Mickey returned the gun to its hiding place. The gun he wasn't even supposed to have, but apparently it was cheaper for Mr. Fishodor to give each carny a gun. Then it was to pay the carnies enough to live in a safer community. Since arriving in Carniapolis he had kept the gun hidden away in a safe. Until he heard that some monster had run Louise Belcher down and left her for dead. The following day when news broke that she had died. Mickey had been desperate for revenge. He had vowed he would never take a life, but when Louise died. It became an eye for an eye. His goal became to find the mother fucker who did it and shoot them in the exact places that had been shattered on Louise's body. Make sure they felt the pain she had endured. He now knew the bastard had been caught and was safely locked away in jail. Mickey would rather see Jimmy Pesto suffer and die, but prison was good too. With any luck that bastard would never see the light of day again. Taking a deep breath Mickey walked to the window and stared at the duck pond. Louise had only wanted to be seen as brave and important. Well, she had succeeded. Mickey just wished the consequences weren't so devastating.
Tina bolted upright, her heart racing. For a moment she was confused as to why she was in Louise's room. Why Gene was curled up on the floor softly crying. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, Louise was dead. Her eyes fell on the alarm clock. Exactly twenty-four hours had passed. They had officially lived an entire day without Louise. What did she do now? Did she wake everybody else up so they could reflect together, or did she just suffer in silence?
"Hey Gene?" Tina called.
"What?" Gene replied.
"It's been exactly twenty-four hours." Tina announced.
"No" Gene sniffed burying his head under the top of his sleeping bag.
Gayle lay awake. She was exhausted having not slept the previous night, but she was afraid to fall asleep. She sat up in bed with her hand constantly on Linda's wrist. It had been a long time since Linda had gotten this drunk. Gayle was still in high school, and Linda had been out for a year or so. They had gone alone to the wedding of a friend of theirs. The friend was a couple of years older and allowed drink. He didn't bother to stop the two teenagers from drinking illegally during the reception. Then they went back to the hotel and one of the other guests invited them to an after party. Gayle finally stopped around midnight. Only to be awakened an hour later by drunk adults dumping Linda in the hallway. Gayle never forgot the terror of thinking her sister was dead. Wondering how she would break the news to her parents. Thankfully a very kind house cleaner helped Gayle call 911 and had the girl running the desk page a doctor who was staying on the second floor. Linda had alcohol poisoning and if Gayle hadn't heard those other girls throwing her into the hall. She would have certainly died. Those were the exact words the doctors used. Neither of the girls drank for a while after that. Not until Gayle turned twenty-one. Linda still enjoyed partying, but she never got black out drunk again. At least not until the day her daughter died. On one hand Gayle could not blame her sister, but on the other. She wished Linda would understand the harm she was doing to herself.
It was four in the morning and Big Bob was alone in the Belcher's kitchen. Everybody had finally gone to sleep. Tina and Gene had insisted on sleeping in Louise's room. Gayle was staying with Linda. Gloria and Al were in Tina's room. Big Bob had tried to get them to promise not to have sex in their granddaughter's bed, but they just ignored him. There utter lack of respect made him sick. Didn't help even if Linda knew where she was, she would still side with them. Gayle seemed to be put off by her family's behavior but was too afraid to stand up to them. Big Bob had insisted that Bobby sleep in Gene's bed. The Belcher's ancient couch was hell on his old body, but he didn't think his son deserved to have to sleep out there. At last, everybody was asleep, he was finally alone. He buried his head in his hands and allowed himself to break down. His eyes fell on the catalogue Mort had brought over and the notebook that would soon contain her funeral plans. God, he hated arranging funerals. He had never thought anything could beat arranging his wife's funeral at only thirty-seven. Until he as an old man who had been ready to go since the day, he lost her. Had to help plan a funeral for his ten-year-old granddaughter. A child who had barely even gotten a chance to live.
"Oh, I didn't think anybody else was up." Tina commented retrieving a casserole from the fridge.
"Couldn't sleep. I wish I could say it was just because the couch is uncomfortable, and you are out of beds." Big Bob sighed.
"Yeah" Tina agreed.
"Are you OK?" Big Bob asked.
"No" Tina admitted.
"Didn't expect that." Big Bob replied.
"When is it going to stop hurting?" Tina asked.
