldn’t I let them pay for me to go to college? They paid for my father to go to an Ivy League college.”
“But it’s such a waste to go if you don’t have to.”
I glanced over at Marilyn. At heart she agreed with her father, but she loved me and wanted me to do well at what I was doing. I had to stop this. We would never agree on this, and I didn’t want to tell him what I thought of his family before I was married to her. “It’s a family tradition, Mister Lefleur. We serve our country. It’s my turn now.”
For Christmas I gave Marilyn an RPI sweatshirt, but inside it was a small box from a jewelry store, with a gold necklace in it. Marilyn oohed and aahhed while I put it around her neck, and then planted a big kiss on me in front of the parents. I happily settled for a very nice sweater, always useful in upstate New York. The summer, the only semi-warm weather in the entire state, was when I would be down south in training.
Christmas Day was a more difficult conversation. Marilyn had not discussed my home life with her parents, and quite innocently her mother raised the topic after breakfast. “Aren’t you planning on calling your family, Carl? Feel free to use the telephone,” she offered.
I looked across the kitchen island at Marilyn, but she just shrugged in response. Her parents noticed this and then looked back at me for an answer. I gave a small sigh. “Thank you. I will try and call my sister before the day is out.”
“What about your parents?”
“I don’t really have much to do with my family any more. I’m basically independent of them.”
“What does that mean?” demanded Big Bob.
I took a deep breath. “It means exactly that. I’ve been living on my own since I was sixteen. I have very little to do with my family.”
“Sixteen! What do you mean you’ve been living on your own? What about this past summer? I thought Marilyn visited you at your parents?”
Marilyn reached across the table and placed her hand on mine reassuringly. It calmed me quite a bit. “She did, sir. We stayed at my family’s house for a few days before going to the beach.” I glanced at her again, and then turned back. “Let me explain. I have told Marilyn everything about my family. I haven’t hidden anything from her. I wanted her to understand me.”
“That’s true!” she chimed in. “Carl and I have had long talks about his family.”
To what extent that mollified them, I don’t know. He came back with, “So, does that mean you ran away from home? Or did they throw you out?”
I shrugged and gave a half smile. “A little bit of both, I guess. By the time I was sixteen it was really obvious I couldn’t stay, so I told my father I was leaving, and he could either go along with it or I would simply run away. He helped me find an apartment and helped me pack up and move out. I lived on my own for the last two years of high school. The last time I saw my folks was this past summer, and the last time before that was after I graduated high school. It’s easier on all of us this way.”
They were both totally flummoxed by this. Family was the most important thing to the Lefleur family. “Your father moved you into an apartment when you were sixteen and paid for you to live somewhere else?”
That sort of startled me. “Oh, no sir, I paid. I’ve never seen a penny from my family since I was a little kid. I’m totally independent. I pay my own way.” That should at least make me look good in their eyes, I thought.
Or not. “You paid? Where did you get the money for that? What are you, rich?”
Oh, good Christ! This wasn’t looking very positive. The day was really swirling around the bowl now. Marilyn just patted my hand. I sighed and nodded to her. “I had some money of my own, and a job.”
“Money from what?”
I looked over at my girlfriend. “You know, I don’t think I ever told you this story. Remember how Tessa told you how I protected her that time in high school? This is sort of similar.” I turned back to Big Bob and Harriet. “Okay, here goes. Back when I was in junior high, when I was 13, I was attacked by three bullies. When it was all over with, they were arrested by the police, and I was able to sue them for assaulting me. I saved the money. Part of it bought my car, and part of it went to pay for my living expenses when I moved out.”
Big Bob looked at me with disgust. “You got beat up in school and sued the bullies?”
“Uh, it wasn’t like that, sir. I only got a black eye. They all ended up in the hospital. That’s where they were when the police arrested them.”
“You put three boys in the hospital?!” gasped Harriet.
“Ma’am, they attacked me, not the other way around, and besides, it wasn’t like they were smaller than me. They were all a year or two older.”
“Why did they attack you?” she asked.
“They wanted my lunch money.” I looked over at Marilyn sheepishly. “Kind of lame, huh?” I turned back to Harriet. “Mrs. Lefleur, I know how to handle myself. Marilyn is very safe when she’s around me. Nobody will ever hurt her when she’s with me,” I promised.
“Well, I never!” she huffed out, looking at her husband.
“You never explained why you had to move out of your house,” said Big Bob.
I just rubbed my face with my hands. “Sir, that would take a long, long time to explain. There’s a few basic reasons, though. For one thing, I have a brother who’s, well, he’s crazy. As in, he’s nuts.” I made a whirly sign around my head with an extended finger. “He’s not safe to be around. One of us would have killed the other one by now, and I am not exaggerating. Either he would have killed me, or I would have killed him defending myself. Marilyn knows, she’s met him. I never let him be alone with her and I made sure I locked him in his room at nights.” Marilyn simply nodded in agreement. Her parents stared at me in disbelief. “Secondly, my family is not like Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver. My folks are good people, but lousy parents. It’s better not being there.”
“What? Like they beat you?” asked Big Bob sarcastically.
I was a touch slow answering this and he noticed this. “I made them stop when I got older. I got my father to stop, anyway. I just stayed away from Mom.”
Big Bob’s mouth slammed shut when he heard my answer, and he stared at his wife. “I don’t believe it. I don’t know what to say.”
Marilyn came over behind me and wrapped her arms around me. “It’s true, all true. The nice one, though, is his sister Suzie. She’s an absolute sweetheart.”