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MD - Chapter 57: The Incident I
🕑 Added 2025-02-13 16:03:52 +0000 UTC"Grandma DeDe?" Andrew asked.
DeDe, who was on the couch to the living room entrance, turned around, and a smile formed on her face when she saw Andrew.
"Hi, sweetheart!" DeDe said enthusiastically, getting up and walking toward Andrew, who looked at her in astonishment—as if he hadn’t expected her visit that day… or rather, as if he sensed the impending chaos.
"What are you doing here?" Andrew asked cautiously, while DeDe, ignoring his suspicious tone, cupped his cheeks with both hands and began squeezing them as if he were a little kid.
"Just look at you, you’re taller! Though, it’s only natural with all that exercise you do," DeDe remarked, ignoring Andrew’s obvious attempts to free himself from her grip.
"Grandma…" Andrew muttered, pulling away slightly. Having nails dug into your cheeks was anything but pleasant.
"I'm here to watch my favorite grandson's big game and meet my new granddaughter, who might just take your place," DeDe replied, glancing at Lily in her stroller beside Mitchell.
'Favorite grandson, yeah, sure…' Andrew thought.
He knew that was a lie. DeDe had always favored her biological grandchildren and had never been subtle about it—perhaps she simply couldn’t be, given her nature.
"Uh… sure. These are my friends, Howard and Leonard," Andrew said, introducing his two friends, who had remained frozen in place.
DeDe greeted them briefly before returning to her spot next to Mitchell and Lily.
"Go to my room… you can start editing if you want. I'll be there in a bit," Andrew whispered to Leonard and Howard, who nodded. After greeting Mitchell, they headed to Andrew’s room.
Mitchell gestured for Andrew to sit next to him—he didn’t want to be left alone talking to his mother after that. As for Cam, he had gone out shopping by the time Mitchell got home from work.
"Why are you here, Mom? I didn’t know you were coming. You didn’t call me," Mitchell said, picking up the conversation right where it had left off before Andrew arrived.
"To spend Christmas with my family, what else?" DeDe replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Mitchell and Andrew exchanged surprised looks.
Just then, the sound of the front door opening was heard, followed by Cam appearing a few seconds later, carrying several shopping bags.
"DeDe?" Cam asked in disbelief, instantly recognizing DeDe’s blonde hair—just as Andrew had.
DeDe turned around, locking eyes with Cam.
"Cam," she greeted with a nod and a slight smile.
"DeDe," Cam echoed in a monotone voice, returning the exact same nod before heading to the kitchen to drop off the bags. He then returned to the living room, sitting down between Mitchell and Andrew.
"To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Cam asked, and DeDe let out a small laugh.
"I’ll be spending the holiday with my family. You know, the usual," she replied, as she started playing with Lily in her stroller.
Thanks to her distraction, DeDe didn’t see the expression on Cam’s face—a grimace that made it clear he wasn’t exactly thrilled about spending Christmas with DeDe for… various reasons.
[Comment from Mitchell and Cameron]
"Mitchell’s mother has a problem… with me," Cam said, gesturing at his body—especially his stomach.
Mitchell was about to defend his mother, but Cam stopped him by raising his arm.
"Last Christmas, for example," Cam continued.
"I gave her a beautiful pair of earrings, and in return, she gave me a gym elliptical machine and a vegetable spinner—with a very clear message," he added.
Mitchell made a few facial expressions but didn’t argue, because, well… Cam was right.
"The worst part is that the elliptical isn’t even useful for Andrew. He’d rather go out for a walk than use that uncomfortable, ugly machine," Cam said with a slight grimace, recalling the elliptical gathering dust in the garage.
[End of comment]
"What are you doing to her legs?" Mitchell asked, looking at his mother, who was moving Lily’s tiny legs slowly and in a strange way.
"Tai chi. I do it every day in Sedona. Cameron, you should try it," DeDe replied.
"Well… tai chi isn’t exactly the best for weight loss," Andrew said casually.
DeDe, still moving Lily’s legs in slow motions, raised an eyebrow and turned her head toward him.
"Oh? And since when are you an expert, young man?"
"I read a few books… I’m not an expert, but I know that tai chi is a Chinese martial art that combines slow movements, meditation, and controlled breathing. It focuses more on balance, stability, and relaxation than on burning calories or building muscle," Andrew responded calmly.
Cameron, who had been standing with his arms crossed and a resigned expression, suddenly nodded with enthusiasm.
"Exactly! That’s why I’ll never do tai chi, DeDe."
Mitchell sighed.
Andrew continued, "If you're looking to improve circulation, reduce stress, or increase flexibility, then yes, tai chi is a good option. But if we're talking about fat loss, which is clearly the hidden message in your comment—"
"There is no hidden message!" DeDe interrupted with a tense smile.
Andrew looked at her skeptically. "Sure... Anyway, for that, you need resistance training, strength exercises, and a healthy diet with a controlled calorie deficit."
Cam smile with satisfaction.
"Did you hear that, DeDe? My son says what I need is a good diet and weights—not ‘energy forms’ and ‘balancing yin and yang’!"
"Cam, you don’t do weights or diet, I don’t know why you’re celebrating," Mitchell muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand.
DeDe clicked her tongue and refocused on Lily. "Ugh, you’re all so boring. No one appreciates the refinement of Eastern culture. You’ll wish you had my flexibility when you reach my age."
