Long Days

Chapter 6

As he expected, Aunt May was scheduled to work on Thanksgiving.

"I'm so sorry, hun, but they're paying me time-and-a-half. I couldn't turn it down," she explained.

"Yeah, I get it. It's not a big deal," Peter replied.

"Can you have dinner with Ned's family?" she asked. May felt guilty for leaving her nephew alone on a holiday especially because they didn't have much time together these days.

"He's going to his grandmother's. I wouldn't want to impose on her." In fact, Ned did invite Peter to his grandmother's house, but Peter thought it might be awkward. He lied to his friend, telling Ned that May would be home for dinner.

"Oh, well, then we can have a Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow, okay? I'll pick up something special on my way home from the bar tonight," she promised.

"The budget‒"

"Don't worry about it, Peter. It's a holiday tomorrow: we can treat ourselves just a little bit." She zipped her jacket up. "I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you!" she called over her shoulder as she slipped through the door.

After she left, Peter decided to clean the apartment. It hadn't been done in a while, and he knew it would be a nice surprise for Aunt May. He began with the kitchen, washing dishes, scrubbing the stove-top and oven, wiping their barren counter-tops and near-empty refrigerator. He then moved on to the living room, vacuuming the thin carpet, wiping the windows, dusting the bookshelves and useless TV. He sighed. They should sell the TV; they wouldn't be getting cable back any time soon.

Peter was in the middle of straightening the frames on the wall when he heard the front door open. He turned around and saw Aunt May, home much earlier than expected. "May? What happened?" he asked, almost scared of the answer. The only reasons that she would be home this early were if the bar was somehow destroyed or if...

"I was fired," she whispered in a voice imperceptible except to Peter's mutant ears. She leaned back against the door, closing her eyes.

Peter's heart dropped. The world seemed to shift under him as he collapsed onto the couch. With one less job, their income would be down by over thirty percent. They had been just barely scraping by with what they had. Who knew how long it would be before May could find another job? Peter dropped his face into his hands, beginning to shake.

The boy felt an arm rest across his shoulders, pulling him into an embrace. He looked up at May, having moved to sit beside him, but he regretted it as soon as he did. Tears poured continuously down her cheeks, smearing what little makeup she had. Unlike a few weeks ago, she didn't try to hide them. What was the point? They both understood how grave their situation had become. It was her open emotions that crumbled Peter's own emotional walls. Something within him snapped, and he couldn't stop sobbing once he started. Restless nights and the events of the past few weeks finally caught up to him in this one tremendously heartbreaking moment. It seemed like no matter how hard they worked and how thrifty they were, it would never be enough. It was one step forward and two steps back. It was dry cereal and instant Ramen noodles for dinner three nights in a row. It was lost time with friends and slipping grades. It was sprinting a race that didn't have a finish line in sight. It was impossible for a teenager -even an intelligent one with mutant strength‒ to handle.

It was a long time before either of them said anything.

"Peter, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes, it was. I shouldn't have smacked that bastard's hands away. I should have just‒"

"No! Don't ever sacrifice yourself like that." If he wasn't so tired, Peter would have screamed at the thought of May being sexually harassed by a man. He would have thrown on his suit, ran to the bar, and punched the guy himself.

Again, nothing more was said for a long time. They simply continued to lay in each other's arms. Peter thought May had fallen asleep until she spoke up one last time for the night.

"Oh, Peter, I didn't even stop to get something special for our Thanksgiving lunch!"

"It's okay. I don't have much of an appetite anyway."