Beauty & the Geek

Chapter 1

It was just an ordinary in Hawkins, Indiana, at least in the Newby household. The weather was beautiful on an August Saturday morning and ready to burst with color-changing leaves like the colorful July fireworks display. It was near perfect. There were no complaints except for the background music playing on the stereo.

"Dad, must we listen to Islands in the Stream again? There's more to music than Kenny Rogers, you know," Madison remarked. She took her bowl of cereal to the table.

After pouring a mug of steaming coffee, Bob told his daughter, "There may be more than Kenny, but no one's as good as he is. I mean, listen to those sultry notes he hits. Of course, I can always put on some Lionel Ritchie. Oh, what a feelin' when you're dancing on the ceiling."

He literally sang that last part, which made Madison giggle. "No, Dad. That's okay. I'd rather listen to Kenny over Lionel," she remarked.

The two sat at the smaller kitchen table, eating their breakfast. It's what they do every weekend, part of their established routine. The pair eat breakfast and dinner together unless Bob is needed at the store. Some of their best memories are over food because there's nothing better than going home to a family and sharing a good meal and the memories that come with it. They've been doing this for as long as Maddy can remember, probably even while her mom was pregnant. Since her mother died of birthing complications, it's been just the two of them. The father-daughter duo has a close bond, and mealtime permeates that closeness with them talking.

In fact, over dinner one 1984 May afternoon, Bob told his daughter about the new lady in his life. That was an interesting conversation, especially for Maddy. When Bob explained he was seeing Joyce Byers, she scrunched her nose. Not because Madison doesn't like Mrs. Byers. No. Joyce is a lovely person. But rather because Maddy doesn't need a mother. She has two grandmothers and an eccentric aunt. Because in her mind, the youngest Newby can see her father falling in love and wanting to marry Joyce at some point, whereby the woman will essentially be her "mother."

But what most concerned her was, "Dad, try to be careful. Remember what happened the last time you dated someone-- Michelle Smith? She dumped you like somebody had tossed the trash outside. You cried for days and went into a Kenny Rogers-induced coma. If I Ever Fall in Love Again played on repeat." She doesn't want him to get hurt.

The older man raised an eyebrow and commented, "Don't worry so much, Maddy. I know you care about your old man, but Joyce isn't like Michelle. She's a decent, friendly woman who's raising two kids. Jonathan is about your age. Do you know him?"

Then before his daughter could respond, he added in a Yoda voice, "Besides, do or do not. There is no try."

Maddy only rolled her eyes at his silliness and threw a piece of dinner roll at him. That was the end of the conversation, and Bob's been dating Joyce ever since. The only time there's any weirdness is when the two families combine to share dinner. Between Jonathan and Madison, the awkwardness comes in waves. It's not that they don't get along because they do. It's more a problem of how they're similarly socially inept in crowds. Even though the party of five is not a crowd, it's still enough to make their stomachs knot up. So usually, dinner comes down to Bob and Joyce breaking the tension of their children's nervous social habits. They talk about things like, "When Maddy was seven, I told her I was taking away her birthday because she's growing up so fast. Then my daughter freaked out because she thought I was actually going to do that. I remember her face had horror all over it until she sat on the floor and cried. Oh, man, that was funny."

Those stories bring out the cringe in both Madison and Jonathan because his mother tells on him too. And that makes Will laugh, which is worth it. Will is the sweetest kid, or at least Maddy thinks so. He's been through so much with what happened last year. Personally, if she had been lost and declared dead, only to be found again, it would leave scars for life. But unlike her, Will is a trooper who tries to put on a brave face.