Lucy Van Pelt: A Lost Cause (Part 3)

CHAPTER 1: FATHER AND SONS cont.

Linus and Rerun sat at the bar waiting nervously. It had been years since Linus saw him, and Rerun hadn't talked to him at all since he moved out that day he delivered his parents that ultimatum ten years earlier. But both of them were willing to at least hear their father out since their mother usually did the talking for the family. They saw where Lucy had got it from. Linus asked Audrey to stay behind because he didn't want to get his wife involved in the drama with her due with their first child any day now. She didn't need the added stress of a dysfunctional family reunion. But both brothers hoped that wouldn't be the case with their father, as he seemed to actually "get it".

Not too long after, Larry Van Pelt walked into the bar. He saw his boys seated in the stools and went to greet them. "Linus. Rerun. It is so good to see you boys." They shared a cautious and brief hug.

"How are you doing, dad?" asked Linus.

"Not good, Linus," Larry sighed. "Things are a mess at home. Never mind our long estrangement; there are problems between your mom and me, as well."

"Yeah, you were going to tell us what that was and what it had to do with Lucy," Linus remembered.

"That's right," said Larry. "First, can we go somewhere private where we won't be disturb?"

"Sure," said Linus. "Let me pay the tab first. I know a place in the hotel where we can discuss this in private." And after paying the tab, Linus and Rerun went with Larry to a conference room in the hotel that was open to hotel guests. They closed the door so they wouldn't be disturbed while they discussed things.

"Anyway," Larry began, "words cannot describe how sorry I am about not doing anything to stop your sister from abusing you boys sooner. Many times I wanted to discipline her for her actions, but your mother always stopped me from doing so."

"Damn her!" Rerun uttered under his breath.

"But that's just the tip of an ever-growing iceberg," Larry continued. "It goes deeper than Lucy just being 'crabby' and being a 'fussbudget'. You see, your sister had a problem."

"We know that, dad," said Linus. "That's nothing new to us. When mom informed me about her death, I told her I had problems too dealing with her."

"You don't understand, son. Lucy REALLY had mental problems. We took her to a doctor to see why she acted the way she did…"

Many years earlier, back to when the Van Pelt siblings were kids

Lucy and Linus were sitting in a waiting room at a psychiatrist office. Rerun had not been born yet. Linus was holding his blanket and sucking his thumb as he usually did. Lucy was reading a comic book. Linus them wondered what was going on with their parents and what were they talking to the doctor about.

"What do you think they're discussing, Lucy?" asked Linus.

"You got me, Linus," Lucy replied.

"What did they do when you were in there?"

"Oh, they just asked me a bunch of dumb questions, I now forget what they were, but they weren't important. However, that psychiatrist gave me an idea, though."

"What's that?"

"I can open up my own psychiatry booth and offer advice to those most unfortunate. I charge a nickel for each case by the hour, I can make a fortune. I can make a mint on Charlie Brown alone." Lucy thought about her new idea as they waited for their parents.

Meanwhile in the psychiatrists' office, Larry and Lacey Van Pelt were discussing Lucy's case with the doctor. He had a lot of concerns.

"I can tell you in the years I've been doing this," the doctor began, "I have never seen a case like your daughter's. She definitely is bipolar, but that's the least of her problems. She's also a borderline sociopath who's prone to violence, she's narcissistic, and she suffers from delusions of grandeur. While the delusions are normal for a child, everything else isn't. She's a bright young lady, but she will have more problems as the years go by if nothing is done about it. I advise the both of you to get her on medication immediately, otherwise it will get worse as she ages."

"What kind of medication, doctor?" asked Larry.

"Ritalin, something for the bipolar, I even suggest more sessions here and so she can deal with her anger here. Something so she can be a functioning member of society."

"I don't see what the problem is," said Lacey. "Our daughter is fine. She just have bad days here and there."

"You don't understand, Mrs. Van Pelt. Your daughter is a ticking time bomb that continuously explodes."

