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Cross-posted from 5 prompts "fic of doom part 1"
Title: Blue Moon
Fandom: Hetalia
Characters: Hungary, Ukraine, Austria, Prussia, Germany, France, Italy, Romano, Spain, Germania, Roma, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, various OCs *Please note Human names were used*
Prompt: Table 35; Prompt 2: grace for the day
Words: 26,420
Rating: M for gratuitous nudity, drinking, adult themes
Warnings: none
Summary: Human AU set in the 1950’s, Roderich gets his girlfriend, Elizabeta in trouble...
Author’s note: Thanks to my beta Jen for looking this over and giving me suggestions, my beta Kat for her suggestions, and my beta Vexed for her cheerleading, without you ladies, this fic wouldn’t be what it is!
Author’s note 2: This fic was inspired by all the great hits of the 50’s, especially all those doo wop artists. Various bits and pieces of songs can be found in here, with exception of “Blue Moon” which can be found in its entirety.
“Teenager in Love” is by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, “Why do Fools Fall In Love” is by Morris Levy & Frankie Lymon, “Earth Angel” is by Curtis Williams, “The Church Bells May Ring” is by Monty Craft, Ritchie Davis, Ralph Martin, Joe Martin & Tony Middleton, “I Want You To Be My Girl” is by Richard Barrett, Morris Levy, “La Bamba” is a Mexican folksong adapted by Ritchie Valens, “Chances Are” is by Sl Stillman & Robert Allen, “Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely” is by Richard Blandon & Hiram Johnson, and “Blue Moon” is by Richard Rodger & Lorenz Hart.
For n0t-chan…
Elizabeta lay in bed, her hands folded together as she said her grace for the day. She gave thanks to God for various things, like her family, her friends, and her boyfriend Roderich Edelstein. She also prayed that her father would like him, despite Roderich being Jewish since his cousins were Catholic like her family. In a small, quiet voice, she also thanked God for not striking her blind because she touched herself down there and lastly, she prayed God would forgive her for not being a virgin anymore.
Coming to the end of her prayers, Elizabeta added one more thing. “Please, God,” she said softly, “please don’t let me be pregnant… Amen.”
She lay there, listening to the quiet, and straining to hear any sounds that would indicate her parents were awake. Hearing nothing, Elizabeta hiked her nightie up around her waist. She paused, thinking she had heard something. After several heartbeats, Elizabeta let her legs fall open as she slid her hand down to the tuff of curls above her thighs. Swallowing her guilt, she touched herself; imagining it was Roderich’s hand touching her there, stroking her folds and making her feel all warm and tingly inside. She rationalized her actions, by telling herself she was only doing what her friend Katyusha had told her to do to prevent pregnancy. The fact that her period was nearly two months late was beside the point.
As she touched herself, Elizabeta’s thoughts drifted back to her first real date with Roderich. She had had plenty of dates with him before, with she and her girlfriends getting together with the boys at dances and at the malt shop. Innocent little get-togethers where she could gloss over the fact the boy she liked was Jewish. Even though he was a doctor’s son and had a scholarship to Julliard, her parents could not get over their prejudice. Elizabeta even tried a disastrous date with his cousin Gilbert, whom her father referred to as “Satan’s spawn” because of his looks, attitude, and the fact he drove around town on a motorcycle, which sadly could not get her parents to change their mind about her beloved Roderich.
She remembered dressing in her favorite poodle skirt and cashmere sweater, her saddle shoes nicely polished, and a hint of pale pink lipstick on her lips. Roderich was dressed to the nines in a charcoal sport coat and grey flannel slacks; the only hint that he was a rebel like his cousins was his red bowtie. He sat nervously in the living room with her father, making small talk, and when she came into the room, he stood up like the gentleman he was and greeted her. After promising her father he would have her home by ten, they left for their date.
Elizabeta moaned softly as she recalled how their date ended. After sharing a shake at the malt shop, they went for a drive, ending up at Lover’s Leap to watch the submarine races. She smiled, thinking how much better one could see the submarines from the backseat of a Cadillac while flat on one’s back with one’s skirt and crinolines flipped up and one’s panties dangling off one’s ankle. It may have hurt and she could have done without the moment of panic they both felt upon discovering they had broken the condom, but when she got home and realized she had her period, Elizabeta did not give it another thought. She had paid attention in health class as well as to her mother’s talk and she was sure she could not get pregnant. It was only when she missed her period a month later that she began to worry.
Who am I kidding…? she thought miserably. That tummy virus I have isn’t a virus after all… What am I going to tell everyone…? Daddy’s going to kill me… Elizabeta stopped touching herself and let out a soft ragged sob. She lay there, trying to get her emotions under control as she knew she had to think clearly about things. The first thing she decided to do was tell her boyfriend, then they could get married and live happily ever after. So, she never finished high school, lots of girls dropped out to become housewives and mothers, right?
Getting out of bed, Elizabeta walked over to her dresser and took out a pair of panties and a bra. She also took out a pair of bobby socks and walked over to her closet and pulled out her favorite dress and a crinoline. Taking everything back to the bed, she laid out her clothes, before getting dressed. Standing in front of the mirror that hung over her dresser, Elizabeta brushed her hair. She pulled it into a ponytail, tying a ribbon around it. Leaving her room, she went to the bathroom to do her morning ablutions, before coming downstairs to have breakfast.
“Morning, Mommy,” she greeted her mother with a kiss on her cheek.
“Good morning, Sweetie. Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?”
“No, I’m not very hungry; I think I’ll just have some toast and a glass of milk.” Elizabeta smiled.
“Honey, you need to eat more than that.”
“I promise to eat more at lunch, Mommy, okay?” Elizabeta popped some bread into the toaster. The smells from her mother’s cooking were making her nauseous and she wanted to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible. She wolfed down her breakfast.
“Morning, Kitten,” her father said as he sat down to eat. “Morning, Alice.” He picked up the morning paper and began reading the sports section.
“Morning, Dear. Lizzie, sit down and eat, before you get sick,” her mother admonished.
“I can’t! I wanted to see if Katy wanted to study for the test on Monday, so is it okay if I go over to her house?”
“Sure, but isn’t it a bit early?”
“I thought I’d go to the library first and work there until it was a bit later, then call her from the payphone out front.”
Her mother frowned and Elizabeta hoped she could not tell she was lying. While she did want to get together with her best friend, she also needed to find Roderich so she could tell him the news. “Please, Mommy?”
“Go ahead, Kitten,” her father said as he picked up his coffee cup.
“Thanks, Daddy!” Elizabeta kissed his cheek and before her mother could say anything, she dashed back upstairs to grab her notebook and purse. She really did want to go to the library, not to study, but to use the payphone as she had two important phone calls to make. She slowly made her way back downstairs and as she was leaving the house, she called out, “Bye!!”
Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeta was in the library, in a dark corner with her best friend Katyusha, trying hard not to cry as she explained what was going on. “I’m two months late, Katy… I have to tell him, he’s the father and he has to know, right? I mean his father’s a doctor and all and he’d know what to do, right?” She wiped away a tear with her finger tips.
“Oh, Lizzie,” Katyusha soothed, “It’ll be alright. Roddy’s a good guy and he’ll do the right thing.” Thank goodness you never got serious with Gilbert Beilschmidt or you’d be spending the next nine months in a home for unwed mothers… It was all she could do not to shiver at the thought.
“Yeah…” Elizabeta sniffed.
“Come; let’s go to the Ladies’ room. You can splash some cold water on your face and then we’ll go over to Roddy’s house and you can tell him, okay?”
Elizabeta nodded. She let her best friend lead towards to the restroom. They spent some time there, her nerves bringing on a bout of morning sickness. Elizabeta rinsed her mouth with a handful of water and when she looked up at her reflection in the mirror, she thought she looked like she had been to hell and back. Katyusha looked concerned and made her sit on the sofa in there with a cold compress on her head. Once Elizabeta felt better, the girls left the library only to find the payphone was out of order.
“So we’ll surprise him.” Katyusha giggled. Arm in arm with her girlfriend, the two slowly made their way through town over to the Edelstein’s. As they approached Roderich’s house, Elizabeta stopped. There, on his front stoop, sat Roderich, his cousins Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt, and their friends Francis Bonnefoy, Antonio Carriedo, and the Vargas brothers, Lovino and Feliciano. The seven of them were singing “Teenager in Love” a cappella and the girls found it hard to suppress their giggles, especially when Gilbert sauntered over to them to serenade them.
“Each night I ask the stars up above… Why must I beeeee… a teenager in love…?”
The rest of the guys sang backup, “Why must I be a teenager in love…? Why must I be a teenager in love…? Why must I be a teenager in love…?”
“Bravo, boys!” Katyusha said as she clapped her hands.
“Why thank you,” Gilbert replied with an exaggerated bow as the others laughed.
“So what do owe the pleasure of your company?” Francis said suavely as he hurried over, and taking Katyusha’s hand, he leaned over it and kissed it, prompting a round of catcalls from his friends.
Katyusha rolled her eyes at him and cracked her gum. “Nothing special, we heard what sounded like someone killing a cat, so we came over to rescue the poor thing.”
Gilbert snorted. “What?! If you ladies care to stick around, we’ll treat you to the finest street corner serenading you’ll ever hear!”
Katyusha cracked her gum again. “Oh really?”
“Yeah…” Gilbert flashed his trade mark grin. “What do you wanna hear?”
She looked over at Elizabeta and back at Gilbert as a grin slowly spread across her face. “How about ‘Why do Fools Fall in Love?”
He smirked, knowing that was Elizabeta and Roderich’s song, “Hey, Specs! This one’s for you!”
Ludwig started them off, his deep bass starting the beat, the other guys harmonizing as they mimicked the sound of instruments. “Ooooo wah, oooooo wah, ooooo wah, oooooo wah, ooooo wah, oooooo wah… Why do fools fall in love…?”
Roderich licked his lips, and taking a deep breath, he started singing, “Why do birds sing so gay…? And lovers await the break of day…? Why do they fall in lo-ove…?” He walked over to his girlfriend as he sang.
The rest of guys sang back up. “Fools fall in love…”
Elizabeta blushed. They had danced together at the malt shop to this song and ever since then they considered it their song. Neither one could hear it on the radio without thinking of the other one. She wrapped her arms around him when he got close enough, heedless of what the neighbors would say. Elizabeta whispered softly in his ear as he sang, “Roderich, we need to talk... And somewhere private too.”
He pulled away from her, a stricken look on his face as he stopped singing.
“I’m not breaking up with you or anything like that,” she said and his relief clearly showed on his face. “I just… we need to talk.” Taking his hand, Elizabeta started leading him over to the large maple in his front yard. They walked over to the swing that still hung from the tree and Elizabeta took a seat on it. She swung slowly back and forth while Roderich waited for her to speak. Finding her courage, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Roderich, I… I think I’m pregnant...” she said so softly he was not sure if he had her correctly.
“You’re… Ummm…” Roderich swallowed. “Yeah…?”
“Yeah…” She nodded and unable to help herself, Elizabeta started crying. The next thing she knew, he had her in his arms, holding her close, while he whispered soft comforting noises as she cried herself out. “What am I going to do?” she asked when she finally got a hold of herself.
Roderich thought about it. “I guess we could get married…”
“Yeah…?” Elizabeta started crying again, but this time a sense of relief washed over her.
