Parker
“I was feeling inspired,” he commented, interrupting me before I could be filmed going into some long spiel about what home video addicts the Hanson family seemed to be. Or at least Mr. Hanson. Isaac, Taylor, and Zac were pointedly sitting on the other side of the room.
“I’m warning you. I’ll go into my horrible, out of tune rendition of ‘MMMBop’ if so provoked,” I said. “Which I can then use to expose the three of you as fakes and end your respective careers faster than you can say...well, mmmbop, I suppose.”
“Oh come on, Parker,” Zac spoke up and I peeked through my fingers at him. “After all, we need something to submit to all those Before They Were Stars specials when we’re has-beens and you’re the famous one.”
I snorted, but didn’t move.
I could almost hear Mr. Hanson’s unease at the mention of his sons one day becoming has-beens. It surprised me that he worried about it.
I almost said so but the suspicious silence gave me pause. Suddenly, I felt the weight of someone in my lap and an arm draped across my shoulder, not in a sensual way but in the way that two desperately drunk men would do if they were about to launch into some drinking song.
Surprised, my hand came down and away from my face to steady myself. I looked up to the grinning face of Zac.
I think this was the only time I truly saw the crazy side of Zac that was always being shown to the public via MTV.
“Hi,” he said in a wildly exaggerated southern accent, pretending to spit some chewing tobacco into a spitoon. “This is my long lost relative! He promised me when he made it big, he said, I’m telling you, he said, ‘Wilbur, your name will be first and foremost in any speeches for awards that I happen to procure in my lengthy time as a shining star in the dark sky of Hollywood,’ he said, ‘for your art in dairy farming has inspired me so from the way you milk the cows and all those times you recovered so fully from getting kicked in the head when you pulled too hard and Bessie got mad at you.’ But do you think I got any credit? No! My own brother! Well, brother of a brother, but still, it ain’t right. It just ain’t right. I deserve credit! This boy would be nowhere without me! I’m telling you! I am his role model and his inspiration and I demand it to be known--demand!--that I, Wilbur, am Parker Lawrence Lowell’s brother of a brother and that I rightfully deserve credit for his fame! He would be nowhere without me!”
He was now right in the face of the camera, but I’m sure our laughter was drowning out what he was actually saying. Every once in a while a giggle escaped between his words and even Mr. Hanson started to grin. Satisfied with the effect of his impression, he bounced back over to my lap.
“He only gets this way when there’s a camera around,” Taylor commented from somewhere out of range of the camera.
“You know,” I said between giggles, “this film will be far more incriminating to you then it will me in the long run.”
“Could be,” Zac said with a shrug, returning to himself. “But, hey, we need something to commemorate our time with our brother of a brother. Or at least one of the earliest ones.”
“I see,” I said.
“If you want Monkey Boy off your lap, he’s ticklish under his armpits,” Taylor spoke up.
“I’m...not even going there,” I said as Zac wiggled his eyebrows at me. “But I’ll be sure to mention that to Theresa so she can spread the word to all her fellow Hanson fans.”
Zac blushed at this.
“Oooh! Close up! Zac’s blushing,” Isaac said with a laugh.
“Shut up,” he mumbled, getting off my lap, still wearing a smile.
This, I had to admit to myself as I watched Zac join his brothers out of the camera’s range, was more of what I was expecting upon my arrival at the Hanson’s house, judging from the various things Theresa had shown me as “research.” There was a comradeship between Isaac, Taylor, and Zac that made their closeness obvious. It had always been there, probably, just in danger of fading while Taylor made what must have seemed hurtful choices and kept his various secrets. Even now, it was a little uncertain. Almost like they were once again making themselves familiar with each other after a long time apart. There were probably still things left undiscussed, things that needed to be said. But with the intensity of the situation gone, it must have made it seem more possible to simply accept it for a while and talk when everyone wanted to.
