Categories > Cartoons > Daria > Silent Cynic
On Relations and Relationships
0 reviewsJane and Daria plan, there's a play, a talent show, and two battling Barksdale sisters
0Unrated
The Silent Cynic
By Dr. T
Chapter 25—On Relations and Relationships
The teachers’ strike lasted just over two weeks. On the whole, Daria was satisfied with her performance. In the end, while the teachers did not get everything they wanted, they came much closer than to Ms Li’s initial token offer. Daria and Jane would be punctilious about their reduced school duties, even attending gym without (verbal) complaint. In part because of the extra time to think about her writing, Daria was inspired to start the creation of a Sci-Fi universe setting, and really detail the construction of her world building. This would turn into a major series of novels, the first of which would be published during her second year of college.
As January turned into February, the one act plays at Lawndale State started to come together. It was during this time, when Daria returned home from school one day, she found two large envelopes in the mail – one addressed to her, and an identical one addressed to Jane, both from the Chesapeake Regional College of the Arts – Jane had used the Morgendorffers’ address on her college applications.
Daria instantly called Jane.
“Yo,” Jane answered.
Daria gave a soft two-tone whistle.
“Well, this is a rare treat,” Jane replied.
“Hurry here,” Daria whispered.
“Are you okay?” Jane demanded, worried. Daria of course almost never called.
“Yes, hurry.”
“Well, I was about to run, so I’ll just run over there first.”
Daria made a loud ‘kiss’ sound and hung up.
Jane was indeed over in less than ten minutes – she had had to finish tying her running shoes, or she would have been there even faster. “What up, girlfriend?” she asked when she came in. She was surprised that Daria was waiting at the door, and even more so when Daria grabbed her hand and dragged her to the sofa and pushed her to sit. She had rarely seen Daria anywhere close to being this excited.
Daria handed Jane one of two identical large thick envelopes.
Jane stared at it.
Daria pointed out the sender.
Jane’s eyes went wide, and she looked up at Daria. Daria smiled, showed Jane her envelope was from the same place, and signed, ‘I wanted us to open them together.’
Jane nodded, and Daria sat beside her. Each took a deep breath and opened theirs.
Exchanging looks, Jane said, “An offer for early admission; you?”
Smiling, Daria nodded agreement.
“What do we do?”
Daria held up a finger to request a moment, and sped-read a bit, and then turned to Jane. ‘If we accept in the next two weeks, we will get a scholarship for half tuition. Even though the tuition there is a bit higher than in-state for other Maryland schools, that makes it a great deal. If we accept but then back out, we are stuck owing two years of half tuition as a penalty.’ Still smiling, she added, ‘We sent our CLEP scores to them as well as the other places, but the letter does not mention them. We can doublecheck with Mom tonight, but I say we contact them and say we accept if they accept our CLEP scores. I will go up and draft the letter.’ Her look became a bit on the shy-side, unusual to say the least. ‘Should I write an identical letter for you, or write it as from us?’
Jane smiled. “I’m sure Helen will say send two, but I’m okay with one if she is. If not, we just send the two letters together.” Jane gave Daria an air-kiss. “After all, we’re a package deal.”
Daria returned the gesture, before going on, ‘When you’re done running, shower and come back. I can print off the letter or letters, and we can also send them an email or two as well, with the letters as conformation of our request.’
Jane smiled again, and gave Daria a very affectionate real kiss before heading out for her run. The reply would come a week later, and the two accepted their early admissions. As the College was offering them such a good deal on tuition, not counting the extra $500 a semester they had been rewarded for their poster, the College was happy to accept their CLEP scores as transfer credit. This would lessen the College’s costs, but still afford them to have two graduates with high potential. Helen and Jake, as well as Jane’s parents, were very happy for their daughters. Troy was a little disappointed that Daria wouldn’t be closer, but it was still under a two-hour drive between their schools.
It was in late February that Jane approached Daria at lunch a bit tentatively. Daria gave her a quizzical look, down towards her tray, and then back to Jane as she sat down. ‘Lunch does not look any worse than usual. What is wrong?’
Jane sighed, and signed, ‘Do you mind if I do not go to rehearsal with you tonight?’
‘I guess not, why?’
Flushing a little, Jane signed, ‘I sort of met this guy last night.’ Seeing Daria’s look, she added, ‘At that stationary store.’
Daria rolled her eyes.
‘I am not looking for something serious,’ Jane stated. ‘Believe it or not, he offered to take me over to Oakwood to learn how to foxtrot – I just thought it would be fun to go dancing.’
‘Foxtrot?’ was Daria’s only reply.
‘He is into the big band era,’ Jane explained.
‘At least it is not disco,’ Daria teased.
‘He is handsome, but nowhere that good looking,’ Jane retorted.
The more Daria learned about Nathan, the odder he sounded to her. Meeting him confirmed that he was not just ‘into’ the big band era, he was something of a fanatic. On the whole, at times, Daria rather liked much of the big band music, and could appreciate some of the fashion styles. But Nathan took things several steps beyond that. Jane called it cosplay, but to Daria, it went far beyond even the LARPing many of Nathan’s friends were into.
