Young Jimmy Zimmer awoke with a rude sunbeam in his eye. For a moment he teetered on rolling over and going back to sleep, but then he suddenly remembered what day it was. In a flash he was out of bed and running down the hallway shouting, “The Invasion’s today! It’s time to get ready for the Invasion!!!”
Robert and Vera Zimmer awoke together, as they had for years, and looked warily into one another’s eyes. Bob Junior also awoke, but with a frown. He didn’t like the Invasion.
The family converged in the kitchen and Bob Senior started in on breakfast. Mr. Zimmer always cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings, and he always left a ton of dirty dishes for Mrs. Zimmer to wash up afterwards. This Sunday morning was no exception. He fixed bacon and sausage and gravy and biscuits and eggs and hash browns, with pancakes and muffins on the side. It was an especially bountiful feast and everyone delighted in it except Bob Junior, who was too irritated to eat anything.
Though young Jimmy was eager to bring up the subject, The Zimmers avoided it for the time-being. They discussed television, the weather, the neighbors—everything they would have been discussing were this just an ordinary average Sunday. Finally little Jimmy could no longer contain himself and he burst in, “When do you think they’ll be here?”
“I don’t know,” Mr. Zimmer answered. “The President said it would be sometime this evening. You’ve got the whole day to get ready for it.”
“I don’t think Bobby wants to talk about it,” Vera intervened, noting her eldest son’s malicious glare.
“It can’t be helped, son,” Bob Senior told him.
“But they’re not doing anything about it!” the boy pleaded.
“What could they do?” asked his Father.
“Fight!” he said. “Why is everybody just taking this lying down?”
“Son,” Mr. Zimmer stated frankly, “I think they just don’t care anymore.”
Little Jimmy was watching them, enthralled with the whole conversation. Vera tried to change the subject. “Would anyone like some more gravy?”
Bobby Junior ignored her and said, “And what about you, Dad? Do you care anymore?”
Mr. Zimmer only gazed deeply into his son’s eyes and the boy immediately recognized the hopelessness which was there revealed.
“So that’s how it is,” he said. “You can’t even count on your own Dad anymore.” He got up and stormed out of the house, violently thwarting Mrs. Zimmer’s attempt to stop him.
“Let him go,” Bob said. “He’s got some things to think about.”
Vera ran into the bathroom to get sick while Bob and Jimmy talked about how
great everything was going to be from now on.
© 1998 Randy Bone