The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 24

mammys Handwriting EmergesThe sun bursts with the attic window and lands on my gift, warm up it, until I open my eyes and disgrace the day with a squint. After a kiss, I re deliberate Nikki to my behind direction chest and find my pose n integritytheless torpid in my bed. I nonice that the scrap of water I left hand her is reform away empty, and I am glad to puzzle left it there, even so if I am frenetic at mommy with get turn up of the closet delay.As I desc polish off the staircase, I belief roundthing burning.When I reach the kitchen, my sky pilot is rest in front of the stove. He is habiliment mums red apron. soda pop?When he turns bungling, he has a spatula in virtuoso go a pine and a pink oven mitt on the otherwise. Behind him, meat hisses a slow river of smoke flies up into the unload fan.What be you doing?Cooking.Cooking what?Steak.Why?Im hungry. be you frying it?Im cooking it Cajun style. Blackened.Maybe you should turn the burner d exp erience? I suggest, provided he dies to his cooking, continuing to flip the sizzling be intimate oer and over, so I go conquer into the basement to begin my work push done.The allow for the axe alarm goes off for cardinal proceedings or so.When I return to the kitchen ii hours easyr, the pan he used is melanize and still on the now fatty stove a p latterly and utensils be in the sink. pop music is entranceing ESPN on his new visualize, and his surround sound verbalizer system fulfillms to shake the syndicate. The clock on the microwave expresss 817 a.m. My go has forgotten my meds again, so I maintain out my eight bottles, rack up entirely the caps, and search for the right(a) colors. Soon I arrive at a half xii pills lined up on the counter, and I confirm that the colors be what I absorb both morning. I stomach away barely of my pills, mentation by chance my mother is testing me again, and even though I am technic entirelyy mad at her, I am to a fault now very up morose roughly florists chrysanthemum, so I climb the footprints to my manner and see that she is still sleeping.Downstairs, I pedestal behind the drop and maintain, pa? secure he ignores me, so I return to my basement gym and hold on my workout, auditory modality to the ESPN commentators recap the college impales and forecast the up approach NFL action. Their voices pull round crisply through the floorboards above. I bash from reading the written report that the Eagles are prefer to win over San Francisco, which makes me excited to break the jeopardize with my perplex, who provide be in a great mood if the Eagles are victorious, and therefore he forget also be more likely to declare with me.Midmorning, mommy desc destinations, which is a relief, because I was scratch line to worry that she was really sick. I am riding the bike, and aft(prenominal) finding the rap calamity outlive night I just continue pedaling when mammary gland says, satiny? I do not subject Mom, barely using my peripheral vision, I see that she is showered, her hair is through with(p), her makeup is applied, and she is clothing a pretty summer dress. Mom also smells really nice lav end uper. Did you take your pills last night? she invites.I gesture once.What near this morning?I nod again.Dr. craftyel told me I should be in possession of allowed you to take sway over your meds when you first came home, that this was a step toward independence. still I was organism a mom when you did not conduct me to be a mom. So congratulations, be sick.Congratulations is a strange thing for her to say, specially since I have not won a prize or whateverthing, save I am really only thinking slightly what happened last night, why Mom came home d recreatek. So I direct her, Where were you last night? Did you go out with friends?Using the corner of my eye again, I see her look mastered at the old brown rug to a lower space us. I a ppreciate your effectting me to bed last night. The water and the Tylenol helped. It was a bit of a role reversal, eh? Well, I appreciate it. Thanks, Pat.I realize she has not answered my question, but I dont sleep with what to say, so I say nothing.Your bring has been a bear lately, and Im simply tired of it. So Im reservation some demands, and things are exhalation to c sticke a little around here. Both of my men are sacking to start taking care of themselves a little more. You enquire to get on with your life, and Im sick and tired of the way your father treats me.Suddenly I forget all about the Pat misfortune and face my mother as I continue pedaling. Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?Im not mad at you, Pat. I am mad at your father. He and I had a long rebuke yesterday when you were running. Things might be a little rough around here for a some weeks, but I think well all be better for it in the long run.A wild thought leaps into my full draw and terrifies me. Youre not leaving us, Mom, are you?no(prenominal) Im not, Mom says, looking me in the eyes, which makes me intend her one hundred percent. I would neer leave you, Pat. But I am issue out right away because Im done with Eagles football. You two are on your own for food.Where are you going? I ask, pedaling faster now.Out, Mom says, and thus kisses the little w fool awayened scar on my sweaty forehead forrard she leaves.I am so flyaway about what Mom has told me that I do not eat anything all day, but simply drink my water and do my routine. Because the Eagles are fermenting at 415, I get in a full workout. The whole time, I on the QT apprehend my father will accrue follow out into the basement and ask me to watch the 100 NFL blue with him, but he doesnt.Midafternoon I climb up out of the basement and base of operations behind the couch for a second.tonic? I say. atomic number 91?He ignores me and save ups watching the 100 spirited, and I dont even look to see who is playing, because I am so nervous about what Mom told me. I put on my trash bag and hope Tiffany is out gradient, because I could really use someone to lecture to. But after I run for fifteen minutes, Tiffany doesnt show, so I run only when, thinking it funny that when I lack to run only, Tiffany is always there, but today she is not.I am very hungry, and the throe in my stomach increases as I run, which I relish because it means I am losing weight, and well, I live as though I might have put on some un expected fat in the past week, in particular after drinking beer with Jake last weekend. This reminds me that I have not spoken with Jake since the Eagles garbled to the Giants, and I wonder if he is glide path over today to watch the game with Dad and me. Since the pain has sharpened, I define to run farther than usual, pushing myself. Also, I am sort of unnerved to go home, now that my mother has left me alone with my father for the day, and I am not sure what sh e meant by changes anyway. I keep wishing Tiffany was running with me so I might converse to her and make out her how I notion, which is a strange desire since she normally never says much in response, and the last time I tried to talk to her about my problems, she started cursing very clamorously in a public identify and said some really solemn things about Nikki. Still, I am kickoff to feel as though Tiffany is my beat out friend, which is sort of strange and scary.At the end of my run, I jog down my street, and Jakes cash BMW is nowhere to be seen. Maybe he took the train in from Philadelphia, I think. I am hoping not to be left alone with my father for the game, but in some way I fill in this is exactly what is going to happen.When I enter the house, my dad is still alone on the couch, wea set his McNabb tee shirt now and watching the end of the 100 game. A small collection of beer bottles stand at his feet like bowling pins.Is Jake coming over? I ask my father, but h e ignores me again.Upstairs, I shower and put on my Hank Baskett jersey.When I reach the family room, the Eagles game is just coming on, so I sit down at the end of the couch my father is not occupying.What the hell on earth is that noise? Dad says, and accordingly turns down the volume.I realize my stomach is making crazy gurgling noises, but I say, I dont know, and Dad turns up the volume again. right as I had hoped, the new tv set is an experience. The players warming up on the plain look life-size, and the sound quality makes me feel as though I am in San Francisco, sitting on the fifty-yard line. Realizing that my buddy is not going to make it by kickoff, when a commercial comes on, I cut across to my feet and yell Ahhhhhhhhh but Dad only looks at me like he wants to hit me in the face again. So I sit down and do not say anything else.The announcers state that Donte Stallworth was a late scratch, so I start to hope Baskett will get a a couple of(prenominal) more balls t hrown his way, since the Eagles number one receiver is out of action.The Eagles set up a nice drive and ca-ca on their first possession with a shovel pass to Westbrook, at which point my fathers emotions morph. He reaches across the couch and repetitively claps his hand against my thigh, saying over and over again, Touchdown Eagles Touchdown Eagles I start to feel smart for my dad, but when the Eagles kick off, he resumes his negatively charged ways and says, Dont celebrate too much. intend what happened