BUILD A BETTER BOY TRUISM #12: Teach your son how to build a flower garden. Three things boys love are involved: dirt, digging, and water hoses.

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Last Time: Suddenly a single word transmitted down the line.

It was a frigid, "Revenge!"

Not expecting what he heard, Darden froze. He extinguished the call and made his way out of the house. In the broadness of the murky night, the detective drove home to his family.


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Six minutes older than his brother, Ricky was the yin to Ryan's yang. He was an introvert, with a vivid imagination, and compulsive behavior. His favorite activity was fishing, particularly fly fishing with his Dad for steelheads in the Columbia River that flowed outside of Portland.

Ricky's near future included his upcoming entry in the Junior Sturgeon Fly Fishing Tournament, an event he'd won the year before. Unlike most boys his age, his favorite foods included plenty of steamed vegetables. He especially preferred broccoli and carrots.

Adventurous, with a need for constant stimulation, Ryan was much more of an extravert. A hard worker, he possessed the goal of being a career soldier. In his mind he believed he could singlehandedly defeat ISIS, if he was only given the opportunity. He knew that would make him a conquering hero, and, a hero, brave and true, is what Ryan yearned to be.

Ryan liked his chicken fried. The delicacy could almost always be found on his dinner plate. Tonight at the Lafayette Conch And Capon Restaurant was no exception.

Surveying his brood, Detective Darden sat perched at the head of the table in the corner of the dining room. He was proud of his "Twin Blond Terrorizers," as he jokingly referred to his progeny. The whiskey sour he sipped slowly began to take the edge off the tumultuous day he'd experienced exploring the Larsen home. The porterhouse steak that would soon arrive would replenish his nourishment. Across the table from him sat his doting wife, Louise.

Knowing his comment would start an argument with Ricky, Ryan remarked, "The Legend of Zelda is not the best video game ever. So what if the hero is trapped on an island and has to battle the big, bad, Wind Fish. It's lame!"

"It's not lame!" Ricky countered in defense of his favorite game, "you have to fight monsters, and solve puzzles to escape the island."

Seeking confirmation, he looked at his Mother and said, "Mom, tell Ryan the Legend of Zelda is the best video game ever."

"You two solve that debate between yourselves. I'm staying out of this one," she replied.

"I told you it was lame. Even Mom thinks so," Ryan remarked.

Underneath the table, and out of sight of his parents, Ricky reached over and kicked Ryan in the shin,

"Ouch!" Ryan exclaimed.

The exclamation brought a look of consternation from the "Dynamic Duo's" father.

"Ricky kicked me," Ryan reported.

"Did not," Ricky denied the allegation.

"Both of you knock it off and eat your salads," they were instructed in a manner that told the mirror images they'd better get their acts together immediately.

Darden sampled his salad. The dish offered a selection of strawberries, sliced pecans, grapes, cherry tomatoes, Feta cheese, onions, and cubed croutons served on a bed of butterhead lettuce. Raspberry vinaigrette dressing was sprinkled on top. He found the unique combination flavorful.

It was then that Ryan returned the favor and kicked Ricky in the knee with the toe of his sneaker.

"OUCH!" Ricky yelped.

Frustrated with her sons' actions, their Mother demanded, "Is this the proper way you two have been taught to behave when we are out in public?"

Realizing they were skating on very thin ice that was cracking around them, the boys replied, "No, ma'am."

Parentally, Darden stated, "I know two boys who apparently need a trip to the garage when we get home!"

Knowing the implication of their father's stern comment, the twins replied in unison, "No, sir! We'll behave."

"I'm not going to tell you two again to sit up properly at the table the way you both know how to, eat your food, and put an immediate stop to your shenanigans," was their Dad's final warning.

"Yes, sir," they said in unison.

Yin and Yang smirked at each other like the opposite one was to blame for the trouble they'd gotten into.

As Darden cut into his medium-well done steak his mind traveled to his home. Why it went there he did not know. He saw Louise's red Chrysler Caliber parked in the spacious carport next to his cruiser. A quick glance at the Timex strapped around his left wrist told the detective it was quarter past eight.

