Chapter Ten

Excuses, Everyone Has Excuses

The Reilly Home

The doorbell rings, Lisa is just coming down the stairs with an empty laundry basket, she sets it down and opens the door. "Frank," she says sounding surprised.

"Misses Reilly, it didn't dawn on me until I got to the house that since my Mom is in the hospital that Bobby wouldn't be staying there alone. Do you happen to know where he is staying?"

"Here, Frank he's been staying with us. Please come in."

"Thank you." Frank walks slowly into the home. "I suppose he missed school today."

"Yes he did. No broken bones but his sides are very sore." She gestures for him to sit, "Please have a seat, I'll get him." She swiftly ascends the stairs and knocks on her sons' door. "Come in," is heard from inside. She opens it slowly, "Bobby your brother is here."

He turns his head away, "Tell him to go to………..go away."

Lisa walks closer to the bed, "I think you need to talk to him."

A gloomy expression crosses his face, "No I'd rather not."

She sits down on the edge of the bed. "If you ask my opinion it's taken a lot of guts for him to come here, come on. Give him a chance."

Nodding his head, he leisurely gets up out of the bed. "Oh I suppose you're right."

Frank stands up when he hears them descending the stairs. Lisa picks up the laundry basket. "I'll leave you two alone to talk." She retreats down to the basement.

"Well," Bobby says with an arrogant tone. "What do you want?"

"To explain…….I was drunk and when you came over yesterday I was feeling really shitty. I mean the last couple of days sucked. I may have to drop a couple of classes?" He waits for a response but Bobby just nods his head. "The truth is I am failing English Lit."

He scratches the back of his head, "Gees I've never failed a subject in my life." Still Bobby remains silent. "So…………where is Mom?"

Bobby shakes his head and chuckles faintly, "Oh now you care?"

"I care, what makes you think I don't care?"

"The things you said about her." Frank has a blank expression on his face. "Don't you remember?"

"No," he rubs his eyes. "After you left Susan and I got totally wasted." The self-satisfied look on his face makes Bobby turn away and he sits down. Oh man, I don't need to know that you and her…..he shivers.

"So little brother, where is she? What hospital? Saint Joe's?"

"No they moved to her South Beach, you remember that place? She went there about five years ago."

"Oh wow, why?"

Bobby stands up a little too quickly and a slight moan escapes his lips. "You know what? Call Doctor Lincoln and ask him. If you were around you could have made these decisions, because I can't. The doctor……."

Frank quickly moves forward and Bobby backs up and in a trembling voice he says, "What? Are you going to hit me again?"

"Jesus Christ, no, besides as I recall you hit me first."

"No I pushed you after what you said about Mom and then you hit me." Frank moves forward again. "Bobby you know I wasn't myself yesterday," he snaps his fingers. "What were we talking about? Oh yeah, why did they move her there?"

"Go to hell." Bobby starts to walk past him and Frank grabs his arm. "I'm just asking a question. Now answer me!" Bobby pulls his arm away and a tear comes to his eye as a shooting pain goes through him. "Let go of me."

"Frank!" They both turn around. "I want you to leave."

"What?"

Lisa drops the basket of laundry, "I said I want you to leave, please leave my home, now!"

In a huff Frank turns and walks toward the door. He turns back around and no one says a word. He opens the door swiftly and slams it behind him. Bobby wipes his eye with his hand and proceeds to walk back up stairs. "Bobby," Lisa says. He waves his hand. "I'm gonna go lie down."

"Would you like to talk?"

Walking slowly and carefully up the staircase he shakes his head, "No! I mean no thanks."

He tries to sleep but he can't. He recalls yesterday's disastrous encounter with his brother and now today. Jesus, why does he act that way? He would always talk about the way Dad acted and he hated him for that and now he acts the same way. I don't understand.

The more he remembers what happened yesterday and what could have happened only moments ago he gets angrier and angrier. He sits up. He didn't even apologize, just talked about his problems; I don't give a shit about his problems. He stands up and paces around the room. Too bad he didn't start something today. I would have kicked his ass this time. Thinks he can push me around. "Well you know what Frank? Fuck you, you self centered son of a bitch!"

He picks up the clock radio that is between the two beds and rips the cord from the wall. The pain he feels inside is nothing compared to the anger. He throws it against the wall and it smashes into little pieces. Lisa hears the noise and without knocking she opens the door. He is staring at the wall and that is when she sees the pieces of the clock. "That never solves anything." She steps into the room.

He does not acknowledge her presence and the small wastebasket that sits next to the desk goes flying past her as he foot sends it in the air. "Bobby stop it!"

He continues to stare at the wall. "Too bad that wasn't his face that I hit." He catches her eye. "I'll bet that would have made me feel better."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes," he says sternly. He exhales, "No, probably not." He keeps his head down. "But it would have been nice to have experienced it for myself."

She puts her arm around his shoulder. "I think I can understand that."

He bends down and picks up the pieces of the alarm clock. Puts the can right side up and tosses them inside. "I guess I owe him a new clock."