Fortunately, Jane showed no signs of joining into the madness, other than as a lark. She limited her time with Nathan to one weeknight a week and either Friday or Saturday night, not both (except one weekend when Daria was at a tournament). However, Daria did tease her one Friday, as Jane and Nathan were going to have a big night and she came to school dressed in an early-40s outfit, right down to the snood.
As they moved through March, Jane’s interest seemed to peak towards the end of the month and then fade quickly. Nathan was becoming more controlling, trying to get Jane to go along with his lifestyle, and starting to pressure her towards a physical relationship. This came to a head the first weekend of April. The one act plays were premiering on the Friday, and of course Jane wanted to be there for Daria. That Saturday there would be a talent show at Lawndale High. Tori and Quinn had an act, and Stacy was involved in another, although she wouldn’t tell anyone what it was. Daria of course wanted to be there for Quinn, and Quinn wanted people there to support Stacy, no matter what she was up to, and of course to support Quinn herself. Jane wanted to be there for Quinn as well. Nathan kept putting off agreeing to going to either event. He claimed neither fit into his lifestyle.
When Jane complained to Daria about this, Daria managed to not criticize Nathan or his ‘lifestyle.’ Instead, she gave Jane a series of arguments on how each event actually fit into the entertainment choices of the 1930s and 1940s with only a few internal sighs and sneers.
That Friday, Jane presented herself at the Morgendorffers at 5:30. Daria answered the door, and Jane saw Quinn, Tori, and Stacy seated in the living room. Jake was just coming down the stairs, freshly shaven and tying his tie.
‘Mother should be home any moment,’ Daria signed. Just then, car lights flashed past them and turned into the driveway, and there was a brief squeal of brakes. ‘Ah, I believe she has arrived.’
A little downcast, Jane came in at Daria’s gesture. Daria grasped Jane’s wrist, giving her a brief look up and down, before settling in on Jane’s face. While a bit dressed up, Jane was in her contemporary best rather one of her retro outfits, which meant Nathan would not be meeting them at the Lawndale State auditorium. “We’ll talk later,” Jane told her, gesturing with a small duffle bag she was holding in her left hand.
Daria nodded as Helen rushed in. “Is everybody here? Good. We have time to make the dinner reservations. Come along, everyone! Daria, Jane, ride with your father. Girls, come ride with me.” She grimaced. “If you would, could you fix my hair and makeup at the restaurant?” They would eat and then go see the premiere.
Helen then hustled the bemused group to their respective vehicles.
Overall, all of the plays were well-staged and moderately well-acted. Daria’s received the most applause, but that might have been in part because Jodie, Mack, Brittany, and several of Quinn’s friends were there to add to the applause. On the whole, Daria was pleased with her play and how the performance came off. She already had plans on how to develop the basic ideas into a full three-act play.
When they got back to the Morgendorffers’, and had showered and changed into their sleepwear, Daria leaned against the padded wall while sitting on her bed and wrapped herself around Jane when she joined Daria on the bed.
Jane sighed. “Yeah, as I’m sure you guessed, I broke up with Nathan.” Daria briefly hugged Jane a bit tighter. “I wasn’t falling for him or anything, and I’m sure you thought he was…obsessive and starting to get a bit controlling. He was also starting to try and, well, become more intimate.” Daria squeezed again briefly.
“I love you, and I love how we are together, but I liked the dancing part of being with Nathan – that retro bistro with the aspic I could have done without.” Daria chuckled slightly but silently at that. Jane wriggled out of Daria’s arms and joined her leaning against the wall, holding hands. “I’m not promising anything, but I don’t think I’ll go looking for guys again, at least for a while.”
Daria laid her head on Jane’s shoulder.
“Can I ask you something serious?”
Daria slightly slapped Jane’s upper arm with her other hand. After a moment’s thought, Jane sighed and rephrased it as, “May I ask you a serious question?”
Daria nodded.
“Do you think you’ll want to have kids?”
Daria thought about it, and then whispered, “Don’t know. Not for at least ten years or so. After that, if I get pregnant…I don’t know…probably?”
“I like looking at guys, but I’m not really interested in forming a relationship with one, at least not for a while. I do think I would like a kid or two, though.” She leaned her head against Daria’s. “Any chance of them being able to splice our eggs?”
“Maybe, but probably not.” She sat up a bit so she could look at Jane. “I’m sure, if we’re all together somehow, we will work something out.”
“Well, as much as I like him, I think a test tube would still be involved if it comes to that.”
“We should have time.”
Jane kissed Daria very gently. “We will have time.”
The next night was the annual ‘Lawndale High Talent Show.’ Daria and Jane had managed to avoid the previous two years, and from the reviews had not regretted doing so. Overall, this year’s version was little better than previous years. The format, as usual, was that of an old-style variety show. With one exception, the ‘acts’ ranged from the terrible (Kevin and Brittany trying to do the flirtatious meeting between Petruccio and Kate from ‘Taming of the Shrew’ – by the standards of the show, Brittany was mediocre, Kevin the worst in the entire show) to the almost tolerable (such and Quinn and Tori trying to karaoke to pop songs). The finale, however, was very well received.
For that finale, Charles did a rather standard magic act, which alone would have made it the best in the show. To the surprise of everyone, his ‘beautiful assistant’ was Stacy. During the final trick, a standard escape routine, Ms Barch, Mr. Demartino, and especially Stacy really sold the idea that Upchuck was trapped in the trunk. While most of the audience would have agreed they would just as soon missed most of the show, the finale was at least worth waiting for.