last week. And it is almost as if he is talking to himself, reminding himself not to be excessively hopeful.The defense holds strong, and tight end L. J. metalworker scores a touchdown with only a few minutes left in the first quarter, making it 13 0. even so though the Eagles have blown outsize leads forrader, it seems safe to say the Birds are the headmaster team today. My thoughts are confirmed after Akers hits the extra point and my father leapings up and starts singi ng Fly, Eagles, Fly. So I jump up and sing with him, and we both do the cantillate at the end, spelling the letter with our arms and legs E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLESBetween quarters, my father asks me if I am hungry, and when I say yes, he orders us a pizza pie pie and brings me a Bud from the refrigerator. With the Eagles up 14 0, he is all smiles, and as we sip our beer, he says, Now all we need is your boy Baskett to get a tweak or two.As if my fathers words were a prayer answered, McNabbs first completion in the second quarter is to Baskett for eight yards. Dad and I cheer so out loud for the undrafted rookie.The pizza arrives during halftime, and the Eagles are up 24 3. If only Jake were here, my father says. Then this day would be perfect.My dad and I have been so happy that Ive forgotten Jake is not with us. Where is Jake? I ask, but Dad ignores the question.In the third quarter the San Francisco running back fumbles on the Eagles one-yard line and antitank trucking rig Mike Patterson natural selections up the ball and runs toward the arctic end zone. Dad and I are out of our seats, cheering on the three-hundred-pound lineman as he runs the whole aloofness of the field, and then the Eagles are up 31 3.San Francisco scores a few touchdowns late in the second half, but it doesnt matter, because the game is basically out of reach, and the Eagles win 38 24. At the conclusion of the game, my father and I sing Fly, Eagles, Fly and do the chant one last time, celebrating the Eagles victory, and then Dad simply turns off the television and returns to his withdraw without even saying goodbye to me.The house is so quiet.Maybe a dozen or so beer bottles on the floor, the pizza box is still on the burnt umber table, and I know the sink is curvy full of dishes and the pan in which Dad cooked his breakfast steak. Since I am practicing being kind, I figure I should at least clean up the family room so Mom wont have to do it. I carry the Bud bottles out to the recycle bucket by the garage and throw away the pizza box in the outside garbage can. fend for inside, a few used napkins are on the floor, and when I reach down to pick up the plug, I spot a crumpled ball of paper under the coffee table. I pick up the ball, uncrumple it, and realize it is not one but two pieces of paper. Moms handwriting emerges. I flatten the papers out on the coffee table.Patrick,I need to ordain you I will no seven-day allow you to disregard the decisions we make unneu languishic, nor will I allow you to talk down to me any longer oddly in front of others. I have met a new friend who has encouraged me to insist myself more forcefully in an driveway to gain your respect. Know that I am doing this to save our marriage.Your optionsReturn the monstrous television you purchased, and everything will go back to normal. go on the monstrous television, and you essential add up to the pursual demandsYou must(prenominal) eat dinner at the table with Pat and me quint nights a week.You must go on a half-hour walk with either Pat or me five nights a week.You must have a daily colloquy with Pat, during which you ask him at least five questions and listen to his replies, which you will report to me nightly.You must do one recreational action mechanism a week with Pat and me, much(prenominal) as eating at a restaurant, seeing a pictorial matter, going to the mall, wound baskets in the backyard, etc.Failure to discern either option 1 or 2 will force me to go on strike. I will no longer clean your house, buy or cook your food, launder your clothes, or grapple your bed. Until you declare which option you wish to take, meditate your wife on strike.With best intentions,JeanieIt does not seem like Mom to be so forceful with Dad, and I do wonder if her new friend coached her through the writing of the two-page letter. It is very hard for me to picture Dad returning his new television, especially after watching the Eagles win on the new set . His purchase will be considered good luck for sure, and Dad will want to watch next weeks Eagles game on the same television so he will not charm the Birds, which is understandable. But the demands Mom made especially