Tedium

The Johnsons were an ordinary family situated on the outskirts of Los Angeles, their modest house on a cul-de-sac where other ordinary families went about their lives. Collectively, the neighborhood was a congealed heap of mediocrity; there were no vibrant colors or substantial contrasts, just a bunch of fading houses blending in with the dying grass, asphalt, and concrete. When they first moved in, Mrs. Johnson painted the front door of the house bright blue, with curtains to match. Twenty years later and the blue, once vibrant, faded into a depressing grey. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had two kids, Adam and Eve; Adam was a junior in high school, and Eve was a sophomore. At the time of their birth, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson thought biblical evocation would bring blessing and prosperity but left ironically disappointed when the rain they prayed for only yielded mud. Ever since Adam and Eve got phones while they were in middle school, family time devolved into individual media time; everyone was buried in their phones, trying to find their sense of escapism through their respective indulgences. Dinner became quiet and conversation, sparse; the deafening silence is broken only by the clink of silverware on plates and television, turned to a rerun of a show that everyone had seen at least five times. Following dinner, even more silence and personal entertainment until everyone had procrastinated going to bed long enough.

For Mr. Johnson, he would sit on the couch with his phone and a drink--usually Jack Daniels--and try to dismiss the mountainous burden of medical debt. It was not just the financial ramifications of the medical debt, rather the significance of causality weighed heavily on Mr. Johnson. When Adam was a freshman in high school, relentless bullying pushed him to the point where he attempted to commit suicide. Ultimately, Adam was unsuccessful, and his attempted suicide resulted in numerous emergency surgeries, weeks in an intensive care unit, and months in a hospital. Their insurance company did not cover everything, and the enormous remainder of the bill left with the family. The suicide attempt and the ensuing debt left Mr. Johnson believing he was a failure; as a provider but, more importantly, a father. The Jack Daniels could ease these apprehensions, but copious consumption could absolve them. Mr. Johnson frequently went to bed drunk with the help of Mrs. Johnson, and any conversation that occurred quickly erased itself from Mr. Johnson's mind. Every day felt dismally the same; home offered time with family, but it was seemingly devoid of joy. For Mr. Johnson, returning home served as a reminder of his failures as a parent, requiring a drink to numb his melancholy. 

While Adam and Eve were at school, both Mr. and Mr. Johnson worked a typical 9-5 job, isolated in a cubicle located in a downtown building. Mr. Johnson's highlight of the day typically came on the drive home from work in the gridlock of rush hour traffic, when Mr. Johnson could get a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean and fancifully imagine true freedom. Such fantasies were always abruptly brought back to reality with the shrill horn of a car behind him. Back in bleak reality, Mr. Johnson would gaze at the drivers around him and only see the misery and suffering that comes from feeling trapped in work-a-day lives. He would often see other drivers gander at the ocean and envision their liberation; their faces would brighten, only to quickly reverberate back to a blank, morose stare at the blare of a car horn.

For Mrs. Johnson, her daily highlight came from running into her coworkers in the break room. Most of these run-ins consisted of a quick exchange of formalities followed by an elaborate narrative of a minute deviation from the daily normative before returning to their respective cubicles. Mrs. Johnson quietly took relief in these recitations because she could ascertain the bland nature of her coworkers' lives were similar to her own. Mrs. Johnson never told anyone at her office about Adam's suicide attempt or the family's financial hardships, for those details, in her mind, were private, as was her struggling mental health. However, as for the perception around the office, Mrs. Johnson was as happy as can be. 

Today, however, a turn of events. While at work, one of Mrs. Johnson's coworkers invited the Johnson family over for dinner, the first social invite for years, the last even predating Adam's suicide attempt. Mrs. Johnson gladly accepted the invitation but quickly grew concerned about the family's outward appeal. If the family looked miserable, then it would be evident to her coworkers that she had been lying all these years at work about her happiness. This concern lingered in her mind throughout the remainder of the workday and the drive home. When she got home, she intercepted Mr. Johnson before he was able to begin his usual routine of drinking ample amounts of Jack Daniels to inform him of the update to the family plans that evening. Briefly disappointed that he could no longer get irresponsibly intoxicated, Mr. Johnson then saw this dinner invitation as a welcome change of pace. As Mrs. Johnson externalized her concerns about the family's appearance to Mr. Johnson, she became consoled at the notion that the guests would not be over to their house. The sight of their home could begin to convey the effects of crushing medical debt between the greying paint, tattered furniture, broken electronics, and a thrashed carpet. 

Such a consoling thought disappeared as Mrs. Johnson then had to tell Adam and Eve of the dinner plans. Confronting Adam and Eve reintroduced the worries Mrs. Johnson experienced earlier. So many days had gone by, living in a state of auto-pilot that Mrs. Johnson nearly forgot what her kids looked like recently. Their dark and distant eyes portrayed the antithesis of emotional prosperity. Startled by this observation, Mrs. Johnson began hysterically rambling her worries about her workplace facade crumbling down, utterly bewildering Adam and Eve. She regained her composure by taking a few deep breaths, then explained to Adam and Eve that the family's troubled circumstances needed to be a family secret and any details kept away from her coworkers. Eve then inquired about what to do if asked about anything related to life at home, to which Mrs. Johnson coldly instructed them to lie. 

Chilled by her mom's retort, Eve became nervous about the pressure of lying convincingly to strangers. Adam felt a sense of nervousness too, but shame dramatically overshadowed it, shame that he may have embarrassed and financially destroyed his parents. Adam and Eve looked at each other and could sense the other's emotions, only perpetuating their uneasiness. They both decided to be quiet and not ask any more questions out of fear that their mom would instruct them to do something even more uncomfortable and dishonest. 