It was the Monday before Easter (which was on April 23 that year), that Daria came home from having pizza with Jane to a very tense atmosphere.
‘What happened?’ she asked her father, who looked to be nursing his second or third martini. She could hear her mother talking on the phone in the kitchen area, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she was not happy. Getting no answer from her father, she looked towards the stairs when she heard Quinn coming down them.
“Did Dad tell you?” Quinn demanded quietly.
Daria shook her head.
“Erin is getting a divorce.”
‘And?’ There had to be more to it than that. None of the Morgendorffers had thought much of Brian.
“Grandmother is demanding Mom handle it.”
Daria frowned. ‘But Mom does not handle divorce settlements.’
“That’s what Mom told her,” Quinn agreed. “Grandmother insisted, and what’s more, Erin will be here Wednesday so Mom can work with her directly.”
Daria sighed and thought about it for a moment. Then she went over and tapped her father on the shoulder. “Yeah?” he dully answered.
‘If Aunt Rita shows up along with Erin, or worse Grandmother, do you think Quinn and I could have some of that?’
Jake managed to smile, and answered, “No, but I understand why you would want to.” He looked at the glass, over half-full, and poured it back into the pitcher. “You’re right. Erin by herself won’t be too bad.”
That Wednesday, Helen was home just after 5:30, early for her. The other three were sitting on the sofa, Jake eyeing the cabinet where his martini ingredients were stored, while Daria and Quinn sat, arms crossed, sulking. Helen was pacing, sometimes stopping to glare at the other three.
After just over five minutes of this, Helen paused and instead of just glaring, she stated, “Jake, you don’t need a drink. Quinn, you didn’t have a date scheduled anyways, so stop pouting. Daria, if you must sulk, go back to your normal look of dissatisfaction – pouting looks even worse on you than it does Quinn.”
Before anyone could retort, they heard a car pull into their driveway. “Now remember, no matter what we think of Brian, we are here to support Erin, not rub in her mistakes.” Helen moved to the door just as the doorbell rang.
Helen opened the door, saying, “Erin, come on…Rita?”
The three on the sofa exchanged looks of horror.
The next afternoon, Jane was sitting up on her bed, back against the headboard. Daria was lying on the bed in a semi-fetal position, her glasses off and her head in Jane’s lap. Jane was gently massaging Daria’s forehead and available temple, trying to ease a tension headache. Both had their boots off. Unusually, Quinn was with them, sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her elbows were on her knees and her head in her hands.
“Let me get this straight. Your cousin wants a divorce, and rather than come and deal with your mother about it, since she was forced into being a divorce lawyer for the first time in years, she was sent off on a ‘rest-cure’ to a spa somewhere in Europe.”
“Switzerland, I think,” Quinn muttered, partially upset on what was being dumped on her mother, partially because of the disruption to all their lives, and at least a little jealous that Erin was in Switzerland while she was in Lawndale.
“Well, since you two are hiding here, how’s your father handling things?”
Noticing that Jane’s voice had grown ever softer, Quinn looked and saw Daria was now asleep, with Jane still stroking her hair, she signed her response. ‘We think Dad is going to hide in his office until six or so, and then invent a client-dinner that will involve a greasy dinner at that dive-bar he sneaks off to every once in a while.’ She smiled slightly. ‘Either that or hide at the movies.’ Quinn sighed. ‘I think we both wish we could stay the night, but Mom would have a fit.’
At that moment, Trent stuck his head into the room. Seeing Daria asleep, he whispered, “Hey Jane; Daria’s sister.” Quinn frowned at that; but by this time she had learned he did that just to tease her. “Good thing I stopped by. The band will be over to practice in an hour or so. You guys staying for burgers?”
Quinn wrinkled her nose at the idea. “No,” Jane whispered back. “If she’s still asleep in half an hour, we’ll wake her up and go out to dinner.” She looked at Quinn. “Chinese?”
Quinn thought about that for a moment, and nodded.
When Daria and Quinn arrived home a little after 8:00, they found their father asleep in his Lexis. Gently waking him, Daria told him, ‘If the coast is clear, Quinn will give you a wave from the door. If it is not, give us twenty minutes and then come in as far as the entrance.’ Her face set, Daria added, ‘If the war is continuing at that point, we will be out and spending the night at Jane’s, no matter what Mother thinks. We will get you change of shirt and socks and you can stay in a hotel.’
“Thank you,” Jake said with real feeling.
Daria pointed bravely towards the front door.
“Once more unto the breach….” Quinn quoted. Daria stopped and looked back, impressed. Quinn shrugged. ‘I was bored one day in O’Neill’s class.”
In fact, even as they opened the front door, the two heard the yelling. ‘Do not worry; I came prepared,’ Daria signed. She marched into the dining room, where Helen and Rita were screaming at each other, the divorce material laid out on the dining room table, although it was obviously being ignored.
Daira pulled a whistle from her pocket. TWEEEEEEET!
The two women stopped screaming and glared at Daria. “Daria!” her mother yelled, while Rita exclaimed at the same time, “How DARE you….”
TWEEET! Daria glared at the two. “Enough screaming,” Quinn translated for her sister.