“Y-yeah…”
Gilbert and the others watched from their spot on the front stoop. “I wonder what’s up. She looks like she’s crying, right, Tony?”
Antonio looked over at them. “Yeah… oh man, that doesn’t look good. Maybe she’s breaking up with him…”
“Yeah, now’s your chance, Gilbo!” Francis added. “The minute’s she’s a free woman; you can go ask her out.”
“Yeah…” Gilbert grinned, although it quickly faded when he saw Roderich hold her close.
“Maybe not, mi amigo…”
Lovino snorted as he rolled his eyes. “They ain’t breakin’ up. You don’t kiss like that when you do.” He jerked his head in their direction.
“Damn…” Gilbert said softly. “Lovey’s right.”
“Damn straight I am.” He smirked.
Antonio patted his shoulder. “Sorry…”
Gilbert shrugged it off. “It’s okay, besides, her old man would have a stroke if she went out with ‘Satan’s spawn.’ Nah… let him have a coronary from dating the Jew-boy!” He snorted in amusement and his friends all laughed with him, but Ludwig knew better. Gilbert was torn up inside over losing the girl of his dreams again, and this time before he even had a chance to get another date out it.
“Here they come!” Katyusha said, “Act natural everyone!”
Ludwig started out with his deep bass, “Doo… doo…doodoo…” the rest chiming in as Gilbert sang, “Earth Angel, earth angel… Will you be mine…? My darling dear… Love you all the time… I’m just a fool… A fool in love with you…”
Roderich walked hand in hand with Elizabeta. When they got close enough, Roderich decided to tell them. “Ummm… Lizzie and I are getting married.”
“What?!” his friends cried.
“Yeah….”
Elizabeta nodded. “Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah… real great, congrats you two,” Gilbert, trying to be happy for them, said. “So, uh, what made you decide to get married now, Specs, instead of waiting until school was finished? Or are you guys having that big church wedding then? Or temple wedding… or whatever?” Gilbert laughed. “Oh man, the old lady’s gonna have a stroke when she finds out you’re marrying a shiksa!”
“Shut up, Gilbo!” his cousin said. While he did not think his parents would have a problem with him marrying Elizabeta, Roderich knew his cousin was right about their grandmother.
“What’s a shiksa?” Katyusha asked.
“Old lady?” Elizabeta also asked.
“A Gentile woman… you know, one who goes to church on Sundays, and the old lady is Bubbe Edelstein.” Gilbert snorted. “Our oma…”
“Grandma,” Ludwig said.
“The old lady hates our old man for marrying her baby girl and us just because,” Gilbert said bitterly. He had spent a lifetime trying to get on her good side to no avail.
“She doesn’t hate you, Gilbert,” Roderich said.
“Sure cudda fooled me.”
Ludwig sighed. “Oma Edelstein likes you more, Roddy.”
“Yeah…?” As far as Roderich was concerned, Bubbe Edelstein really did not like anyone. According to his mother, it was because she had to leave her family behind in Austria when her husband, a musician, decided to move to Berlin in hopes of getting a job in one of the cabarets that had sprung up after WWI, only to have to flee to America when things got so bad, her daughter’s German husband and in-laws had to leave as well. The fact that they had helped pave the way had left a bitter taste in the old woman’s mouth. Losing her husband shortly after arriving in America, and having her daughter name her first born son after him, had left her, as Roderich’s mother once put it, “with a permanent bug in her tuchis.”
The Beilschmidt brothers nodded. “Why do you think we rarely get together with the family?” Gilbert bitterly added. “It must kill her you and I are such good friends despite her intention to keep us apart.”
Roderich frowned. “But you guys always came over, more so since Aunt Sophie passed away.”
“That’s cuz Uncle Charles and Vati are friends,” Gilbert said. “Vati said they go way back and that he used to keep your father’s ass from getting kicked when they were younger.” He smirked and that broke the tension that was slowly building between the cousins. “Just like I do now.”
Roderich laughed. “I can believe it. Uncle Wolfie can be scary at times like Lutz.”
Gilbert nodded. “Shit! What time is it?”
“Two, why?”
“I’ve gotta go to work in an hour,” Gilbert groaned.
Ludwig laughed. “But you love working at the gas station.”
“I love working on the cars, Brüderlien, it’s pumping gas I can live without, and washing windshields, and checking tire pressure…” Gilbert sighed dramatically.
“Hey, working there got you your bike,” Antonio pointed out.
“He’s right, my friend,” Francis added.
“Yeah…” Gilbert grinned. He loved his old Royal Enfield Bullet. Even though the motorcycle was second hand and nearly ten years old, Gilbert had spent last summer bringing it back to life with his father’s help. Now “she purred like a kitten” as he liked to put it and he drove everywhere on that bike as long as the weather was clear, his grandfather’s old Prussian helmet making him look pretty badassed and cool in his humble opinion. It was the success of restoring it that had fueled Gilbert’s desire to become a shop teacher at their high school once he graduated and got out of college. “So I’d better get going.”
“I need to leave too,” Elizabeta said. “I told my parents I was going to the library and Katy’s house.”
“You wanna ride, Lizzie? My bike’s here and Lutz can always walk home with Feli.”
“Ummm… What about Katy? I can’t just up and leave her here,” Elizabeta replied. And besides, I don’t think riding around on the back of your bike is good for the baby…
“Okay, maybe some other time?”
“Yeah… Bye, everyone!” Elizabeta said.
“Bye!” Katyusha waved. As the girls were leaving, the guys broke out into a quick chorus of “Goodnight, Sweetheart.” Katyusha giggled as she leaned on her girlfriend. Once they were away from Roderich’s house, she asked, “So? What’d he really say when you told him?”
“Nothing much…” Elizabeta admitted. “He did say we could get married, so that’s good, right?”
“Yeah…” Katyusha hoped for her friend’s sake that Roderich would not back out on his promise. Everyone knew the story of poor Alice Kirkland and Alfred Jones and how he got her pregnant, told her they could get married, and left her at the altar.
“Thanks, Katy; you’ve been a true friend.” Elizabeta leaned on her.
“You’d do the same for me, Lizzie…”
Back at Roderich’s house, Gilbert walked around to the back of the house where he had parked his motorcycle. Picking the helmet up off the seat, he placed it on his head, before shrugging into his leather jacket. Getting on his bike, he started it just as Roderich hurried over to him.
“Hey, Gilbert! Wait!”
Gilbert paused. “I need to go, Specs. You know how mad Vati gets when I’m late for work.”
“I know, but I need someone to talk to…” Roderich said. He looked so miserable that Gilbert sighed.
“Hop on and we can talk at my house while I get ready.”
“Okay.” Roderich got on the back of the Bullet, chuckling softly at the “Teutonic Knights” emblazoned around a huge black cross with a white border on the back of his cousin’s black leather jacket, which was the name he and his friends called themselves as Gilbert insisted every motorcycle gang needed a cool name. They rode in silence to Gilbert’s house, the sound of the bike making conversation difficult, and once there, he parked his motorcycle. Getting off of it, they walked up to the house and went inside.
Walking downstairs to his room, Gilbert waited to see if his cousin would tell him what was bothering him. He wondered if Roderich’s brooding had anything to do with the sudden wedding. The more Gilbert thought about, the more something did not feel right about it.
They entered his room and Roderich sat on the bed, while Gilbert walked over to his closet and took out one of his work uniforms. Having seen him working, it always amused Roderich to no end how much his cousin could “clean up” when he dressed for work. Then again, Uncle Wolfie was very strict when it came to responsibilities in life like work.
Laying his uniform on the bed, Gilbert said, “Spill it, Specs.”
“Hunh?”
“What’s eating you?” Gilbert sat down next to him and took off his boots. “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet about the wedding. No one said you had to get married tomorrow, or even after graduation. You and Lizzie should wait at least until after you graduate from Julliard. You got that trust fund from the old lady, so you can take your time finding a job. Not like me, and I don’t want be pumping gas all my life either.” He grinned. “As soon as I get my teaching license, I’m applying at our alma mater.”
Roderich sighed. “If only I could, Gilbert.”
“Why not? As much as the old lady would have a live canary with feathers cuz you’re marrying a shiksa, she’s not going to let her golden boy suffer.”
“It’s not that simple, Gil.”
“Nothing ever is, Specs.” Gilbert smirked.
Roderich nodded. “Anyway… The reason we’re getting married, and I want you to be my best man by the way,” Roderich stalled.
“Thanks, I’d be honored, Specs. And I promise you to give you the best bachelor party in the whole history of the world too!”
Roderich chuckled. “Thanks… but seriously, I need to get married.”
“No one needs to get married.” Gilbert stood up and took off his tee-shirt. Walking to his dresser, he took a clean one out of it and shrugged into it. Pulling it down, he headed back to the bed, where he took off his jeans and put on his work pants.
“I do, Lizzie’s pregnant…”
“What?!” Gilbert turned around to face him.
Roderich took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lizzie’s pregnant.”
“Do I have to kick your ass for that, Specs?” Gilbert narrowed his eyes at him.
“We only did it once, Gil,” Roderich said, unsure if his cousin was kidding about kicking his ass or not as Lizzie was a sore spot between them. He had seen Gilbert beat the crap out some poor slob for less and Roderich had no desire to see if he would hold back simply because they were family.
“Yeah…? I would have figured you for the type to wait until marriage,” Gilbert said bitterly.
Roderich shrugged. “It just kinda happened, Gil. It was about two months ago when Dad was away at that medical conference and I borrowed his car and well…”
“I remember that. Didn’t you use a rubber?” I know I gave you a couple of the ones Francis gave me, just in case you needed them…
“I did, but it broke.”
“Damn!” That explains it, but still… That’s Lizzie we’re talking about… And I can’t believe you banged her hard enough to break a rubber…
“Yeah… So now I have to get married.” Roderich hung his head. Trust me, if I could go back in time and do things differently, I would have, Gil…
Gilbert nodded. He sighed softly, his chance at winning over Elizabeta suddenly forever out of his reach. “But you can still go to Julliard. So Lizzie’s here with the baby, it’ll be okay,” he found himself saying, and he wondered if it was a desperate attempt at convincing himself more than his cousin. “I’ll look after her, you know that, and so will Vati. Lutz will too.”
Roderich nodded. “And when he goes to West Point?”
“We’ll worry about it then, besides, by that time you and I should have graduated. Anyway, Vati wants him to go to community college for two years, before transferring there. He said that way; Lutz has a better chance of becoming an officer.”
“Yeah?”
“Yup! I probably should start calling him ‘West Point’ now or maybe ‘West’ for short. Vati signed the papers so he can join the ROTC next year.”
“I thought he had to graduate high school first,” Roderich said, glad his cousin changed the subject.
“Yeah… but I think they’re making an exception since he takes some college courses after school. You know what a brianiac, Lutz is.”
“Yeah…”
“Amazing, isn’t it? He’s built like a brick shithouse, plays varsity football, and he’s a flipping genius too,” Gilbert said, the pride he felt in his little brother’s accomplishments evident in his tone. “I swear, if he could have run off an enlisted, he would have gone to Korea and fought the commies.” He finished getting dressed. Walking over to his dresser, Gilbert picked up his brush and brushed his mop of unruly platinum blond hair. Setting it down, he reached for the Brylcreem, and after uncapping it, he squirted a bit onto his palm. Rubbing his hands together, he then applied it to his hair. Picking up a comb, he combed it through, smoothing his hair back in an attempt at looking “more respectable” as his father would call it.
