To: Antonio
From: Danny Hebert
Re: Reconciliation
Tony
I'll admit, I nearly deleted this half a dozen times.
But…
You're right. Maybe it is time to talk.
Dad would have wanted me to at least try.
Some harsh things were said. I stand by my words, even now, but with the passage of years and experience… Perhaps I was overly sensitive.
Let me say, even with what happened in mind, I do respect you. You were there for Dad, you were there with Gramps, and you did right by Annette and me back then, even if your ways aren't mine. Over the years since, I've sort of come to realize that we're a lot closer in some ways than I could accept at the time. Very different in others, of course, but…
Family is everything.
I've always known that, Dad raised me right, and even the old bastard himself would have agreed. But losing Annette… God, that was hard. For far longer than I like to think, I was broken, we, Taylor and myself, were broken. I neglected my responsibilities to my own daughter because, well, partly because my life was suddenly bereft of something that should have been there. Something that still should be there, and that I miss every second of every day and will do to the day I die.
I still feel her behind me all the time. Sighing gently at my stupidity, and my despair, and whispering that I should think of Taylor. Think of the thing in my life that gives it real meaning.
Family. Such a simple word, but it means so much.
That's the other part, of course. She reminds me so much of her mother. She's got my height, and the glasses were the same of course, but in all other ways, she's so like Annette it's incredible. The older she gets, the more the similarity shows.
And it hurt, even though I know it's foolish and selfish, to look at her and see the other woman I'll never hear again. So to my great shame, I pulled back, threw myself into the Union, pretty much on autopilot, and didn't even notice when my own fucking daughter, the person I should be most concerned about, was dragged through hell by people she should have been able to trust.
That fucking school. How the hell…
No.
If I let myself think about it, I'm going to do something I'll regret. Mind you, so would they, but it's not worth it. Not for those people.
Annette wouldn't want me to waste perfectly good rage on such pointless assholes.
Save it for something important, she'd have said.
Then she'd have torched the place in the middle of the night and smirked that little vicious smirk she got when she was really pissed. You remember the one, I'm sure.
Your bodyguard certainly paid attention that time. She was giggling about that for days…
Sorry, I'm rambling, I know, but it's hard when you finally open the gates and look at what was behind them, not to let some of it out. And weirdly enough, you're probably the only person still alive who could actually understand it the way it needs to be understood.
The only good thing to come out of that disgusting mess is the way it got both of us back as a team. Heberts against the world, just like old times.
The world doesn't stand a chance...
You wouldn't believe how well the girl bounced back from that. She's made some friends, real friends, people who will stand by her no matter what. And I mean, No Matter What.
People I also trust completely. Even if some of them are a little unusual. Or a lot unusual.
Maybe one day I'll tell you about that part. Maybe not. It's a good story, though.
The thing to remember is that the Family also takes family very seriously. In the old ways, to use your phrase.
Thanks for the offer of help in the matter of the young women in question. It's not required, I think, the situation is… well, let's say contained, although that's not entirely right. In the process of being dealt with, maybe.
Taylor is in many ways a much stronger person than I am. She's not after retribution. If she was, I'd back her completely, but she's willing to let the past stay in the past.
If it doesn't?
It'll be handled. One way or another. And she has a lot of backup, believe me.
Only time will tell how things will pan out, but I have a pretty good feeling. The Union is heading back towards something that the city can be proud of. I and the others always have been, of course, but with the redevelopment plan starting to really kick off, everyone else is beginning to take notice. We have good relations with the city authorities, Roy is a decent man, smart, driven, and for a politician, remarkably honest. He's doing right by us, we'll back him all the way.
The more reptilian members of the DWU have become very popular, which I'm extremely pleased about. Surprised a little, true, but pleased.
And very proud.
Hopefully there won't be any need for external help on the other matter, even if Skidmark does eventually turn up, but… I'll bear it in mind. We don't know where he is, but your information isn't actually that much of a surprise. Unpleasant confirmation of information we've had from other sources, and deduced from various clues.
We'll have to think about what our next move is. New toys will help in dealing with that, I suppose. I appreciate it.
Huh.
I didn't expect to write more than a couple of lines, and look at it. I guess I really did have something to say. I should probably edit out half of this, but… It's been long enough.
Fuck it. I'll leave it in. It's your fault, emailing me like this.
I don't know if we can ever really get back to the old relationship. Too much time, too much water under the bridge. That said, Dad would want me to try, Annette would want me to try, and I guess even Taylor probably would want me to try.
At some point, when things here settle down, I'll have to come see you. I think I owe you something of an apology, which is best done face to face, if only for being unnecessarily rude and disrespectful. Even if it needed to be said, it probably didn't need to be said quite like that, in retrospect.
And I think Taylor would like to meet the mythical Uncle Tony.
Annette used to tell her stories…
We'll see how it goes. Until then, take care.
Say hi to anyone from the old days who still remembers Dad, will you?
Danny