Both women inhaled, but stopped when Daria threatened them with the whistle. Daria turned to her mother first, while Quinn translated for their aunt. ‘I know you believe Grandmother has always treated Aunt Rita far better than she ever has treated you, and she has favored Erin over Quinn and especially me….’
“Nonsense!” Rita declared.
Daria swung her glare over to her aunt. ‘Nonsense indeed. She paid for Erin’s wedding, and even if she got some sort of huge discount, that would have paid for more than three years of Harvard-level tuition considering she had to buy out Labor Day bookings on short notice. If she did not get a discount, it would have paid for four years, plus room, board, and fees. If you add Quinn and my college funds that she has created for us together, it might equal one year’s tuition, two thirds of it for Quinn and the rest for me. Not a tiny amount, but let us not pretend.’ Quinn was shocked at the amounts, but managed to translate everything.
Rita stared at Daria, and then her face fell. “I…I never realized that it was that inequitable.”
Daria managed to glare her mother into not retorting. ‘No matter how any of the four of us feel about that, that is Grandmother’s choice. I gave up trying to please her even before….’ Quinn stopped, until Daria turned the glare on to her. ‘…even before my throat was cut.’ Quinn finally finished softly. When Daria was being this blunt, Quinn and even Helen knew it was best to just go along rather than trying to stop her.
‘Since then, Quinn and I have resolved NOT to be like you two. Even Aunt Amy regresses when she is around you or Grandmother. If you two want to continue your childhood rivalry, go ahead. However, we will not participate, and we do not want Dad to have another heart attack. Mother, we both love you. Aunt Rita, we both want to care for you and Erin as well.’
Keeping her attention on Rita, Daria continued, ‘Mother is indeed primarily a civil trial attorney; if Erin’s divorce goes to trial, she would be ideal to represent her. However, since this is supposed to be a straightforward case, the kind that does not get to trial, she has not handled those types of divorces in several years as she moved up the two law firms’ ladders. She is doing Erin and you and probably Grandmother a huge favor.’
Daria turned to her mother, blocking not only Rita’s view, but Quinn’s so she could not translate. ‘Mother, no matter how you feel about your sister and mother and how they have treated you, remember you are the one who has the successful marriage, not Rita or Amy. It is you and Amy who have become independent of your mother, not Aunt Rita or even Erin. I like Erin, but I think Quinn compares very favorably with her, and I hope you think I do as well. I think Grandmother and possibly Aunt Rita resent the fact that you did this well without listening to Grandmother. You and Dad have worked hard to get where you are. Please, stop fighting the battles of thirty years ago.’
Helen sighed, and looked, a bit shame-faced, at her sister, who was looking much the same.
“I doubt you agree,” Rita finally said, “but I always felt that if Mom favors me, it’s because you two just fight so much. And I always felt Dad cared more for you and Amy than for me.”
Helen made herself stop for instantly retorting, finally saying, “I don’t really agree about Dad, but I can see why you might think so.”
“Mom,” Quinn said softly, “I think Daria and I were doing the same things you and Aunt Rita do, at least until…until that night.” She took Daria’s hand. “I was embarrassed by her, she was jealous that I took up most of your positive attention. She risked her life to save my life because despite the fact that I made her life miserable, she still loved me, and now not only does she still love me, she likes me, and I feel the same about her. You managed to bury the hatchet at least a bit with Aunt Amy, despite the fact that she and Daria get along so well. Is this the relationship you want with Aunt Rita; are you okay with the ways things are?”
Rita sighed. “Mom favored me because I am what she wanted, not the rebellious scholar here.” She gestured to Helen. “Dad favored you slightly over Amy and certainly over me until you ‘dropped out and turned on’ in college because you were the hard worker. He liked that I was his princess, and Amy was his smart baby, but he loved your drive, again until you went to the commune.”
Helen could not really respond to that; she knew she had hurt her father when she and Jake foolishly joined that commune. That she upset her mother did not bother her, however.
Rita frowned, but said, “I’m sorry I’ve been pushing.” She sighed, “Tell me, what do you honestly think at Brian?” Seeing the looks the other three exchanged, Rita nodded. “I agree. He’s a jerk; on the other hand, all the men I’ve been serious about have turned out to be jerks, cheaters, or both. Mom is determined they stick together – my divorce and failed relationships are embarrassing enough to the image she likes to project; she doesn’t want her friends see it’s being passed on to the next generation.” She frowned again. “Mother arranged an interview for him with a security firm two weeks ago; he showed up drunk.”
Helen sighed in turn. “I don’t know how well you and I can get along, but at our ages, we should be able to get along a lot better than we have been.” She looked at the table. “Enough for tonight?”
Rita nodded.
“Wine?”
Rita smiled and nodded.
“Red, white, or cream sherry?”
“Sherry.”
“You two sit, we’ll get it,” Quinn said. She and Daria left and went into the living room. Jake was peeking around the banister of the stairs. “Mom and Aunt Rita have declared at least a temporary truce,” Quinn told him. “I’m getting them the cream sherry. Come down and let Daria fix you ONE martini.”
Daria smiled her tiniest smile, and then gestured to her father to come and sit. As the two went to the drinks cabinet, Quinn whispered, “Can I talk to you and Jane tomorrow or Sunday?”
