Part Five:
Chapter four: Boys in the City
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They were woken up early again the next morning and were advised to not get dressed until after they had finished eating their breakfast. Their mother wanted them to look their best, not dress up as if they were going to a church service, or to a fancy restaurant, but to dress nice.
Mario had selected a red silk button down shirt that had sleeves ending at the elbow. He had packed a suit jacket and designer slacks, but felt that was more suited for something even finer. He went with a pair of khakis. Luigi had selected a green polo with his initials in on the left part of his chest and a pair of darker print khakis.
“I wonder if we should wear ties,” Luigi said as he slipped on a red and white striped sock over his left foot. He didn’t own many pairs, and only wore them during the months when it got chilly in Dark Land and that was only at night. All of his socks were striped like that.
“I hope not,” Mario ran a finger against his throat. No matter what his form was he always had a very short neck, some people have even thought he had no neck at all. Ties were extremely uncomfortable for him. Long ties made him feel like he was wearing a leash, and bow ties were even worse. The top parts of the bow brushed against the bottom of his chin. He never thought about bola ties, but when he did picture himself wearing one he looked ridiculous.
“How is it coming boys?” Their mother’s voice carried through the hall out side their room. “We have to get going. We are going to meet with our relatives at Battery Park within an hour.”
“We are almost done,” Mario slid on his socks. His were not at all striped. They were just plain white, made of cotton and very comfortable. Like Luigi he also wore them during the winter and the castle floor was too cold to walk on, even when the heater was on.
“Mario, are you going to wear your belt?” Luigi was inspecting his shoes, making certain there was no dirt, or stains, or any noticeable scuffs on the heels.
“Of course,” Mario held up the one belt he had brought. It was made out of dark brown leather and had a nice earthy scent. The brass buckle was oval in shape and had been recently polished. It was the only buckle he had packed. There was the one shaped like a kart he won from the Dark Land Grand Kart Prix from a few years ago, and the skull shaped buckle he received from Bowser when and Luigi had stopped an uprising five years ago. The plain oval one was the one he wore most of the time. The others did not seem appropriate for the trip and he did not feel like trying to explain them to his family.
“Have you put in a few more notches?” Luigi had a devious look to his face. “The way you been eating since we got here makes me wonder why you haven’t split out of your clothes yet.” He closed his eyes and laughed.
Mario narrowed his eyes at his brother. He thought about telling his brother off, but knew that actions were louder. He swiped at his brothers arm, fingers curled down and pressed his claws against the shirt sleeve as hard as he could and raked down.
“Hey,” Luigi jumped back. His hand instantly went to his arm where Mario had scratched him. “Human skin is thinner than Koopa skin.” He removed his hand. There was no sign of any damage in the shirt and no markings on his skin, save for a few pale pink lines. “Lucky for me, human claws are also weaker.”
“Hmmm,” Mario stared at his fingers. He had forgotten how short his claws were past the quick, not to mention how dull they were. “I know I’ve seen some humans with longer claws when were at Coney Island.”
“Yeah but those were just the females,” Luigi grabbed his brush and stood in front of the mirror. “I wonder why that is?” He ran the bristles through his hair, taming the former stray and wild hairs until the sat right on the top of his head.
“I wonder if they use to attack any male suitor they find unacceptable during mating season,” Mario rummaged through his bathroom bag for his brush. When it came to mating season the couples that were ready to breed were already together. Those that were single and wanted to sit out would stay home, but then there were those who wanted to engage in Wild Style and end up outside, seeking out possible mates. Male Koopas would go after any female, but when it came down to it, it was the female’s choice in the matter. If the female found a possible mate to be unsatisfactory for any reason she would slash at him with her claws. Mario had known a few guys who had scars from being deemed unsatisfactory.
“They might used them for other reasons,” Luigi said before he spat into his hand and used the moisture to try and make his cowlick to sit still. “They might use them to attack at potential muggers and rapists.” He smiled when he got his hair to stay in place. The smile only lasted for a few seconds before his bangs sprung up. He sighed and put his brush away.
“Don’t say that,” Mario shuddered. He didn’t want to think about human girls like Pauline or his sister in a possible dangerous scenario. “We don’t even know if humans do that.”
“They do,” Luigi closed his eyes. “I caught some headers on the local newspapers and on the news. They do that here. I hate to say this but it seems prevalent in societies of sentient creatures.”
“I guess our species are similar in some ways,” Mario finished brushing his hair. He wasn’t going to bother with trying to make his bangs behave. “I just wish it wasn’t the bad parts.”
“Boys are you ready?” Their mother knocked on the door. “Your sister is here and she dressed up.”
“Our tomboy sister dressed up,” Mario said under breath.
