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Chapter 40 – Tony's Visit

Tony Stark popped to the front porch of a modest home in a quiet neighborhood. A swing beside of the door held a few boxes of mail. Tony picked it up and knocked on the door.

When it opened, an older black lady smiled at him. She wore a bright pink dress and had grey in her hair. "And it's you."

Tony smiled. "Brought your mail."

She waved her hand at him. "Oh tosh. It was on the swing. That's where she puts it for me. Come in."

Tony stepped into the lovely, simple home and the lady closed the door behind him. The living room had modest furnishings. On the fireplace mantle, Tony saw a photo of his friend, Rhodey. It was the official Air Force photo of him in his uniform, looking serious, sitting in front of the American flag. Next to the photo was the flag that had been draped across Rhodey's casket. It had been put it in a case to keep it from being damaged.

Tony turned and saw a magazine sitting on the coffee table. His face looked back at him with Pepper standing next to him. The article read, "Pepper Stark!"

"How are you Roberta?" Tony asked as he sat her mail on the coffee table on top of the magazine.

She joined him in the sitting room. "I'm just fine. Come on in and I'll make you some coffee."

He followed her into the simple kitchen and leaned against the cabinet as she prepared coffee. "I should have come sooner."

She shook her head and smiled painfully. "It's alright. You're here now. I know you are a busy person."

He nodded.

She turned and looked at him. "How are you?"

"I'm good."

"The magazines and television tell the craziest stuff about you-"

"Oh, they have always done that."

"Some of this, I'm having a hard time believing." She told him as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"Well, we should probably start at the top."

She sipped her coffee, "Tony. What is going on?"

He sat down with her at the kitchen table. "First of all you. Are you alright?"

"James was a soldier. I knew it was possible that he may never come home."

"But, that doesn't…..make it any easier. Does it?"

"I'm his mother. There will never be a day when I wake up and it's easy."

He sighed.

"But, I imagine you aren't much different. James talked about you all of the time. You were probably the best friend he ever had."

Tony nodded sadly as a lump grew in his throat. "Everyone keeps saying it will get easier."

"And it does." She insisted. "Life goes on, even without him. But if you're looking for advice to make it all better, I'm sorry but I don't have it. I take comfort in the fact that he died, doing something he loved. He loved being a soldier. That's all he ever wanted."

Tony wiped a tear from his eye. "What do you know about what happened?"

"Not much. They told me he was shot. I try not to think about it."

"What if….I told you? He was shot. That I was with him?"

"When he was shot?"

"I arrived right afterwards. He, was already…bad. I took him in my arms and…."

Rhodey's mother sat her coffee cup down and nodded. "I see."

Tony wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. "It's something I've only recently admitted to even myself. That I was there. That I saw him….go."

She reached across the table and took his hand. "He died in the arms of his best friend. We should all be so lucky. Thank you for telling me this."

Tony groaned. "I should have told you before-"

She sipped her coffee. "You wasn't ready. And let's face it, it's not something I could hear at the time."

Tony nodded and cleared his throat. "The house is alright? Any problems?"

Roberta smiled, "Everything is fine. I want for nothing. I have a gorgeous young man who comes to do my lawn work every week. I look forward to that."

Tony smiled at her.

Roberta continued. "Lila does my grocery shopping for me-"

"Wow! Lila. How old is Rhodey's niece now?"

Roberta smiled. "She's 15."

"Gosh. 15." Tony covered his mouth.

"She lives here with me. She's such good company."

"Are you sure you don't want to send her to the school John and I opened?"

"I spoke to her about it, but she wants to stay with me. She says that we're all one another have left. She worries about me being on my own."

Tony nodded. "She's a good kid."

Roberta sipped her coffee. "But, enough about me. I heard you got married."

He sat back up. "Yes. Pepper and I married. About two months ago."

"The news would make it seem like it just happened."

"Ah, you know better than believe what's on the news. She wanted to wait before we announced it. She wasn't comfortable with the….reaction."

Roberta smiled. "James always talked about her. He said she was so kind, and had no idea how she tolerated you."

