Because they caused trouble at the bowling alley, Connie and the two others were taken away by law enforcement officers who arrived upon hearing the commotion.
After an afternoon of making statements and mediation, the three of them were released only at dusk.
George, who had just finished making dinner, looked at his disheveled wife and Connie walking in and asked in surprise, "What happened? Did you go to a Christmas battle?"
Although Mary and Connie had cleaned off the foreign objects from their faces and hair that afternoon, the red and white condiments stuck to their clothes were still very noticeable.
"What's going on? It's all Brenda, like a shrew—" Mary sat down on a stool, looking exhausted, and complained.
Upon hearing her words, George didn't react much. But Connie, who had gone to the refrigerator to get a beer, turned her head and looked at her daughter with surprise.
When it came to the level of a shrew, Mary was not at all inferior to Brenda.
Connie knew this from experience.
Next, the family sat around the dining table, listening to Mary recount the events of the afternoon.
Of course, while narrating, Mary deliberately glossed over the fact that she had initiated the trouble. She focused on Brenda's unreasonable and domineering behavior.
"This…" George thought of the scene of the tomato juice and whipped cream battle after hearing his wife's words, finding it a bit amusing.
However, seeing the indignant expression on his wife's face, George still straightened his face and pretended to be angry, saying, "Brenda went too far this time, how could she splash you with whipped cream?"
After getting her husband's support, Mary also incited him, "George, this time you should go to Herschel's house. Let them know that Cooper family is not to be trifled with…"
Looking at his wife's expectant eyes, George, as the head of the family, was somewhat in a dilemma.
However, in the end, he still agreed, "Okay, I'll go to Herschel's house right now and reason with them."
Saying that, George puffed out his chest and put on a fierce expression, walking towards the door.
But before he could open the door, there was a knock from outside.
Opening the door, it was Herschel standing outside, with a somewhat blustering fierce expression on his face as well. Clearly, he had also been incited by his wife.
The two men in similar predicaments looked at each other and understood each other's situation.
"You wait at home, I'll talk to Herschel alone." George gave his wife a reassuring look before stepping out of the house.
Outside, the two men tacitly avoided mentioning what happened that afternoon.
Then, at Herschel's suggestion, the two went to his independent large yard.
In the yard, Herschel had built a chicken coop himself. Besides raising chickens for eggs, there were also many good things hidden in the weeds.
After Herschel took out several bottles of beer from his secret stash, he also turned on an old tape recorder nearby, playing old songs.
The two middle-aged men relaxed and lay on the haystacks, drinking beer and listening to music, and the atmosphere instantly became mellow.
Meanwhile, Mary, who was staying at home, began to worry about her husband. She thought that if the two men really came to blows, her husband might not be a match for Herschel.
In fact, after the big commotion that afternoon, Mary's anger had largely dissipated.
"Georgie, Mike, you two go out and see how things are. Don't let George really get into a conflict with the other party, his heart isn't good…" Mary said uneasily.
"Okay—" Georgie was also quite worried about his dad. He responded, called Mike, and walked out.
After circling outside the house and not seeing his dad, Georgie said anxiously, "What should we do?"
Georgie knew his dad's condition very well. He looked strong, but in reality, his body was very weak, and he also had a bad heart.
If they really came to blows, Georgie was very afraid that his dad would suffer.
"Don't worry, let's go check over there." Mike pointed towards Herschel's large yard, in the direction from which the music was coming.
Georgie, who had lost his own initiative, followed Mike to Herschel's chicken coop.
He pressed his ear to it for a while and said, "The music is so loud, I can't hear what's happening inside at all. Could this music be to cover up the sound of a fight?"
"What's there to guess? Just go in and see." Mike finished speaking and pushed open the small wooden door in front of them.
Inside the chicken coop, two middle-aged men were lying sprawled out, each holding a bottle of beer.
Relaxed and comfortable…
Looking at this harmonious atmosphere, it didn't look like there had been any conflict at all.
"Dad—" Georgie called out uncertainly.
George sat up from the haystack, and seeing that it was his son, he smiled and said, "Georgie, why are you here? How are things at home?"
"Mom is very worried about you—" Georgie looked at his dad's comfortable appearance and didn't know what expression to make.
You know, until just before he came in, Georgie had been worried about whether something would happen to his dad.
Now there was no need to worry about him, but Georgie felt a bit sulky inside.
"Oh, go back and tell Mary and them that I'm fine…" George lay down comfortably again and continued, "I'll be home in a while."
Clearly, the comfortable environment here made George not want to leave.
After putting his worries aside, Georgie saw several bottles of beer placed next to the haystack, and he tentatively asked, "Can I stay here for a while too?"
Herschel saw Georgie's thoughts and welcomed them with a smile, "Yes, you two come and sit too."
Saying that, he also opened a bottle of beer for Georgie and Mike each.
George, who was beside them, glared at his son who was grinning foolishly, but didn't say much.
Then, with the music playing, Herschel continued, "Where were we just now? …Oh, right, establishing a breeding base…"
Herschel continued to tell George his troubles.
It turned out that Herschel wanted to quit his job at the repair shop and start his own chicken farm, but his wife disagreed.
He greatly envied George, who was currently unemployed.
And George, without avoiding his son, also spoke of his difficulties.
It turned out that he had been anxious about finding a job these past few days, but because he couldn't do anything except play football, he was also worried.
He did express a slight envy for Herschel's stable job situation.
"How about this, you come work at my repair shop." Herschel suggested.
"Thank you for your kindness, but no need." George shook his head and refused.
Mike, who was listening to George's troubles, spoke up, "George, I have some savings here. How about I take them out for you to start a small business?"
The money Mike had previously received from Jack for selling photos, plus his remaining living expenses, totaled about 20,000 dollars.
Although this money was not enough to take over a storefront, it was definitely enough to set up a brisket stall on the commercial street.
And George's brisket was now good enough for a stall.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I've already decided to apply for a job at the town's sporting goods store." George explained his plan.
At this point, Mike also realized that George wasn't unable to find a job; he wanted to find a job related to football.
Clearly, he still hadn't given up on football.