“Yeah…” Roderich agreed. “Oh, and uh, don’t forget your bowtie.”
“Thanks! I caught hell last week when I forgot it, from Vati and Lutz.” Gilbert wiped his hands on a tissue, tossing it in the wastepaper basket. Picking up his bowtie, he tied it around his neck, and forcing himself to smile, he turned to his cousin and said, “Well, how do I look? Wait!” Grabbing his hat, he put it on his head. “Well?”
Roderich shook his head. “You look beautiful, Gil,” he teased.
“You’d better believe it, Specs!”
The two of them laughed, breaking the tension between them when changing the subject failed to break it.
“You should do it right, Specs, even if you kinda fucked it up,” Gilbert said, snorting in amusement when his cousin blushed at his colorful language. “Meet me after work and we’ll go see Mr. H together. That way he won’t kick your ass for knocking his daughter up,” he said as he slung his arm around Roderich’s neck and gave him a couple of noogies.
“Hey!” Roderich slipped out of his grip. The two of them left the house, each going in the opposite direction, with a promise to meet up later. As far as Roderich was concerned seven o’clock could not get there fast enough. He was not looking forward to breaking the news to Elizabeta’s father, not that telling his own parents was going to be any better.
At five to seven, Roderich was waiting inside the gas station for his cousin to get off from work. While Gilbert took care of the last customer, he watched his uncle count of the day’s receipts in the register. “Uncle Wolfie?”
“Ja?” Wolfgang looked up from his counting at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his heavy German accent sounding heavier in the small confines of the gas station’s office.
“I was wondering… and um… hypothetically speaking…” Roderich took a deep breath and gathering his courage, he pressed on, “What would you do if Gilbert came to you saying he got a girl pregnant?”
“What?!” Wolfgang felt faint. “Mein Gott! He did what?!”
Unfortunately, Gilbert walked into the office with the last customer’s money unaware that his cousin had said anything. Wolfgang went red in the face, and getting up from his seat, he walked over to his son. “Vati? You okay?”
Wolfgang narrowed his eyes, and drawing his hand back, he backhanded his son across the face. “Dummkopf! How could you?! I thought I raised you better than that!” he roared in German.
Gilbert, who never saw it coming, stumbled from the blow. “Vati?” He wiped a trickle of blood away with the back of his hand, having bit his lip when his father’s hand hit his mouth.
Roderich had no idea what his uncle was saying, but it could not have been good from his tone of voice.
“Have I not taught you to treat girls with respect?!” Wolfgang went on. “Do you want to end up like me? With a girl whose family treated her like a whore because she was young and in love with a boy who was beneath her? Or so her family said!” Wolfgang had never felt so angry in all his life.
“What are you talking about, Vati?”
Wolfgang raked his fingers through his hair. He was trying hard to rein in his anger. He said in badly accented English, “Gilbert, your mother and I had to get married and now you’ve gone and done the same thing.” He looked so defeated.
“What? I was a premmie, you and Muti said so! That’s why I look like I do and my eyes are bad,” Gilbert insisted.
Wolfgang sighed. He did not want to press that issue, so he simply dropped the matter. “You won’t be able to go to college.”
“Why not?” Gilbert and his cousin chorused.
“You’re going to need to work full time so you can support your wife. I’m not made out of money like the Americans like to say.”
“Wait a minute… I didn’t get anyone pregnant!” Gilbert insisted. “I swear it, Vati!!” He winced when Wolfgang raised his hand again.
“Uncle Wolfie, he’s right. Gilbert didn’t get a girl pregnant, I did.”
Wolfgang frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I got Lizzie pregnant, Uncle…” Roderich closed his eyes and braced for impact. Gilbert always said his father was a disciplinarian, but he never believed it until now. “I swear it’s the truth. Gilbert had nothing to do with it.” Except give me the condom that broke, but I doubt that's his fault…
“Oh…” Wolfgang leaned against his desk for support. “Did you tell your father?”
“Not yet… Gilbert was coming with me after work so I could tell him.”
His uncle nodded. “I see… and has she told her parents?”
“I don’t know. When I saw her this morning, Lizzie said she hadn’t.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah… So I guess I should go talk to her parents too, hunh?”
“Ja.”
“We can go on the way home, Specs.” Gilbert looked at his father. “If it’s alright with you, Vati?”
Wolfgang nodded, feeling suddenly very old. “Go… And if you need to, Roderich, you’re welcome to come stay with us.”
“Thanks, Uncle Wolfie.”
“You’re welcome and you two had better get going. I still have work to do.” Wolfgang walked around his desk and sat behind it. He tiredly rubbed at his forehead, and picking up his pencil, he resumed his bookkeeping. “Bye…” he said softly, dismissing the boys.
“See you later, Vati! Let’s go, Specs.”
“Bye!” Roderich said as his cousin dragged him out of there. Outside, Roderich said softly, “I’m sorry, Gilbert.”
Gilbert paused and turned to face his cousin. “What the hell were you thinking, Specs?” He fingered his jaw. “I’m going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow,” he said to himself. “They’re going to love it in church tomorrow…” He glared at Roderich. “I told you Vati’s strict!” He shook his head. “I’m just lucky you told him at work, cuz…” He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what could have happened, and raked his fingers through his hair in a gesture very reminiscent of his father’s. He stared at the Brylcreem on his hand, made a face and pulling a rag from his pocket, he wiped it off his hand.
“I’m sorry, Gil. I know you’ve told me numerous times, but I didn’t realize just how… how strict he is.”
“Yeah…” Gilbert’s grin turned wicked, despite the pain, when it hit him. “Well, you think Vati took it well, just wait until you go talk to Mr. H.” He snorted. “I wouldn’t want to be you right now, Specs, cuz he’s probably gonna kill you.”
“Oh hell…”
“Yeah. Now let’s go face the music.” Gilbert turned and pulled his cousin in the direction of Elizabeta’s house. “Church bells may ring…” he sang, “And surely, darling the angels will sing… Come on, Specs, sing along.”
“I can’t, Gil…” Roderich sighed.
“Let’s go my house first and let me get out of my work clothes, then we’ll go to Lizzie’s,” Gilbert said as they walked along.
“Okay…”
As they got closer to Gilbert’s house, they saw their friends hanging out and waiting for Gilbert to get home from work. Feliciano’s sweet countertenor rang out as he sang; Ludwig, Lovino, and Antonio singing backup.
“’Well, come on, baby, I love you so… I will never, never let you go… Come on, baby, will you treat me nice..? Please don’t put my love on ice… I love you, baby, and I want you to be my girl…’”
They stopped singing when they saw Gilbert and Roderich approach.
“Hey, guys!” Feliciano called out. He walked over to them, his eyes going wide, when he saw Gilbert. “What happened to you? We gonna rumble?”
Gilbert sighed. “No, Feli, and I’m fine, really I am,” Gilbert said when the others came over to them. “I just had a difference of opinion with Vati.” He pushed past them and entered the house.
“Hey, Roddy, what happened?” Antonio asked.
“Nothing, Tony…” he replied as he also pushed past them and entered the house. He headed downstairs to Gilbert’s room. “Gil? You sure you’re okay?” Roderich knocked on the door and let himself in.
“Yeah...” Gilbert shrugged out of his work shirt. His work pants soon followed, and he stood there in his underwear as his cousin walked in, before walking over to his closet. He took out a pair of black chinos and pulled them on. Reaching for his red and grey bowling shirt, Gilbert shrugged into it and buttoned it up.
“You don’t sound like you are,” Roderich pointed out as he made himself comfortable.
Gilbert stared at him. “I’m fine, damn it! So just shut up, Specs,” he said irritably as he stared at his reflection. Turning his head to the side, he gently fingers his jaw, not liking the bruise that was slowly forming there. Groaning softly, he wanted to mess up his hair, but he was stuck with the slicked back look he used for work. “Let’s go, Specs.”
“Okay.” Roderich stood and the two of them left the room.
Outside, Antonio was dancing with Feliciano and singing in Spanish. “Para bailar la bamba… para bailar la bamba… Se necesita una poca de gracia… una poca de gracia para mi para ti… y arriba arriba…”
Lovino rolled his eyes at them, thinking his brother was such a girl at times, not to mention his best friend. He turned his head and stared open-mouthed at Ludwig, who was trying to harmonize in very bad Spanish. “Roll your tongue, Louie. Arrrrriba, arrrrriba…”
“I’m trying to! Areebah, areebah…”
“Y arriba arriba…” Lovino sang, his Spanish as good as his Italian. “Por ti sere… Por ti sere… Por ti sere… Ba-ba-bamba…”
“Bueno, Lovey!” Antonio danced over to them. “Lucho, my friend, Spanish is not that easy to speak, so don’t feel bad. My Uncle Jose can’t roll his R’s either.”
“Hey, Gil! Where you going all dressed up?” Feliciano asked as Gilbert exited the house with Roderich.
“Does Vati know you’re going out?” Ludwig asked.
“Yeah, and Specs and I got a hot date tonight, Feli.” Gilbert winked at him.
“Yeah?” Feliciano giggled when Gilbert slung his arm around him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively much to Roderich’s annoyance.
“Yup!” Gilbert grinned. Letting go of his friend, he walked away. “See you later, kids!” He waved. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
“We’ll see you later,” Roderich said as he walked away with him.
“I wonder where they’re going…” Feliciano said to no one in particular.
“Who cares?” Lovino replied. “Now,” he said as he focused his attention on Ludwig and purred, “Rrrrroll yourrr RRRRRss…”
Ludwig sighed. “I can’t…”
“You’re hopeless…”
“No, he’s not, Lovey. Louie tries hard, and besides, I can’t do it either.” Feliciano stuck his tongue out at him.
“Chooches…” Lovino muttered under his breath.
“Is that a nice thing to say about them?” Antonio said softly.
Lovino made a little sound of disgust in reply. “Hey, you chooches wanna go bowling?”
“I have to wait until Vati gets home first,” Ludwig said.
“I’ll wait with you,” Feliciano volunteered. “You go with Tony, Lovey, and meet us there.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long!”
“We’ll try our best,” Feliciano said.
“Whatever!” Lovino said as he and Antonio headed towards the bowling alley. They walked along in companionable silence. They happened to be going in the same direction Gilbert and Roderich had taken earlier, so neither one was surprised to see their friends talking to Elizabeta’s father.
“Hey, Mr. H!” Antonio called out. “Hey, Roddy, Gil! You still coming bowling with us?”
“I don’t know, Tony,” Gilbert replied. “If Specs and I have time, we’ll meet you there later, but don’t count on it.” He waved at his friends, who waved back, and let out a silent sigh of relief that they kept walking. He nudged Roderich. “Tell him,” he said softly.
“I can’t.”
“If you don’t, I will.”
Roderich shot his cousin a pained look, before turning his attention back to his girlfriend’s father. “Mr. H…?”
“What is it, Roderich?”
“I want to marry your daughter.”
“I see, but aren’t you two a little young to be getting married?” Frank Héderváry asked.
Roderich swallowed. He was afraid of telling him as well as keeping silent and letting his cousin do the talking. Either way, Roderich knew nothing good was going to come of things. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he took a deep breath and said, “We have to get married, sir.”