Despite frowning at how she framed the question, Daria merely nodded.
By Dr. T
Chapter 25—On Relations and Relationships
The teachers’ strike lasted just over two weeks. On the whole, Daria was satisfied with her performance. In the end, while the teachers did not get everything they wanted, they came much closer than to Ms Li’s initial token offer. Daria and Jane would be punctilious about their reduced school duties, even attending gym without (verbal) complaint. In part because of the extra time to think about her writing, Daria was inspired to start the creation of a Sci-Fi universe setting, and really detail the construction of her world building. This would turn into a major series of novels, the first of which would be published during her second year of college.
As January turned into February, the one act plays at Lawndale State started to come together. It was during this time, when Daria returned home from school one day, she found two large envelopes in the mail – one addressed to her, and an identical one addressed to Jane, both from the Chesapeake Regional College of the Arts – Jane had used the Morgendorffers’ address on her college applications.
Daria instantly called Jane.
“Yo,” Jane answered.
Daria gave a soft two-tone whistle.
“Well, this is a rare treat,” Jane replied.
“Hurry here,” Daria whispered.
“Are you okay?” Jane demanded, worried. Daria of course almost never called.
“Yes, hurry.”
“Well, I was about to run, so I’ll just run over there first.”
Daria made a loud ‘kiss’ sound and hung up.
Jane was indeed over in less than ten minutes – she had had to finish tying her running shoes, or she would have been there even faster. “What up, girlfriend?” she asked when she came in. She was surprised that Daria was waiting at the door, and even more so when Daria grabbed her hand and dragged her to the sofa and pushed her to sit. She had rarely seen Daria anywhere close to being this excited.
Daria handed Jane one of two identical large thick envelopes.
Jane stared at it.
Daria pointed out the sender.
Jane’s eyes went wide, and she looked up at Daria. Daria smiled, showed Jane her envelope was from the same place, and signed, ‘I wanted us to open them together.’
Jane nodded, and Daria sat beside her. Each took a deep breath and opened theirs.
Exchanging looks, Jane said, “An offer for early admission; you?”
Smiling, Daria nodded agreement.
“What do we do?”
Daria held up a finger to request a moment, and sped-read a bit, and then turned to Jane. ‘If we accept in the next two weeks, we will get a scholarship for half tuition. Even though the tuition there is a bit higher than in-state for other Maryland schools, that makes it a great deal. If we accept but then back out, we are stuck owing two years of half tuition as a penalty.’ Still smiling, she added, ‘We sent our CLEP scores to them as well as the other places, but the letter does not mention them. We can doublecheck with Mom tonight, but I say we contact them and say we accept if they accept our CLEP scores. I will go up and draft the letter.’ Her look became a bit on the shy-side, unusual to say the least. ‘Should I write an identical letter for you, or write it as from us?’
Jane smiled. “I’m sure Helen will say send two, but I’m okay with one if she is. If not, we just send the two letters together.” Jane gave Daria an air-kiss. “After all, we’re a package deal.”
Daria returned the gesture, before going on, ‘When you’re done running, shower and come back. I can print off the letter or letters, and we can also send them an email or two as well, with the letters as conformation of our request.’
Jane smiled again, and gave Daria a very affectionate real kiss before heading out for her run. The reply would come a week later, and the two accepted their early admissions. As the College was offering them such a good deal on tuition, not counting the extra $500 a semester they had been rewarded for their poster, the College was happy to accept their CLEP scores as transfer credit. This would lessen the College’s costs, but still afford them to have two graduates with high potential. Helen and Jake, as well as Jane’s parents, were very happy for their daughters. Troy was a little disappointed that Daria wouldn’t be closer, but it was still under a two-hour drive between their schools.
It was in late February that Jane approached Daria at lunch a bit tentatively. Daria gave her a quizzical look, down towards her tray, and then back to Jane as she sat down. ‘Lunch does not look any worse than usual. What is wrong?’
Jane sighed, and signed, ‘Do you mind if I do not go to rehearsal with you tonight?’
‘I guess not, why?’
Flushing a little, Jane signed, ‘I sort of met this guy last night.’ Seeing Daria’s look, she added, ‘At that stationary store.’
Daria rolled her eyes.
‘I am not looking for something serious,’ Jane stated. ‘Believe it or not, he offered to take me over to Oakwood to learn how to foxtrot – I just thought it would be fun to go dancing.’
‘Foxtrot?’ was Daria’s only reply.
‘He is into the big band era,’ Jane explained.
‘At least it is not disco,’ Daria teased.
‘He is handsome, but nowhere that good looking,’ Jane retorted.
The more Daria learned about Nathan, the odder he sounded to her. Meeting him confirmed that he was not just ‘into’ the big band era, he was something of a fanatic. On the whole, at times, Daria rather liked much of the big band music, and could appreciate some of the fashion styles. But Nathan took things several steps beyond that. Jane called it cosplay, but to Daria, it went far beyond even the LARPing many of Nathan’s friends were into.
Fortunately, Jane showed no signs of joining into the madness, other than as a lark. She limited her time with Nathan to one weeknight a week and either Friday or Saturday night, not both (except one weekend when Daria was at a tournament). However, Daria did tease her one Friday, as Jane and Nathan were going to have a big night and she came to school dressed in an early-40s outfit, right down to the snood.