Before Andrew could continue arguing with her, DeDe kept talking.
"Living in Sedona has changed my life. Every morning, when I wake up, I go to a meditation vortex, and with the help of a shaman, I try to understand how to live spiritually."
Mitchell nodded, attempting to look like he found it interesting. Andrew just wanted to go to his room since his time was limited before the game, but leaving would be rude.
Cam wanted to put away the groceries he had bought, but he held back and listened to DeDe, gathering all the patience he had.
"I’ve learned that the only way to move forward to the next level of enlightenment is for all of us to get past… The Incident," DeDe said, her tone turning serious at the last sentence.
The faces of Andrew, Mitchell, and Cameron became more serious upon hearing "The Incident."
"Oh no…" Cam murmured.
'Why bring that up again?' Andrew thought, slightly furrowing his brow.
[Comment from Mitchell and Cameron]
"The Incident…" Mitchell said with a serious expression.
"Oh boy," Cam added, shaking his head.
"Jay and Gloria got married about a year ago. My mother wanted to attend the wedding to show everyone she was fine with it and had moved on after the divorce. So she asked me to convince Dad and Gloria to invite her and I did..." Mitchell explained.
"And who warned you it was a terrible idea?" Cam asked, raising his own hand.
"Andrew and I," he answered himself.
"At first, everything was fine, but things spiraled out of control when my mother got drunk on some Colombian cocktails. She decided to give a speech that was supposed to congratulate the newlyweds, but it quickly turned into an attack on my Dad and Gloria," Mitchell continued with a sigh.
"That was already bad enough, but the best part was when, in a full drunken rage, DeDe marched toward the wedding cake with clear intentions to destroy it," Cam added, trying to suppress a smile.
"It’s not funny, Cam…" Mitchell reprimanded him with a stern look.
"Andrew stopped her… he saved the wedding cake and prevented my mom from further ruining the event. But in the process, well… he ended up tackling his own grandmother and knocking her unconscious," Mitchell recounted, rubbing his forehead.
Cam couldn’t hold back his laughter as he remembered the scene of DeDe being taken down.
"It’s not funny, Cam! It was dangerous," Mitchell insisted, frowning.
"Hey, nothing serious happened. Your mother wasn’t hurt, and luckily for her, she doesn’t even remember being tackled by Andrew. She only recalls the insults and embarrassing comments she threw at Gloria and Jay," Cam justified.
Mitchell nodded. "Yeah… Andrew only did something so reckless because he was a little drunk… I’ve never scolded him so much. What kind of parents let their kid get drunk at a public event?" he said with a sigh.
"He still hasn’t told us how he managed to get drunk," Mitchell added.
Cam rubbed his chin, thoughtful. "I suspect it was Gloria’s uncles. I saw them trying to give Manny a glass of whiskey."
"That must’ve been it," Mitchell agreed.
[End of comment]
"So, you want to gather the whole family for Christmas dinner to mend things with Gloria and move forward in your spiritual journey?" Mitchell asked, and his mother nodded.
"I think that instead of digging up The Incident, maybe it would be better to repress it—like any normal family would," Mitchell added, seeing how serious his mother was about this.
"I can’t. I have to move on. I’m about to embark on a new journey," DeDe replied before telling them she had met a man from Canada named Chas, and he had asked her to live with him in his country.
"That’s wonderful. Why don’t you spend Christmas with him in Canada?" Cam asked, emphasizing Canada.
'Yes, go to Canada and stop digging up The Incident,' Andrew thought with a serious expression. He didn’t want DeDe to find out that he was the one who knocked her out and left her unconscious.
"I want to spend one last Christmas with my family and make amends for my mistakes. When I think about the terrible things I said to Gloria, Jay, Claire, and you, I feel guilty," DeDe said with a regretful expression.
'Liar…' Andrew thought, not believing a word. He knew that if DeDe saw Gloria, she wouldn’t be able to contain her jealousy and would lash out at her.
"They’ve all moved on, haven’t they, Andrew?" Cam said, looking at Andrew.
"Y-yes! Absolutely! Gloria doesn’t even remember the things you said to her. And you know Grandpa—he doesn’t care about anything. You can go live with Chas in Canada without worries," Andrew said, nodding repeatedly.
"I can’t. If I don’t make up for my mistakes myself, I won’t be able to give myself to him sexually," DeDe explained with extreme seriousness.
Andrew nearly choked on his own saliva upon hearing this.
"Didn’t see that coming," Cam murmured.
"Oh God, Mom," Mitchell said, dreading where this conversation was going.
"Oh, don’t misunderstand me! We are satisfied in that aspect," DeDe quickly clarified, wanting to make that clear.
"I have homework, and then I need to get ready for the game. Bye," Andrew said, getting up from the couch and heading to his room. He had already kept Leonard and Howard waiting long enough.
He hoped his parents wouldn’t agree to his grandmother’s ridiculous idea of having a Christmas family dinner with her, Gloria, and Jay all in one place. It was obvious nothing good would come out of it.
In fact, he knew it. It had to be avoided at all costs. But this time, he wasn’t going to do anything to stop it.
He had a life, and the last time he tried to intervene and save the day—at his grandfather’s wedding—he ended up drunk, knocking out his grandmother, throwing up, and waking up with a massive headache the next day.
