Tapes
“Hello?” Eddie answered his phone after scrambling for it for several seconds as it rang.
“Eddie! Thank God you answered!” It was his sister of all people.
“Mary? What’s up? Everything Okay?”
“I’m going through Dad’s estate and there’s something you might need to see.”
“Dad’s estate? I thought we agreed to leave it alone.”
“We did, but I want to sell the house. The only problem is that all his stuff is still in it. I’ve just been trashing everything but this...this feels important.”
“What is it?” He was kind of dreading the answer.
“Its a video diary that he kept and there are quite a few entries for you.” She explained.
“Do you want to see them?” She asked.
“I...I guess so.” He didn’t really know.
“I can send the tapes to you…they might not be...they might not be good though.”
“Yeah...Yeah, I know.” For some reason it just felt like something he needed to see.
Later in the week a box arrived on their doorstep shipped from his sister in San Francisco, it was full of old VHS tapes so they had to go to a pawn shop and buy a VCR just to watch the damn things.
“Okay Sleeps, let’s see what we’ve got.” Eddie said to his youngest who was in his lap as they sat on the floor and tried to get the VCR to work.
Finally the machine made a clicking noise and the first tape started to play. This first tape was from years ago- back when when he was with Annie years ago. It was strange to see his father on the screen staring back at him, he was so much younger and softer here than in those angry final moments.
“Eddie, you’re watching this because I’ve decided to make some tapes for you and your sister. This way I can still share some of my limited wisdom with you both even if we aren’t together.”
Eddie rolled his eyes a little, what kind of wisdom could his father possibly have ever had?
“Eddie, it is like the Klyntar Hive Mind. But slower and less cool.”
“I guess that’s one way to put it.” He agreed.
“Anne is a good woman Eddie, I’m so glad you have her. She’s smart and she’ll keep you out of trouble.”
As his father continued to sing Anne’s praises Eddie fought the urge to fast forward through this part. Annie was amazing but he couldn’t make that work and his father never understood or accepted Venom. It all worked out for the best of course but it was a little awkward to listen to his much disliked father talk about how good his never-to-be wife was for him.
“Now you’re getting married soon so I have some advice I want to impart to you before it’s too late.” The Carl on the video said.
“First, don’t go to bed angry…”
"That is true, Eddie.”
“Yeah except I’m the only one who goes to bed, you don’t go anywhere love.” Eddie pointed out.
“Second, don’t leave all the chores for her to do Eddie, I know you can be a slob.”
“Hey! I do all the chores around here!” Eddie yelled at the TV offended.
“That is untrue. I did the dishes yesterday, Eddie. All by myself.”
“And I am not a slob...anymore!” Eddie was still focused on the tape.
In his lap Sleeper squealed and laughed like he could tell Eddie was aghast and offended.
Despite Eddie’s objections the tape moved on without him.
“Now, before you know it son, you’re going to have little ones of your own and I don’t want you making the same kind of mistakes I made.”
“No problem there.” Eddie grumbled at the screen.
“Eddie, when you were a baby you got into everything. You got out of your crib, you got out of your car seat, you got out of everything I could put you in and you got into the cupboards and the laundry and the couch cushions and everywhere else you could go. I have a feeling any child of yours will be the same way.”
“Hehehe so that is where Carnage got it from.”
“I don’t actually have much helpful advice here...you know what kind of parent I was. But you Eddie, I know you’ll be a good dad.”
“And mom. Right, Sleeps?” Eddie asked the baby.
"Mama!" Sleeper grinned.
The next tape was dated a few years later, after he found Venom, and his father looked much less happy.
“I saw you on the news again, Eddie. I can’t tell if you’re a hero or a monster. I don’t know if you can tell either. I see that thing and...and I can’t believe its you.”
“Ugh, here we go.” Eddie rolled his eyes.
Sleeper let out a little annoyed grunt like he agreed even though that was very unlikely. Probably just something in the tone of Eddie’s voice but Venom snickered at the cuteness of it anyways.
“Let’s skip this one.” Eddie pulled the tape out.
“This one is from after Mary’s wedding.” Eddie said reading the label of another tape.
“Are you sure you want to play it?”
“Well we’ve come this far.” He resolved as he pressed play.
“Eddie, I don’t what those were but...no...no, I know what they were. My first guess was right. I just don’t want to believe it. But they way you tended to them all night and the way your sister fawned over them...they have to be your children. Yours and that thing.”
Eddie groaned, why was he watching these stupid tapes? Should’ve quit after that first one.
“I don’t know what you did....I-If you created them in a lab or if they came from outer space or how they happened but you’ve forced them to exist among humans even though they’re monsters. They’re monsters, Eddie.”
Eddie stared blankly at the screen, stared blankly at the hateful, angry old man who became so incapable of loving his own son or even his own innocent grandchildren in the end.
“You’ve condemned those abominations to a life of being hated and feared and for what? So you could play house?”
Eddie was engrossed until the TV suddenly shut off, a slick black tendril now hovering away from the power button.
“We are done watching that. Besides, it is naptime.” Venom motioned to Sleeper.
They took Sleeper upstairs to his room but he was wide awake now and wanted to play- Eddie’s mind though, was somewhere else.
“Eddie, you are distracted.”
“Do you think my dad was right?” Eddie mumbled listlessly.
“I do not think your father was ever correct about anything.”
“I mean...did we condemn them to life of being feared and hated? People are scared of them sometimes, V.”
“No one who knows them fears them. Those who do are just ignorant. We have known this for years, my beloved.”
Eddie and Venom continued their back and forth of pros and cons that came with an alien hybrid family as Sleeper fussed and whined. He didn’t want to take a nap!
Sleeper cried and cried and would not let them leave until finally Eddie just sighed and climbed into the crib. Sleeper immediately stopped crying and happily curled up next to Eddie.
Venom chuckled at their son's newfound happiness.
“No my beloved, I do not think your father was right about anything.”