“So?” Luigi raised an eyebrow.
Mario just shrugged it off. Luigi may have forgotten Maria mentioning how much she hated wearing dresses. “We are ready.”
“Good,” their mother stepped inside. She was dressed in a lace trimmed white blouse with a pale blue vest and matching skirt. Heir hair was styled in a French braid and held in place by pale blue flower shaped clips.
“Wow mom,” Mario just stared at her. She looked so different than the woman who wore simple sweat clothes around the house and jeans and a blouse to a carnival. “You look great.”
“Great?” Luigi stared at him as if Mario had just said something incredibly stupid. “I think she looks beautiful.”
“Thank you,” their mother smiled and walked around them. “You both look quite handsome. I do have to wonder where you got your clothes. I know Koopas don’t dress up often.”
“Well we did pack everything we own,” Mario couldn’t help but to laugh. “And it’s not much, just enough to last through the entire trip.”
“I see,” she paused by Luigi and stared at his neck. “Did you pack any ties?”
“You want us to wear ties?” Mario fought to keep his voice from groaning. He had packed one single tie, but he had hoped not to wear it, not unless they were going out to some place fancy.
“I was just curious,” their mother stood on her tiptoes and pat Luigi’s cowlick down. “Your father has the same problem with his. Whenever he wants to look his best he uses a comb and some hair gel to slick it back. I’ll go and get the bottle for you guys.”
“Thanks mom,” Luigi said.
“Do I have to slick my hair back?” Mario asked. He liked his cowlick and didn’t mind that it stood up. Peach loved his hair like that. She told him it was cute and he didn’t want to change.
“You do want to look nice for your uncles and aunts don’t you?” Their mother asked and ran brushed her finger against one of Mario’s sideburns. “You might want to trim that up a bit.”
“We’ll shave centimeter off,” Mario rubbed his fingers against his sideburns. His biological mother was just as bad as Kammy as these things. They both had so much in common and made him feel even more guilty for what he had said about the mother who raised him and Luigi.
“And we are defiantly trimming it up back here,” she grabbed the locks at the backs of their heads. “No sons of mine are going to walk around Battery Park with mullets.”
“But mom-“ Mario started but was cut off by his mother.
“No buts, I’m going to get the electric trimmer and fix this myself.”
“They aren’t mullets,” Luigi whimpered and placed his hands behind his head. “Please don’t cut our hair. Wendy loves mine the way it is.”
“Does your other mother allow you to walk around with your hair like this?”
“She doesn’t let it get too long,” Mario had also covered his back hair with his hands. “She just trims an inch about once a month. That’s all.”
“Oh,” she laughed. “I wasn’t going to cut it all off. I was just going trim an inch as well, maybe an inch and a half.”
“Oh,” both brothers let out a collective sigh.
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The park was larger than any parks Mario had visited. There was the trees, flowers and grassy areas that he had been expecting as well as various birds and large squirrels. The bush tailed rodents were almost as large as cats. There were several large buildings at various areas of the park. Their mother pointed out the restaurant and their father pointed at a building that belonged to the Coast Guard.
Several cement pathways wound around the park and along with other tourists they were also filled with people selling hot dogs, pretzels and soft drinks as well as various odd people. There were some dressed in green gown like togas and wore green spiked crowns made out of foam like material on their heads. Several clowns were doing juggling acts and walking around on stilts. Several teens wearing bright fluorescent orange wigs were handing out flyers to people and there were others who were doing some performances, some were playing instruments, some were doing odd dances and even a few kids were doing a few back flips while people put a little money in a hat.
Mario was attracted to the sculptures. There was one shaped like a large sphere and on closer inspection he saw that it was a memorial and in front of it was an eternal flame.
“There is more over here,” Maria said. She wore pretty black blouse with a ruffled frill around the collar and a blue denim skirt trimmed in lace and a glittery turquoise belt. She had her hair styled in one long braided ponytail. She was actually wearing makeup. Her eyelids were dusted with cyan and lashes appeared longer and darker and she wore coral hued lipstick and had the matching color painted on her claws.
“Can I ask you something,” Mario whispered to her. “So I don’t make anyone wonder if I grew up in a cave. What were the world wars?”
“Two wars that involved many countries that basically fought on two different sides,” Maria said as they came up two several tall stone pillars. “The first one was between one side with England, France, and Russia as the front runners. The other side had Germany and what was then called Austria-Hungary. They are now their own separate countries. It was mostly over land and territories and about the Slavic lands. Tensions were brewing but war was declared when the archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated. America didn’t get involved until the sinking of the Lusitania, but there were other factors leading up, including a letter to Mexico saying that if they joined up with the German and Austria side they would get back the land that used to belong to them.”