"Lace, listen to the doctor," Larry pleaded.

"Larry, I'm not subjecting our children to any kind of drugs, no matter how 'helpful' they are," Lacey retorted. "Thanks but no thanks, doc. We can handle it on our own." And Lacey got up to leave.

"We'll be in touch, doctor," said Larry.

"No we won't!" Lacey countered. "Come on, Lawrence. We're getting out of here." And the Van Pelts left the office. The doctor just shook his head and said, "May God have mercy on that family."

Back to the present

"You mean to tell me that all it would have took was the right meds and Lucy would have been nicer?!" Rerun fumed.

"Well there was no telling," Larry said, finishing his story, "but your mother didn't want to 'take that chance' as she put it. She wouldn't even try to get her counseling for her anger issues."

"I don't believe it," said Linus. "I knew she screwed up pampering Lucy as an adult, but I never knew how deep it ran!"

"She kept telling herself that Lucy was alright and that it was just a phase she was going through," Larry said.

"A FUCKING PHASE?!" Rerun lashed out. "THAT GIRL TORTURED US DAILY! DID IT EVEN CROSS MOM'S MIND THAT WHAT LUCY WAS DOING WASN'T NORMAL?!"

"Then Lucy got overweight and couldn't hardly function anymore," a remorseful Larry said. "Then your mom and by default, myself, became her caretakers. Me, the doctors, all of us tried to get Lucy motivated to do things on her own, but like the psychiatrist said all those years ago, she just got worse as an adult. She didn't clean herself properly, she ate even more fast food than she did when she lived at home, and by the time of her suicide, she was…"

"Lucy committed suicide?" gasped Linus. He and Rerun still didn't know that Lucy had shot herself.

"Didn't mom tell you when she called, Linus?" asked Larry.

"I didn't stay on the phone long enough to find out," Linus lamented. "I harbored so much resentment towards Lucy for her abuse on me and Rerun I didn't care how she died. I just assumed she suffered a cardiac arrest due to being overweight."

"I see. But by the time Lucy killed herself, she was walking with a walker, still stuck with her delusions of grandeur, still crabby, still narcissistic, and definitely still bipolar. And now morbidly obese on top of that. All because your mother didn't want to get her the help she needed."

Linus and Rerun began to see their sister in a new light. All that time they had been angry with Lucy for the abuse and torture she gave them, and as it turned out, it wasn't entirely her fault. She had real mental issues that could have been corrected with the right meds and therapy, but their mother couldn't be bothered and thought it was a waste of time. Their hatred for Lucy had started to disappear, instead now being directed towards their mother.

"Dad," Rerun began with tears forming in his eyes, "I forgive you for your part in this, now knowing you suffered as well as us. I love you, but I hate her! I HATE HER! SHE COULD HAVE SAVE US ALL OF THIS GRIEF! BUT NOOOOOOOOO! MOMMY KNOWS BEST! WELL, FUCK YOU, LACEY! AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, SHE'S AS DEAD TO ME AS LUCY IS!"

Larry grabbed his youngest son and hugged him tightly, as Rerun sobbed loudly. Linus, who was also in tears, but didn't burst into hysterics like his brother, followed suit in hugging his father.

"Dad," Linus said, darkly, "remember your promise. Do not tell her we're here. I want it to be a surprise because Liam and I have some choice words for our beloved mother. She fucked up all of our lives and he needs to pay the piper. I think it's safe to say that we're going to Lucy's funeral now."

"Boys," Larry said, regaining his composure, "I won't say a word to her about this, until the day of the funeral. There is something else you need to know. Not about Lucy, but it has to do with what I just told you about Lucy. You remember our family attorney, George?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, today I went to see him so he could draw up some papers."

"Is this what I think it is, dad?" asked a calmer Rerun.

"It is, and after you confront your mother, I will have my own little surprise for her after the funeral."

NEXT CHAPTER: TWIN DELIGHT