It was a super long drive just as Stu and Drew's parents lived half an hour away and Grandpa Lou was stationed at Yucaipa hospital in their home town.
They continued on through the rest of the car trip 'til they had arrived at Yucaipa Hospital.
"We're here." The cab driver said to them.
"Oh, thanks a bunch kind sir." Stu said to him while paying him the cab fare and everybody piled outta the cab on to the curb near the hospital entrance.
Dil gulped nervously upon getting outta the cab. Being at hospitals made him and Chuckie nervous.
"What's the matter with you, Dil?" Tommy asked him while noticing his brother who was looking a bit nervous.
"It's just that Chuckie and I don't like hospitals, that's all, Tommy." Dil replied to him leaning in close to their parents and Aunt Charlotte, Uncle Drew and Angelica for consoling and support.
"No worries about it, Dil, we'll be here with you, and I'm pretty sure a smiling face from Grandpa Lou will cheer you up a bit, it always does." Tommy said to him with a super big smiling face.
They walked right into Yucaipa Hospital and went right up to the receptionist's desk to find out where Grandpa Lou's hospital room was.
"We're here to pay my father in law a visit." Didi said to the receptionist who was sitting behind the desk.
The receptionist typed some things on a computer screen, then turned her attention back to Didi.
"He's upstairs in room 307. Take the elevator to the 5th floor, it'll be the 4th room on your right down the hallway." The receptionist said to her while pointing in the direction of the elevators.
"Thanks a bunch, ma'am." Didi said to them.
The Pickles family got on the next elevator and went right up to Grandpa Lou's hospital room. When they got there, they saw Grandma Lulu hunched right over the hospital bed where her husband was lying right down, in silent tear drops. She was terribly upset, she didn't even hear the entire family come in here.
"Mom, Pop, we're here." Drew said to them while coming right up behind their mother who turned herself around and startled by her 2 sons' presences.
"Stu, Drew, this isn't easy for me to tell you 2, but your father is gone for good right now." Grandma Lulu whispered to them while burying her face right into Stu and Drew's shoulders.
Sure enough, Tommy, Dil and Didi all looked at the hospital bed where Grandpa Lou was lying and sure enough, he had passed away peacefully. At this point, poor Tommy, who was a bit freaked out by seeing his deceased grandfather right before him, ran away outta the hospital room, panicking at the exact same time.
"Tommy, come back here!" Didi cried out while stumbling right outta the hospital room and running right down the hallway to catch up with her 11-year-old son who had run face 1st into a cart that had good food on it to be delivered to other patients in the building.
Unfortunately, she wasn't fast enough, and poor Tommy went face 1st right into the cart, which ran right down the hallway 'til it hit a wall at the end, toppling right over on top of him splattering bits of good food everywhere.
"Tommy! Are you all right?" Didi asked him when she approached her 1st born son who was now lying right on the ground covered in chicken noodle soup and a cart nearly right on top of him.
A nurse came right by at that minute and saw what just happened.
"What's going on around here?" The nurse asked them.
"Oh thank goodness, somebody's here. My 1st born son, a bit freaked out over the passing of his 1st grandfather, ran right out into the hall and had a bit of an accident here." Didi replied to her.
"Well, let's get your son checked out then." The nurse said to her while getting the cart outta Tommy's way and checking to see he was still responsive.
He was, and even though he was quite sore. When he was on his feet, they headed right down to an examining room, where he was checked out. Nothing was broken, just a few scrapes and bruises which the nurse practitioner treated. Once that was finished, Didi and Tommy went and caught up with Stu, Dil and Grandma Lulu who was seeing to making funeral service arrangements for Grandpa Lou's memories.
"What just happened to Tommy, Deed?" Stu asked them while seeing their 1st born son, covered in bandages.
Didi went on to explain to him what just happened just as they headed right outside to catch their cab back home to their own house. On the ride home to their house, everybody had a good mourn over the loss and departure of Grandpa Lou, and the driver was feeling terribly sorry for the entire family's grief and depression. When they got back home to their own house, Didi opened up cans of vegetable beef soup for dinner that evening, but nobody was in the mood to eat much of anything in particular, especially not Tommy.
"It's just not fair, 1st our dog, Spike left us, then our Grandma Minka and now Grandpa Lou, why did he need to pass away?" Tommy said to himself at the dinner table.
"We have Spiffy right now, Tommy." Dil said to him.
Tommy stared at his brother.
"I know that, Dil." Tommy snapped at him.
"Tommy, be nice to your brother, please." Stu said to him.
"Yes, Dad, sorry 'bout that." Tommy said to him while taking another bite of his vegetable beef soup.
"And just like our dog, Spike and Grandma Minka, Pop's now in the skies of heaven watching down on all of us as well too, but your Uncle Drew and I agree with you, Tommy, why did he need to go so soon?" Stu said to him while breaking down in tear drops.
"Can I be excused, please?" Tommy asked them.
The very next day, Didi, Stu, Tommy and Dil stayed at home, not sure what to do around here. They spent the entire day, talking about Grandpa Lou and looking at photographs while mourning and grieving and not able to contain themselves. That afternoon, Grandma Lulu called, letting Stu know when the funeral service would be, and asking if he wanted an open or a closed casket at the wake.
"Mom, I don't know if I want it open or not." Stu said to Grandma Lulu on the wireless telephone just as Tommy walked right into the lavatory to get himself some ice cold water.
"I sure hope I never have to see Grandpa Lou's deceased body again, that was very disturbing." Tommy said to himself while filling up a cup of ice cold water from the lavatory faucet.
"I would like a closed casket funeral service." Stu said right into the wireless telephone by overhearing his 1st born son's comment.
Later when they arrived, they went right into the funeral home parlor, which was decorated in beautiful pink and white flowers, and the blue casket that was closed with a photograph of Grandpa Lou sitting right on top was near the alter. While Tommy didn't really wish to see a photograph of their grandfather, especially since this was 1 of the more recent pictures, when he began getting suddenly ill.
"At least I don't need to look at his deceased body again." Tommy thought to himself while kneeling down at the alter to say a little praise.
The rest of the entire afternoon was spent with lines of people who knew Grandpa Lou while coming right up through the line and giving Tommy, Dil, Angelica and the rest of the family condolences by showing their respects and saying how sorry they were for their loss and departure. Tommy who was wearing a black and white suit which he changed into upon arriving at the funeral home, politely hugged them back and told them thanks a bunch, even though deep down, he'd much prefer to have been left alone.
They were at Yucaipa church, and the funeral service shortly began afterwards. They performed several of Grandpa Lou's favorite hymns and Grandma Lulu spoke about her late husband. Tommy also learned that the church where his funeral service was at was also the exact same church where Grandma Minka and Grandpa Boris got married about 2 years right before his mother born. Then they went right to Yucaipa Cemetery where he was buried.
"Goodbye, Grandpa Lou, I'll never forget about you." Tommy said to himself while looking up towards the afternoon skies where he believed he saw his grandfather's face in the clouds just like that time he saw Spike and Grandma Minka's faces in the clouds as well.
In memoriam: David Doyle (1929-1997) and Joe Alaskey (1952-2016)