Back at the Cooper house, life without Mary's constant nagging had become strangely quiet.
George was splayed out on the couch, watching a football game and nursing a beer. He looked like a man in paradise.
In his own room, Georgie had his rock music cranked up on full blast. Without his mom around to tell him to turn it down, he was finally soaking in the sweet scent of freedom.
But before long, Georgie's stomach began to growl. He wandered into the living room and asked, "Dad, what's for dinner?"
"There's some bread in the fridge. Knock yourself out," George said dismissively, taking a swig of beer.
Looking at his dad's state, Georgie knew better than to expect a home-cooked meal. He pulled some bread and hot dogs out of the fridge, slapped together two cold sandwiches, and slumped onto the sofa.
He handed one to his dad. As Georgie chewed on the cold, sad meal, he found himself desperately missing the hot, greasy comfort food his mom used to make.
Having gained a little perspective over the last few days, Georgie realized this whole fight between his parents was bad for everyone. He tried to offer some cautious advice: "Dad, you should just go apologize to Mom. You know she'll forgive you..."
George didn't even react to his son's half-hearted attempt at peacemaking. However, when he saw Georgie trying to sneak a reach for one of the beers, George snapped, "Zip it. You aren't old enough to drink."
Caught in the act, Georgie tried to play it cool. "Come on, you bought so much beer to spite Mom, I'm just trying to help you finish it."
To make his point against Mary, George had used his entire three-hundred-dollar stash to buy cases of beer. They were stacked everywhere.
"No," George said firmly. He had enough problems without his eldest son turning into a lush.
Seeing there was no room for negotiation, Georgie dejectedly put the beer back. "Fine. But back to what I was saying—when are you going to go get Mom back?"
On this issue, Georgie agreed with Meemaw. He knew his parents were bound to make up eventually. For the sake of his stomach, Georgie felt he needed to speed up the process.
"No way. I didn't do anything wrong this time. Mary's the one in the wrong..." George started venting about his wife's shortcomings.
Mary had always been so focused on Sheldon that she neglected everyone else, and since she started working at the church, it had only gotten worse. George's petty rebellion was really just a cry for attention. With Mary becoming more independent and having her own paycheck, George was secretly terrified she might realize she didn't need him—a classic mid-life crisis fueled by a streak of bad luck at work.
As Georgie listened to his dad pour his heart out, he realized for the first time that being a grown-up wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
"Man, being married sounds like a nightmare," Georgie sighed.
"Tell me about it," George nodded in agreement. He seized the teaching moment. "Georgie, take it from me: wait until you're mature enough before you settle down. Don't even think about getting married until you're at least twenty-five."
"Twenty-five, huh?" Georgie, now thoroughly spooked by his dad's story, thought about it. "I think I can manage that."
"Good," George said, striking while the iron was hot. "Let's make a deal. If you can make it to twenty-five without getting hitched, I'll give you two thousand dollars."
At the mention of that much cash, Georgie beamed with confidence. "Consider it done. That two thousand is as good as mine."
---
Across the street, Meemaw's attempt at mediation had failed, and she was busy playing tetris with the sleeping arrangements.
Since it was an old house with only two bedrooms, Mary and Missy were crammed into Meemaw's room, while Sheldon was relegated to sharing a space with Mike.
Several days passed. Mary hadn't stepped foot in her own house except to grab clean laundry.
Sheldon was not handling the change well. He hated sleeping in a strange bed, and his stress levels were through the roof because NASA kept hanging up on his phone calls. He looked worse every day.
Meemaw was also reaching her breaking point. She was a woman who cherished her solitude, and having two extra people in her bedroom was ruining her sleep.
By Friday dinner, Meemaw couldn't take it anymore. "Mary, when are you planning on making up with George?"
Meemaw had expected Mary to stay for a night or two, not a full week. It was seriously cramping her style.
Mary caught the subtext immediately. "Are you kicking us out too?"
"No, no, no! That's not what I meant..." Meemaw backpedaled, seeing her daughter's hurt expression. "You can stay as long as you want. I'm just worried that the longer you and George go without talking, the harder it'll be to fix things."
---
Back at the Cooper house, the place looked like a frat house. There were dirty clothes, smelly socks, and empty beer bottles everywhere.
Feeling like he was going to lose his mind if he ate one more cold sandwich, Georgie put down his bread and looked at his dad. "Dad, seriously. It's time to go apologize."
After a week of roughing it, George was starting to remember why he liked having a wife. He hesitated for a moment, then stood up. "Fine. I'll go get them."
"Go get 'em, Dad!" Georgie cheered, literally hungry for the win.
George threw on his jacket and headed out. By some stroke of fate, he ran into Mary on the sidewalk as she was coming over to grab more clothes.
The two of them stood there in silence for a long time, looking at each other. Finally, George broke the ice. "How you been?"
"Fine, I guess..." Mary thought about the lack of space at Meemaw's and shook her head. "And you? How's Georgie doing?"
"We're a mess," George admitted, shaking his head too. "Georgie misses your cooking... and, truth be told, so do I."
In that moment, the years of history between them took over. A single look was all it took to know the fight was over.
"It's a nice night," George said, looking up. "Want to take a walk?"
"I'd love to," Mary smiled, glancing at the pale moon.
And so, the middle-aged couple started strolling down the street, arm in arm.
"Yes! We're finally going home!" Sheldon cheered from the window, watching his parents reconcile.
"I'll help you pack," Meemaw said with a grin, having watched the whole thing from the porch.
Sheldon was happy because he finally got his own bed back. Meemaw was happy for the exact same reason.
"Mike, can I still come over and use your computer?" Missy asked Mike sadly, not wanting the week to end.
If anyone had actually enjoyed the past few days, it was Missy. She'd spent every day with Mike, playing games and having the time of her life.
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