"I think there is another one around here somewhere. Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Come on lets get some lunch."

Later that Afternoon

"Bobby," Lisa calls to him. "Yes."

"Phone," she holds out the receiver. "It's Denise."

"Hi Denise," he says with a lilt in his voice.

"How are you feeling? You sound better."

"My side is a little sore, but I'm alright."

"Are you going to school tomorrow?"

"Yes I'm going."

"We were to visit your mother today but since that has fallen through, how about I take you tomorrow after school."

"Sure, that's ok."

"Alright I'll be by at three thirty."

"Ok see you then, goodbye."

"Goodbye Bobby."

South Beach Psychiatric Center

Bobby, with Denise at his side arrives at the center. She announces to the receptionist that they are here to visit Frances Goren. The woman behind the counter makes a quick phone call. Denise turns away, Bobby listens.

"Doctor Morgan, Misses Goren's son and a woman are here for a visit."

"I'll be right there, tell them I will take them to her room."

"Yes Doctor, I will."

She hangs up the phone. "Please if you could just wait for a moment Doctor Morgan will be out to take you to her room."

Bobby asks, "Why does the Doctor have to take us?"

"He wants to talk to you before your visit." He shrugs his shoulders and he and Denise take a seat in the reception area.

A tall gray haired man arrives in the reception area and glances at the woman behind the counter, she points. The doctor extends his hand as he walks towards them, "You must be Bobby. I'm Doctor Morgan." Bobby immediately stands, "Is everything alright?"

"Your mother had a bad reaction to the medication I put her on when she first arrived. It made her very irritable and she struck a nurse. In a way, I'm glad that you were not able to visit yesterday. I changed her medication this morning but she is still showing some signs of irritability."

"Maybe I should come back tomorrow."

"She's been looking for you all day."

He looks at Denise and she says, "It's up to you Bobby."

"Come on let's go."

They follow the doctor down the hall and when they arrive Frances has her eyes closed. She opens them when she hears the door close.

She looks up and smiles at Bobby and holds out her hand. "Oh it's so good to……." She notices Denise, "Who are you?"

"My name is Denise DeMarco, I'm from child services. I've been helping Bobby these past few days, by……….."

"Helping him, by turning him against me?" She looks over at him and he has found a place in the corner of room. "You see how far away he stays from me? Staring at the floor."

Denise looks over her shoulder, "No by finding him a place to stay while you're in the hospital and………..."

Frances interrupts, "Hospital, this isn't a hospital, didn't you read the sign outside woman, this is a crazy house!"

"Misses Goren, please calm down."

"Calm down, how would you feel if your son put you in a crazy house?"

"He didn't put you in here, he's only……….."

She asks sternly, "Where is he living?"

"With the Reilly family, they were nice enough to take him in and he seems to really like living there."

"Better than at home with me," she looks at him. "Is that what you think Bobby?" He turns his back on her and looks out the window, "Is that what you're saying? The both of you?"

"No Ma'am."

Frances turns her head away and waves at them "Get out of here and take that ungrateful bastard with you."

"Misses Goren, please think about what you're saying."

Bobby moves quickly past Denise and is out the door when Frances yells to him, "That's it, run away just like your father. You're going to grow up to be just like him, you little son of a bitch. I just know it."

The door closes and Denise shakes her head and slowly walks toward the door. Frances calls to her, "Hey, I don't want him to live with that family, put him somewhere else."

Denise stops and turns around, and with a self-assured tone says, "That is not your decision to make, Misses Goren. He is doing very well living there."

"I'm his mother not you and I want him to live somewhere else."

Sternly Denise says, "No I have no desire to take him out of that home." She walks closer to Frances, "Now if you would rather that he not visit you here, I think I can understand that."

Frances holds her face in her hands and starts to cry. "I don't know why I said those things he really is a good boy and now he hates me. Oh my God I'm going to lose him too aren't I?"

Denise sits down on the edge of the bed. "First of all, you know that he doesn't hate you, but I will be perfectly honest with you that there is a strong possibility that he may not be going back to live with you."

"Who are you to take my son away from me?"

"I don't have the authority to make that decision but I will be filing a report with the court of what I have seen and experienced."

"I take good care of my children."

Denise nods her head, "Yes I believe you do. He's a good kid but he and his brother had a physical altercation the other day and now what's happened here, he's….."

"Tell him I'm sorry."

"I'll get him," if he's not halfway home by now, "you can tell him yourself."

Denise is surprised, when she leaves the room; he is right outside the door sitting on the floor. She stands over him; "I thought you would have been half way to Brooklyn by now."

"It's raining and I don't have bus fare." He stares straight ahead.

She stares him down, "Bobby."

"What?" he says without meeting her eyes.

"I think you should go in and talk to her, she's scared."

"I don't care," he stands up. "Are you ready to go?"

"Bobby you heard what the doctor said, it's because of the medication."

Softly he says, "Excuses, everyone has excuses."

"What?"

He stays silent. She grabs his arm tenderly, "Bobby look at me." He reluctantly looks at her. "Was it the medication or does she do that to you all the time?"

TBC