Chapter 12

After the honeymoon the two lovebirds returned to the house that Frink had just bought. It was a quaint two-story home in the suburbs. It was brown and not much to look at, yet you wouldn't have believed it the way Caroline ran through all the empty rooms happily. Frink just stood by the front door watching her pleased. She came round the corner once again plowed right into him, slamming him into the wall as she tackled him with a bear hug.
"Woe!!" He exclaimed as he tried to keep his balance.
"Oh, I LOVE it this is great!!!"
"Aw, so long as you're happy my little dove."
She kissed him softly on the cheek then ran upstairs. Frink blushed nearly melting and followed her. The back yard was fairly large and he would be able to install all types of electronics to the outside. He already had plans for a satellite antenna that was way ahead of its time. It was 1978 and you only saw those at television stations. The basement was very large and he'd have his own little private lab installed down there for those nights where he had to 'bring his work home'. Of course he'd share the space with her as surely she'd be performing some of her own work down there. It wasn't long before the movers arrived and brought in all their belongings. This winter break the two would not spend it alone.

The two had one last semester ahead of them before they got their official titles. The years they had spent as student in college seemed to have flown by so quickly. They'd been in school nearly all their lives and it would be strange to be out in the real world now. Caroline focused on genetics for her final project under Dr. Oppenmeyer, while Frink continued his studies in engineering under Dr. Cheng's supervision. The two were completely unaware of the role these professors had played in bringing them together. When at last the big day came they were awarded some of the highest honors, both for work together and individually. They received their diplomas from the dean. Caroline jumped on Frink from excitement. He caught her and twirled her around and finally placing her back on her feet.
"Congratulations!!!" They said simultaneously to each other.
"Oh my gosh, I can't believe we did it. We are finally finished…Professor Frink." Said Caroline smiling proudly at her husband.
"Yes, I thought the day would never come…Doctor Frink. Wah hey!" he said putting his arm around her equally as proud. They had the whole world before them now and they had plans to live life to the fullest.

Two years later, Frink was nervously pacing back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital. Why had they thrown him out? He was only trying to help. So he'd knocked over a few supply tables it wasn't like he'd done anything really bad. The waiting was killing him. How was his little Caroline? He was so worried about her. He continued to pace looking down at the floor tiles. One notices the strangest things while waiting so long and at the moment he tried to keep his mind occupied by observing the different colors and patterns in the tiles. At last the doctor came out.
"Professor Frink?"
"Yes?" He answered with anticipation in his eyes.
"Congratulations. It's a boy. Come on back."
"YES!!!" He yelled as he leaped three feet in the air then nearly ran over the doctor as he flew into the room. There on the hospital bed laid Caroline exhausted, hair plastered to her head and beautiful. She cuddled the sweetest baby boy in her arm that Frink had ever seen.
"How are you?" he said as he lay a gentle hand on Caroline's head. She only smiled at him and he was reassured. Frink kissed her on the temple softly. Every day his love for her grew and today he loved her more than ever. She nudged the baby gently and said softly,
"Hey sleepy head. Meet your daddy."
Frink went around the side of the bed, bent over and kissed his newborn son on the cheek.
"May I?" He asked gesturing that he wanted to pick him up. Caroline nodded and Frink lifted up his son. He held him close and just felt how soft and warm he was.
"Welcome to the world Maximillian Frink." He said with pride in his voice. He looked him over. The boy had his mother's hair. It was auburn and there was quite a bit of it for an infant. Caroline looked up at them.
"He looks like you, John." She said with a smile. Frink placed his finger in Max's tiny hand and watched as the little fingers wrapped around his in a fairly strong grip. That was a typical reflex reaction all babies have. Frink did it over and over. It was just too cute. As Frink held Max, he felt something new. There was a bond forming between him and his son. He couldn't believe it was happening so fast but he felt that he loved him so much already. And even this love was different from anything he had ever known before. It was different from the love he felt for Caroline yet he couldn't quite explain it. He placed his arm around Caroline. This was his son and this was his wife. He was complete and felt like the richest man in the world.

Maximillian grew right before their eyes. Before they knew it, he had taken his first step and had said his first word. When Frink returned home from work he never missed the opportunity to play with Max. Both him and Caroline would chase him through the house and once caught he'd be tickled to death until the poor boy couldn't breath from laughing so much. Because of this Max became a good screamer and would yell at the top of his lungs when captured. It was all in good fun and when he was yelling they knew he was happy.

