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Fiction

Yes, My Parents Are Nutcases

Written by Cassie Chase

Thinking straight was a bit of an issue for me that day.  Once again, my parents were being much too overprotective of their only daughter.  They wanted my boyfriend to come to the house and meet them before we went out on our first date together.  I tried to warn Jimmy that my parents were nutcases, but he wouldn’t believe it.

                I rushed to the door when I heard a knock.  Jimmy was standing on the front porch.  I let him in, gave him a hug, and whispered in his ear, “Good luck with them.”“I don’t know why you’re so worried, Ali.  It’ll only be a few minutes.  I’ll be fine.”  I took his hand and led him into the living room.  We sat on the couch together as my parents sat in the cushy chairs opposite us.  “Hello, James,” my dad said, emphasizing the fact that he was using Jimmy’s full name. “Hey,” “Ali, why don’t you go get your coat so you are all ready to go,” said her dad.I went to the hall closet, opened the door, and pretended I was searching for a jacket.“James, I have a few rules that I’d appreciate if you followed.”“No problem, sir.”“1. You do not touch my daughter in front of me.  You may glance at her, as long as you do not peer at anything below her neck.  If you cannot keep your eyes and hands off of my daughter’s body, I will remove them myself.2. The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter:  Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool.  Places where there is darkness.  Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to allow my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka – zipped up to her throat.  Movies with strong romantic theme are to be avoided; movies with chain saws are okay.  Hockey games are ok.  Old folks’ homes are preferred.3. And finally, do not lie to me.  I may appear to be a dimwitted, potbellied, balding, middle aged man, but on issues related to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless God of your universe.  If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind this house.  Do not mess with me.”Jimmy stared at my father in horror.  He leapt up from the couch, ran straight past me through the hallway, and bolted outside to his car.  He then sped away from the house without me.

I woke up from my day dream when the microwave beeped to let me know that my pasta was finished.  I grabbed a napkin out of the bin on the counter, silverware from the drawer next to the sink, and poured myself a glass of ice water as another day dream –day-mare is more like it-  took me away.

I let Jimmy inside and whispered ‘good luck’.  I brought him into the living room where Mom and Dad were waiting.“Hello, Jimmy!  It’s so nice to finally meet you!” my mom said.“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Peters,” Jimmy said as he walked over to shake Mom’s hand. She ignored his outstretched arm and pulled him into a rib-crushing hug, as if he was one of her own children.  An enormous smile was stretched across her face, when suddenly, she burst out into tears.   “Oh Jimmy, you’re Ali’s first date!  She’s growing up so much, I’m not sure I can stand it!” she sobbed into his shoulder.  Dad rushed over to my mom and detached her from Jimmy.  He sat her down in a nearby chair as she continued to sob.  “It starts with the first date, then she’ll be leaving me to go to college, and then she’ll get married and have kids of her own!  It feels like just days ago that I was changing Ali’s diaper!” Mom jumped up from the chair she was sitting in and darted out of the room.  I heard her run upstairs, slam a few doors, and run back down the stairs.  She appeared in the living room holding a cardboard box.  It was her sacred picture box that held hundreds of Ali’s baby photos.  “Mom!  No!” I exclaimed.“Oh, I’m sure Jimmy would love to see your baby pictures!” she said, tears still streaming down her face.“Actually,” said Jimmy, “I have a present for Ali!  It’s at my house, I’ll be right back!”The look he gave me before walking out the door to his car told me that he had no intention of coming back. 

“Ali,” my mom said brining me back from the trance I was in, “are you ok?  You look sick.”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

                It was finally time for Jimmy to come meet my parents, for real this time.  I kept trying to convince myself that everything would go fine, and that my daydreams had no chance of actually happening. 

                There was a knock on the door and I opened it to find Jimmy standing on the front porch.  I let him inside and led him into the living room where my parents were waiting.

“Hi, Jimmy,” my mom and dad said in unison.

“Hi,” he replied. “It’s nice to meet you.”  Jimmy shook each of their hands and gave them a polite smile. 

“ You understand why we had to do this, right?  We just had to make sure Ali was going to be safe.”

“Yes, sir.  I completely understand.”

“Alright then.  You seem like a nice enough boy, you two are all set to go!  Have fun!” my mom said.

I hugged them both goodbye and Jimmy and I were on our way.

I looked back on my first date and wish something a bit more exciting happened.  The actual parent-boyfriend encounter was, truthfully, a bit of a let down.

My Pee Buddy 'N' Me

Written by Michael Troxell

It must be said that I don't keep a regular urinary schedule or anything like that. I drink seven bottles of water a day (for good luck), and so I go two or three times in an afternoon. It was just a coincidence that Indian Doctor and I met twice that day. Both times, I stood at the urinal, soon to be nestled by a visitor at the only conjoining fixture.

"How's it going?" asked my wiener.