As they moved through March, Jane’s interest seemed to peak towards the end of the month and then fade quickly. Nathan was becoming more controlling, trying to get Jane to go along with his lifestyle, and starting to pressure her towards a physical relationship. This came to a head the first weekend of April. The one act plays were premiering on the Friday, and of course Jane wanted to be there for Daria. That Saturday there would be a talent show at Lawndale High. Tori and Quinn had an act, and Stacy was involved in another, although she wouldn’t tell anyone what it was. Daria of course wanted to be there for Quinn, and Quinn wanted people there to support Stacy, no matter what she was up to, and of course to support Quinn herself. Jane wanted to be there for Quinn as well. Nathan kept putting off agreeing to going to either event. He claimed neither fit into his lifestyle.
When Jane complained to Daria about this, Daria managed to not criticize Nathan or his ‘lifestyle.’ Instead, she gave Jane a series of arguments on how each event actually fit into the entertainment choices of the 1930s and 1940s with only a few internal sighs and sneers.
That Friday, Jane presented herself at the Morgendorffers at 5:30. Daria answered the door, and Jane saw Quinn, Tori, and Stacy seated in the living room. Jake was just coming down the stairs, freshly shaven and tying his tie.
‘Mother should be home any moment,’ Daria signed. Just then, car lights flashed past them and turned into the driveway, and there was a brief squeal of brakes. ‘Ah, I believe she has arrived.’
A little downcast, Jane came in at Daria’s gesture. Daria grasped Jane’s wrist, giving her a brief look up and down, before settling in on Jane’s face. While a bit dressed up, Jane was in her contemporary best rather one of her retro outfits, which meant Nathan would not be meeting them at the Lawndale State auditorium. “We’ll talk later,” Jane told her, gesturing with a small duffle bag she was holding in her left hand.
Daria nodded as Helen rushed in. “Is everybody here? Good. We have time to make the dinner reservations. Come along, everyone! Daria, Jane, ride with your father. Girls, come ride with me.” She grimaced. “If you would, could you fix my hair and makeup at the restaurant?” They would eat and then go see the premiere.
Helen then hustled the bemused group to their respective vehicles.
Overall, all of the plays were well-staged and moderately well-acted. Daria’s received the most applause, but that might have been in part because Jodie, Mack, Brittany, and several of Quinn’s friends were there to add to the applause. On the whole, Daria was pleased with her play and how the performance came off. She already had plans on how to develop the basic ideas into a full three-act play.
When they got back to the Morgendorffers’, and had showered and changed into their sleepwear, Daria leaned against the padded wall while sitting on her bed and wrapped herself around Jane when she joined Daria on the bed.
Jane sighed. “Yeah, as I’m sure you guessed, I broke up with Nathan.” Daria briefly hugged Jane a bit tighter. “I wasn’t falling for him or anything, and I’m sure you thought he was…obsessive and starting to get a bit controlling. He was also starting to try and, well, become more intimate.” Daria squeezed again briefly.
“I love you, and I love how we are together, but I liked the dancing part of being with Nathan – that retro bistro with the aspic I could have done without.” Daria chuckled slightly but silently at that. Jane wriggled out of Daria’s arms and joined her leaning against the wall, holding hands. “I’m not promising anything, but I don’t think I’ll go looking for guys again, at least for a while.”
Daria laid her head on Jane’s shoulder.
“Can I ask you something serious?”
Daria slightly slapped Jane’s upper arm with her other hand. After a moment’s thought, Jane sighed and rephrased it as, “May I ask you a serious question?”
Daria nodded.
“Do you think you’ll want to have kids?”
Daria thought about it, and then whispered, “Don’t know. Not for at least ten years or so. After that, if I get pregnant…I don’t know…probably?”
“I like looking at guys, but I’m not really interested in forming a relationship with one, at least not for a while. I do think I would like a kid or two, though.” She leaned her head against Daria’s. “Any chance of them being able to splice our eggs?”
“Maybe, but probably not.” She sat up a bit so she could look at Jane. “I’m sure, if we’re all together somehow, we will work something out.”
“Well, as much as I like him, I think a test tube would still be involved if it comes to that.”
“We should have time.”
Jane kissed Daria very gently. “We will have time.”
The next night was the annual ‘Lawndale High Talent Show.’ Daria and Jane had managed to avoid the previous two years, and from the reviews had not regretted doing so. Overall, this year’s version was little better than previous years. The format, as usual, was that of an old-style variety show. With one exception, the ‘acts’ ranged from the terrible (Kevin and Brittany trying to do the flirtatious meeting between Petruccio and Kate from ‘Taming of the Shrew’ – by the standards of the show, Brittany was mediocre, Kevin the worst in the entire show) to the almost tolerable (such and Quinn and Tori trying to karaoke to pop songs). The finale, however, was very well received.
For that finale, Charles did a rather standard magic act, which alone would have made it the best in the show. To the surprise of everyone, his ‘beautiful assistant’ was Stacy. During the final trick, a standard escape routine, Ms Barch, Mr. Demartino, and especially Stacy really sold the idea that Upchuck was trapped in the trunk. While most of the audience would have agreed they would just as soon missed most of the show, the finale was at least worth waiting for.