"Tina, honey it's never going to stop." Big Bob replied.
"So, we're just going to be this miserable the rest of our lives?" Tina gasped.
"Maybe not as miserable as you are now but yeah the pain is never going to go away." Big Bob explained.
"That's not fair! Jimmy Pesto made the decision to drive drunk and now we all have to suffer forever! That's just wrong! That's just!" Tina screamed as she gasped for air.
"Tina, I need you to sit down and take deep breaths. You are going to be OK. Just take deep breaths." Big Bob calmly instructed.
It was morning now, Bob stumbled into the kitchen trying to ignore the horrid stinging and burning sensation on his arms and legs. He forgot how bad those cuts could hurt. What's worse was that the pain of losing Louise was still fresh, his heart was heavy as well. He fumbled around in the fridge before finding a partially eaten casserole. He dished some up and stuck it into the microwave. Then he heard it the sweetest sound in the world. "Daddy" Louise cried joyfully. It wasn't real! She wasn't really dead! He raced into the living room only for his heart to shatter again. Louise was dead. The voice he heard was a home movie Linda had taken when they had gone to the Generao family beach house two summers ago. Tina sat alone on the couch hugging her knees to her chest, tears pouring down her face. Bob fell to his knees, screaming.
"Are you OK, dad?" Tina gasped.
"I thought she was here! I thought she was still here! That she hadn't…. hadn't…." Bob wept.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep. I just needed to see her and hear her voice." Tina apologized,
"No, I knew she was gone. I shouldn't have my hopes up." Bob admitted.
Embarrassed by his outburst, Bob pulled himself upright. He stumbled into the bathroom and withdrew a razor blade from the cabinet. He glared at himself in the mirror. He knew deep down that Linda and her parents were right. He was the one who had killed Louise. Sure, it was that mother fucking bastard Jimmy Pesto who was driving, but it was his hate that had ended Louise's life. He dug the blade into his arms. He hated himself for cutting again, but it was the pain he deserved.
"You bastard, you worthless bastard!" Bob cried smashing the mirror with his fists.
Big Bob was on the way to Louise's room to check on Gene. When he heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom. He burst through the door and discovered Bobby lying on the floor in a pool of blood surrounded by broken glass. There was a horrible moment where he thought he had lost his son too. Until he heard the sound of Bobby crying. His arms were cut to hell, and he had shards of glass in his fists, but he was alive. Big Bob gently helped his son to the toilet. He removed the glass with pliers and began to wrap the wounds in gauze. He wondered if it would be better to take Bobby to the hospital, but the cuts weren't that deep, and he worried that being in a hospital would trigger memories of the weekend.
"What happened?" Bob asked weakly.
"I don't know I came in here and found you lying on the floor covered in glass and blood. Do you want to go to the hospital?" Big Bob asked.
"No" Bob said weakly before passing out again.
Big Bob didn't want to waste time calling an ambulance. He lied to Tina and said that Bobby had fallen getting out of the shower and must have hit the mirror and that he now had to take him to the emergency room. He was shocked when Tina despite everything she had been through insisted on going with them. The short drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. Bob was too weak to walk by the time they arrived. Big Bob ran inside and got a nurse who followed him back to the car with a wheelchair. Bobby was rushed back right away. They finished removing the broken glass and stitched him up. Unfortunately, he suffered a panic attack in the room which worsened the bleeding. They eventually got it under control, but he now needed a blood transfusion.
"Bobby has a rare blood type. I have the same type. Take as much as you need. Just make sure my boy is OK!" Big Bob demanded.
Rudy was alone in his room. His mom had gone to work and left him with a babysitter. His parents had tried to convince him to go to school, but he couldn't drag himself out of bed. Normally he loved school, but it just seemed so pointless now. What was the point of doing anything? Louise had always been so healthy and strong. Meanwhile Rudy was a sickly kid who had been told numerous times throughout his childhood he would be lucky to reach certain ages. They never expected him to live to be ten and now he was nearly eleven. Meanwhile there was no reason to assume Louise wouldn't live a full life. Yet she was the one who was dead. There was no logic to it, and it was completely unfair. The timer went off and he took a hit from his inhaler. He had no idea how he was supposed to go on without her.