“What about the second war?”
“Again different tensions. Started with Germany taking over some of the other countries and imposing their rule over them. Italy was on their side and so was Japan, again America did not get involved until Japan bombed Hawaii. I’m just giving you the cliff notes version. I’ll get you books on the subject.”
“Ah,” Mario read the names off one of the pillars. They were the names of soldiers. He felt nothing but pure admiration for them as a fellow soldier and gave them a respected salute.
“I can see this is someone’s first time to the city,” a voice that was as rough as sandpaper spoke behind Mario.
“Uncle Tony,” Maria chirped and spun around on her heels. “I thought mom and dad were going to meet with you and aunt Callie.”
“They are meeting with Sophia and Paulie,” Tony said. He was a big man. Tall and wide with arms as thick as tree trunks. His dark curly hair was cut short and flecked with silver. He had a moustache and it was also showing bits of silver. The man was dressed similar to Luigi, except his polo was white and he had a tiny little alligator shaped patch on his chest. “What is this? My little Ria is in a skirt? Did we cross some inter dimensional barrier and end up in bizzaro land?”
“Uncle Tony you have seen me in skirts and dresses before,” Maria covered her eyes with her hand. “I wore skirts under my gown for high school and college.”
“I’m just kidding,” the man placed his hands on his hips and laughed, causing his gut to shake along with his chest, it almost made it appear that he had breasts and they were also quivering. “Who’s the handsome fella with you? Is he your boyfriend.”
“Only if this were the Ozarks,” Maria said and look on her face that told Mario not to ask where or what that was. “Uncle Tony, this is my big brother Mario.”
Tony just stared at Mario for a few seconds. His smile faded and jowls almost disappeared while his blue eyes widened. After a minute of silence he whispered. “Saint Anthony, this can’t be.” He drew an image of a cross in the air over his chest.
“It is,” Maria placed an arm around her shoulders. “I was out of town and got injured, had to go to the hospital and Mario offered his blood and they noticed that not only he was a perfect match, but that he is my biological brother.”
“What were the odds?” Tony did not remove his eyes from him. “You look just like your father, except for your eyes. You have Angela’s eyes, and it seems you have her curse of shortness.”
“I don’t really consider it a curse,” Mario tried to keep from frowning. He could picture this guy as a kid, teasing his mother about her height. “When I played hide and seek I always won.”
“So did your mother,” Tony wrapped his arm around Mario’s shoulder and pulled him close. “I can see you are also my kind of guy.” He poked Mario in the stomach. “We both have a love for life and enjoy good food, and we don’t care what anyone thinks. Am I right?”
“Yeah,” Mario half lied. Most of the time he didn’t care what anyone thought about his weight, only when he was trying to meet a new girl did he get wish he was twenty pounds lighter.
“You have a girlfriend?” Tony wiggled his thick eyebrows. Mario hadn’t noticed how odd they appeared until now. The top half was silvery white while the bottom half was dark.
“I have a good friend who is a girl,” Mario chewed the bottom half of his lip. He has never told Peach how he truly felt about her. All he knew is that he had started to fall in love with her, but he never had the courage to tell her. “Well she is a woman, a young woman.”
“Is she pretty?”
“She’s gorgeous,” Mario sighed. When he closed his eyes he could smell her hair and it smells the peach blossom scented shampoo she uses. He could hear her sweet voice calling out his name. “She also likes to read. We enjoy the same books and other interests. She’s pretty smart, very sweet, has a good heart and can bake.”
“So why haven’t you offered her a ring yet?” Tony asked.
“We only recently started to date,” Mario felt his face heat up. He wasn’t sure if they were date type of dates. They felt more like activities shared with friends.
“Please get off his back,” Maria stepped in between him. “This is a joyous moment. Our family getting together, and you just met him. I’m afraid of what you are going to say to Luigi.”
“Luigi?” Tony wrinkled his forehead for a few seconds before he smacked his fingers. “My brains must be melting into goo. I nearly forgot Angela had twin boys. Does he look like you?”
“They both look like dad and have mom’s eyes,” Maria explained. “Except Luigi has dad’s height, and mom’s built.”
“Bethany and Stephanie look a like,” Tony rolled his eyes. “But you can’t tell by the way they dress.”
“Who are they?” He turned to Maria for answers.
“Two of our cousins,” Maria explained. “Did they come? I know Susan is here. Wait, where is Aunt Callie and Susan?”
“They went to get hot dogs,” Tony turned around and pointed towards the vendor. A woman with dark blond hair cut in a neat shoulder length style and wearing a white cotton dress printed with light blue flowers was approaching them with two large hot dogs in her hands. Three teenage girls followed her. “And as you can see the twins did come.”