It was the Monday before Easter (which was on April 23 that year), that Daria came home from having pizza with Jane to a very tense atmosphere.
‘What happened?’ she asked her father, who looked to be nursing his second or third martini. She could hear her mother talking on the phone in the kitchen area, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she was not happy. Getting no answer from her father, she looked towards the stairs when she heard Quinn coming down them.
“Did Dad tell you?” Quinn demanded quietly.
Daria shook her head.
“Erin is getting a divorce.”
‘And?’ There had to be more to it than that. None of the Morgendorffers had thought much of Brian.
“Grandmother is demanding Mom handle it.”
Daria frowned. ‘But Mom does not handle divorce settlements.’
“That’s what Mom told her,” Quinn agreed. “Grandmother insisted, and what’s more, Erin will be here Wednesday so Mom can work with her directly.”
Daria sighed and thought about it for a moment. Then she went over and tapped her father on the shoulder. “Yeah?” he dully answered.
‘If Aunt Rita shows up along with Erin, or worse Grandmother, do you think Quinn and I could have some of that?’
Jake managed to smile, and answered, “No, but I understand why you would want to.” He looked at the glass, over half-full, and poured it back into the pitcher. “You’re right. Erin by herself won’t be too bad.”
That Wednesday, Helen was home just after 5:30, early for her. The other three were sitting on the sofa, Jake eyeing the cabinet where his martini ingredients were stored, while Daria and Quinn sat, arms crossed, sulking. Helen was pacing, sometimes stopping to glare at the other three.
After just over five minutes of this, Helen paused and instead of just glaring, she stated, “Jake, you don’t need a drink. Quinn, you didn’t have a date scheduled anyways, so stop pouting. Daria, if you must sulk, go back to your normal look of dissatisfaction – pouting looks even worse on you than it does Quinn.”
Before anyone could retort, they heard a car pull into their driveway. “Now remember, no matter what we think of Brian, we are here to support Erin, not rub in her mistakes.” Helen moved to the door just as the doorbell rang.
Helen opened the door, saying, “Erin, come on…Rita?”
The three on the sofa exchanged looks of horror.
The next afternoon, Jane was sitting up on her bed, back against the headboard. Daria was lying on the bed in a semi-fetal position, her glasses off and her head in Jane’s lap. Jane was gently massaging Daria’s forehead and available temple, trying to ease a tension headache. Both had their boots off. Unusually, Quinn was with them, sitting in a chair next to the bed. Her elbows were on her knees and her head in her hands.
“Let me get this straight. Your cousin wants a divorce, and rather than come and deal with your mother about it, since she was forced into being a divorce lawyer for the first time in years, she was sent off on a ‘rest-cure’ to a spa somewhere in Europe.”
“Switzerland, I think,” Quinn muttered, partially upset on what was being dumped on her mother, partially because of the disruption to all their lives, and at least a little jealous that Erin was in Switzerland while she was in Lawndale.
“Well, since you two are hiding here, how’s your father handling things?”
Noticing that Jane’s voice had grown ever softer, Quinn looked and saw Daria was now asleep, with Jane still stroking her hair, she signed her response. ‘We think Dad is going to hide in his office until six or so, and then invent a client-dinner that will involve a greasy dinner at that dive-bar he sneaks off to every once in a while.’ She smiled slightly. ‘Either that or hide at the movies.’ Quinn sighed. ‘I think we both wish we could stay the night, but Mom would have a fit.’
At that moment, Trent stuck his head into the room. Seeing Daria asleep, he whispered, “Hey Jane; Daria’s sister.” Quinn frowned at that; but by this time she had learned he did that just to tease her. “Good thing I stopped by. The band will be over to practice in an hour or so. You guys staying for burgers?”
Quinn wrinkled her nose at the idea. “No,” Jane whispered back. “If she’s still asleep in half an hour, we’ll wake her up and go out to dinner.” She looked at Quinn. “Chinese?”
Quinn thought about that for a moment, and nodded.
When Daria and Quinn arrived home a little after 8:00, they found their father asleep in his Lexis. Gently waking him, Daria told him, ‘If the coast is clear, Quinn will give you a wave from the door. If it is not, give us twenty minutes and then come in as far as the entrance.’ Her face set, Daria added, ‘If the war is continuing at that point, we will be out and spending the night at Jane’s, no matter what Mother thinks. We will get you change of shirt and socks and you can stay in a hotel.’
“Thank you,” Jake said with real feeling.
Daria pointed bravely towards the front door.
“Once more unto the breach….” Quinn quoted. Daria stopped and looked back, impressed. Quinn shrugged. ‘I was bored one day in O’Neill’s class.”
In fact, even as they opened the front door, the two heard the yelling. ‘Do not worry; I came prepared,’ Daria signed. She marched into the dining room, where Helen and Rita were screaming at each other, the divorce material laid out on the dining room table, although it was obviously being ignored.
Daira pulled a whistle from her pocket. TWEEEEEEET!
The two women stopped screaming and glared at Daria. “Daria!” her mother yelled, while Rita exclaimed at the same time, “How DARE you….”
TWEEET! Daria glared at the two. “Enough screaming,” Quinn translated for her sister.