Mr. Hanson had also come out of his shell. During much of my stay he had been locked away in his study or stalking around the house, frowning deeply. Or pulling many disastrous illegal u-turns on the various roads of Tulsa, Oklahoma. But it seemed with everything said, and after a private discussion he and Mrs. Hanson had had with Taylor after the phone call that Lyle had been caught which left them acting like two parents and their son once more, he was a completely different man. Almost...overbearingly friendly. At least to me. While he still acted like he thought that I would disappear if he just wished it hard enough, he didn’t seem like he was going out of his way to be nice to me, either.
Mrs. Hanson, for her part, had lost her general air of nervousness and tension. Where before she had been like someone watching a suspensful movie unfold and being unable to do anything when the character goes into the dark woods when they’re not supposed to, she had started asking me questions about myself and my life with Gina, seeming genuinely interested in what I told her, though I couldn’t imagine why. She said I had a way with words.
It definitely wasn’t an overnight thing, I’ll tell you that much. Though it seemed something heavy had been lifted from the shoulders of the general population of the Hanson house, the shift in attitude was gradual. And though as time went by and as I became more and more certain that the closeness of this family was going to make me toss my cookies one of these days, I wouldn’t have traded it for what had been before. I was seeing the Hansons in their element. They were actually showing off for me, it felt like. This was the way I enjoyed more.
Just as this thought passed through my mind, the door to the room opened and Annie popped her head in cautiously. Everyone looked up, but only Mr. Hanson and myself seemed to tense any. Isaac might have even smiled at her, though a little uncertainly.
“Hi Annie!” Taylor said brightly.
“Hi, Annie,” I echoed, followed by Zac and then Isaac.
“Hi,” she said, coming all the way into the room. “Am I interrupting something?” she asked.
We all looked at Mr. Hanson.
“No, come in, sit down,” he said, sounding distinctly uncomfortable with the idea. His forced niceness to her seemed to be a bit longer lasting than his forced niceness to me.
“I can’t, actually,” she said regretfully. “Um, I just came by with a few of Taylor’s things.”
There was a general thick pause in the room as this seemed to sink in with me and Isaac. Zac grinned at Taylor, who grinned back. Mr. Hanson half-smiled when he saw the exchange. So apparently this wasn’t bad news...
“Taylor’s things?” Isaac said blankly.
“I’m lost,” I said. “With Taylor’s things or for Taylor’s things?”
“With,” she said. “Did I ruin the surprise?” she asked, looking cautiously from Mr. Hanson to me to Isaac and back to Mr. Hanson, who shook his head.
“No, I guess this is as good a time as any,” he said.
“Taylor’s things?” Isaac said again, sounding more and more uncertain.
“Do you need it spelled out for you, Ike?” Zac said, with a huge grin on his face that quite possibly showed every single tooth (and every single filling) in his entire mouth. “Taylor’s coming home!”
Oh! Oh....
Isaac’s face immediately darkened. Without a sound, he got up and left the room, brushing past Annie. Taylor frowned in confusion and followed quickly after.
“Oops,” Annie said. “I didn’t know he didn’t know yet.”
“It’s all right,” Mr. Hanson said, sounding puzzled.
Zac sighed. “Talk about your party poopers. Did you know, Parker?”
“I had no idea,” I said. “I don’t think I’m that surprised, though, to be quite honest. Are you, Annie?”
She jumped at my mention of her name. We had spent some time together during the week, even a day where we went to lunch with her father (who was sorely disappointed that I didn’t remember him at all). We still took to each other as before, but we weren’t wholly comfortable with the situation. There was still something getting in the way. There was too much fear there, I guess.
“Not really, I have to say,” she said. “I mean, he never stopped talking about you guys when he was with me. He wanted to go home the first night he was there.”
Mr. Hanson seemed heartened by that. “When he was little, he used to call us from his friend’s house just to tell us good night when he spent the night,” he said.
Annie smiled at the little bit of information.
“It’s a Kodak moment,” I commented. Everyone turned to stare at me at the same time. “Sorry,” I said. “Rochestarian in the room. Ignore me.”
“Speaking of going home and Rochester, you’re leaving in a little less than a week, right?” Annie said to me.
“Thursday,” I said.
“Mind if I see you off?” she said.
“Not at all,” I said.
“Thank you,” she said.
Typical cheesy Hanfic chapter. What can I say? It had to be in there somewhere. :)
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Eight