CHAPTER ELEVEN
One Week Later…
Leo and Leah's Residence.
Upper West Manhattan
Leonardo read through the newspaper, but he was finding it hard to concentrate. His thoughts kept drifting to Raphael and his wife.
All through their lives there always had been tension between him and Raph and a lot of fights. It was a miracle they had not killed each other yet.
Now Leo felt sorry for Raph. He knew Raph loved Renee and was crazy about her. They made a good couple, when Raph was wired up about something, Renee seemed to calm him down-sometimes without even saying anything.
His mind drifted to the day Megan was born. Raph had been proud as punch but later he confessed to Leo he'd been hoping for a son. Leo had assured him they could try again when Megan was a little older.
Raph and Renee tried and failed-for some reason they couldn't conceive. They went to the doctor and got some bad news, due to complications from her first birth, Renee was unable to have any more children. She and Raph had been devastated. That was the first hurdle they had to cross.
Luckily for Raph, Megan had been a terrific child. The second hurdle they had to face was when they were robbed one night. Someone ransacked their apartment and left a menacing note for them.
They moved out of that neighbourhood and Raph discovered it had been Renee's father that robbed them. Renee's father hated Raph with a vengeance because he was a mutant. Renee disowned her father and hadn't spoken to him since, not since Megan was four months old.
Now they have a third hurdle, Renee's tumour.
Why can't Raph have an easy life and marriage? He deserves that much, Leo thought gloomily.
Leah entered the living room and saw her husband deep in thought.
" Earth to Leo," she called and he jumped.
" Sorry…I drifted off there for a minute."
" You've been in a weird mood ever since the barbecue a week ago. Are you feeling bad for your brother?"
" That's not the word for it. I feel terrible. All those fights we've had while growing up seem stupid now." Leo folded up the paper, " the best thing I can do for Raph is to be there for him when the time comes."
" When the time comes…" Leah trailed off, " How awful for Renee! She's still young! It's such a waste of life."
" Yes, it is." Leo murmured.
Donatello's Residence.
Upper West Manhattan
" Dad?" Jeffrey pushed the door open to his father's large study room. His dad was sitting at his desk nursing a glass of bourbon and staring morosely at some papers.
" What is it son?" Don didn't even look up.
Jeffrey sat down on a chair opposite him, " I've been thinking," he began, his thirteen year old mind trying to form the words together.
" About what son?"
" About Uncle Raph and Aunt Renee," Jeffrey licked his dry lips, " you told Renee was going to Heaven soon," Don nodded.
" Will I go to Heaven?"
Don smiled, " not for a long, long time Jeff."
The young blonde boy nodded, " What about Sarah?"
" She'll go to Heaven too." Don assured him.
" But she's so mean! Mom told me once only good, kind people go to heaven. Mean, evil ones go to…" the name of the bad place escaped him.
" Hell," Don supplied to him.
" Yeah, hell. Will Sarah go to hell because she's mean?"
" No, she might be…mean, but she's not a bad person. She just has a few problems that's needs dealing with." His father explained to him.
" Oh," Jeffrey looked around then stood up, " that's all I wanted to say." He told his father.
" Look Jeffrey, you don't need to worry about Aunt Renee. She'll be looked after in Heaven."
" Can I send her a card?"
" I don't think that's wise. That will remind her what's going to happen." Don objected.
" Okay, thanks Dad." Jeffrey left the study and Don sat back in his chair. When he told the kids about Renee, Jeffrey was the only one to shed some tears. His daughter had been expressionless and told her father she was sorry about it.
It's time I had a talk with Sarah Amanda. Don decided and headed for his daughter's room.
Michelangelo & Maria's Residence…
Town of Darke
Michelangelo was sweeping the front porch of their forty year old two-storey home, complete with unused paddocks at the back. His ten year old grey cat, Klunk the 3rd was lying on the porch swing without a care in the world, washing himself.
The two year old golden retriever Splinter was chasing a squirrel in the front yard and lost it under the white fence. Mikey smiled as Splinter tried to wedge himself under the fence and failed. He then disappeared behind the house in search of another pursuit.
The door to the front yard opened and his fifteen year old daughter Phoebe joined the cat on the swing and watched his dad sweep.
" If you want something to do, you can finish the sweeping," Mikey suggested.
" Nah, I'll watch you do it," Phoebe stretched lazily and gave him a sly smile, " You're doing such a great job Daddy, don't stop now." She ran a hand through long black hair, the exact same shade as her mother's, except her mother's hair was short and curly.
" Where are the others?" Mikey asked her.
