Synchronicity
Chapter Forty-Nine
The next morning he woke up to find she wasn't in bed with him. She was already dressed and was putting her hair up into a bun. "Morning."
"Hey." She said, not looking over at him. "I have to get going."
He looked at the clock. "It's still really early. Can't you stay a little while longer? I can make you some coffee and I have some bagels."
"No. But thank you." She shook her head, looking at him.
"When was the last time you ate?"
She stopped and thought about it. "I don't really know. Maybe breakfast yesterday? I'm just not hungry. And I have a ton of things I need to do at home before I leave later."
"You need to eat." He got out of bed and walked over to her. "And I was hoping we could talk about everything that's happened before you left."
"There's really nothing to talk about." She scoffed. "He's dead and I'm going back to bury him. It's as simple as that."
"We both know it isn't that simple." He pointed out.
"It can be though, if you tell yourself it is that simple." She insisted, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll call you later tonight and let you know I made it safely."
"Wait a minute." He held up his hand to her for a moment before leaving the room. He came back with a bagel and handed it to her. "Eat, please?"
She grabbed the bagel and gave him a kiss. "Ok. Thank you. Bye Harvey."
"Bye." He watched her leave and sighed.
Later that morning, Rebecca sat in her desk at her penthouse. She had been going over and over the same brief for the last 30 minutes and couldn't seem to concentrate on it long enough to get through the first page. When her phone rang, she answered it without even looking at the caller id because anything was better than re-reading the brief again.
"I'm glad you're picking up your phone today." Donna's voice rang strongly.
"Sorry about that." She apologized. "I just needed some time."
"You don't have to be sorry." Donna assured her. "I just wanted to check on you and see if there is anything I can do for you."
"I appreciate that more than you know." Rebecca smiled. "But I think I'm better now. I leave for California in a couple of hours. The funeral is tomorrow afternoon."
"If you need anything at all, please let me know. Alright?"
"I will." She promised. "Thank you Donna."
"Donna, can I ask you a question?" She had come into his office to hand him some files before she left for the night and he stopped her before she left.
"Of course." Donna replied. "What is it?"
"I'm not good at this stuff." He admitted.
"What stuff?" She laughed. "The briefs?"
"No. Not that. Relationship stuff." He scoffed.
"Ah." She nodded. "Ok. Go on."
"I asked Rebecca if she wanted me to go with her back to California and she said I didn't have to go."
"So what is the question?" Donna asked.
"Shouldn't I go anyway? Isn't that something you do in this situation when their father dies?"
"What do you think?" She asked.
"I think I need you to book me a flight for first thing in the morning."
"I already did." Donna smiled.
He laughed. "Thank you."
"See?" Donna laughed. "You're learning about how to be a good boyfriend without even realizing it!"
"I guess I am." He nodded.
Rebecca sighed heavily before pushing the call button on her phone.
"Hey." Harvey's voice came through moments later. "I was just thinking about you."
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Yeah. Is everything ok?" He asked after a few moments of silence.
"Yeah." She lied. She didn't realize it was a mistake not to stay in a hotel until she stepped back into her old house. There were too many memories here for her to be comfortable. But it was late and at this point she wasn't sure she would be able to sleep in a hotel tonight either. So she stayed here. "It's just very weird being back here."
"I bet it is."
"Tell me something good please." She asked, hoping she could get distracting for a moment. "I just want to hear something positive."
"Um…" He paused. "Ok. Well I won a case today. Got them to settle for a very obscene amount of money."
"Well that isn't surprising, but it is a good thing. I bet Jessica was thrilled."
"Yeah." He laughed. "I think she is almost ready to build a statue in my honor right in front of Louis' office. I bet he would love that."
She chuckled softly.
"So how are you really doing?" He asked in a more serious tone.
There was silence on the call for a moment before she answered. "I have been trying all day to think of a happy memory I have with my dad. Just one. And I can't think of anything. What's wrong with me that I can't think of something good about him? I can't think of a time when he showed up for a recital or helped me with my homework or took me to the park. All I can think of are the times he lied to me or used me for a photo op."
"I'm sorry." He told her. "But there's absolutely nothing wrong with you. He wasn't a good person and he wasn't a good father, but that has nothing to do with you."
"I hated him, Harvey." She sighed. "I truly hated him. And not just for what he did to my mom, which was unforgiveable. But also for how he treated me. He didn't seem to care about me at all. But now that he's gone…I'm sad. Obviously it's not the same way I was sad when my mom died. I'm just sad that he didn't think I was worth being around. He thought I was simply an accessory for his campaigns, as essential as a flag pin or button."