Both women inhaled, but stopped when Daria threatened them with the whistle. Daria turned to her mother first, while Quinn translated for their aunt. ‘I know you believe Grandmother has always treated Aunt Rita far better than she ever has treated you, and she has favored Erin over Quinn and especially me….’
“Nonsense!” Rita declared.
Daria swung her glare over to her aunt. ‘Nonsense indeed. She paid for Erin’s wedding, and even if she got some sort of huge discount, that would have paid for more than three years of Harvard-level tuition considering she had to buy out Labor Day bookings on short notice. If she did not get a discount, it would have paid for four years, plus room, board, and fees. If you add Quinn and my college funds that she has created for us together, it might equal one year’s tuition, two thirds of it for Quinn and the rest for me. Not a tiny amount, but let us not pretend.’ Quinn was shocked at the amounts, but managed to translate everything.
Rita stared at Daria, and then her face fell. “I…I never realized that it was that inequitable.”
Daria managed to glare her mother into not retorting. ‘No matter how any of the four of us feel about that, that is Grandmother’s choice. I gave up trying to please her even before….’ Quinn stopped, until Daria turned the glare on to her. ‘…even before my throat was cut.’ Quinn finally finished softly. When Daria was being this blunt, Quinn and even Helen knew it was best to just go along rather than trying to stop her.
‘Since then, Quinn and I have resolved NOT to be like you two. Even Aunt Amy regresses when she is around you or Grandmother. If you two want to continue your childhood rivalry, go ahead. However, we will not participate, and we do not want Dad to have another heart attack. Mother, we both love you. Aunt Rita, we both want to care for you and Erin as well.’
Keeping her attention on Rita, Daria continued, ‘Mother is indeed primarily a civil trial attorney; if Erin’s divorce goes to trial, she would be ideal to represent her. However, since this is supposed to be a straightforward case, the kind that does not get to trial, she has not handled those types of divorces in several years as she moved up the two law firms’ ladders. She is doing Erin and you and probably Grandmother a huge favor.’
Daria turned to her mother, blocking not only Rita’s view, but Quinn’s so she could not translate. ‘Mother, no matter how you feel about your sister and mother and how they have treated you, remember you are the one who has the successful marriage, not Rita or Amy. It is you and Amy who have become independent of your mother, not Aunt Rita or even Erin. I like Erin, but I think Quinn compares very favorably with her, and I hope you think I do as well. I think Grandmother and possibly Aunt Rita resent the fact that you did this well without listening to Grandmother. You and Dad have worked hard to get where you are. Please, stop fighting the battles of thirty years ago.’
Helen sighed, and looked, a bit shame-faced, at her sister, who was looking much the same.
“I doubt you agree,” Rita finally said, “but I always felt that if Mom favors me, it’s because you two just fight so much. And I always felt Dad cared more for you and Amy than for me.”
Helen made herself stop for instantly retorting, finally saying, “I don’t really agree about Dad, but I can see why you might think so.”
“Mom,” Quinn said softly, “I think Daria and I were doing the same things you and Aunt Rita do, at least until…until that night.” She took Daria’s hand. “I was embarrassed by her, she was jealous that I took up most of your positive attention. She risked her life to save my life because despite the fact that I made her life miserable, she still loved me, and now not only does she still love me, she likes me, and I feel the same about her. You managed to bury the hatchet at least a bit with Aunt Amy, despite the fact that she and Daria get along so well. Is this the relationship you want with Aunt Rita; are you okay with the ways things are?”
Rita sighed. “Mom favored me because I am what she wanted, not the rebellious scholar here.” She gestured to Helen. “Dad favored you slightly over Amy and certainly over me until you ‘dropped out and turned on’ in college because you were the hard worker. He liked that I was his princess, and Amy was his smart baby, but he loved your drive, again until you went to the commune.”
Helen could not really respond to that; she knew she had hurt her father when she and Jake foolishly joined that commune. That she upset her mother did not bother her, however.
Rita frowned, but said, “I’m sorry I’ve been pushing.” She sighed, “Tell me, what do you honestly think at Brian?” Seeing the looks the other three exchanged, Rita nodded. “I agree. He’s a jerk; on the other hand, all the men I’ve been serious about have turned out to be jerks, cheaters, or both. Mom is determined they stick together – my divorce and failed relationships are embarrassing enough to the image she likes to project; she doesn’t want her friends see it’s being passed on to the next generation.” She frowned again. “Mother arranged an interview for him with a security firm two weeks ago; he showed up drunk.”
Helen sighed in turn. “I don’t know how well you and I can get along, but at our ages, we should be able to get along a lot better than we have been.” She looked at the table. “Enough for tonight?”
Rita nodded.
“Wine?”
Rita smiled and nodded.
“Red, white, or cream sherry?”
“Sherry.”
“You two sit, we’ll get it,” Quinn said. She and Daria left and went into the living room. Jake was peeking around the banister of the stairs. “Mom and Aunt Rita have declared at least a temporary truce,” Quinn told him. “I’m getting them the cream sherry. Come down and let Daria fix you ONE martini.”
Daria smiled her tiniest smile, and then gestured to her father to come and sit. As the two went to the drinks cabinet, Quinn whispered, “Can I talk to you and Jane tomorrow or Sunday?”
Despite frowning at how she framed the question, Daria merely nodded.
Sign up to rate and review this story