Frank laughed. “Nobody has to get married, son. I know you two think you’re in love, but neither one of you has finished high school. Why don’t you talk to me when you’ve finished college?” He smiled.
“Yeah, well… my cousin kinda does, don’t you, Specs?”
Roderich nodded. “The sooner the better, sir…” he said softly as he hung his head in shame.
Gilbert watched in quiet fascination as Elizabeta’s father’s expression darkened. That could have easily been me in Spec’s place… he thought wryly as he waited for the storm to erupt.
“Elizabeta Héderváry, get over here!”
Her mother Alice opened the front door and stuck her out. “Frank, what’s going on?”
“Tell Elizabeta to get down here now!”
“Keep your voice down, or the neighbors will here, dear,” she said as he she went back inside to get her daughter. While she shared most of the town’s opinion about Gilbert, she liked Roderich and whenever she saw the pair of them together, she hoped her daughter’s boyfriend would be a positive influence on his cousin. “Lizzie, your father wants to you.”
“Yeah?” Elizabeta got up for the sofa and went over to her mother. “What does Daddy want?”
“I don’t know, but Roderich’s there with that Gilbert boy.”
“Oh…” Elizabeta felt her stomach clench in fear. She had the feeling Gilbert had somehow found out about her little problem as he never came over after her father caught them together on the porch swing, kissing. She remembered how surprised and shocked she was when Gilbert apologized to them both, before leaving. The truth of the matter was, he still liked her, but he respectfully kept his distance as much as he could. She hoped that no matter what happened, he would behave himself and not make a scene as things were going to be difficult enough as it was for her.
Elizabeta hurried downstairs and outside to where her father was waiting. “Daddy…?”
“Elizabeta, is what these boys are saying true?” Frank was so angry he wanted to strike out at something and at the same he was feeling disappointed in his daughter as if all his hopes and dreams for his only child had simply gone up in smoke as the result of a bad decision.
“I don’t know, Daddy, what are they saying?” Elizabeta asked, although she knew exactly what they were saying. She bit her lower lip; afraid she would burst into tears and did her best to avoid eye contact with either of the two boys.
Frank took a deep breath and slowly counted to ten in his head. When he looked at his daughter and noticed the silent tears running down her cheeks, he knew without her saying a word they had been telling the truth. “Oh, Kitten…” he said softly as he took a tentative step towards her.
“Daddy…?” Elizabeta took a few steps towards him and the next thing she knew, she was hugging him as she cried her eyes out. Her father had tentatively put his arms around her, the way he used to when she was a little kid and needed him to scare the monsters under her bed away. While the school year was nearly finished and with a bit of luck no one would suspect she was expecting, Elizabeta still had no idea if her father was going to let her get married, or send her away to a home for unwed mothers and make her put her baby up for adoption. Now that the truth was out, she felt a small bit of relief, but the uncertainty of what her future held left her unsettled. She felt even worse when she heard her father tell Roderich and Gilbert to leave.
“I think you boys should go now.”
“Yeah…’night, Mr. H,” Gilbert said. “Come on, Specs, let’s go tell the old lady what a bad boy you’ve been.”
“Goodnight, sir. Bye, Lizzie…”
Roderich was a mass of swirling mixed emotions as he left his girlfriend’s house. He was relieved her father had a much calmer reaction to the news than his uncle had, but he had no idea if he still would have a girlfriend or not come Monday morning and that idea saddened him. The one thing Roderich was certain of was that he wanted Elizabeta more than ever and that a breakup would be just as devastating to him as it would be to her. He also wished he could go back and relive that night as he was certain he would do things much differently.
Gilbert left his cousin alone with his thoughts. He was annoyed Elizabeta’s father had taken things rather well, all things considered, as he knew if he was the one who had gotten Elizabeta pregnant, not only would his father had kicked his ass, but her father would have too. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he growled softly at how unfair life was. Gilbert stole a sideways glance at his cousin. He gets a girl in trouble and he still’s a golden boy… he thought bitterly. As they neared the malt shop, he said, “You wanna stop and get a couple of ice cream sodas before we go see the old lady?”
“Okay…”
They walked inside and found a booth. The jukebox was playing and some of kids were dancing to the music. Lili Zwingli was dancing with her girlfriend under her older brother Basch’s watchful eye, and Gilbert found her a welcome distraction from his cousin’s moroseness. He thought she was cute and bubbly and sweet as a candied apple. The trouble was, a lot of boys in school did too and Basch guarded her innocence, since she was only fourteen, the way a mama bear guarded her cubs.
“Don’t let Basch catch you staring at her,” Roderich’s voice cut through his cousin’s thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he sighed softly as Lili was dressed in a pair of dark blue dungarees that accented her budding curves, rather than downplayed them. She and her girlfriend were dancing together, the two girls bopping around to Danny and the Juniors’ hit “At the Hop.”
“Hunh? Oh…” Gilbert grinned. “I’ll be right back, I’m just gonna put a nickel in the jukebox, anything special you wanna hear, Specs? And get me a root beer float too.”
Roderich sighed. “Gil, one of these days, he’s going to kick your ass up and down Main Street.”
Gilbert smirked. “Let him try…” He slid out of the booth. “Don’t forget, I want a root beer float.” He sauntered over to the jukebox. “Hello, ladies,” Gilbert said to Lili and her friend. Catching Lili’s eye, he smiled at her.
“Hi, Gilbert!” Lili replied. She felt her cheeks heating up at his smile, and she giggled nervously.
Gilbert flipped a nickel into the air and caught it. “So, what would you ladies like to hear?”
“‘Chances Are!’”
“‘Chances Are’ it is…” Gilbert put the nickel in the jukebox and made his selection. “Would you care to dance?” he asked as the record began to play.
“Yeah…?”
“Basch, I’m dancing with your sister, okay?” Gilbert said as he gathered her in his arms. They slow danced much to her brother’s annoyance. “Guess you feel you’ll always be… The one and only one for me…” He sang softly, “And, if you think you could… Well, chances are your chances are awfully good…”
Lili stole a glance at her friend and giggled. Not only was she slow dancing with an older boy, but she was dancing with Gilbert Beilschmidt, the school’s number one bad boy. That was until her brother came over and broke them up.
“That’s enough, Beilschmidt,” Basch said. “Lili, go sit down.”
“But…”
Gilbert held up his hands as he backed away. Placing a hand over his heart, and giving her a slight bow, he said to Lili, “Thank you for the dance,” and flashed his trademark smile at her.
“You’re welcome… and thanks for dancing with me, Gilbert.” Lili sighed softly as she made her way over to her friend. The two girls giggled and headed towards the ladies’ room, to discuss what just happened away from Basch’s watchful eye.
“Stay away from her.”
“She’s gotta grow up one of these days, Basch.”
Basch snorted as he narrowed his eyes at him.
“And you’ll be graduating soon and going onto college, and then the boys are going to be all over her.”
“Shut up, Beilschmidt.” Basch got up in his face. “And stay away from her.”
“Hey, Gilbert!” Roderich called out from their booth. “Your float’s here.”
“Good!!” Gilbert grinned. “Well, as much as I would love to continue our lil tête-à-tête, my float’s calling.” He pushed past him.
“Touch her again, Beilschmidt, and I’ll kill you!”
“Yeah, whatever!” Gilbert waved and took his seat at the booth. Picking up his straw and peeling the paper wrapper from it, he stuck in his float and drank. “What?” he said to his cousin.
Roderich looked at him like he had three heads. Anyone with half a brain cell knew that messing with Lili Zwingli was asking for trouble. “Gilbert, next time you decide you need to go cruisin’ for a bruisin’ can you please wait until I’m not here?”
Gilbert shrugged. “Sure, Specs.” He slurped his root beer float.
They drank their ice cream sodas in companionable silence until Roderich broke it. “I hope Lizzie’s alright.”
“Don’t worry, Specs, she’s gonna be fine. Mr. H’ll be back to calling her ‘Kitten’ in no time. You’ll see. The two of you are gonna get married too, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Roderich shrugged. “I hope so.”
“Specs, she survived a date with me, this is a walk in the park,” Gilbert teased.
“Not funny, Gil.”
Gilbert sighed. “You can’t say I didn’t try.” He slurped his float again.
“Must you do that?”
“Yes… It tastes better that way.”
Roderich shook his head.
“We should hurry up and go see the old lady, and then we can go bowling afterwards.”
“You’re amazing, Gil” Roderich said sarcastically.
“Why, thank you!” His cousin grinned at him. “Seriously, we should go; waiting around ain’t gonna make it any better, Specs.”
“I know, but I still can’t help feeling… I don’t know? Afraid?”
Gilbert rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the old bat!” He snorted in amusement.
“Bubbe’s not an old bat,” Roderich said, although the barest hint of a smile briefly ghosted across his lips.
Gilbert grinned. “She is too and you know it!” He wagged his finger at his cousin. His expression sobered. “Though Vati, right after Muti died, was a lot scarier…”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah… He used to drink a lot back then and he’d come home and…” Gilbert sighed. “How else do you think I got to be so good in a fight?”
“I’m sorry, Gil…”
Gilbert shrugged. “That was then, this is now.”
“He still hit you…”
Picking up his float glass, Gilbert tilted it and sucked up the remains. Setting it down, he said, “That was nothing… Besides, I shudda seen it coming,” he smirked as he fingered his jaw. The redness had dissipated somewhat, although it was still tender to the touch.
“Gilbert!” Roderich was visibly shocked at how easily his cousin dismissed what happened to him. He did not think he would be so nonchalant if his father treated the same way, then again, Roderich never did anything that would get him in so much trouble until now.
“He was very upset, Specs. Muti was the love of his life and he found it hard to cope when she died. I may have only been twelve at the time, but I learned how to be an adult, Ludwig too. It was hard, but we did it. Now it’s your turn to grow up and be a man.” He reached for the check and fishing out his wallet, Gilbert took out two dollars. “That should cover it, right?”
Roderich took the bill from him and looked at it. “Yeah… And thanks, Gil, for everything.”
“Sure, no problem.”
2
Fandom: Hetalia
Characters: Hungary, Ukraine, Austria, Prussia, Germany, France, Italy, Romano, Spain, Germania, Roma, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Poland, Lithuania, Belgium, various OCs *Please note Human names were used*
Prompt: Table 35; Prompt 2: grace for the day
Words: 26,420
Rating: M for gratuitous nudity, drinking, adult themes
Warnings: none
Summary: Human AU set in the 1950’s, Roderich gets his girlfriend, Elizabeta in trouble...
Author’s note: Thanks to my beta Jen for looking this over and giving me suggestions, my beta Kat for her suggestions, and my beta Vexed for her cheerleading, without you ladies, this fic wouldn’t be what it is!
Author’s note 2: This fic was inspired by all the great hits of the 50’s, especially all those doo wop artists. Various bits and pieces of songs can be found in here, with exception of “Blue Moon” which can be found in its entirety.
“Teenager in Love” is by Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman, “Why do Fools Fall In Love” is by Morris Levy & Frankie Lymon, “Earth Angel” is by Curtis Williams, “The Church Bells May Ring” is by Monty Craft, Ritchie Davis, Ralph Martin, Joe Martin & Tony Middleton, “I Want You To Be My Girl” is by Richard Barrett, Morris Levy, “La Bamba” is a Mexican folksong adapted by Ritchie Valens, “Chances Are” is by Sl Stillman & Robert Allen, “Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely” is by Richard Blandon & Hiram Johnson, and “Blue Moon” is by Richard Rodger & Lorenz Hart.
