I Remember Yesterday
Author's Notes: I dedicate this story to my older brother David who passed away two and half years ago. I had originally written this story five months after his passing…he would have been 50 years old.
Roy had just returned home from a rather tiring week's family vacation in San Diego.
Jennifer and Chris had both gone up to their room, and Joanne started to brew a fresh pot of coffee. As a weary Roy was about to sit down at the kitchen table and go through some mail, the phone rang.
"Good evening, DeSoto residence." Roy greeted to the voice on the other end.
"Hi Roy …welcome home."
"Thanks, Cap. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call to?"
"Well…I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I thought you'd want to know…Johnny's older brother Aaron passed away this morning."
There were a few moments of silence before a shocked Roy responded.
"My god…what happened?"
"They think he had died from a brain hemorrhage. Apparently yesterday afternoon he had had a riding mishap at the ranch. He refused to go to the hospital, saying that he was okay. He must've died in his sleep."
"That's awful. Johnny must be crushed. Where is he? Did he leave for Montana yet?"
"No…he should still be home. He mentioned something about a flight out tomorrow morning. You should go check on him, Roy."
"I will. Thanks for calling, Cap…I'll be in touch."
After Roy hung up the phone, Joanne looked over at her husband with concern.
"What happened, Roy ? Is Johnny okay?" She asked with the same concern that was on her face, thinking that something may have happened to Johnny.
"Johnny's fine…physically anyway. His brother Aaron passed away this morning."
Joanne was stunned. She knew how close Johnny was to his brother, and couldn't help but to worry about their longtime friend.
"That's terrible, Roy. Where is Johnny now?"
"Home. Captain Stanley said that he'd be flying up to Montana in the morning. Jo, I gotta go see him…make sure that he's okay."
"Of course. Give him my love…tell him that I'm thinking about him."
"I will. I'll be home later."
Roy gave Joanne a gentle kiss, and grabbing his keys off the front hall chest, made his way out to his car.
During the twenty minute trip to Johnny's apartment, he could only think about how devastated his best friend must be over this loss. He knew Johnny was very close to his older brother Aaron.
Arriving at Johnny's apartment complex, Roy parked his car and made his way to Johnny's apartment.
Standing in front of Apartment 4C, Roy paused a moment before knocking. He always kidded around about having built-in insulation against emotional stuff, but at the moment he was at a loss. He knew Johnny would probably need him to be strong for him, and only hoped that he was able to be that for his friend.
Knocking on the door, Roy waited for Johnny to answer.
After a few moments, the door slowly opened.
"Johnny…I am so sorry." Roy said softly, as he observed his best friend's face.
The junior medic only nodded his head. "Thanks. Come on in. Can I get you anything to drink…coffee, tea, soda…beer?"
"No thanks, I'm good." Roy replied shaking his head.
Roy followed his partner into the apartment, sitting down on the couch, as Johnny sat down in his recliner.
"So, how are you doing?" Came the obvious question, despite Roy already knowing the answer.
While waiting for Johnny's reply, he observed the other man. Roy noted Johnny's pale complexion and extremely sad expression, but it was obvious that the junior medic was holding back his emotions in front of Roy.
"I'm alright. I have a flight up to Montana in the morning."
"Can I take you to the airport?" Roy asked hopefully.
"Thanks for the offer, but Chet and Marco already agreed to take me. I was at the station this morning when I got the call from my father. After I told everyone the news, the two of them both insisted on me letting them take me to the airport."
"Good…I'm glad. So what exactly happened? Captain Stanley just called me at home and told me about the news. He didn't go into much detail."
Johnny's voice was soft, but even. "There's not much to tell. Aaron was thrown off his horse yesterday and hit his head on a fence post. He insisted to everyone that he was okay…refusing to go to the hospital. Dad and my younger brother Jimmy were right at his side, and really tried to get him to go, but he steadfastly refused to. He said he felt fine and even continued to keep working. Mom and dad had called him later that evening and said that he had assured them that he was doing okay. The doctors seem to think that he had had a brain hemorrhage and just never woke up after he went to bed last night."
Taking in the news of how the events had unfolded, Roy was in shock.