As the family was leaving the house, Mr. Johnson quietly told Mrs. Johnson that they should bring a bottle of wine to dinner. Mrs. Johnson cursed at the social convention and agreed with her husband that they should stop at a liquor store for wine on the way. As they parked in the liquor store parking lot, Mr. Johnson insisted upon going alone. In the liquor store, Mr. Johnson briskly walked around, searching for a presentable wine. He did not have the slightest clue as to what was a good wine, for he was a man for hard liquor, but he held the assumption that the relationship between quality and price was direct. Faced with a time crunch, Mr. Johnson selected an expensive bottle of wine with a cool logo on the label. As Mr. Johnson waited to check out, he knew that this bottle of wine was beyond their affordable price range but felt justified in his purchase seeing as his wife commanded his kids to lie to strangers. Hiding the receipt in his pocket and the bottle of wine in a brown paper bag, the secretly exuberant purchase remained undetected from Mrs. Johnson's scrutiny. The rest of the drive over to dinner was quiet.

As they arrived, the Johnson family could not help but notice the similarities to their own house; the dilapidated foundation and the neglected lawn were the most apparent. As they got out of the car, Mrs. Johnson began waving at the dirty front window of the house and honking the car horn. The honking annoyed Mr. Johnson, who started to walk quickly towards the front door while Adam and Eve stood frozen outside of the car from embarrassment. Mrs. Johnson's coworker heard the honking outside, expediently opening the front door, slightly annoyed by the commotion. The aggravation was short-lived as Mr. Johnson was close to the door, holding a brown paper bag, impatiently looking back to see if the rest of the family was coming. While the rest of the family approached the house, Mrs. Johnson's coworker introduced herself as Deb and her husband, Steve. Mr. Johnson presented the unflattering paper bag to Deb as his family arrived at the front door. Accepting the present with lackluster gratitude, Deb invited the rest of the family into the house. Deb covertly passed the bag to Steve, who had arrived at the front door following his introduction. Deb invited everyone into her home and led them towards the dining room.  

Immediately, the house looked empty; there were minimal accommodations and very few possessions of any kind. There was an aroma of pasta and garlic bread coming from the kitchen. Mr. Johnson could see that the dining table had a large salad bowl sitting on top of it. Steve made his way to the table where he pulled the wine out of the bag, contorting his face to get a better look at the label. Impressed by the selection by the price sticker left stuck to the side of the bottle, Steve became insecure about his financial status, seeing as his guests could spend extravagant money on gifts. As everyone removed their jackets and washed their hands, Steve decided to subvert his anxieties by engaging in polite yet awkward small talk with the Johnson family.

Deb graciously cut the tension in the dining room with a small mountain of pasta and ample garlic bread. As they all sat down, Mrs. Johnson noticed the bottle of wine on the table, to which Steve showed zealous gratitude towards the Johnsons. This enthusiasm confused Mrs. Johnson; she tried to get a better look at the label to see what Mr. Johnson gifted them. She noticed the small price tag on the bottle and grew instantly livid at her husband; the fake joyous light promptly left her eyes, replaced by a look of infuriation. The room became tense as Mrs. Johnson berated Mr. Johnson in the tone of a whisper. As Deb placed the food on the table and took her seat, she could see the emptiness and disconnect in Adam and Eve's eyes. The small twinkle in Deb's eyes vanished as she began to understand the facade put in place. Deb looked at Steve, who seemed to comprehend the situation as well. Although they knew what was going on, they decided not to mention it and play along. When Mrs. Johnson finished chastising Mr. Johnson, there was palpable tension in the air to which food nor drink could not alleviate. Ashamed, Mr. Johnson did not even try the wine he bought for the occasion. In silence, they ate. 

Occasionally, there would be a compliment about the food, but nothing beyond a brief exchange of words. Somewhat relieved that they did not have to speak, and by extension, lie, Adam and Eve sat quietly and ate, occasionally looking at one another to keep their silence. Agonizingly, the time passed, and eventually, dinner was over. Much like a typical night, the Johnsons desperately wanted to isolate themselves in their individualized entertainment. Their desperate attempt to indulge in their escapist means came on the back of embarrassment. Seeing twitches from the entire Johnson family, Deb could see how dire their family situation was. Deb made the first motion to indicate she was going to begin to clear the table, mercifully suggesting that the end was near. The Johnsons expediently helped clear the table and dishes and assisted with the cleaning. 

When there was nothing else to do, Mrs. Johnson made a flimsy excuse for the family to leave. Deb shrugged this insult off and permitted their relatively early exit. Mike stood quietly in the kitchen as the Johnsons gathered their belongings while Deb engaged in niceties with Mrs. Johnson as they were departing. As they left, Deb closed the door and emphatically sighed, thanking God that the miserable night was over. With the door closed and locked, Deb and Mike began discussing how dismal the Johnsons' lives must be to warrant such behavior. 

On the other side of the door, the Johnsons entered their car in silence; each member absorbed entirely with their thoughts. The entire car ride home was deathly silent. Immediately upon arrival at their home, everyone retired for bed. Everyone was seemingly desperate to forget the events of the night and return to their sense of desolate normalcy. As Mrs. Johnson fell asleep, she prayed that Deb and Mike did not fathom the extent of their wretched lives and found comfort in the return to monotonous homeostasis.