For n0t-chan…
Elizabeta lay in bed, her hands folded together as she said her grace for the day. She gave thanks to God for various things, like her family, her friends, and her boyfriend Roderich Edelstein. She also prayed that her father would like him, despite Roderich being Jewish since his cousins were Catholic like her family. In a small, quiet voice, she also thanked God for not striking her blind because she touched herself down there and lastly, she prayed God would forgive her for not being a virgin anymore.
Coming to the end of her prayers, Elizabeta added one more thing. “Please, God,” she said softly, “please don’t let me be pregnant… Amen.”
She lay there, listening to the quiet, and straining to hear any sounds that would indicate her parents were awake. Hearing nothing, Elizabeta hiked her nightie up around her waist. She paused, thinking she had heard something. After several heartbeats, Elizabeta let her legs fall open as she slid her hand down to the tuff of curls above her thighs. Swallowing her guilt, she touched herself; imagining it was Roderich’s hand touching her there, stroking her folds and making her feel all warm and tingly inside. She rationalized her actions, by telling herself she was only doing what her friend Katyusha had told her to do to prevent pregnancy. The fact that her period was nearly two months late was beside the point.
As she touched herself, Elizabeta’s thoughts drifted back to her first real date with Roderich. She had had plenty of dates with him before, with she and her girlfriends getting together with the boys at dances and at the malt shop. Innocent little get-togethers where she could gloss over the fact the boy she liked was Jewish. Even though he was a doctor’s son and had a scholarship to Julliard, her parents could not get over their prejudice. Elizabeta even tried a disastrous date with his cousin Gilbert, whom her father referred to as “Satan’s spawn” because of his looks, attitude, and the fact he drove around town on a motorcycle, which sadly could not get her parents to change their mind about her beloved Roderich.
She remembered dressing in her favorite poodle skirt and cashmere sweater, her saddle shoes nicely polished, and a hint of pale pink lipstick on her lips. Roderich was dressed to the nines in a charcoal sport coat and grey flannel slacks; the only hint that he was a rebel like his cousins was his red bowtie. He sat nervously in the living room with her father, making small talk, and when she came into the room, he stood up like the gentleman he was and greeted her. After promising her father he would have her home by ten, they left for their date.
Elizabeta moaned softly as she recalled how their date ended. After sharing a shake at the malt shop, they went for a drive, ending up at Lover’s Leap to watch the submarine races. She smiled, thinking how much better one could see the submarines from the backseat of a Cadillac while flat on one’s back with one’s skirt and crinolines flipped up and one’s panties dangling off one’s ankle. It may have hurt and she could have done without the moment of panic they both felt upon discovering they had broken the condom, but when she got home and realized she had her period, Elizabeta did not give it another thought. She had paid attention in health class as well as to her mother’s talk and she was sure she could not get pregnant. It was only when she missed her period a month later that she began to worry.
Who am I kidding…? she thought miserably. That tummy virus I have isn’t a virus after all… What am I going to tell everyone…? Daddy’s going to kill me… Elizabeta stopped touching herself and let out a soft ragged sob. She lay there, trying to get her emotions under control as she knew she had to think clearly about things. The first thing she decided to do was tell her boyfriend, then they could get married and live happily ever after. So, she never finished high school, lots of girls dropped out to become housewives and mothers, right?
Getting out of bed, Elizabeta walked over to her dresser and took out a pair of panties and a bra. She also took out a pair of bobby socks and walked over to her closet and pulled out her favorite dress and a crinoline. Taking everything back to the bed, she laid out her clothes, before getting dressed. Standing in front of the mirror that hung over her dresser, Elizabeta brushed her hair. She pulled it into a ponytail, tying a ribbon around it. Leaving her room, she went to the bathroom to do her morning ablutions, before coming downstairs to have breakfast.
“Morning, Mommy,” she greeted her mother with a kiss on her cheek.
“Good morning, Sweetie. Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?”
“No, I’m not very hungry; I think I’ll just have some toast and a glass of milk.” Elizabeta smiled.
“Honey, you need to eat more than that.”
“I promise to eat more at lunch, Mommy, okay?” Elizabeta popped some bread into the toaster. The smells from her mother’s cooking were making her nauseous and she wanted to get out of the kitchen as fast as possible. She wolfed down her breakfast.
“Morning, Kitten,” her father said as he sat down to eat. “Morning, Alice.” He picked up the morning paper and began reading the sports section.
“Morning, Dear. Lizzie, sit down and eat, before you get sick,” her mother admonished.
“I can’t! I wanted to see if Katy wanted to study for the test on Monday, so is it okay if I go over to her house?”
“Sure, but isn’t it a bit early?”
“I thought I’d go to the library first and work there until it was a bit later, then call her from the payphone out front.”
Her mother frowned and Elizabeta hoped she could not tell she was lying. While she did want to get together with her best friend, she also needed to find Roderich so she could tell him the news. “Please, Mommy?”
“Go ahead, Kitten,” her father said as he picked up his coffee cup.
“Thanks, Daddy!” Elizabeta kissed his cheek and before her mother could say anything, she dashed back upstairs to grab her notebook and purse. She really did want to go to the library, not to study, but to use the payphone as she had two important phone calls to make. She slowly made her way back downstairs and as she was leaving the house, she called out, “Bye!!”
Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeta was in the library, in a dark corner with her best friend Katyusha, trying hard not to cry as she explained what was going on. “I’m two months late, Katy… I have to tell him, he’s the father and he has to know, right? I mean his father’s a doctor and all and he’d know what to do, right?” She wiped away a tear with her finger tips.
“Oh, Lizzie,” Katyusha soothed, “It’ll be alright. Roddy’s a good guy and he’ll do the right thing.” Thank goodness you never got serious with Gilbert Beilschmidt or you’d be spending the next nine months in a home for unwed mothers… It was all she could do not to shiver at the thought.
“Yeah…” Elizabeta sniffed.
“Come; let’s go to the Ladies’ room. You can splash some cold water on your face and then we’ll go over to Roddy’s house and you can tell him, okay?”
Elizabeta nodded. She let her best friend lead towards to the restroom. They spent some time there, her nerves bringing on a bout of morning sickness. Elizabeta rinsed her mouth with a handful of water and when she looked up at her reflection in the mirror, she thought she looked like she had been to hell and back. Katyusha looked concerned and made her sit on the sofa in there with a cold compress on her head. Once Elizabeta felt better, the girls left the library only to find the payphone was out of order.
“So we’ll surprise him.” Katyusha giggled. Arm in arm with her girlfriend, the two slowly made their way through town over to the Edelstein’s. As they approached Roderich’s house, Elizabeta stopped. There, on his front stoop, sat Roderich, his cousins Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt, and their friends Francis Bonnefoy, Antonio Carriedo, and the Vargas brothers, Lovino and Feliciano. The seven of them were singing “Teenager in Love” a cappella and the girls found it hard to suppress their giggles, especially when Gilbert sauntered over to them to serenade them.
“Each night I ask the stars up above… Why must I beeeee… a teenager in love…?”
The rest of the guys sang backup, “Why must I be a teenager in love…? Why must I be a teenager in love…? Why must I be a teenager in love…?”
“Bravo, boys!” Katyusha said as she clapped her hands.
“Why thank you,” Gilbert replied with an exaggerated bow as the others laughed.
“So what do owe the pleasure of your company?” Francis said suavely as he hurried over, and taking Katyusha’s hand, he leaned over it and kissed it, prompting a round of catcalls from his friends.
Katyusha rolled her eyes at him and cracked her gum. “Nothing special, we heard what sounded like someone killing a cat, so we came over to rescue the poor thing.”
Gilbert snorted. “What?! If you ladies care to stick around, we’ll treat you to the finest street corner serenading you’ll ever hear!”
Katyusha cracked her gum again. “Oh really?”
“Yeah…” Gilbert flashed his trade mark grin. “What do you wanna hear?”
She looked over at Elizabeta and back at Gilbert as a grin slowly spread across her face. “How about ‘Why do Fools Fall in Love?”
He smirked, knowing that was Elizabeta and Roderich’s song, “Hey, Specs! This one’s for you!”
Ludwig started them off, his deep bass starting the beat, the other guys harmonizing as they mimicked the sound of instruments. “Ooooo wah, oooooo wah, ooooo wah, oooooo wah, ooooo wah, oooooo wah… Why do fools fall in love…?”
Roderich licked his lips, and taking a deep breath, he started singing, “Why do birds sing so gay…? And lovers await the break of day…? Why do they fall in lo-ove…?” He walked over to his girlfriend as he sang.
The rest of guys sang back up. “Fools fall in love…”
Elizabeta blushed. They had danced together at the malt shop to this song and ever since then they considered it their song. Neither one could hear it on the radio without thinking of the other one. She wrapped her arms around him when he got close enough, heedless of what the neighbors would say. Elizabeta whispered softly in his ear as he sang, “Roderich, we need to talk... And somewhere private too.”
He pulled away from her, a stricken look on his face as he stopped singing.
“I’m not breaking up with you or anything like that,” she said and his relief clearly showed on his face. “I just… we need to talk.” Taking his hand, Elizabeta started leading him over to the large maple in his front yard. They walked over to the swing that still hung from the tree and Elizabeta took a seat on it. She swung slowly back and forth while Roderich waited for her to speak. Finding her courage, she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “Roderich, I… I think I’m pregnant...” she said so softly he was not sure if he had her correctly.
“You’re… Ummm…” Roderich swallowed. “Yeah…?”
“Yeah…” She nodded and unable to help herself, Elizabeta started crying. The next thing she knew, he had her in his arms, holding her close, while he whispered soft comforting noises as she cried herself out. “What am I going to do?” she asked when she finally got a hold of herself.
Roderich thought about it. “I guess we could get married…”
“Yeah…?” Elizabeta started crying again, but this time a sense of relief washed over her.
“Y-yeah…”
Gilbert and the others watched from their spot on the front stoop. “I wonder what’s up. She looks like she’s crying, right, Tony?”
Antonio looked over at them. “Yeah… oh man, that doesn’t look good. Maybe she’s breaking up with him…”
“Yeah, now’s your chance, Gilbo!” Francis added. “The minute’s she’s a free woman; you can go ask her out.”
“Yeah…” Gilbert grinned, although it quickly faded when he saw Roderich hold her close.
“Maybe not, mi amigo…”
Lovino snorted as he rolled his eyes. “They ain’t breakin’ up. You don’t kiss like that when you do.” He jerked his head in their direction.
“Damn…” Gilbert said softly. “Lovey’s right.”
“Damn straight I am.” He smirked.
Antonio patted his shoulder. “Sorry…”
Gilbert shrugged it off. “It’s okay, besides, her old man would have a stroke if she went out with ‘Satan’s spawn.’ Nah… let him have a coronary from dating the Jew-boy!” He snorted in amusement and his friends all laughed with him, but Ludwig knew better. Gilbert was torn up inside over losing the girl of his dreams again, and this time before he even had a chance to get another date out it.
“Here they come!” Katyusha said, “Act natural everyone!”
