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"Mom, I said it wasn't me, Debbie can vouch for me."
"Bingo~ Jerry has been busy with football games this month; he doesn't have the energy to waste on adult pay-per-view channels. And I think a certain dad could use some personal space~" Debbie suggested, harmlessly.
"Debbie!" "Debbie..." Jerry and Frank exclaimed in unison.
One as if having discovered a new continent, the other filled with despair.
"I knew there was a problem, last month I only watched it 18 times, but the bill shows 21 times!"
"Frank~" Aunt Rachel's voice started to get less friendly.
Thump! Thump! Thump! A knock on the door came at the crucial moment.
Squeak~ Barely two seconds had passed when Frank appeared at the door.
"Oh~ It's Dean!" Frank announced to the hosts inside with an exaggeratedly warm voice.
Rachel had seen Dean at the door too, "Come in, Dean, apple pie will be ready soon."
"That's right, Dean, you must be starving, the whole family was waiting for you."
Frank patted Dean's shoulder gratefully; his timing couldn't have been better.
"Aunt Rachel, Uncle Frank." Dean, having removed his coat upon entry, greeted them nonchalantly.
The two families were very close, as visiting each other was commonplace due to their proximity.
"Jerry," Dean fist-bumped with his cousin and greeted Debbie who was on the sofa.
Jerry, 15 this year and a bit younger than Dean, was in high school. Debbie was the same age as Dean and a freshman at the community college.
"Dean, I got a Tandy computer; we have stuff to do tonight." Jerry approached Dean with excitement.
He knew Dean had some tricks up his sleeve, just needing a computer to play Nintendo games for free.
"Cool~" Dean nodded and gave Jerry a reassuring look, which instantly made him beam with joy.
"You little rascals, just so we're clear, I don't want the police knocking at our door." Aunt Rachel warned from the kitchen, her ears always listening.
"Of course," Jerry shrugged. "I just want to exchange some computer knowledge with Dean."
"Right," Dean nodded solemnly.
"That would be best," Rachel frowned slightly, then continued to busy herself with the evening's dinner.
Jerry kept clinging to Dean, asking him for school news, or discussing the latest video games.
Debbie didn't share their interest; she preferred the "Teen Dragon Tiger Team" on TV.
As for Frank, to avoid Rachel's questioning about the TV bill, he was busy helping in the kitchen and skillfully changing the topic of conversation.
...
The newly arrived Dean was warmly welcomed by his aunt's family, and everyone spent the dinner in laughter and joviality.
And to consider Dean's feelings, everyone instinctively avoided sensitive topics.
Like anything about Dean's mother, Katelin, or the currently detained Peter, and the name "Reed," which nobody wanted to bring up.
But Dean wasn't swept away by the atmosphere; at eighteen, he was an adult.
Also, to ensure his plans went well, some matters had to be settled in advance.
As the only freely active member of the Price family and the highest educated (in training), in the eyes of his aunt and others, perhaps he also felt obliged to re-mold and round off their shattered family.
So, after dinner, Dean initiated a conversation.
"Aunt Rachel, Uncle Frank, can we talk about dad now? At least let me understand what I'll be facing next." Dean, having put down his utensils, looked at them earnestly with his posture straight.
Rachel and Frank exchanged a glance, and eventually, as the husband, Frank shrugged.
"Alright, before we start... I guess some people need to go to their rooms to rest." He gestured towards Debbie and Jerry, their meaning clear.
After giving Dean a complicit glance, Jerry and Debbie said their goodnights and headed upstairs obediently.
When only the three of them remained in the living room, Frank began to recount the situation with Dean's dad, Peter.
The situation wasn't complicated: after drinking, Peter, in his truck, had driven off into a farm beside Interstate 80 and hit a farmer.
Luckily, the farmer was not seriously injured, just a broken rib. Normally, under federal or state law of the time, Peter would likely have been charged with a misdemeanor.
Then, after a couple of days' detention and payment of a fine and compensation, he would have been released.
But the trouble was that he was not a first-time offender; the police at the scene found out Peter also had a DUI record last year. Although he didn't injure anyone that time, he was just unlucky to be caught by a "sobriety test."'
However, according to Ohio's traffic laws, a DUI reoffender automatically upgrades the misdemeanor to a felony. And if it's a felony, the criminal punishment is a whole different matter.
So Peter, caught red-handed, was arrested on the spot and denied bail.
After listening to Frank's account, Dean felt a headache coming on. With bail not even allowed, it looked like the police had their minds made up about Peter's drunk driving, which was very bad for the trial ahead.
"Of course, there's also some good news," seeing Dean a bit down, Frank tossed out a bit of news to lift the spirits.
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