69novels Chapter 18: we need to talk
Chapter 18: we need to talk
It was evening.
Parker's house.
"Wait a minute—I remember Ben had a suit he never wore. He always complained it was too small, clearly because he'd gained weight and couldn't fit into it..."
"Mei, there's no need for this. I'm just going to her house for a meal."
Aunt May stopped and looked at Peter with her hands on her hips.
"This isn't just a meal," she said. "You represent the Parker family."
After saying that, she glanced again at the black crow lying on the sofa, looking as if it were dead.
"Am I right, Oz?"
The crow cawed reluctantly.
To Aunt Mei, it was a sound of agreement.
However, Peter interpreted it differently.
"Honestly, could you please stop letting Aunt Mei force-feed me meat patties? I don't like them at all."
"But you yourself are unwilling to tell her..."
Compared to his boldness in speaking up when facing young people, Oz couldn't bring himself to speak when facing Aunt May, an elderly woman, for fear of frightening her.
Ever since that night when she came home with an egg in her mouth, Aunt Mei has accepted that there's been another person in the family.
Sometimes Oz would even be forcibly pulled to Aunt May's side, where he would listen to the old woman recount some old stories.
Oz wanted to speak up many times, but after much thought, he concluded that the best time for him to speak up would be when the old man discovered his nephew's secret identity.
Over time, Aunt May came to regard Oz as a crow with exceptional intelligence and understanding.
Peter objected to this.
It took a while to figure it out.
Peter's bird's nest-like hair was combed into an adult style, he put on an old but clean suit, and then Aunt May saw him off at the door with his schoolbag on his back.
Good luck, kid.
Peter said helplessly, "It's just a meal, May..."
Aunt May stepped forward and straightened Peter's collar again, then patted her nephew on the shoulder.
"If Ben were here, I believe he would be more than happy to drive you to his house, even if it meant taking time off work."
Mentioning Uncle Ben dampened Peter's enthusiasm for attending the dinner party at Gwen's house.
On one hand, Dr. Connors' whereabouts are still unknown, and on the other hand, he is wanted by the police for another identity of his.
Even though he was caught in this whirlpool, he still had the mood to go to the house of the girl he loved for dinner.
They are really not qualified.
As if seeing through his own thoughts, Oz said from the side:
"By balancing the two, you're not only Spider-Man, but also Peter Parker. Anyway, you're wearing the Spider-Man suit, so if things go wrong, you can stop it immediately."
Peter nodded, then said goodbye to Aunt May and headed towards Gwen's house.
—A dividing line drawn by a crow—
"Ding-dong—"
Peter rang the doorbell and waited for the door to open.
A few seconds later, the door was pushed open. Just when he thought it would be Gwen who opened the door, the person he saw was somewhat unexpected but also reasonable.
"Uh... Hi, Officer Stacy."
Peter felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't the first time he had met the other person, but for someone of Peter's status, it was the first time.
George Stacy was still wearing her police uniform and looked like she had just finished get off work when she saw the boy outside the door.
He extended his hand in greeting: "You must be Peter, the one Gwen always talks about."
Peter shook hands with George. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."
A smile appeared on George's otherwise solemn face. "Don't be so formal. At home, I'm just an ordinary father."
He then called out into the house.
"Sweetheart, your precious friend is here!"
"dad!"
A casually dressed but still beautiful young woman soon came into Peter's view.
As soon as she saw Peter, she pulled him toward her room.
"Give us some private time!"
George spread his hands, said nothing, and silently watched the two of them walk into the room together.
He only spoke after the door was closed.
"A daughter grows up and leaves home; this is only our first meeting..."
......
Gwen's room.
As soon as Peter was pulled into the room by Gwen, he noticed her curious gaze sweeping over him.
"Where is that dead crow?"
Peter grinned and glanced at the top of her head.
"It's right on my head, isn't it?"
Gwen noticed Peter's gaze and decisively reached out to grab him!
Sure enough, she was holding a furry creature in her hand.
"Hey! I'm just basking in your misfortune. Show some respect, girl!"
Oz finds himself once again with Gwen holding his fate by the throat.
"Can't you just show up properly?" Gwen asked, releasing her grip in confusion.
"Ha, I don't want to be shot dead by your dad just because I have black skin," Oz said.
"..."
"Ignore him, he's always like this." Peter turned around, picked up his backpack, and took out a neatly arranged bouquet of flowers.
"These were planted by my aunt herself; they're a gift for you!"
Gwen took the flowers and smelled them: "How thoughtful!"
However, the two did not have much time together, as their heartwarming moment was soon interrupted by an elderly father.
"Sweetheart, Peter, it's time for lunch."
The moment George pushed open the door, he stared straight at the bed. This time, he deliberately didn't even knock, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Fortunately, the room wasn't as bad as I had imagined; in fact, it had a youthful vibe.
"Please, Dad, knock on the door! Knock on the door!" Gwen said irritably.
"I'll definitely do it next time."
George glanced at Peter, who looked slightly embarrassed. "Come out, dinner is ready. I hope you'll like the lemon sea bass."
Peter laughed and said, "I've always liked it."