By the following afternoon everything was cleared up and Zeke was returned to his home. The cops and social workers quickly discovered that there were no drugs in the trailer and the children were not being abused. The family was reunited but the damage was already done. Zeke's baby sister who was always so calm and happy screamed constantly and panicked if anybody touched her. Zeke himself didn't want anybody near him. The trailer was still boiling because he still couldn't look at the vents, but was dressed in winter clothes, balled up in the fetal position on his bed. The doctor who did the exam looked just like the foster mother who had made his life a living hell. Even though Zeke knew that bitch was in jail and would be for a long time. He had testified at her trial. The trial that was supposed to be the last time he relived the horrors he had endured in that house. Until the day. His best friend who knew everything he had been through. Decided it was a good idea to get revenge by falsely accusing Zeke's parents of abuse. Until the day Zeke had to stand naked and allow his tormentors doppelganger to examine every part of his body. Once Zeke was home, he just wanted to be alone. He didn't want anybody to see him or touch him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Jimmy Junior's contact information. He pressed dial.
"HOW COULD YOU, ZEKE!" Jimmy Junior cried.
"How could I? How could you?" Zeke demanded.
"Oh, you didn't like having your dad arrested. You didn't like being removed from your home? Well now you know how it feels!" Jimmy Junior snapped.
"Jimmy! Your dad killed Louise Belcher! He ran her over and left her to die! I found her foot in the grill of his car. I screamed. My uncle heard and called the police when he saw what had happened. You lied and said that my dad was abusing us. My sister and I were drug out of our home in the middle of the night. Now my sister thinks that anytime somebody touches her they are going to take her away. I had to let a doctor examine my entire body to rule out abuse. To make things worse she looked just like the foster mother who used to rape me every night and beat me to make sure I didn't tell. You just got taken to your mom's house. With your brothers." Zeke rambled.
"My dad is the parent who had money. I am basically poor now." Jimmy whined.
"How sad for you. I don't think I will ever sleep again, but I am sorry you aren't rich anymore!" Zeke snapped.
Bob was released from the hospital that afternoon. They had initially wanted to keep him overnight but after Big Bob explained the circumstances. How Louise had died the day before after fighting for her life in the ICU. They were willing allow him to return home. As long as he remained in the care of his father. They instructed Big Bob to bring him right back if the stitches broke and gave a list of symptoms to watch for, in case Bob was still anemic from the blood loss. They also wanted him to return the following afternoon for a follow-up.
Gloria and Al still hadn't gone to the store. Gayle refused to go, Big Bob and Bob were nowhere to be found, and Tina and Gene were too young. So, Linda had sobered up a bit by afternoon. Her head was pounding, and she was clinging to the toilet. The mirror in the bathroom was shattered and there was blood everywhere. She knew she should be concerned but all she could think about was Louise and she only wanted to forget Louise.
Teddy had already texted Mr. Fishodor and told him he would be taking the week off due to Louise's death. He passed the same information along to his clients. Though with the clients he simply said a death in the family. He gave contact information of other handymen for clients who had either urgent need or did not want to wait around for his return, but when he heard that the Belchers needed their bathroom mirror replaced, he just could not say no.
Shortly after the Bobs returned home and Linda woke up. Mort called. Louise's body was ready for burial. While they would not actually have to bury her for several days. They were now welcome to see her. The family somberly dressed and shuffled over to Mort's. Linda was still heavily hungover, wearing dark sunglasses and leaning heavily on Gayle to make the short walk. Upon arriving they were ushered to a room at the back of the building, called the chapel of rest. Mort led them through a curtain where Louise was lying in the same small coffin, Tina had seen the day before. Her face was severely disfigured, but Mort had done his best to make her look normal. He had placed her hat upon her head and rested "Good Kuchi Kopi" against the side of her face. That was for lack of a better word gone. The arm that remained was raised and her fingers were wrapped around her toy. It was clear she was dead but was not as obvious as it had been the day before.
"Do you want to know how she died?" Mort inquired.
"Didn't her body give out?" Tina commented.
"Well yes but there was on particular injury that ultimately led to her death." Mort clarified.
"What happened to her? Could she have been saved?" Bob demanded.
"Most likely not. Now do you kids want to stay?" Mort asked.
"Yes" Tina replied.
"No but yes" Gene replied
"Very well. As you know Louise suffered a catastrophic brain injury with severe damage to her skull." Mort began.