Ludwig started out with his deep bass, “Doo… doo…doodoo…” the rest chiming in as Gilbert sang, “Earth Angel, earth angel… Will you be mine…? My darling dear… Love you all the time… I’m just a fool… A fool in love with you…”
Roderich walked hand in hand with Elizabeta. When they got close enough, Roderich decided to tell them. “Ummm… Lizzie and I are getting married.”
“What?!” his friends cried.
“Yeah….”
Elizabeta nodded. “Isn’t it great?”
“Yeah… real great, congrats you two,” Gilbert, trying to be happy for them, said. “So, uh, what made you decide to get married now, Specs, instead of waiting until school was finished? Or are you guys having that big church wedding then? Or temple wedding… or whatever?” Gilbert laughed. “Oh man, the old lady’s gonna have a stroke when she finds out you’re marrying a shiksa!”
“Shut up, Gilbo!” his cousin said. While he did not think his parents would have a problem with him marrying Elizabeta, Roderich knew his cousin was right about their grandmother.
“What’s a shiksa?” Katyusha asked.
“Old lady?” Elizabeta also asked.
“A Gentile woman… you know, one who goes to church on Sundays, and the old lady is Bubbe Edelstein.” Gilbert snorted. “Our oma…”
“Grandma,” Ludwig said.
“The old lady hates our old man for marrying her baby girl and us just because,” Gilbert said bitterly. He had spent a lifetime trying to get on her good side to no avail.
“She doesn’t hate you, Gilbert,” Roderich said.
“Sure cudda fooled me.”
Ludwig sighed. “Oma Edelstein likes you more, Roddy.”
“Yeah…?” As far as Roderich was concerned, Bubbe Edelstein really did not like anyone. According to his mother, it was because she had to leave her family behind in Austria when her husband, a musician, decided to move to Berlin in hopes of getting a job in one of the cabarets that had sprung up after WWI, only to have to flee to America when things got so bad, her daughter’s German husband and in-laws had to leave as well. The fact that they had helped pave the way had left a bitter taste in the old woman’s mouth. Losing her husband shortly after arriving in America, and having her daughter name her first born son after him, had left her, as Roderich’s mother once put it, “with a permanent bug in her tuchis.”
The Beilschmidt brothers nodded. “Why do you think we rarely get together with the family?” Gilbert bitterly added. “It must kill her you and I are such good friends despite her intention to keep us apart.”
Roderich frowned. “But you guys always came over, more so since Aunt Sophie passed away.”
“That’s cuz Uncle Charles and Vati are friends,” Gilbert said. “Vati said they go way back and that he used to keep your father’s ass from getting kicked when they were younger.” He smirked and that broke the tension that was slowly building between the cousins. “Just like I do now.”
Roderich laughed. “I can believe it. Uncle Wolfie can be scary at times like Lutz.”
Gilbert nodded. “Shit! What time is it?”
“Two, why?”
“I’ve gotta go to work in an hour,” Gilbert groaned.
Ludwig laughed. “But you love working at the gas station.”
“I love working on the cars, Brüderlien, it’s pumping gas I can live without, and washing windshields, and checking tire pressure…” Gilbert sighed dramatically.
“Hey, working there got you your bike,” Antonio pointed out.
“He’s right, my friend,” Francis added.
“Yeah…” Gilbert grinned. He loved his old Royal Enfield Bullet. Even though the motorcycle was second hand and nearly ten years old, Gilbert had spent last summer bringing it back to life with his father’s help. Now “she purred like a kitten” as he liked to put it and he drove everywhere on that bike as long as the weather was clear, his grandfather’s old Prussian helmet making him look pretty badassed and cool in his humble opinion. It was the success of restoring it that had fueled Gilbert’s desire to become a shop teacher at their high school once he graduated and got out of college. “So I’d better get going.”
“I need to leave too,” Elizabeta said. “I told my parents I was going to the library and Katy’s house.”
“You wanna ride, Lizzie? My bike’s here and Lutz can always walk home with Feli.”
“Ummm… What about Katy? I can’t just up and leave her here,” Elizabeta replied. And besides, I don’t think riding around on the back of your bike is good for the baby…
“Okay, maybe some other time?”
“Yeah… Bye, everyone!” Elizabeta said.
“Bye!” Katyusha waved. As the girls were leaving, the guys broke out into a quick chorus of “Goodnight, Sweetheart.” Katyusha giggled as she leaned on her girlfriend. Once they were away from Roderich’s house, she asked, “So? What’d he really say when you told him?”
“Nothing much…” Elizabeta admitted. “He did say we could get married, so that’s good, right?”
“Yeah…” Katyusha hoped for her friend’s sake that Roderich would not back out on his promise. Everyone knew the story of poor Alice Kirkland and Alfred Jones and how he got her pregnant, told her they could get married, and left her at the altar.
“Thanks, Katy; you’ve been a true friend.” Elizabeta leaned on her.
“You’d do the same for me, Lizzie…”
Back at Roderich’s house, Gilbert walked around to the back of the house where he had parked his motorcycle. Picking the helmet up off the seat, he placed it on his head, before shrugging into his leather jacket. Getting on his bike, he started it just as Roderich hurried over to him.
“Hey, Gilbert! Wait!”
Gilbert paused. “I need to go, Specs. You know how mad Vati gets when I’m late for work.”
“I know, but I need someone to talk to…” Roderich said. He looked so miserable that Gilbert sighed.
“Hop on and we can talk at my house while I get ready.”
“Okay.” Roderich got on the back of the Bullet, chuckling softly at the “Teutonic Knights” emblazoned around a huge black cross with a white border on the back of his cousin’s black leather jacket, which was the name he and his friends called themselves as Gilbert insisted every motorcycle gang needed a cool name. They rode in silence to Gilbert’s house, the sound of the bike making conversation difficult, and once there, he parked his motorcycle. Getting off of it, they walked up to the house and went inside.
Walking downstairs to his room, Gilbert waited to see if his cousin would tell him what was bothering him. He wondered if Roderich’s brooding had anything to do with the sudden wedding. The more Gilbert thought about, the more something did not feel right about it.
They entered his room and Roderich sat on the bed, while Gilbert walked over to his closet and took out one of his work uniforms. Having seen him working, it always amused Roderich to no end how much his cousin could “clean up” when he dressed for work. Then again, Uncle Wolfie was very strict when it came to responsibilities in life like work.
Laying his uniform on the bed, Gilbert said, “Spill it, Specs.”
“Hunh?”
“What’s eating you?” Gilbert sat down next to him and took off his boots. “Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet about the wedding. No one said you had to get married tomorrow, or even after graduation. You and Lizzie should wait at least until after you graduate from Julliard. You got that trust fund from the old lady, so you can take your time finding a job. Not like me, and I don’t want be pumping gas all my life either.” He grinned. “As soon as I get my teaching license, I’m applying at our alma mater.”
Roderich sighed. “If only I could, Gilbert.”
“Why not? As much as the old lady would have a live canary with feathers cuz you’re marrying a shiksa, she’s not going to let her golden boy suffer.”
“It’s not that simple, Gil.”
“Nothing ever is, Specs.” Gilbert smirked.
Roderich nodded. “Anyway… The reason we’re getting married, and I want you to be my best man by the way,” Roderich stalled.
“Thanks, I’d be honored, Specs. And I promise you to give you the best bachelor party in the whole history of the world too!”
Roderich chuckled. “Thanks… but seriously, I need to get married.”
“No one needs to get married.” Gilbert stood up and took off his tee-shirt. Walking to his dresser, he took a clean one out of it and shrugged into it. Pulling it down, he headed back to the bed, where he took off his jeans and put on his work pants.
“I do, Lizzie’s pregnant…”
“What?!” Gilbert turned around to face him.
Roderich took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Lizzie’s pregnant.”
“Do I have to kick your ass for that, Specs?” Gilbert narrowed his eyes at him.
“We only did it once, Gil,” Roderich said, unsure if his cousin was kidding about kicking his ass or not as Lizzie was a sore spot between them. He had seen Gilbert beat the crap out some poor slob for less and Roderich had no desire to see if he would hold back simply because they were family.
“Yeah…? I would have figured you for the type to wait until marriage,” Gilbert said bitterly.
Roderich shrugged. “It just kinda happened, Gil. It was about two months ago when Dad was away at that medical conference and I borrowed his car and well…”
“I remember that. Didn’t you use a rubber?” I know I gave you a couple of the ones Francis gave me, just in case you needed them…
“I did, but it broke.”
“Damn!” That explains it, but still… That’s Lizzie we’re talking about… And I can’t believe you banged her hard enough to break a rubber…
“Yeah… So now I have to get married.” Roderich hung his head. Trust me, if I could go back in time and do things differently, I would have, Gil…
Gilbert nodded. He sighed softly, his chance at winning over Elizabeta suddenly forever out of his reach. “But you can still go to Julliard. So Lizzie’s here with the baby, it’ll be okay,” he found himself saying, and he wondered if it was a desperate attempt at convincing himself more than his cousin. “I’ll look after her, you know that, and so will Vati. Lutz will too.”
Roderich nodded. “And when he goes to West Point?”
“We’ll worry about it then, besides, by that time you and I should have graduated. Anyway, Vati wants him to go to community college for two years, before transferring there. He said that way; Lutz has a better chance of becoming an officer.”
“Yeah?”
“Yup! I probably should start calling him ‘West Point’ now or maybe ‘West’ for short. Vati signed the papers so he can join the ROTC next year.”
“I thought he had to graduate high school first,” Roderich said, glad his cousin changed the subject.
“Yeah… but I think they’re making an exception since he takes some college courses after school. You know what a brianiac, Lutz is.”
“Yeah…”
“Amazing, isn’t it? He’s built like a brick shithouse, plays varsity football, and he’s a flipping genius too,” Gilbert said, the pride he felt in his little brother’s accomplishments evident in his tone. “I swear, if he could have run off an enlisted, he would have gone to Korea and fought the commies.” He finished getting dressed. Walking over to his dresser, Gilbert picked up his brush and brushed his mop of unruly platinum blond hair. Setting it down, he reached for the Brylcreem, and after uncapping it, he squirted a bit onto his palm. Rubbing his hands together, he then applied it to his hair. Picking up a comb, he combed it through, smoothing his hair back in an attempt at looking “more respectable” as his father would call it.
“Yeah…” Roderich agreed. “Oh, and uh, don’t forget your bowtie.”
“Thanks! I caught hell last week when I forgot it, from Vati and Lutz.” Gilbert wiped his hands on a tissue, tossing it in the wastepaper basket. Picking up his bowtie, he tied it around his neck, and forcing himself to smile, he turned to his cousin and said, “Well, how do I look? Wait!” Grabbing his hat, he put it on his head. “Well?”
Roderich shook his head. “You look beautiful, Gil,” he teased.
“You’d better believe it, Specs!”
The two of them laughed, breaking the tension between them when changing the subject failed to break it.
“You should do it right, Specs, even if you kinda fucked it up,” Gilbert said, snorting in amusement when his cousin blushed at his colorful language. “Meet me after work and we’ll go see Mr. H together. That way he won’t kick your ass for knocking his daughter up,” he said as he slung his arm around Roderich’s neck and gave him a couple of noogies.
“Hey!” Roderich slipped out of his grip. The two of them left the house, each going in the opposite direction, with a promise to meet up later. As far as Roderich was concerned seven o’clock could not get there fast enough. He was not looking forward to breaking the news to Elizabeta’s father, not that telling his own parents was going to be any better.