The estate was constructed in 2004 by Entrepreneur George Ratherington Hodges, the President and CEO of Portland's largest distributor of roses. The Rose Chateau was bequeathed to Louise Ratherington Hodges-Darden upon the demise of her elderly father to lung cancer. The ailment was the result of a lifetime of smoking expensive and exquisite Stradivarius Churchill cigars.

"The finest cigar in the world," George Ratherington Hodges had often been quoted as proclaiming.

The palatial property was far beyond the meager reach of a detective's salary, but provided a warm atmosphere for the Darden family to reside in. After leaving the Larsen house, and arriving at the estate, Darden remembered how his rambunctious ten-year-olds pounced on him. The boys craved his attention. He gladly supplied them plenty of it. En route, he'd called the restaurant and set up the family's dinner reservation.

Louise was in the den practicing her piano lesson. The Wurlitzer baby grand was a new instrument the fiery redhead had recently begun learning how to play. She was already an accomplished violinist and performed with the Lafayette Community Center Orchestra.

Aside from tickling the ivories with her long and slender fingers, Louis was also a cardiac rehab nurse and part-time opera singer. That was a styling the detective was no big fan of. However, in order to keep peace in the valley, he supported his wife's various endeavors. Theirs was a happy union.

Life made sense for Darden when he was home. He never allowed the insanity of the world to invade his privacy. He'd learned a long time ago to drop whatever case he was involved in outside the front door of the house and not drag his worries into his personal life. Louise, and the boys, occupied that space.

Daydreaming about the pleasures he enjoyed, his cell phone rang.

He answered the call with a simple, "Darden."

Her enjoyable evening out with her family ruined, Louise fumed under her breath, "Always a detective. Can't even finish a nice dinner without being interrupted."

The transmission was from the Orderly, Jeremiah Brownlee. Drew Larsen was missing from the psyche ward of the hospital.

Cast of Characters:

Detective Sean Darden - Lead detective of the Larsen family murders.

Louise Ratherington Hodges-Darden - Detective Darden's wife.

Ricky and Ryan Darden - Detective Darden's ten-year-old twin sons.

Jeremiah Brownlee - Orderly at the hospital where Drew Larsen was placed after confessing to the brutal slayings of his family members.

George Ratherington Hodges - Was the wealthy Entrepreneur of Portland's largest distributor of roses, and Louise Ratherington Hodges-Darden's socialite father.

Drew Larsen - Thirteen-year-old boy who confessed to the brutal slayings of his family members. The question remained, did he?

NOTES TO REVIEWERS:

-In this chapter, I attempted to introduce three new characters: Detective Darden's wife and twin sons. I chose the setting of a family dinner at a restaurant to achieve this goal.

-I called the chapter Yin and Yang for a reason. The traits I supplied each one of the boys with are the recognized personality traits of Yin and Yang profiles.

-Unless you have read the previous chapters, and are familiar with the storyline, you may not grasp the significance of the ending of this chapter. On the top of the page you will notice blue numbers. You may wish to click on them to 'catch up" on the story, even if you do not review any other chapter except this one.

-I take my writing very seriously and do not play the cut and paste review game. Therefore, I am only looking for honest critiques of my writing. I can handle any honest review anybody wants to throw my way. If you enjoyed it tell me so. If you think it sucks tell me that too.

DISCLAIMER:

Now, I will probably alienate some members. However, while on sabbatical, I have had the opportunity to consider precisely what I want from this site. Therefore, I will not apologize for what I am about to say:

-If you are intending to provide a cut and paste review in order to quickly pick up a few Member Cents, I'd much rather you do not review my writing. Too many FanStorians resort to cut and paste reviews for this very reason. It is to the point several good writers are being driven away from this site because of it. However, cut and paste reviews serve absolutely no purpose and are useless to writers. Again, I will not apologize for what I have said in this Disclaimer.