DickKory Week Day 6 - Vacation
Just a normal day at the Grayson Household.
Mariâs on the floor painting her toenails. Jakeâs spread out Legos everywhere, trying to build another whole city. Dick and Kory are both cuddling in the couch watching the news.
âThen Dick remembers something he and Kory talked about awhile ago. "Hey buddies! you guys wanna go on vacation?"
â"Yes!" Jake drops a lego then runs towards his mom and dad.
â"Of course, Papa!" Marâi grins flashing her missing front teeth..
âDick scoops Jake up into his lap. Kory pats her own. "Come here, Marâi."
âMarâi puts her nail polish down and climbs up. "So," Kory says, "your dad and I decided to do something different this time."
â"You two get to pick where we go this year."
â"Thatâs so cool!" Jake shouts.
âDickâs smiling. "So⌠you got any place in mind?"
âJake and Marâi look at each other at the same time. That close sibling thing. Then they both light up.
â"Yes! Weâve talked about it before. We wanna go to Mamaâs birth planet Tamaran!"
âEverything just⌠stops.
âKory and Dick both freeze. Everyone could hear the fridge humming.
âKory clears her throat. âIâm sorry, my darlings⌠but we canât go there.â She glances at Dick. "DickâŚ"
â"Why canât we?" Marâiâs voice goes small.
â"Yeah, whatâs wrong with it, Mama? You always tell us wonderful stories about your planet! The talking horses and the flying dolphins and the ten moons and a hundred suns! I wanna see it!" Jakeâs eyes are huge.
âMarâi nods fast. "Yeah! and Weâre the heirs of Tamaran! We should see our kingdom!"
âKory gives them a little laugh, before it dies quick. "There was a war," she says. Her voice trying to be steady.
âBoth Jake and Mar'i go still.
â"A long time ago before you were born⌠before I came to Earth⌠Tamaran was destroyed."
â"Destroyed⌠like gone or just a messy place now?â Jake asks. He sounds confused and like heâs trying to make the first not true.
âMarâiâs frickles started glowing "Just like what happened to Uncle Clarkâs planet?"
âDick looks at them sadly
âKoryâs eyes soften. "Yes⌠just like Krypton."
âJake looks down. "OhâŚ"
âMarâi slides off Koryâs lap real slow, like she doesnât know where sheâs supposed to be.
â"Iâm sorry, MamaâŚ" Jakeâs voice cracks and looks down. "We didnât mean to make you remember it."
âMarâiâs eyes get shiny, tears starting to show up. âWe didnât knowâŚâ
âAnd then theyâre both crying. Not loud kid crying. The quiet kind that hurts worse, because theyâre sad that they made her sad.
âKory grabs them both, pulls them in tight. "Oh no, my sweet ones⌠no, no. You didnât do anything wrong," sheâs whispering into their hair.
âDickâs right there too, one hand on Jakeâs back, the other on Marâiâs shoulder. "Hey, hey⌠itâs okay. Itâs not Mamaâs fault. Itâs not your fault either, you hear me? It's The bad guys, okay?"
âKoryâs stroking their hair. "Oh, bumgorfs⌠donât be sad. You know, sometimes bad things happen⌠but good things can still come from whatâs left."
â"Really, Mama?" Marâi whispers.
â"Yes," Kory says. âEven though I lost my home⌠I found a new one on Earth. I met its most handsome human and married him." She looks at Dick and winks.
âKory looks back at the kids, real soft. "And then we had you." She tickles Marâiâs side, then Jakeâs, and they squirm and let out these little wet giggles through the tears.
â"Youâre my family," she tells them, holding them close. "My home isnât a place anymore⌠itâs right here."
âDick and Kory both wipe at their own eyes and just hold the kids tighter.
â"Thank you, Mama⌠youâre right," Jake mumbles.
â"So even though we canât go to Tamaran," Kory says gently, âit still lives in our hearts⌠in the stories I tell you but we canât stay sad about it forever. So where do you want to go instead?"
âBoth Jake and Mar'i stared at each other again before speaking up again.
âDick blinks. Didnât expect that.
âJake nods. "Yeah! Itâs Papaâs childhood place."
âMarâi looks up at him. "Papa, take us there. If we canât go to Mamaâs planet, maybe we can go to where you grew up as a baby!."
âDick smiled, remembering all the bedtime stories heâd told them about his childhood in Bludhaven, the monkeys, his favorite Elephant Zitka, the trapeze, the games, the way every part of that place smelled popcorn and fireworks. How had he not thought of taking his kids there?
â"Of course," he said, and his voice was warm. "I shouldâve thought of it sooner. You two are gonna love it there."
â"Yes!!!" Jake and Mar'i both yell, and just like that the room feels lighter again.
âThen Jake pipes up. "Papa after that, we wanna visit our grandparents' graves."
âLike, really quiet. The air in the room feels like it changed again.
âKoryâs hand is on his arm immediately. "DickâŚ"
â"Papa?" Jakeâs face falls. "Did I say something that made you sad too?"
âDick blinks hard and forces a smile. "No, no,â he says, shaking his head. "You didnât say anything sad, buddy."
âHe runs a hand through Jakeâs hair and squeezes Mar'i"s shoulder. "I think⌠thatâs a very good thing to want,â he says. "Iâd be happy to take you to see Mom and Dad."
âIt just hits him then how their kids donât just want to go places. They want to know where they came from. Want to step into those memories.
âHe looks at Kory over their heads, and they donât have to say anything. Itâs all there. Pride. Love. That quiet, heavy gratitude that Marâi and Jake are theirs.