Tony sat down his coffee cup, "See, this is the reason I need to come see you more often. You are one of the few who are honest with me."

"Oh, baby. I'm honest to a fault. I don't care who you are, how much money you have, or if you've paid for my way of life. I call it like I see it."

Tony grinned. "I see where Rhodey got it."

"True. So, what has prompted this visit? Why are you really here?"

He sat back and took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell you about…my son."

She sat her cup down and exclaimed. "Oh Lord-"

"It's not what you think-"

"James told me you were a playboy and it would catch up with you one day-"

"It's not that-"

"Who is he? You sure he's yours? You better have a test, baby-"

"Roberta! He's mine. I've decided to adopt this kid that I found….someplace."

She looked confused.

Tony leaned up and took her hand. "I have a son. Seriously. No bullshit. He needed a father, and as it turned out, I needed him."

She pointed at him. "You've stopped drinking-"

"Now, how the hell do you know that?"

"I can tell. This is the soberest I've ever seen you."

He threw his hand up and groaned. "Yes. I've stopped drinking."

"Because of this boy?"

"I want to be a good father to him."

"You can be a good father and drink-"

"Not the way I drink." He insisted.

She nodded. "I'm grateful you see that."

"He's….unique. And will need my guidance on stuff that I don't even understand."

She smiled, "Every parent feels like that. You're already on the right path."

He sighed. "I'm so sure I'm going to screw this up-"

"That you are worried about it, means that you are doing the right thing already. If you wasn't worried, that's when you screw up."

"That's the advice you have for me?"

She sipped her coffee and pointed at him. "I want to see a picture of his poor kid."

Tony rolled his eyes and took out his phone. He handed it to her. She put on her glasses and looked at the photo of the little boy laughing. Tony was tickling him. She looked up at Tony in surprise. "You're serious?"

He reached over and swiped the photo to the next one. Roberta saw a photo of Tony sitting next to Pepper with the little boy standing behind Pepper, hugging her.

"Pepper has adopted him, too?"

"Well, yeah. We're all rather a package deal now."

Roberta smiled proudly. "He looks like you. What is his name?"

"Soler. We call him Soli. It's easier to say."

"Soler? What is that? French?"

Tony grinned. "That was what he was named. We had to pick a middle name when we did the paperwork."

She handed him back the phone. "Really? What did you pick?"

"James." Tony said.

Roberta's eyes filled with tears. "James?"

Tony nodded. "Seemed appropriate, but I realize I probably should have asked you-"

She wiped her eyes. "No, I love it. It's perfect. James would have been very proud."

"Rhodey would have insisted I had lost my damn mind."

She sipped her coffee and smiled. "I'm not so sure you haven't."

Tony put the phone back in his pocket. "So, any advice that's better than 'worry'? I've got that covered."

She sipped her coffee. "Smile at him."

"Smile at him?"

"My mother always told me that your child should always see you smiling back at them. Whenever they look at you. It makes them feel, loved. Valued. Important. Secure. Like you know everything and you aren't worried about anything at all."

Tony nodded. "That's good advice."

She smiled, "I would like to meet him. When it's convenient. I realize you're busy and-"

"No, that's alright. I would like that."

She smiled and sipped her coffee.

Tony looked around the room again. "And you're alright? Taking your medicine? Eating enough?"

She laughed, "I'm perfectly happy. Thank you, Tony."

"And if you need anything-"

"I know to ask you. Really. I'm fine."

He said quietly. "Okay."

"And this friendship, what with this Doctor Smith. James would be alright with it."

Tony sat back and crossed his arms. "He would have gotten along well with John. I've seen several moments when they would have…..ganged up on me. That Lewis, too."

"Tony, you've mourned James so long. He wouldn't be upset for you to have moved on. You need to do that. You need to move on. Life continues."

Tony looked away and took a deep breath. "I'm still waiting for when it gets easier."

"As am I." She admitted. "But, you. A father."

Tony rose his eyebrow at her. "Yeah?"

"James would have laughed his ass off about that." She laughed.

Tony rubbed his face and laughed, too.

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