"I really am sorry, Johnny. It must be hard for you, and for the rest of your family to reconcile everything that has happened."
"Yeah." Johnny exhaled softly. "You think I'm stubborn? I had nothing on my brother Aaron…he was as stubborn as they came. If I had been there…I would have dragged him by the ear to the hospital…and I probably would have still had my brother. Damn him."
After a few moments of silence, Roy continued.
"Johnny…it might help a little to talk about him. I never met him…what was he like?"
A big smile crossed Johnny's face as he thought about his older brother. "You'd have liked him, Roy …everyone did. He was a great guy…would have given you the shirt off his back if he felt you needed it. Growing up, we did everything together…I wanted to be just like him. He was so strong and was a great horse rider and roper. He probably could have been a professional rodeo rider, but mom and dad needed help at the ranch. He stayed home so I could go to LA and live with Aunt Rosa…and follow my dream of being a firefighter in the 'big city'."
"Sounds like a great guy."
"Oh, he was." Johnny replied, taking a moment to think about his brother." It seems just like yesterday we were kids…and getting into all kinds of trouble. Growing up on the reservation, Aaron and I used to go hiking and swimming in the lakes…the fun we had. He taught me how to fish. When mom and dad were able to buy the ranch…the two of us were so excited…it meant having horses and being able to ride the property."
"How much older than you was he?"
"Five years. He never married...always said that women were too much trouble. He loved kids, though. He would spoil Jimmy's two kids rotten. And he loved our little sister Jessie. He was always very protective of her."
"Those are great memories, Johnny. You were lucky that you have them…and that you had a brother whom you were so close to…a lot of people never have that."
"I know. I miss him so much, Roy . He was supposed to be coming down for a visit in a few weeks…he was so excited. He was looking forward to meeting everyone…especially you…the person who was largely responsible for looking out for his younger brother's back. He was also looking forward to meeting Dixie . He said he had dated a nurse like her once…and that she put him in his place real fast…but he loved her. But, she was married to her job, and he didn't quite believe in marriage…so it wasn't meant to be."
"I know it doesn't quite take away the pain, but does talking about him help?" A hopeful Roy asked.
"Yeah, it does…thanks. You're a good friend, Roy." said Johnny softly.
"Hey…you'd have done the same thing for me, partner."
"Yeah, I would have. It's so hard for me to think that he's gone. He had his whole life ahead of him. Why does god take away certain people, while leaving others behind?"
Roy shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I don't know, Johnny. I wish I had an answer for you."
"My brother was one of the good guys. With all the craziness going on in the world today…he stood for all the good things. I remember one day my brother Jimmy came home from school with some pot…and Aaron caught him with it…boy was he angry. He never told mom and dad about it, but he really let Jimmy have it. And I remember another time when were growing up, some kids at school were giving me a hard time. Aaron ambushed them on the way home from school…and beat the living daylights out of them. He told me that he was my protector…and that he'd always be looking out for me. He should have worn a big 'S' on his chest…I really did think he was Superman."
"He sounds like it." Roy said with a small smile.
The two partners sat and talked for another couple of hours. Johnny continued to tell Roy about his brother, and share many of the fond memories he had of him.
"You going to be okay, Johnny? I can stay with you if you need me to." Roy asked, noting the late hour.
"Nah…I'll be fine."
"You're sure?' He continued, wanting to make sure that Johnny would in fact be okay.
"I'll be fine…really. You go home to your family…tell them you love them."
"I will. You have a safe trip…call me if you need to talk."
"I will. Thanks."
Johnny walked his partner to the door.
"Take care, Roy …and give my love to Jo and the kids, too. Enjoy your family because soon enough you'll be looking back and saying, 'I remember things like they happened yesterday.'"
"You can take that to the bank, Johnny…I'll enjoy every minute with them. Have a good flight."
Deciding to ditch his customary built-in insulation, Roy uncharacteristically decided to hug his partner, to let him know that he cared and would always be there for him should the need arise.
Johnny looked up at his best friend. "Thanks, Roy …that meant a lot. See you soon."
And with that, Roy smiled knowingly and nodded his head.
The End