Flashback to Now
Chapter 4
Sully was pacing. Ty was sitting. They were both silent. It had been that way since Liz had walked out the door. It felt like forever, but it had only been a few minutes. Sully sighed. "You got something to say Sullivan?" Ty asked. Sully spun around, "what, what you're mad at me? You called her! You didn't tell me!" "Ooh, ok. So its my fault she's crying, right?" Ty said. Sully sighed again, and sat down on the couch next to Ty. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He didn't know how to say it.
"Hey Pete!" Liz tried to be cheery. On a good day Pete would have looked at her and said, "Hi miss." He may have even been well enough to ask why she looked so sad. But he was lying in the hospital bed, vacant eyes staring at the ceiling. A nurse bustled in, checking his vitals, and was out just as quick. Liz smiled in spite of herself. Here was the New York abrasiveness she missed. The smile vanished almost as quickly as the nurse had. She plopped into a chair pulled near the bed, and took Pete's hand. He couldn't hear her, but sometimes that was the best listener. No one to say that she was wrong in her feelings.
"So did she bring Pete with her?" Sully finally broke the silence. "Yeah, yeah, she's got him fixed up at Mercy," Ty said, still not looking at him. "Mercy? Why not a nursing home? Pete wasn't that bad when Liz left with him," Sully asked. Ty grunted. "What?" Sully asked. "Apparently she never called to tell you. Pete had another stroke when she got to Pennsylvania, he's much worse off now," Ty finally said. Sully was quiet, he wondered why she hadn't called. Ty echoed the thought out loud. Sully was quiet, he knew the answer but he knew if he said it, it would be more true to him, and that would hurt.
"He doesn't seem to care that I left, Pete. In fact, he seems to have forgotten I even existed. The ash tray, the pictures, they all used to be out front and center, even after I grew up. But I don't even know where they are. He's got pictures of his wife up, she was pretty. She's dead now. He didn't contact me when they got married, he didn't contact me when she died. And now he's turning into my dad," Liz was saying. She stopped and reflected for a moment, then started again. "You used to know my dad, Pete. You served him his morning, afternoon, and night drinks. You never stopped him. You never knew he had a kid at home. Until the day I came in looking for him. You're the one who called the cops that night. The night with the frying pan. Do you remember? Oh Pete. I wish you remembered," Liz started to cry again. She needed someone. She began to think of Ty.
"I kicked her out, Ty," Sully began. "No, I didn't really kick her out, but I made it so she wasn't welcome. When she heard about the job in Pennsylvania, she checked it out, not really wanting to uproot herself and Pete. She was taking care of him by then, you see. But she found out that there were better programs there for Pete, that made her decision. I was always jealous of Pete, I wanted to be the one to take care of her. I felt like she was choosing him over me, so I told her if she left not to come back. I guess she took me seriously, but then I never made an effort." Ty looked up. "I think you should make an effort now, Sul. You need each other."