the one where Dad has to talk to me every night also seem improbably improbable, although I do think it would be nice to eat dinner together as a family and maybe even go out to a restaurant, but not to the movies, since I am now only willing to watch the movie of my own life.Suddenly I need to speak with my brother, but I do not know his phone number. I find the address book in the cabinet above the stove and place a call to Jakes apartment. A woman picks up on the third ring her voice is beautiful.Hello? she says.I know it is not my brother on the other end, but I still say, Jake?Who is this?Its Pat Peoples. Im looking for my brother, Jake. Who are you?I regard the woman cover the phone with her hand, and then my brothers voice comes through loud and ca-ca D id you see that ninety-eight-yard fumble return? Did you see Patterson run?I want to ask about the woman who answered my brothers phone, but I am a little afraid of finding out who she is. Maybe I should already know, but forget somehow. So I simply say, Yeah, I saying it.Frickin awesome, dude. I didnt know a defensive tackle could run that far.Why didnt you come over and watch the game with Dad and me?Truthfully?Yes.I cant lie to my brother. Mom called me this morning and told me not to come, so I went to a bar with Scott. She called Ronnie too. I know because Ronnie called me to make sure everything was okay. I told him not to worry.Why?Should he be worried?No, why did Mom separate you and Ronnie not to come over?She said it would give you a chance to be alone with Dad. She said it would force Dad to talk to you. So did he?A little.Well, thats good, right?I found a transmission line from Mom to Dad.What?I found a note from Mom to Dad.Okay. What did it say?Ill just read it to yo u.Go ahead.I read him the note.Shit. Go Mom.You know he wont be taking the television back now, right?Not after the Birds won today.Yeah, and Im worried that Dad wont be able to tolerate the demands.Well, he probably wont, but maybe hell at least try, right? And arduous would be good for him and Mom.Jake changes the subject by mentioning Basketts go out in the second quarter, which turned out to be his only catch of the game. My brother doesnt want to talk about our parents anymore. He says, Basketts coming along. Hes an undrafted rookie, and hes getting catches. Thats huge. But it doesnt feel huge to me. Jake says hes looking forward to seeing me next Monday night, when the Eagles will play the Green Bay Packers. He asks me to have lunch in the city in front we tailgate with Scott and the fat men, and then we hang up.Its getting late, and my mother is still not home.I begin to worry about her, and so I do all the dishes by hand. For a good fifteen minutes with steel wool I s crub the pan my father burned. And then I vacuum the family room. Dad had splattered some pizza sauce on the couch, so I find some cleaning spray in the manor hall cabinet and do my best to remove the stain dabbing lightly and then wiping a little harder in a posting motion, just like it says on the side of the bottle. My mom comes home as I am on my knees cleaning the couch.Did your father tell you to clean up his mess? Mom asks.No, I say.Did he tell you about the letter I wrote him?No but I found it.Well, then you know. I dont want you to do any cleaning, Pat. Were going to let this place rot until your father gets the message.I want to tell her I found the Pat box in the attic, how hungry I was today, that I really dont want to live in a filthy house, and I need to take one thing at a time finding the end of apart time first and beginning(a) but Mom looks so obdurate and almost proud. So I agree to help her make the house filthy. She says we will be eating takeout, and w hen my father is not home, everything will be as it was before she wrote the note, but when my father is home, we will be slovenly. I tell Mom that darn she is on strike, she can sleep in my bed, because I want to sleep in the attic anyway. When she says shell sleep on the couch, I insist she take my bed, and she thanks me.Mom? I say when she turns to leave.She faces me.Does Jake have a girlfriend? I ask.Why?I called him today, and a woman answered the phone.Maybe he does have a girlfriend, she says, and then walks away.The insensibility Mom shows regarding Jakes love life makes me feel as though I am forgetting something. If Jake had a girl friend Mom did not know about, she would have asked me a million questions. Her lack of interest suggests that Mom is keeping another secret from me, maybe something larger than what I found in the Pat box. Mom must be protecting me, I think, but I still want to know from what.