At five to seven, Roderich was waiting inside the gas station for his cousin to get off from work. While Gilbert took care of the last customer, he watched his uncle count of the day’s receipts in the register. “Uncle Wolfie?”
“Ja?” Wolfgang looked up from his counting at him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his heavy German accent sounding heavier in the small confines of the gas station’s office.
“I was wondering… and um… hypothetically speaking…” Roderich took a deep breath and gathering his courage, he pressed on, “What would you do if Gilbert came to you saying he got a girl pregnant?”
“What?!” Wolfgang felt faint. “Mein Gott! He did what?!”
Unfortunately, Gilbert walked into the office with the last customer’s money unaware that his cousin had said anything. Wolfgang went red in the face, and getting up from his seat, he walked over to his son. “Vati? You okay?”
Wolfgang narrowed his eyes, and drawing his hand back, he backhanded his son across the face. “Dummkopf! How could you?! I thought I raised you better than that!” he roared in German.
Gilbert, who never saw it coming, stumbled from the blow. “Vati?” He wiped a trickle of blood away with the back of his hand, having bit his lip when his father’s hand hit his mouth.
Roderich had no idea what his uncle was saying, but it could not have been good from his tone of voice.
“Have I not taught you to treat girls with respect?!” Wolfgang went on. “Do you want to end up like me? With a girl whose family treated her like a whore because she was young and in love with a boy who was beneath her? Or so her family said!” Wolfgang had never felt so angry in all his life.
“What are you talking about, Vati?”
Wolfgang raked his fingers through his hair. He was trying hard to rein in his anger. He said in badly accented English, “Gilbert, your mother and I had to get married and now you’ve gone and done the same thing.” He looked so defeated.
“What? I was a premmie, you and Muti said so! That’s why I look like I do and my eyes are bad,” Gilbert insisted.
Wolfgang sighed. He did not want to press that issue, so he simply dropped the matter. “You won’t be able to go to college.”
“Why not?” Gilbert and his cousin chorused.
“You’re going to need to work full time so you can support your wife. I’m not made out of money like the Americans like to say.”
“Wait a minute… I didn’t get anyone pregnant!” Gilbert insisted. “I swear it, Vati!!” He winced when Wolfgang raised his hand again.
“Uncle Wolfie, he’s right. Gilbert didn’t get a girl pregnant, I did.”
Wolfgang frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“I got Lizzie pregnant, Uncle…” Roderich closed his eyes and braced for impact. Gilbert always said his father was a disciplinarian, but he never believed it until now. “I swear it’s the truth. Gilbert had nothing to do with it.” Except give me the condom that broke, but I doubt that's his fault…
“Oh…” Wolfgang leaned against his desk for support. “Did you tell your father?”
“Not yet… Gilbert was coming with me after work so I could tell him.”
His uncle nodded. “I see… and has she told her parents?”
“I don’t know. When I saw her this morning, Lizzie said she hadn’t.”
“Oh…”
“Yeah… So I guess I should go talk to her parents too, hunh?”
“Ja.”
“We can go on the way home, Specs.” Gilbert looked at his father. “If it’s alright with you, Vati?”
Wolfgang nodded, feeling suddenly very old. “Go… And if you need to, Roderich, you’re welcome to come stay with us.”
“Thanks, Uncle Wolfie.”
“You’re welcome and you two had better get going. I still have work to do.” Wolfgang walked around his desk and sat behind it. He tiredly rubbed at his forehead, and picking up his pencil, he resumed his bookkeeping. “Bye…” he said softly, dismissing the boys.
“See you later, Vati! Let’s go, Specs.”
“Bye!” Roderich said as his cousin dragged him out of there. Outside, Roderich said softly, “I’m sorry, Gilbert.”
Gilbert paused and turned to face his cousin. “What the hell were you thinking, Specs?” He fingered his jaw. “I’m going to have one hell of a bruise tomorrow,” he said to himself. “They’re going to love it in church tomorrow…” He glared at Roderich. “I told you Vati’s strict!” He shook his head. “I’m just lucky you told him at work, cuz…” He closed his eyes, not wanting to think about what could have happened, and raked his fingers through his hair in a gesture very reminiscent of his father’s. He stared at the Brylcreem on his hand, made a face and pulling a rag from his pocket, he wiped it off his hand.
“I’m sorry, Gil. I know you’ve told me numerous times, but I didn’t realize just how… how strict he is.”
“Yeah…” Gilbert’s grin turned wicked, despite the pain, when it hit him. “Well, you think Vati took it well, just wait until you go talk to Mr. H.” He snorted. “I wouldn’t want to be you right now, Specs, cuz he’s probably gonna kill you.”
“Oh hell…”
“Yeah. Now let’s go face the music.” Gilbert turned and pulled his cousin in the direction of Elizabeta’s house. “Church bells may ring…” he sang, “And surely, darling the angels will sing… Come on, Specs, sing along.”
“I can’t, Gil…” Roderich sighed.
“Let’s go my house first and let me get out of my work clothes, then we’ll go to Lizzie’s,” Gilbert said as they walked along.
“Okay…”
As they got closer to Gilbert’s house, they saw their friends hanging out and waiting for Gilbert to get home from work. Feliciano’s sweet countertenor rang out as he sang; Ludwig, Lovino, and Antonio singing backup.
“’Well, come on, baby, I love you so… I will never, never let you go… Come on, baby, will you treat me nice..? Please don’t put my love on ice… I love you, baby, and I want you to be my girl…’”
They stopped singing when they saw Gilbert and Roderich approach.
“Hey, guys!” Feliciano called out. He walked over to them, his eyes going wide, when he saw Gilbert. “What happened to you? We gonna rumble?”
Gilbert sighed. “No, Feli, and I’m fine, really I am,” Gilbert said when the others came over to them. “I just had a difference of opinion with Vati.” He pushed past them and entered the house.
“Hey, Roddy, what happened?” Antonio asked.
“Nothing, Tony…” he replied as he also pushed past them and entered the house. He headed downstairs to Gilbert’s room. “Gil? You sure you’re okay?” Roderich knocked on the door and let himself in.
“Yeah...” Gilbert shrugged out of his work shirt. His work pants soon followed, and he stood there in his underwear as his cousin walked in, before walking over to his closet. He took out a pair of black chinos and pulled them on. Reaching for his red and grey bowling shirt, Gilbert shrugged into it and buttoned it up.
“You don’t sound like you are,” Roderich pointed out as he made himself comfortable.
Gilbert stared at him. “I’m fine, damn it! So just shut up, Specs,” he said irritably as he stared at his reflection. Turning his head to the side, he gently fingers his jaw, not liking the bruise that was slowly forming there. Groaning softly, he wanted to mess up his hair, but he was stuck with the slicked back look he used for work. “Let’s go, Specs.”
“Okay.” Roderich stood and the two of them left the room.
Outside, Antonio was dancing with Feliciano and singing in Spanish. “Para bailar la bamba… para bailar la bamba… Se necesita una poca de gracia… una poca de gracia para mi para ti… y arriba arriba…”
Lovino rolled his eyes at them, thinking his brother was such a girl at times, not to mention his best friend. He turned his head and stared open-mouthed at Ludwig, who was trying to harmonize in very bad Spanish. “Roll your tongue, Louie. Arrrrriba, arrrrriba…”
“I’m trying to! Areebah, areebah…”
“Y arriba arriba…” Lovino sang, his Spanish as good as his Italian. “Por ti sere… Por ti sere… Por ti sere… Ba-ba-bamba…”
“Bueno, Lovey!” Antonio danced over to them. “Lucho, my friend, Spanish is not that easy to speak, so don’t feel bad. My Uncle Jose can’t roll his R’s either.”
“Hey, Gil! Where you going all dressed up?” Feliciano asked as Gilbert exited the house with Roderich.
“Does Vati know you’re going out?” Ludwig asked.
“Yeah, and Specs and I got a hot date tonight, Feli.” Gilbert winked at him.
“Yeah?” Feliciano giggled when Gilbert slung his arm around him and waggled his eyebrows suggestively much to Roderich’s annoyance.
“Yup!” Gilbert grinned. Letting go of his friend, he walked away. “See you later, kids!” He waved. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
“We’ll see you later,” Roderich said as he walked away with him.
“I wonder where they’re going…” Feliciano said to no one in particular.
“Who cares?” Lovino replied. “Now,” he said as he focused his attention on Ludwig and purred, “Rrrrroll yourrr RRRRRss…”
Ludwig sighed. “I can’t…”
“You’re hopeless…”
“No, he’s not, Lovey. Louie tries hard, and besides, I can’t do it either.” Feliciano stuck his tongue out at him.
“Chooches…” Lovino muttered under his breath.
“Is that a nice thing to say about them?” Antonio said softly.
Lovino made a little sound of disgust in reply. “Hey, you chooches wanna go bowling?”
“I have to wait until Vati gets home first,” Ludwig said.
“I’ll wait with you,” Feliciano volunteered. “You go with Tony, Lovey, and meet us there.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long!”
“We’ll try our best,” Feliciano said.
“Whatever!” Lovino said as he and Antonio headed towards the bowling alley. They walked along in companionable silence. They happened to be going in the same direction Gilbert and Roderich had taken earlier, so neither one was surprised to see their friends talking to Elizabeta’s father.
“Hey, Mr. H!” Antonio called out. “Hey, Roddy, Gil! You still coming bowling with us?”
“I don’t know, Tony,” Gilbert replied. “If Specs and I have time, we’ll meet you there later, but don’t count on it.” He waved at his friends, who waved back, and let out a silent sigh of relief that they kept walking. He nudged Roderich. “Tell him,” he said softly.
“I can’t.”
“If you don’t, I will.”
Roderich shot his cousin a pained look, before turning his attention back to his girlfriend’s father. “Mr. H…?”
“What is it, Roderich?”
“I want to marry your daughter.”
“I see, but aren’t you two a little young to be getting married?” Frank Héderváry asked.
Roderich swallowed. He was afraid of telling him as well as keeping silent and letting his cousin do the talking. Either way, Roderich knew nothing good was going to come of things. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he took a deep breath and said, “We have to get married, sir.”
Frank laughed. “Nobody has to get married, son. I know you two think you’re in love, but neither one of you has finished high school. Why don’t you talk to me when you’ve finished college?” He smiled.
“Yeah, well… my cousin kinda does, don’t you, Specs?”
Roderich nodded. “The sooner the better, sir…” he said softly as he hung his head in shame.
Gilbert watched in quiet fascination as Elizabeta’s father’s expression darkened. That could have easily been me in Spec’s place… he thought wryly as he waited for the storm to erupt.
“Elizabeta Héderváry, get over here!”
Her mother Alice opened the front door and stuck her out. “Frank, what’s going on?”
“Tell Elizabeta to get down here now!”
“Keep your voice down, or the neighbors will here, dear,” she said as he she went back inside to get her daughter. While she shared most of the town’s opinion about Gilbert, she liked Roderich and whenever she saw the pair of them together, she hoped her daughter’s boyfriend would be a positive influence on his cousin. “Lizzie, your father wants to you.”
“Yeah?” Elizabeta got up for the sofa and went over to her mother. “What does Daddy want?”
“I don’t know, but Roderich’s there with that Gilbert boy.”
