22/06: Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Dinner started off quiet that evening. Martha didn’t want to get in the middle of them, as she was tired of playing referee so many times before. Jonathan didn’t want to talk to Clark about the letter. And Clark well, didn’t want to listen to his dad give another lecture.
“Clark can you pass me the peas,” Martha asked him. He picked up the bowl of peas, and placed them in front of his mother’s plate; a bit harder then he meant to, because the bowl broke.
“Clark!” Jonathan scolded, “If you’re going to come to the table with an attitude, you best not come at all!”
“Jonathan it wasn’t…”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Clark shouted back, “I haven’t done anything wrong all day, and you’ve done nothing but yell at me,” Clark stood up, “I’m not the one with the attitude,” he said in a serious tone.
“Go to your room!” Jonathan ordered.
Clark looked at his mom, gave her an ‘I’m sorry’ look, and then at super speed ran out of the house.
Martha ran to the door, “Clark!”
Jonathan sat back down at the table, “I’m sorry Martha, I didn’t…”
“I don’t know what is eating at you Jonathan, its not like your hiding a terrible secret, so you went by another name, and left home,” she began, “so what is it?”
“I don’t know!” Jonathan said angrily, “I, I don’t know,” he repeated in a softer tone, “I’ll go look for him.” And he did. He left intent on finding Clark, and having a talk. Its not that he was ashamed of his life as ‘Bo Duke,’ but he was ashamed at the way he left it. At the way he let his Uncle die without him knowing that he did care about him. That he was sorry for how it all turned out. That he left him after everything he had done for him. He was ashamed of what he had done. Ashamed he had turned his back on his family.
He went up to the loft expecting to find Clark there, but he wasn’t there. So he got into the truck and headed to another place he knew his son would go.
Jonathan walked into the caves, and saw Clark was there.
“Your so mad at me you’d come talk to Jor-El?” Jonathan asked hearing Clark talk.
“Dad…” Clark was surprised, “I got to get some new hide outs,” he joked, “no, I was just thinking out loud,” he added.
“Look Clark,” Jonathan started.
“I’m sorry I ran off, I just…”
“No Clark, I’m sorry,” Jonathan walked up and put his hand on Clark’s shoulder.
They both leaned back onto a part of the cave, sort of a sitting place.
“I’m sorry for lashing out at you Clark. I know you were just curious, and you had every right to, if I had heard my father be called by another name, I would want to know what was going on,” Jonathan said.
“Yeah… I heard you and mom in the barn… heard something about you being Bo Duke? Who… did you change your name?” Clark asked.
“Yes and no. My name is Jonathan Kent, I’m not a bank robber who needed an identity change Clark,” he smiled, “but after a bad fight with my father I left home. I went to stay with my mother’s brother, Jesse Duke. Two of my cousins lived with him already, Luke, and Daisy Duke. Had for about 2 months. Both of their parents were traveling together, and got into a car crash. Luke’s parents died on the scene, and Daisy’s parents died on the way to the hospital,” Jonathan explained.
“I’m sorry,” Clark said.
“They were good people. Luke and I hadn’t talked much before then, a few times at reunions, holidays, and things like that. But after his parents died, we talked a lot. He knew about my relationship with my father, and after a big fight we had, Luke convinced me to move away out to Uncle Jesse’s farm in Hazzard County.”
“And the name?” Clark asked.
”Bo was a nick name Luke gave me, spelled B-O. And when I moved I took on my mother’s maiden name. Duke,” Jonathan told him.
“Bo Duke,” Clark said, “kind of a strange name.”
“I lived with my Uncle Jesse for about 8 years, until my father died,” Jonathan explained, “that’s when my mother asked me to come back home with her. I couldn’t say no, so I left. I hated leaving. Hazzard had become my home.”
“Why didn’t you… keep in touch with your cousins and you Uncle?” Clark asked.
“They were angry at me when I left. Except my Uncle Jesse, he understood, it was his sister after all. Luke was angry, we’d become like brothers,” Jonathan told him, “Daisy was sadder, than mad.”
“Why didn’t you write?” Clark asked. He had read the letter when he went upstairs, when he shouted that he was just going to change his shirt, he was reading the letter in his parents room.
“I did, I even put a letter out in the mailbox, but my mother took it out. She was scared I’d leave her. She pleaded with me not to write back. She was sick, so I did what she asked,” Jonathan said.
“Why would she do that to you?” Clark asked.
“I don’t think she thought she was doing anything to me,” Jonathan explained, “and truth is, when I started school, and came back home after school everyday to do the chores, and take care of her, I didn’t have much time to think about them, and before I knew it, it had been months, a year, years, and I couldn’t write them. When my mother died, my Uncle Jesse couldn’t afford to come out, so Luke and Daisy didn’t come either. I wanted to go back, but I couldn’t face them. I didn’t think they would want me anymore.”
“I’m sorry dad,” Clark said.
“So am I, so am I.”
They sat there, quiet for a while after that, before getting into the truck and going home. Tomorrow would be the big day. Tomorrow Jonathan Kent would face the life of Bo Duke he left behind.