"Part of the surgery was to remove part of her skull to give the brain more room." Bob remembered.
"Yes, well apparently a small piece of her skull splintered off during surgery. It became implanted in her brain. Unfortunately, it was in a spot that was already experienced severe bleeding. She had suffered over a hundred seizures by this point and two strokes. The piece of skull worsened the bleeding and caused another stroke which caused her heart to stop. The doctors were able to revive her but the stroke she suffered on the operating table killed what remained of her brain. She had no defenses and quickly developed an infection in her brain. The infection is what killed her." Mort explained.
"Would she have lived if the piece of her skull hadn't splintered off?" Bob wondered.
"Maybe but her quality of life would have been nonexistent." Mort replied.
"Oh, my poor baby!" Linda cried.
"Louise lived almost a day with injuries that severe?" Tina gasped.
"Did it hurt?" Gene asked.
"Unfortunately, it did hurt her." Mort replied.
"No" Gene gasped putting his hand over his mouth and making a beeline for the bathroom.
"I'll go check on him." Big Bob whispered.
"I know that was a lot to take in but are you ready to begin preparing for the service?" Mort asked.
"Yes, we were thinking that you could do it here." Bob replied.
"No! No! No! We will do a traditional Catholic Service! At the church!" Gloria cried.
"Like a wake?" Bob questioned.
"No! A somber service! Everybody in black and the traditional funeral order of service!" Gloria spat.
"Really? Because Louise would have absolutely hated that." Bob commented.
"We will be doing the Catholic service, Bobby!" Linda hissed.
"No! Lin! We are not! You know I am an atheist, and you know that Louise would hate a traditional service! She hated somber, boring events! She hated seeing us sad! We will give her a celebration of life with Mort! We will tell guests to attend in her favorite colors or in anime shirts!" Bob shouted.
"No! Bobby! You didn't care about Louise! I did! We will do what I want!" Linda snapped.
"Lin please" Bob begged.
"Shut up!" Linda cried shoving Bob.
"Linda!" Bob cried.
"Guys! Stop it! Please!" Tina cried before running off to join Gene in the bathroom.
"Don't you touch her burger boy!" Gloria ordered.
"I didn't touch her! She shoved me!" Bob cried.
What happened next was a blur. Bob recalled Mort screaming something. He remembered mumbling an apology to Linda. Before taking a seat near Louise. Linda sat on the far side with the family and now Teddy between them. For a long time, the family just sat there. Every so often somebody would share a story about Louise, but for the most part they sat in silence. One by one the family departed. First Teddy needed to get to work replacing the mirror. Then Gayle had to go home and take care of her cats. She had only paid her cat sitter through that morning. Soon Tina and Gene became tired and decided to return home. Then Linda left with Gloria and Al because they needed to get to the liquor store. In the end it was just the two Bobs. Both men recalling being in a similar room in another funeral home the day after the first Tina Belcher died. Both recalled that day in vivid detail but neither dared speak of it. Eventually Mort came in and apologetically informed them that they would need to get going. He had a funeral first thing in the morning and needed to get some sleep. Per regulation he could not allow mourners to be alone downstairs. The two Bobs stood, Bob having to lean heavily on his father. The walk home felt interminable. Upon arriving at the apartment, Big Bob stepped into the kitchen to check on things at the diner. Bob stumbled through his home. He found Tina once again watching home movies. He saw Gene in the kitchen helping himself to a tray of brownies somebody had brought over. He found Teddy in the bathroom placing the new mirror. He opened the door to her room. Expecting to find her making mischief. Instead, he found an empty room. He went to his room and found it empty. Where was Linda? He checked Louise's room again, then the bathroom, then Tina's, then the living room, the kitchen, Gene's room, then back to the master bedroom. Linda was not in the apartment. He was getting ready to go look for her in the restaurant. When he found a note sitting on his pillow. He knew what it was going to say before he even picked it up.
"Bob,
I cannot stay here any longer. I cannot be in the apartment where she lived. Quite frankly nor can I stand to look at you. It is your fault we are in this situation. I have decided to check in a hotel with my parents and I will most likely be moving in with them after the funeral. Tomorrow I will begin speaking to divorce attorneys. Tell Tina and Gene I am sorry. No tell them you are sorry. You destroyed our family.
Linda"