“Sorry it took so long dear,” the blond woman said. Her eyes were light brown in color. One hot dog was smothered in pickle relish and the other just had a little bit of mustard. “I was trying to find one that was selling those low fat turkey hot dogs.” She handed the one with a little bit of mustard to Tony. “Could you also hold mine while I get the drinks.”
“Sure dear,” Tony accepted the hot dogs. “Callie I want you to meet our long lost nephew.”
“Nephew?” Callie raised her eyebrows as she pulled out a light green bottle along with a bottle of dark liquid.
“Hi,” Mario waved his fingers around. He made his eyes meet with the three teenagers as well. “I’m Mario.”
“My god,” Callie dropped the bottles. The plastic bottle bounced slightly before the rolled around on the grass.
“This is just like something out of a soap opera,” one of older teens said. She had dark hair like her father and it came down to the middle of her back. She wore a lavender scarf at the top of her head, in a triangle shape. Her eyes were light brown light her mother’s and framed with light brown shadow. Her cheeks were dusted with pink, the same color as her lipstick. She wore a lavender colored blouse with a white vest and skirt and her claws were painted with lavender polish. She held one hot dog with cheese and jalapenos and one covered with chili, cheese and onions.
“He looks just like uncle Lucio,” the youngest girl said. She appeared to have been around fourteen or fifteen with wavy blond hair that reached her shoulders. She wore two barrettes that resembled rubies. She wore a hot pink dress striped with black and a pair of black ankle boots. Her make up matched the girl in lavender. She also was holding a chilidog, along with three bottles.
“Wow,” the second twin breathed. She was dressed completely different from her sisters. Her hair was cut short and the bangs were died pink. Her purple eye-shadow was darker than her sisters and she had her eyes rimmed in several coats of eyeliner. Both her lips and claws were painted black. She was wearing a blood red blouse and black skirt and black boots. She also wore red and white striped stalkings. She was carrying a hot dog with ketchup and mustard and another with mustard and sauerkraut.
“Our cousins,” Maria pointed to the girl in purple. “Bethany,” her finger pointed to the goth girl. “Stephanie and Susan.” She pointed at the youngest. We still have a lot more.”
“Our older kids aren’t with us,” Tony explained. “Christina’s university is in another state. Lydia and Junior have moved out. We also got Sophia’s kids, but the only ones who came were Joey and Angie.”
“Luigi is probably meeting with them right now,” Mario said. He wondered how these girls would handle the fact that he was a Koopa and from another world. The vibe he got from Bethany was that she would ask to visit Dark Land. “So, Bethany, I see you also like red?”
“Yeah,” Bethany nodded.
“You can call us Stevie and Beth,” Stephanie said as Bethany handed Mario the hot dog with ketchup and mustard. “Sorry, Mario. We didn’t know what you like on your hot dog.”
“Ketchup and mustard is fine,” Mario said.
“Likes red,” Aunt Callie rolled her eyes. “That’s all that is in closet, just red and black. The same can be said about her sisters. I have long given up on trying to convince Stevie on choosing another color besides lavender and Susan just wants pink and black.” She picked up the two bottles that had fallen on the ground. “You might want to wait until they have settled. Mario, I hope a coke is fine.”
“Cola is cola to me,” Mario accepted the bottle of cool dark liquid. “Like there is any doubt I belong to this family. Luigi and I are the same way, except he prefers green and I like red.” He turned to his sister. “And Maria likes turquoise.”
“At least Beth has some skirts and dresses, you can’t take Maria shopping anywhere that sells dresses,” Callie said.
“Now, but what about the rest of the week?”
Maria sighed. “I like to be comfortable.”
“Can’t argue with that,” Susan said and handed a bottle of water to Stevie and another bottle of cola to Beth. “Stevie and I also like to be comfortable.”
“I’m comfortable,” Beth said before she took a bite from her hot dog.
“I’m just saying that you are a beautiful girl, Maria.” Callie pulled out another bottle of cola from her large bag, accept this bottle had the word diet along with the name, and handed it to Tony. “You shouldn’t hide that beauty. You should dress up more often.”
“My little sister is beautiful, even when she is covered with mud,” Mario smiled at Maria while she took a bite from her hot dog. Her lips and the corners of her mouth were covered in chili. “Are there any napkins?”
“Right here,” Callie pulled out a wad of folded paper napkins from her purse. “We need to eat up. I know I saw Angie and Sophie at the docks for the tours. They are probably getting tickets.”
Mario nodded and took a bite from his hot dog. He doesn’t think he would be able to eat another again, not back in his home world. The ones he tasted in New York were the best. He also liked meeting with his extended family and couldn’t wait to meet even more.
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