"Shut up," said Indian Doctor's wiener. "Don't talk to me while I'm peeing."
_____________________
Indian Doctor and I soon became close. One night we decided to go to the drive-in so that we could see some bloody movie. However, the drive-in was sold out.

"Well, what do you wanna do?" I asked.

"I dunno," said Indian Doctor.

"Me neither," replied his wiener.

I had an idea. "How about we go to the moon?"

So we drove to the moon. It was very rocky.
_____________________
Indian Doctor liked the moon. I liked the moon. Both of our wieners liked the craters. We decided to get a summer house there. For when Earth-living got too warm. We spent a number of years vacationing on the moon, but then the moon lost its magic. We would vow that each summer would be our last. Still we kept coming back out of some ill-guided devotion. Maybe it was tradition. It was very rocky.
_____________________

Indian Doctor hates Billy Joel, but his wiener can't stop listening to that shit. I'm indifferent to the whole affair. Let's just say that I never turn off the radio when BJ pops on, but I don't exactly tap my foot either.

My piano man is Elton John. My wiener's is Ben Folds. My wiener is trendy and has a goatee.
_____________________
We were sitting under the stars one night and looking at the Earth, talking about this and that--all of us except for Indian Doctor's wiener, which was in the kitchen making loganberry pie. "Don't you wish this whole moon was made out of candy?" said Indian Doctor.

I smiled. "Oh man," I said.

"Eh," said my wiener. "It all tastes the same to me."

"Shut up or I will stick a pencil in you," I said.
_____________________
Indian Doctor's wiener bought the pie recipe from Hap's Roadside Diner. The diner pie was outstanding. The wiener's pie was a cheap imitation.
____________________
"Did you know that McDonald's shakes are actually made of potatoes?" asked my wiener.

"No, I didn't," I said.

"It's true," said my wiener. "Did you know that an elephant can sustain itself on nothing but rocks and soil for three weeks before it dies?"

"No."

"That's also true. I just thought of it."
_____________________
One night my wiener decided to play a joke on the rest of us. He put laxatives into our coffeed beverages.

We could tell by the look on its face that something was up.

I snuck some habanero peppers into its latte. Boy, was its face red.
_____________________
I don't care what anyone tells you--my wiener never kissed Indian Doctor's wiener. Not once.

I didn't kiss it either. I wanted to, though. It made a hell of a pie.
_____________________

There is no square root of pie. Pie is a complex equation involving both dough and filling. If you square dough, you get bread. If you square filling, you have jelly (or a hearty stew). Therefore, no square root.
_____________________
I introduced Indian Doctor to Joli. She liked him very much.

I didn't have the balls to introduce our wieners to her.
_____________________
One night we came into the house and found Indian Doctor's wiener laying on the ground in a puddle of blood.

"Ow," said my wiener. "My soul hurts."

Tears were shed, blame was placed.

"I think I need to distance myself from you," said Indian Doctor.

It was okay. I was only using him for his wiener anyway.
_____________________
I went out to dinner with Joli one night. I told her she could order anything she wanted on the menu, unless the food was red.

"You could just tell me not to order the lobster," Joli said. She looked irritated.

"No," I said. "For serious. I just don't like red things."

She ordered the T-bone--well-done--with the cream of mushroom soup and a side salad. The salad came with tomatoes.

I never saw Joli again.
_____________________

The Blood Mobile came to work one day. I heard about it and got really excited.

Turns out it was just a plain workvan where they drew blood. Not even racing stripes or anything.
_____________________

"Want to play Twenty Questions?" I asked it.

"Sure," my wiener replied.

"Ask away," I said.

"Is it a thing?"

"No." 19.

"A place?"

"No." 18.

"A person?"

"Yes." 17.

"Alive in the past twenty-five years?"

"No." 16.

"In the past fifty?"

"No." 15.

"In the past hundred?"

"No." 14.

"Oh. An old fart. American?"

"No." 13.

"European?"

"Yeah." 12.

"Real or fictional?"

"You wiener! It has to be a yes-or-no!"

"Is it fictional?"

"No." 11.

"Is this person a horrible zombie, dripping with pus and dessicated flesh, hellbent on destructive revenge against the world and the twisted society that created him?"

"No. No it's not." 10.

"Is it Napoleon?"

"God damnit."
_____________________
One day in the bathroom, I squeezed myself next to Kevin Wincloud. He was standing there with his underpants and his overpants at his ankles and his hands pressed against the top of the urinal.

He brought his hand to his mouth. I glanced over and saw a collection of loose gummi candies sitting atop the john. He snatched up another--a worm--and shoved it in his mouth. I smiled.

After I got a fair shake, I playfully pushed his head violently against the tiled wall. He looked over and shoved his thumb into my eye.

"It's just not the same," said my wiener later.

I sighed. "I wonder where Indian Doctor is now." I wiped a drop of blood from the tip of my nose.
Page 8 of 12

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