Gwen glanced furtively at Oz, who had jumped onto Peter's head. It seemed her father hadn't seen the raven at all; all his attention was on her and Peter.
This reminded her of her conversation with Peter that afternoon.
She is special.
Gwen was secretly delighted and took the initiative to hug Peter's arm.
"Let's go eat!"
George's teeth clenched when he saw this!
......
On the table.
The clinking of silver cutlery occasionally added to the awkward atmosphere of the dinner.
But in Gwen's view, it's a completely different scene.
"Do you even know how to eat? Get out of the way, let me use my feet! It's strong-flavored, no need for much salt!"
"Get out of my way! Of course I'll eat it!"
Gwen heard Oz and Peter's words and quickly glanced at the reactions of the other family members. They were eating their bass normally and hadn't heard Peter and Oz at all.
It seems that Oz was indeed a special raven.
Seemingly unable to bear the extreme silence of the dinner, Mrs. George took the initiative to start a conversation.
"Peter, what do your parents do?"
Once someone spoke up, the awkwardness naturally disappeared.
George also chimed in, "I'm curious too."
Peter, holding his cutlery, replied softly, "My parents died in an accident when I was three years old, and I now live with my uncle and aunt."
George and his wife suddenly felt like they weren't human.
Then they asked, "And what do your uncle and aunt do?"
"..."
This time, Peter remained silent; instead, Gwen spoke out:
"Mom and Dad! Have you forgotten what I said?!"
Upon hearing their daughter's words and glancing at the boy's hesitant expression, George and his wife instantly felt they should get out of their house.
"Hahahaha—Ouch!"
Oz's laughter was interrupted by Gwen's fist.
George apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to mention your misfortune..."
Peter shook his head: "It's okay."
"..."
The dining table is about to be filled with awkwardness again.
Gwen kicked her brother, who was eating, under the table.
The younger brother immediately understood and took the initiative to start the conversation, asking, "Dad, you said this morning you were going to catch Spider-Man, did you catch him?"
Upon hearing this, Peter immediately put down his cutlery and looked at George.
George stuffed a mouthful of fish into his mouth and mumbled, "No, we haven't caught him yet, but he's clumsy and left a lot of clues. We'll catch him sooner or later; after all, he's a dangerous person."
"A dangerous person?" Peter questioned.
Gwen glanced at him.
George glanced at him too.
George nodded. "Yes, he's definitely involved in the riots at the Brooklyn Veterans Hospital today."
"But I heard from other news channels that he resolved the riot..." Peter retorted in a low voice.
"Other channels?" George chuckled. "You mean the credibility of my own hearings is inferior to that of other newspapers?"
"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."
Peter desperately wants to shake off his negative image with the police. Since being persuaded by Oz to become Spider-Man, he has been doing good deeds wholeheartedly and has never had any negative emotions.
He has always been motivated by what his uncle said.
I really can't stand the way the police would describe me.
Peter continued, "I just feel that since he came into the public eye, he has almost never done anything bad, and the public's opinion of him is basically that he does good things..."
"Then their view is wrong," George said.
Seeing Peter's serious expression, George paused for a moment, thinking that this kid must be a big fan of Spider-Man, just like his young henchman.
George said, "What do you think we police are for? Since when has it become the job of a masked man to maintain order and safety in the city?"
"No, no, no, I think he just wanted to do good deeds," Peter insisted.
"Oh!" George exclaimed, feigning surprise, then changed the subject: "If cleaning up the mess you created is considered a good thing, then everyone is doing good deeds."
Peter took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but he found he couldn't quite manage it.
Even when Gwen secretly tugged at his clothes under the table, he remained unmoved.
"You don't understand, sir..." Peter said.
It's a pity that police officers hate hearing strangers say these kinds of things to them.
Especially George.
"I don't understand?" George retorted. "If I didn't understand, I wouldn't have reached the position of Senior Superintendent. If I didn't understand, I wouldn't be working overtime until late every night, responsible for the city's safety all day long!"
"Seriously, Mr. Parker, what kind of magic potion makes you so supportive of him?"
This time, even honorifics were being used, and Peter realized that his conversation with George was starting to affect their newly established relationship.
Peter said, "Sir, I just think his position should be the same as yours; he just wants to do what he can."
"My stance? My stance is to uphold law and order, that's my stance."
"You know what?" George picked up the napkin on the table and wiped his mouth, "I can tell you with absolute certainty that everything reported on the news today is related to him."
"Even if he didn't cause it, he's still fatally connected to it!"
"Dad!" "George!"
"Don't speak yet."
George stared at Peter and said, "Why was he wearing a mask? Because he didn't want anyone to see his face. Why was the riot resolved so quickly today? Because he knew it would end like this!"
"Your view is wrong!" Peter retorted, unable to back down.
"Enough, you all!" Gwen, who hadn't said a word until now, finally slammed her hand on the table.
The noise briefly stopped their argument.
Then three voices rang out simultaneously.
"Peter, let's go to the rooftop and talk," Gwen said.
"Sir, could you spare a moment of your personal time?" Peter said.
"Sweetheart, we need to talk," George said.
Oz burped after finally finishing the sea bass on Peter's plate.
"It tastes awful."