Dinner started off quiet that evening. Martha didn’t want to get in the middle of them, as she was tired of playing referee so many times before. Jonathan didn’t want to talk to Clark about the letter. And Clark well, didn’t want to listen to his dad give another lecture.
“Clark can you pass me the peas,” Martha asked him. He picked up the bowl of peas, and placed them in front of his mother’s plate; a bit harder then he meant to, because the bowl broke.
“Clark!” Jonathan scolded, “If you’re going to come to the table with an attitude, you best not come at all!”
“Jonathan it wasn’t…”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Clark shouted back, “I haven’t done anything wrong all day, and you’ve done nothing but yell at me,” Clark stood up, “I’m not the one with the attitude,” he said in a serious tone.
“Go to your room!” Jonathan ordered.
Clark looked at his mom, gave her an ‘I’m sorry’ look, and then at super speed ran out of the house.
Martha ran to the door, “Clark!”
Jonathan sat back down at the table, “I’m sorry Martha, I didn’t…”
“I don’t know what is eating at you Jonathan, its not like your hiding a terrible secret, so you went by another name, and left home,” she began, “so what is it?”
“I don’t know!” Jonathan said angrily, “I, I don’t know,” he repeated in a softer tone, “I’ll go look for him.” And he did. He left intent on finding Clark, and having a talk. Its not that he was ashamed of his life as ‘Bo Duke,’ but he was ashamed at the way he left it. At the way he let his Uncle die without him knowing that he did care about him. That he was sorry for how it all turned out. That he left him after everything he had done for him. He was ashamed of what he had done. Ashamed he had turned his back on his family.
He went up to the loft expecting to find Clark there, but he wasn’t there. So he got into the truck and headed to another place he knew his son would go.
Jonathan walked into the caves, and saw Clark was there.
“Your so mad at me you’d come talk to Jor-El?” Jonathan asked hearing Clark talk.
“Dad…” Clark was surprised, “I got to get some new hide outs,” he joked, “no, I was just thinking out loud,” he added.
“Look Clark,” Jonathan started.
“I’m sorry I ran off, I just…”
“No Clark, I’m sorry,” Jonathan walked up and put his hand on Clark’s shoulder.
They both leaned back onto a part of the cave, sort of a sitting place.
“I’m sorry for lashing out at you Clark. I know you were just curious, and you had every right to, if I had heard my father be called by another name, I would want to know what was going on,” Jonathan said.
“Yeah… I heard you and mom in the barn… heard something about you being Bo Duke? Who… did you change your name?” Clark asked.
“Yes and no. My name is Jonathan Kent, I’m not a bank robber who needed an identity change Clark,” he smiled, “but after a bad fight with my father I left home. I went to stay with my mother’s brother, Jesse Duke. Two of my cousins lived with him already, Luke, and Daisy Duke. Had for about 2 months. Both of their parents were traveling together, and got into a car crash. Luke’s parents died on the scene, and Daisy’s parents died on the way to the hospital,” Jonathan explained.
“I’m sorry,” Clark said.
“They were good people. Luke and I hadn’t talked much before then, a few times at reunions, holidays, and things like that. But after his parents died, we talked a lot. He knew about my relationship with my father, and after a big fight we had, Luke convinced me to move away out to Uncle Jesse’s farm in Hazzard County.”
“And the name?” Clark asked.
”Bo was a nick name Luke gave me, spelled B-O. And when I moved I took on my mother’s maiden name. Duke,” Jonathan told him.
“Bo Duke,” Clark said, “kind of a strange name.”
“I lived with my Uncle Jesse for about 8 years, until my father died,” Jonathan explained, “that’s when my mother asked me to come back home with her. I couldn’t say no, so I left. I hated leaving. Hazzard had become my home.”
“Why didn’t you… keep in touch with your cousins and you Uncle?” Clark asked.
“They were angry at me when I left. Except my Uncle Jesse, he understood, it was his sister after all. Luke was angry, we’d become like brothers,” Jonathan told him, “Daisy was sadder, than mad.”
“Why didn’t you write?” Clark asked. He had read the letter when he went upstairs, when he shouted that he was just going to change his shirt, he was reading the letter in his parents room.
“I did, I even put a letter out in the mailbox, but my mother took it out. She was scared I’d leave her. She pleaded with me not to write back. She was sick, so I did what she asked,” Jonathan said.
“Why would she do that to you?” Clark asked.
“I don’t think she thought she was doing anything to me,” Jonathan explained, “and truth is, when I started school, and came back home after school everyday to do the chores, and take care of her, I didn’t have much time to think about them, and before I knew it, it had been months, a year, years, and I couldn’t write them. When my mother died, my Uncle Jesse couldn’t afford to come out, so Luke and Daisy didn’t come either. I wanted to go back, but I couldn’t face them. I didn’t think they would want me anymore.”
“I’m sorry dad,” Clark said.
“So am I, so am I.”
They sat there, quiet for a while after that, before getting into the truck and going home. Tomorrow would be the big day. Tomorrow Jonathan Kent would face the life of Bo Duke he left behind.