“Oh…” Elizabeta felt her stomach clench in fear. She had the feeling Gilbert had somehow found out about her little problem as he never came over after her father caught them together on the porch swing, kissing. She remembered how surprised and shocked she was when Gilbert apologized to them both, before leaving. The truth of the matter was, he still liked her, but he respectfully kept his distance as much as he could. She hoped that no matter what happened, he would behave himself and not make a scene as things were going to be difficult enough as it was for her.
Elizabeta hurried downstairs and outside to where her father was waiting. “Daddy…?”
“Elizabeta, is what these boys are saying true?” Frank was so angry he wanted to strike out at something and at the same he was feeling disappointed in his daughter as if all his hopes and dreams for his only child had simply gone up in smoke as the result of a bad decision.
“I don’t know, Daddy, what are they saying?” Elizabeta asked, although she knew exactly what they were saying. She bit her lower lip; afraid she would burst into tears and did her best to avoid eye contact with either of the two boys.
Frank took a deep breath and slowly counted to ten in his head. When he looked at his daughter and noticed the silent tears running down her cheeks, he knew without her saying a word they had been telling the truth. “Oh, Kitten…” he said softly as he took a tentative step towards her.
“Daddy…?” Elizabeta took a few steps towards him and the next thing she knew, she was hugging him as she cried her eyes out. Her father had tentatively put his arms around her, the way he used to when she was a little kid and needed him to scare the monsters under her bed away. While the school year was nearly finished and with a bit of luck no one would suspect she was expecting, Elizabeta still had no idea if her father was going to let her get married, or send her away to a home for unwed mothers and make her put her baby up for adoption. Now that the truth was out, she felt a small bit of relief, but the uncertainty of what her future held left her unsettled. She felt even worse when she heard her father tell Roderich and Gilbert to leave.
“I think you boys should go now.”
“Yeah…’night, Mr. H,” Gilbert said. “Come on, Specs, let’s go tell the old lady what a bad boy you’ve been.”
“Goodnight, sir. Bye, Lizzie…”
Roderich was a mass of swirling mixed emotions as he left his girlfriend’s house. He was relieved her father had a much calmer reaction to the news than his uncle had, but he had no idea if he still would have a girlfriend or not come Monday morning and that idea saddened him. The one thing Roderich was certain of was that he wanted Elizabeta more than ever and that a breakup would be just as devastating to him as it would be to her. He also wished he could go back and relive that night as he was certain he would do things much differently.
Gilbert left his cousin alone with his thoughts. He was annoyed Elizabeta’s father had taken things rather well, all things considered, as he knew if he was the one who had gotten Elizabeta pregnant, not only would his father had kicked his ass, but her father would have too. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he growled softly at how unfair life was. Gilbert stole a sideways glance at his cousin. He gets a girl in trouble and he still’s a golden boy… he thought bitterly. As they neared the malt shop, he said, “You wanna stop and get a couple of ice cream sodas before we go see the old lady?”
“Okay…”
They walked inside and found a booth. The jukebox was playing and some of kids were dancing to the music. Lili Zwingli was dancing with her girlfriend under her older brother Basch’s watchful eye, and Gilbert found her a welcome distraction from his cousin’s moroseness. He thought she was cute and bubbly and sweet as a candied apple. The trouble was, a lot of boys in school did too and Basch guarded her innocence, since she was only fourteen, the way a mama bear guarded her cubs.
“Don’t let Basch catch you staring at her,” Roderich’s voice cut through his cousin’s thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he sighed softly as Lili was dressed in a pair of dark blue dungarees that accented her budding curves, rather than downplayed them. She and her girlfriend were dancing together, the two girls bopping around to Danny and the Juniors’ hit “At the Hop.”
“Hunh? Oh…” Gilbert grinned. “I’ll be right back, I’m just gonna put a nickel in the jukebox, anything special you wanna hear, Specs? And get me a root beer float too.”
Roderich sighed. “Gil, one of these days, he’s going to kick your ass up and down Main Street.”
Gilbert smirked. “Let him try…” He slid out of the booth. “Don’t forget, I want a root beer float.” He sauntered over to the jukebox. “Hello, ladies,” Gilbert said to Lili and her friend. Catching Lili’s eye, he smiled at her.
“Hi, Gilbert!” Lili replied. She felt her cheeks heating up at his smile, and she giggled nervously.
Gilbert flipped a nickel into the air and caught it. “So, what would you ladies like to hear?”
“‘Chances Are!’”
“‘Chances Are’ it is…” Gilbert put the nickel in the jukebox and made his selection. “Would you care to dance?” he asked as the record began to play.
“Yeah…?”
“Basch, I’m dancing with your sister, okay?” Gilbert said as he gathered her in his arms. They slow danced much to her brother’s annoyance. “Guess you feel you’ll always be… The one and only one for me…” He sang softly, “And, if you think you could… Well, chances are your chances are awfully good…”
Lili stole a glance at her friend and giggled. Not only was she slow dancing with an older boy, but she was dancing with Gilbert Beilschmidt, the school’s number one bad boy. That was until her brother came over and broke them up.
“That’s enough, Beilschmidt,” Basch said. “Lili, go sit down.”
“But…”
Gilbert held up his hands as he backed away. Placing a hand over his heart, and giving her a slight bow, he said to Lili, “Thank you for the dance,” and flashed his trademark smile at her.
“You’re welcome… and thanks for dancing with me, Gilbert.” Lili sighed softly as she made her way over to her friend. The two girls giggled and headed towards the ladies’ room, to discuss what just happened away from Basch’s watchful eye.
“Stay away from her.”
“She’s gotta grow up one of these days, Basch.”
Basch snorted as he narrowed his eyes at him.
“And you’ll be graduating soon and going onto college, and then the boys are going to be all over her.”
“Shut up, Beilschmidt.” Basch got up in his face. “And stay away from her.”
“Hey, Gilbert!” Roderich called out from their booth. “Your float’s here.”
“Good!!” Gilbert grinned. “Well, as much as I would love to continue our lil tête-à-tête, my float’s calling.” He pushed past him.
“Touch her again, Beilschmidt, and I’ll kill you!”
“Yeah, whatever!” Gilbert waved and took his seat at the booth. Picking up his straw and peeling the paper wrapper from it, he stuck in his float and drank. “What?” he said to his cousin.
Roderich looked at him like he had three heads. Anyone with half a brain cell knew that messing with Lili Zwingli was asking for trouble. “Gilbert, next time you decide you need to go cruisin’ for a bruisin’ can you please wait until I’m not here?”
Gilbert shrugged. “Sure, Specs.” He slurped his root beer float.
They drank their ice cream sodas in companionable silence until Roderich broke it. “I hope Lizzie’s alright.”
“Don’t worry, Specs, she’s gonna be fine. Mr. H’ll be back to calling her ‘Kitten’ in no time. You’ll see. The two of you are gonna get married too, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Roderich shrugged. “I hope so.”
“Specs, she survived a date with me, this is a walk in the park,” Gilbert teased.
“Not funny, Gil.”
Gilbert sighed. “You can’t say I didn’t try.” He slurped his float again.
“Must you do that?”
“Yes… It tastes better that way.”
Roderich shook his head.
“We should hurry up and go see the old lady, and then we can go bowling afterwards.”
“You’re amazing, Gil” Roderich said sarcastically.
“Why, thank you!” His cousin grinned at him. “Seriously, we should go; waiting around ain’t gonna make it any better, Specs.”
“I know, but I still can’t help feeling… I don’t know? Afraid?”
Gilbert rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the old bat!” He snorted in amusement.
“Bubbe’s not an old bat,” Roderich said, although the barest hint of a smile briefly ghosted across his lips.
Gilbert grinned. “She is too and you know it!” He wagged his finger at his cousin. His expression sobered. “Though Vati, right after Muti died, was a lot scarier…”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah… He used to drink a lot back then and he’d come home and…” Gilbert sighed. “How else do you think I got to be so good in a fight?”
“I’m sorry, Gil…”
Gilbert shrugged. “That was then, this is now.”
“He still hit you…”
Picking up his float glass, Gilbert tilted it and sucked up the remains. Setting it down, he said, “That was nothing… Besides, I shudda seen it coming,” he smirked as he fingered his jaw. The redness had dissipated somewhat, although it was still tender to the touch.
“Gilbert!” Roderich was visibly shocked at how easily his cousin dismissed what happened to him. He did not think he would be so nonchalant if his father treated the same way, then again, Roderich never did anything that would get him in so much trouble until now.
“He was very upset, Specs. Muti was the love of his life and he found it hard to cope when she died. I may have only been twelve at the time, but I learned how to be an adult, Ludwig too. It was hard, but we did it. Now it’s your turn to grow up and be a man.” He reached for the check and fishing out his wallet, Gilbert took out two dollars. “That should cover it, right?”
Roderich took the bill from him and looked at it. “Yeah… And thanks, Gil, for everything.”
“Sure, no problem.”
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I can honestly say this fic surprised the hell outta me. I keep reading it and wondering, "Why can't I see these characters in this way?" The very human things they say and do with one another is so amazingly natural and second nature, I was kinda shocked to see the end of the chapter... oh yeah, this is a story - duh!
The funny bits were absolutely hilarious - Romano trying to teach Germany to roll his "r"s, Hungary's early morning prayers, Prussia as a greasy monkey with a motorcycle, calling Hungary a "schiksa"! Austria in a bow-tie! Oh my god...!! And their patently 50's names and nick-names are hilarious! Oh my god! XD Prussia as a motorcycle hooligan is positively gut-splitting! And submarine races... oh my god, I thought I was gonna fall off my chair. This was an absolutely fantastic period piece and serious subject of family unplanning aside, I laughed my ass off.
And there is something so poignant about Germania as Germany & Prussia's widower father - with the short time we see him here, he's a remarkably sympathetic character, despite his ungodly temper; Poor Germany and Prussia must have had some kind of childhood - especially Prussia, being the inborn hellion he just can't help but be. And what to think about Austria's Bubbe' - lord, she sounds like a bitter old battle-axe. The horrifying talk with YOUR PREGNANT GIRLFRIEND's father was very well done; I actually kinda cringed along with Hungary - she and I have been in remarkably similar spots and I felt that it went rather realistically. A very well-balanced tale so far and so much packed into one beginning! I just can't tell you how wonderful this is!
...and seeing Liechtenstein and Prussia together on his bike in my mind makes me want to write them something fierce... lol.
Off to find out what Austria's family is going to do to him when they find out what he's gotten himself into... I have a feeling his Oma is going to hit the roof, him and maybe Prussia for ever being born before it's all said and done...
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Yeah? *blushes* Thanks! I'm sooo glad they came across as real! It's a completely different time period & oh so innocent! XD
Thank you! I'm glad you like the lil bits of humor that sprung up here & there. It is a serious subject, but it needed something to keep it light, you know? ;p
*blushes* Thanks! I real do like him as a character, even though in the series we see precious little of him & Roma. I think he'd have to be strict with a kid like Prussia, & poor Germany also got it, just cuz he was afraid of history repeating himself. Bubbe Edelstien is a bitter old woman. ^^;
*blushes* Thanks! Hearing I wrote Hungary's part here realistically means a lot to me! Awe... I'm soo glad you're enjoying it!!
*laughs* I have something I want to write with them too! XD
XD Read on & you'll see what happens... ;p