"He was an absolute idiot for not realizing how wonderful you are."
She couldn't help but smile at Harvey's words. The call went silent after that. She wanted to tell him that she missed him and she wished he was there with her. But she chickened out.
"Are you going to be ok?" He asked.
"Yeah." She assured him. "I'm just tired and tomorrow is going to be a long day. I should probably get going. I told you I'd call to let you know I got here, so I thought I should follow through on that."
"Ok. If you need anything, let me know."
"Thanks. Goodnight."
"Night."
She hung up and sighed. All she really needed was Harvey here with her. But that wasn't going to happen because she was stubborn last night and told him he didn't need to come with her. So she would go to bed in the guest room and handle tomorrow by herself. Because although she didn't feel it, she was strong and capable of handling tomorrow alone. She'd probably have to repeat that mantra over and over a few more times to believe it though.
Rebecca was rushing around the next day, trying to get ready for the funeral. Her father's attorney had come over earlier to discuss his will and it had taken longer than she thought it would because if there was one thing her father was good at…it was keeping secrets from her. She was finally ready to leave when the doorbell rang.
"Goddammit." She sighed. "I don't have time for this." She quickly hurried to the door and threw it open to reveal Harvey standing there in a dark suit. He was holding a duffle bag and looking at her wearily.
"Hey." He greeted softly. "I know you said I didn't need to come, but I couldn't let you do this by yourself."
She smiled. "Oh thank God!" The fact that he surprised her and came across the country to be with her at her father's funeral meant the world to her. Without saying another word she wrapped her arms around him. Feeling his strong arms wrap around her made her feel invincible and she closed her eyes to savor the feeling.
"So I guess you aren't mad." He chuckled.
"Not at all." She told him, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside. Then she took his duffle bag out of his other hand and placed it on the side table.
"I don't want to intrude on things." He explained. "I'm ok being in the background. I just thought you didn't need to be alone."
She closed the gap between him and gave him another hug. "You make me feel stronger." She whispered. "So I'm not letting you out of my sight today."
That night, Harvey found Rebecca sitting at the desk in her father's office. She was staring at some papers. He was glad he flew out this morning to be with her. She was right. It wasn't fun to be at Samuel's funeral, but he was glad he could be there for her. She didn't crumble or falter one time during the service or the wake. She handled all of the people who came up to give their condolences beautifully and with grace, even though he could see that she really just wanted the funeral and wake to end as soon as possible.
He liked to think it was at least partially because he was holding her hand the whole time. But that wasn't the reason. She could have done this by herself. Contrary to what she said earlier, she didn't need him to be stronger. Although he knew her confidence had been shaken the past couple of months, she was still the strongest woman he had ever known.
She looked up and saw him there.
"How long have you been perched in the doorway?" She asked with a grin on her face.
"Not long." He replied, coming to sit in the chair in front of the desk. "What are you reading?"
"My father's will." She explained. "His lawyer came by this morning and dropped it off. I still can't believe it."
"What's so unbelievable in it?"
"My father was apparently worth over $18 million dollars." She told him. "He was a career politician. How did he get that much money?"
"I don't know. That's certainly odd." He admitted.
"It's dirty money." She answered. "It has to be. And the worst part is now is that his dirty money that belongs to me."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to give it all away." She told him. "It's the only decent thing to do. I don't want or need his money, especially if it wasn't earned honestly. I just don't know where I'm going to give it away to yet."
"Thankfully you don't have to figure it out yet." He pointed out with a smile. "You've got some time. I hate to say this, and I'll deny it if asked, but you may want to ask for Louis' help in determining the best way to avoid a huge amount of taxes. He's pretty good at that and I'm sure he would help you."
"Yeah. Thanks. I probably will." She nodded, getting up from the desk.
He watched as she came over and leaned against the desk in front of where he was sitting.
"Thank you." She said quietly.
"You're welcome." He smiled.
"Do you even know what I'm thanking you for?"
"I assume it is for coming out here."
"It is for that…" She trailed off. "It's also for the other night. I know I said I wanted us to take things slow. But then I wasn't fair to you when I asked to go home with you and tried to seduce you."
"Any other time I would have taken you up on that offer without a second thought." He pointed out.
"But you didn't that night because you were being a perfect gentleman." She smiled. "So thank you."
"Like I said earlier, you're welcome." He smiled back.
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "You're a good man, Harvey. I'm lucky to have you in my life."
"I could say the same thing about having you in my life."
