Tomorrowland: Frank and Athena

Chapter 9 - The Ties That Lash

Frank stood stunned in the kitchen, the ghost of his father's enormous presence still occupying the room, his final words still echoing through the house. A small part of him was happy that he could go, but the rest of him felt gutted. He'd known it wouldn't be easy talking to his father, but he never thought it would go this bad.

Caroline appeared next to him. They'd been so quiet that he'd hardly noticed her and Athena in the room as he talked to his father.

"It's all right, Frank," she said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder. The motherly gesture opened the floodgate of emotion and he couldn't stop himself from openly crying.

"I didn't want to leave like this," Frank said. "But, I have to. He doesn't understand. It's not about him or the farm. I have to do this. I can't be here. I can't be what he wants me to be."

"I know, shhhh," Caroline said gently. "It's going to be okay. I'd hoped it would go better, too. But yes, it's clear he isn't going to understand right now. But we can hope that someday he does."

She walked over to the kitchen table, picked up her teacup and Sam's coffee cup, and began washing them in the sink. Frank moved to the front kitchen window, staring outside to give himself a chance to calm down. Hearing the water splashing in the sink was soothing, bringing memories of his own mother doing dishes. Frank wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed at his outburst, though releasing the emotion had helped. He avoided looking at Athena, hoping she didn't think he was a sissy or childish. His father had nothing but contempt for people who were too emotional.

He could see the west field from the window, the main tractor stopped where his father had apparently last worked. He wondered if that was where his father had received Caroline's letter the prior day.

Caroline dried the cups and quietly placed them back in the cupboard where they'd come from. She turned to Frank and smiled at him.

"Frank," she started. "I'll just ask you one last time. Do you still want to go? You don't have to, and I'll entirely understand if you don't. And I meant what I said – the offer is always open. You can come later, if you wish."

"Yes," he said quietly, and then more firmly, "I want to go."

Caroline nodded. "All right. Go ahead and decide what you wish to bring. Focus on personal items, rather than clothing or other such matters. We can supply you what you need in that area. Would you like Athena to help you, or would you prefer to be alone?"

Frank felt that it was finally safe to look over at Athena, who was smiling at him, apparently happy that he was coming back with them. That lightened his mood considerably. "Sure," he said to Athena. "I have some more stuff up in my room anyway I could show you."

"I'd love to see more of your projects," she said, improving Frank's mood even further. He didn't think he'd ever get tired of her wanting to see the stuff he'd made.

"All right, let's go on up," he said.

They walked up the stairs, heading toward Frank's room at the end of the house. Pictures placed by his mother lined the hallway, the lifelong memories seeming to reach out and pick at his mind, wanting a final thought given to each one of them. No pictures had been placed since his mother passed away, however.

It was only a handful of days since he'd left for the World's Fair, but somehow everything had changed. The bonds of his old life were slipping off as he felt pulled toward the new life he'd dreamed of. A strange feeling of visiting the house rather than living there had already begun to settle into him; his real home felt back in Tomorrowland.

Walking into his room, he could see the usual mess that drove his father crazy. Athena entered as well, looking around curiously. Frank looked over his shelves, holding things from over his entire life. He could even see his old baby rattle pushed into a corner of a shelf, all the way up to one of his most recent projects, a shortwave radio that he's used to talk to people all the way across the world. He wouldn't take that, however. He doubted Tomorrowland would lack radios, as much as he liked his shortwave. And it was kind of heavy.