Slow Changes (Whizzvin)

Part XXXII. The Fight

Marvin struggles with planning the bar mitzvah with Trina. She wants everything pink, he wants everything a dark red. They don't consider Jason's views on anything and Jason doesn't like that so he yells at his parents which encourages Mendel to give him therapy with horrible but helpful "advice". He then finds out Marvin's on his side and Mendel gets in a fight with Trina.

No trigger warnings other than yelling and mentions of killing your parents but every fanfic mentions that, right?

Jason's Point of View: 11:05pm, February 4th, 1981.

"I don't want a bar mitzvah, mom! Please stop yelling." Mom didn't really care. "Lobster? Jazz musicians?" Dad was getting very... Mad. But he wasn't getting too mad! "Just please don't make it... Pink." His face was really showing how much he hated pink. Whizzer really liked pink and he went to the store to avoid Marvin because that's been happening as you can probably tell. They still haven't made up. Or out.

Dad walked up to me and mom approached with him. "You are gonna kill your mother. Not with guns, but... Kill her, okay?" Mom joined in. "Rather than humiliate me, killing your mother is the merciful thing to do."

"Shut. Up!" I screamed that at them and mom got mad. "Mendel, you take care of him." Mendel took me to the couch. "Jason, I'm very disappointed but I understand. My bar mitzvah was a bit too much and so is yours going to be! They need to just throw a party. Now I'm 100% on your side, just don't tell your mom that." Mom would probably murder him if she knew that.

He tried to show he was cool and made fun of the Torah and then tried to do a cartwheel and said Jesus hated God but Jews don't believe the Jesus is god's son and my family just thinks he's a prophet. "That's what God said to Moses. And God knew because God hated his parents too." He put his shirt on his head and I put my shirt on my head and we looked really ridiculous but cool ridiculous.

"Jason, don't actually kill them, alright?" I nodded. "I wasn't actually going to kill them because I'm too young to go to jail and when I'm old enough they'll be in the retirement home because we all know mom's 50." Mendel gave me a dirty look and I smiled at him because he's too cool to get mad at me.

"Good. Because you and your father really have the mentality of a serial killer sometimes." Well now we know I'll never be normal and that's really sad but mom says I'm not normal and I think that's why she got me therapy and I think she hates me but I don't know why someone would hate their dad. I high-fived Mendel and we danced around with shirts on our heads until mom got mad and he proceeded to kiss her and say she was hot when she was angry and... That was weird.

So now I'm left alone with Marvin while Mendel and Trina are doing something. "Hey, kiddo! No one's let you in on the planning. What're you thinking?" Finally. "Well maybe something small and we invite your lesbian friends and mom and Mendel and a girl from school from the wrong side of the track if you know what I mean." Dad laughed at the last part.

"That'd be amazing and I'm really not one for social events either, but you know your mom. She wants something big and lively so she can impress her friends at the Jewish Center." I'm glad the guys in my family were cool. Mom wasn't cool but I really like dad and Mendel because they're super cool. "Thanks, dad! Don't let mom get you down!" We shook hands professionally.

I smiled at dad because he was really cool. "Well I have to plan this... Miserable occasion with Trina." I walked back to my room and started playing chess with myself. I heard Mendel talking to mom from my room. He was talking to her and they were actually fighting instead of doing adult things I'm not allowed to know about until I'm 30.

"Honey, he doesn't want a large party. You're being selfish. Let me, him, and Marvin take care of this on our own because we actually care about his needs." Mendel had never fought with mom and this was really scary but I continued listening. "Mendel, I'm not being selfish! You are. You're an asshole and I'm the one considering Jason's social life." Mom was really crying.

"Trina, you can tell he has no friends and he likes that, okay? He likes playing chess by h- Honey, are you crying? I'm so sorry, honey. Don't cry. I love you, okay? I didn't mean it. I was just trying to say his opinion should matter more, honey. I'm so sorry. Don't cry. Hey, honey... It's fine. It's okay. I won't get mad at you anymore. I promise." I ran back to my room.

Marvin had apparently saw me listening to mom and dad. "Jason, how much did you hear? I heard some too and it's not your fault. It's your mom's fault. She's being a bitch, okay? And she's normally much nicer but the bar mitzvah is stressful and it's not your fault you're Jewish. It's a Jewish thing and I'm just disappointed me and your mom didn't leave the religion earlier but having a religion gives you assurance and this is our assurance that we'll be okay."

Dad had a weird way of explaining things. I hugged him. "So the fighting is just temporary? And not my fault?" Dad hugged me back because he actually had respect for me, unlike mom. "Don't blame yourself for other people's shortcomings, Jason. It's completely fine. They'll resolve it on their own and go back to normal in a few days. I promise." Somehow I didn't believe him but I knew he was right. Weird things.

Mom went back to my room and gave dad a dirty look and apologized for what I had to hear so that was nice of her and that's why she's a cool mom. But she's not a cool mom. But don't tell her I said that. But I think she actually knows that I don't think she's a cool mom. Anyways, that was the bar mitzvah planning that I really hated but I knew there was eventually going to be more and I had to get used to this.

I think what dad was actually trying to say was that I didn't choose the bar mitzvah life. The bar mitzvah life chose me.

A/N: 1123 words and last chapter's synopsis was a bit misleading because I write the synopsis before the chapter and then I forget to incorporate things so I only mentioned him being stressed about the bar mitzvah once so crucify me.