Other People's Stuff Can Make You Sad
A/N: For this story, I'm borrowing KEScrubbed grandma Mema who is Temperance Brennan's maternal grandmother. And note that in this drabble, Pops is still alive and well.
Max Brennan strolled down the sidewalk toward the main entrance of Willow River Retirement Center. He admired the colorful foliage of its numerous mature trees which lent a festive air to the campus of the senior living facility. Leaves danced in the frisky breeze, and their reds, golds, and browns seemed to hint that a Halloween festival was about to begin.
"I might just investigate this place for myself," he thought. "It seems well-run, Hank seems to receive top-notch treatment here, and it has excellent reviews online. I hate to contemplate being unable to live on my own, but the time will come eventually and I don't want to be a burden to Tempe or Russ. The idea of living out my days in Florida with all those other old geezers and biddies just doesn't suit my taste. The changing seasons and temperatures around here remind me of Ohio, and it's not too far from the kids."
The automatic door slid open, and Max smiled at the front desk staff who greeted him by name. His bi- weekly domino matches with Hank had become well-known around the retirement home, and the pair often began playing with an audience of onlookers eager to offer strategy suggestions. This situation rarely lasted more than half an hour, as Hank tired of the 'peanut gallery' and shooed his elderly friends away.
Today was no exception. Once Pops had greeted Temperance's father, the two settled themselves at a table in a sunny corner of the lounge, and upended Hank's well-worn box of bones.
"Do you wanna deal first, Max, or shall I?" he asked his opponent.
"You go ahead, old man," Max chuckled in reply.
"Be sure to notice your doubles," offered Fred, a bald lanky man.
"Are youse guys playing Fives or Five-Up this week?" asked Harvey, a short mustachioed Michiganer.
Hank bristled. "You characters are gonna hafta find something else to amuse yourselves today! Max here has news to share with me. Booth and Tempe have been in Florida with him clearing out his mother-in-law's house for the last two weeks, and I need to hear how things went!"
His fellow residents wandered away, grumbling under their breath.
"How was Florida?" Hank wanted to know.
"Not easy," Max admitted. "I didn't think it'd be so painful to help go through Mema's things, but the sight of old games, and Christmas decorations, and the baby things Russ used brought back a lot of memories much more sharply than I would have liked."
"I met Ruthie down there, and we lived with Mema right after we got married. She was a shrewd old lady, and as sweet as they come. But she was sentimental to the hilt, and I don't think she ever got rid of a greeting card or present one of her children or grandchildren sent her. That tiny house was so full of stuff, I didn't think we'd ever get it emptied, even with all the relatives pitching in to help. And you know how big Ruth's family is down there; lots of willing hand, almost too many. Remember that old sayin g about cooks spoiling broth? Well, that'll give you some idea. Too many opinionated people in that clan!"
"Well, at least you didn't have to go through the process by yourself, Max. After Margaret died and I finally decided to sell the house and move to an apartment, Shrimp was stationed overseas, and Jared was on a six-month tour of duty cruise in the Mediterranean.
"My son offered to help, but he'd have just gummed up the situation, so I did it by myself. Sure hurt too, all those recipe books, crochet stuff, and quilt patterns to go through. I finally just called three neighbor ladies who'd been good friends with Maggie and played bunco with her for years. Told them to take what they wanted and donate the rest to a church, or rest home, or wherever they thought the items might brighten someone's day.
"And they did, bless them. They asked around and Flossie found a mission group at our church who make hospital quilts and blankets for babies. Mabel located a women's outreach at the Presbyterian church which holds cooking classes for homeless folks getting back on their feet. I think they help people with mental issues, divorcees returning to the work force and unwed mothers.
"They helped me sort and donate Margaret's Sunday clothes to a group called Dress for Success. They provide clothing for job interviews. Helen even found an optometrist who sends used eyeglasses overseas for people who can't afford spectacles.
"Those three did so much to help me through being sad about Margaret all over again. She'd been gone 15 years, but everywhere I looked in our house, stuff reminded me of how much I still miss her. She wasn't much of a doo-dad person, didn't have as many knick-knacks sitting around as your mother-in law, but her things were still in our closet and basement, in the kitchen and just everywhere. Not an easy process, no sir."
Hank paused, took off his own glasses, swiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and cleaned the lenses on the hem of his flannel shirt.
Max had listened quietly to Booth's grandfather's reverie. "I agree. It's damned tough. Made me realize how much I hurt Ruth's mother and sisters keeping her and the kids away. We couldn't very well go back to visit once we'd gotten ourselves embroiled in that Ohio gang, but I know it was hard on my wife and her relatives. I don't have any family left, just Ruthie, Russ, and Tempe. Our kids didn't really get to know their grandparents, as young as they were when we left Florida, didn't even know some were still alive. I really regret that, but I had to keep them safe. All of them. The Florida bunch as well as the four of us. A bad mess I made of things, but that's the way it was."
He brightened. "Tempe loved having time to spend with those crazy cousins of hers. We moved so often we never accumulated a lot of belongings beyond the essentials. Couldn't have many keepsakes when we were on the run hiding from those thugs. Can't give them any clues to who you used to be.
"I do believe my mother-in-law had one of every china figurine made since 1930. She had these corner shelf units all over her house, and you can fit a lot of little knick knacks back in them! I wrapped so many items, I didn't think I'd ever get the newsprint stains off my hands!
"But she was a good-hearted old lady, and she raised four fine daughters, her and Randall. He's been gone so long, I'd kinda forgotten about him, but Ruthie's dad was a fine man. Ran a fishing guide business in the summers, knew those tributaries like the back of his hand, and where the best fishing spots were. Worked at the Sun-Ray oil refinery during the week for 30 years, before a sudden heart attack got him at 55. He died way too early, and Ruth couldn't even go back for his funeral. That liked to killed her."
"I thought maybe she could slip back to Florida to pay her respects, but she didn't want to take any chances. She was always the brains of us. Thought ahead and analyzed everything; a lot smarter than me."
"Oh, I don't know, Max, I'd say you're pretty wily yourself," Hank retorted. "I bet Christine and that little namesake of mine drove Angela and Hodgins crazy while Shrimp and Tempe were gone! Those two are somethin' else, aren't they?"
"Yup, they are, Hank. I'm so glad Booth and Tempe finally got 'together' and past that 'just partners' nonsense. They've given both of us some fine grandchildren to love and spoil. And Parker is just as special. You're a lucky man to have them, but you did a fine thing raising those boys too."
"Okay, okay, enough of the mushy stuff, I'm beating your butt, Max, focus on the game or we'll never finish by dinnertime and miss the apple pie Magdalena's making for tonight!"
I just spent six weeks 15 hours a day, helping clear out an elderly relative's home like Max. You can pack a lot of stuff and memories into a small house you've occupied for over 40 years. Hopefully, now I can get back to re-watching Bones episodes and participating in the weekly chats about same.