They began teaching Max to read at an early age and soon found he was having difficulty. Caroline noticed that he would literally bury his face in his picture books and he had begun to walk in a very strange manner. She had a suspicion as to what might be happening but she had to be sure first.
"Maximillian honey, come here. You too John, I want you to see this." She said. She kneeled down to Max's level and held out three fingers before him.
"Ok baby. How many fingers does mommy have up?"
"Three!" He said with a giggle.
"Very good." She put her hand further away and this time only held up two. "Ok how many now?" He squinted and took a step forward. Caroline quickly put her other hand on his chest stopping him in his tracks. "No, stay where you are. Tell me from there how many I have up." His frustration was clear on his face and finally he said,
"I don't know."
Caroline looked up at her husband. "I think he needs glasses."
"Aw isn't that cute." Said John. "His first pair of glasses. Very well, why don't we all take a trip down to the eye doctor tomorrow."

The next day the three drove to the optometrist. Max sat in the back of the car, not quite sure that he liked this idea.
"Daaaaaaaad! Do I HAVE to get glasses?" He asked.
"Yes Max. You want to be able to see don't you?"
"Yeah."
"Well then there you go, bwah hay."
"But what happened? I used to be able to see just fine. Now I need glasses and will look stupid."
"Oh on the contrary. They will make you look more intelligent. Do you think your mother and I look stupid?"
"No. But why the sudden change?"
"Well Max, that's because you're a Frink. We all have the 'faulty eye gene'. My father had it, so did his, I have it and you shall pass it on to your children when you grow up. And if you marry a girl that also has it then it just strengthens the 'faulty eye gene' and perpetuates it."
Max just sat there wide eyed.
"Oh that's real reassuring, John." Protest Caroline.
"But darling it's true. Do you want me to lie to him?"
"No."
"Ok then."
Caroline sighed. "Listen Max. Don't worry. When we get there you can pick out any pair you want. It will be your own unique look."
"Really?" Said Max cheering up. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all.

When they arrived they gave Maximillian a series of test to see just how strong the lenses for his glasses would have to be. Once that was over with, he went out and looked at all the different styles on the walls. He knew he had to choose carefully because this would be his look for the rest of his life, or at least until his eyesight got worse. Not satisfied with the normal looking ones he finally narrowed down his choice to two pairs. They were both prescription sunglasses. One was a pair of green that cut off in a straight line at the top and had large semicircular lenses. The other pair was the same style only they were lavender in color.
"Mom! Dad! I want both of these. I can't decide between them, I like them both."
"No son. You need to pick just one, though I must say you have good choice of colors. Now Max, why do you want them to be sunglasses? Why not just a regular pair?" asked Frink.
"Because dad. I want to look cool! If I get colored lenses I'll have both regular glasses and sunglasses at the same time. This is what I want. Please can't we get both??"
"Well…"
"Oh why not, Jonathan?" said Caroline. "besides if he's got two pairs and he breaks one he can use the other and not be walking around blind. It happened once to me as a little girl and how I wished I'd had an extra pair."
Frink thought of it for a moment holding his hand to his chin.
"Alright then. Doctor, we'll take both of these." He said then picked up his son and sat him on his shoulders.
"YEAY!!!" Screamed Max happily. Caroline giggled as she watched the two play together while they waited. Soon the doctor brought out Max's newly fit pairs. He put on the green ones and couldn't believe how clear everything suddenly became. The fuzzy world he had known came into sharp focus and he could read words and numbers on the walls. He looked in the mirror and liked what he saw. His hair had grown long and flowed out in all directions in curved spikes similar to his mother's when she had hers down. He'd inherited his dad's large forehead and buckteeth. He was very thin like both parents and he wore a white jacket similar to his dad's lab coat and a red shirt with a circle pattern on the front. Circles were his favorite shapes so he liked that. His pants were a lighter shade of pink than his father's and he wore flat white shoes. With his new glasses he felt it set off the rest of him nicely. Frink rubbed Max's head hard with his hand.
"That's my boy. You look great!"
"Daaaaaad!! You're messing up my hair."
"Oh don't be silly. You're hair couldn't possibly get any more messed up, wah hey!"

 

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