" Peter's gone out with his girlfriend," Peter was Phoebe's twin brother, " Matthew…I don't know where he went to and Madeline's watching a video." Matthew was his eldest at 17 and Maddie was the youngest at just ten.
Her father nodded and swept up the last of the dust bunnies before joining his daughter on the swing, with Klunk between them, purring contently.
" Sometimes I wish I was a cat," Phoebe mused as she scratched Klunk's ears.
" Why?" Mike answered.
" Because they have a carefree life. All they do is sleep, eat and catch mice."
" You have a carefree life. Don't I let you do anything you want…within reason?"
" I guess, but look at Aunt Renee. She's only going to live for two measley months! I hope she's making the most of the time she has." Phoebe shuddered, " And think of the pain she's going through."
" Honey, how do you know about the pain?"
" I looked it up on the Net," she told him, " I was curious."
" You shouldn't be worrying yourself over that." Mike's forehead creased, " your Aunt is gonna be fine."
" No she isn't Dad! She's never gonna be fine…and Megan's going to life her life without a mom! I don't know what I'd do without Mom around." Phoebe shook her head, " I feel so sorry for all of them."
" That's the last thing they need is for people to feel sorry for them. We have to be strong for them because when the time comes, Uncle Raph and Megan are gonna need us," Mikey predicted.
" I know and I'll be there for Megan. I'll be the best cousin she's ever had." She frowned, " it'll be kind of hard considering I don't know her well."
" Just be there for her," Mikey advise, " Don't pretend to be someone you're not."
Phoebe didn't answer. She wasn't looking forward for the two months. In fact, she dreaded it…
One Week Later…
Leo and Leah's Residence.
Upper West Manhattan
Leonardo read through the newspaper, but he was finding it hard to concentrate. His thoughts kept drifting to Raphael and his wife.
All through their lives there always had been tension between him and Raph and a lot of fights. It was a miracle they had not killed each other yet.
Now Leo felt sorry for Raph. He knew Raph loved Renee and was crazy about her. They made a good couple, when Raph was wired up about something, Renee seemed to calm him down-sometimes without even saying anything.
His mind drifted to the day Megan was born. Raph had been proud as punch but later he confessed to Leo he'd been hoping for a son. Leo had assured him they could try again when Megan was a little older.
Raph and Renee tried and failed-for some reason they couldn't conceive. They went to the doctor and got some bad news, due to complications from her first birth, Renee was unable to have any more children. She and Raph had been devastated. That was the first hurdle they had to cross.
Luckily for Raph, Megan had been a terrific child. The second hurdle they had to face was when they were robbed one night. Someone ransacked their apartment and left a menacing note for them.
They moved out of that neighbourhood and Raph discovered it had been Renee's father that robbed them. Renee's father hated Raph with a vengeance because he was a mutant. Renee disowned her father and hadn't spoken to him since, not since Megan was four months old.
Now they have a third hurdle, Renee's tumour.
Why can't Raph have an easy life and marriage? He deserves that much, Leo thought gloomily.
Leah entered the living room and saw her husband deep in thought.
" Earth to Leo," she called and he jumped.
" Sorry…I drifted off there for a minute."
" You've been in a weird mood ever since the barbecue a week ago. Are you feeling bad for your brother?"
" That's not the word for it. I feel terrible. All those fights we've had while growing up seem stupid now." Leo folded up the paper, " the best thing I can do for Raph is to be there for him when the time comes."
" When the time comes…" Leah trailed off, " How awful for Renee! She's still young! It's such a waste of life."
" Yes, it is." Leo murmured.
Donatello's Residence.
Upper West Manhattan
" Dad?" Jeffrey pushed the door open to his father's large study room. His dad was sitting at his desk nursing a glass of bourbon and staring morosely at some papers.
" What is it son?" Don didn't even look up.
Jeffrey sat down on a chair opposite him, " I've been thinking," he began, his thirteen year old mind trying to form the words together.
" About what son?"
" About Uncle Raph and Aunt Renee," Jeffrey licked his dry lips, " you told Renee was going to Heaven soon," Don nodded.
" Will I go to Heaven?"
Don smiled, " not for a long, long time Jeff."
The young blonde boy nodded, " What about Sarah?"
" She'll go to Heaven too." Don assured him.
" But she's so mean! Mom told me once only good, kind people go to heaven. Mean, evil ones go to…" the name of the bad place escaped him.
" Hell," Don supplied to him.
" Yeah, hell. Will Sarah go to hell because she's mean?"
" No, she might be…mean, but she's not a bad person. She just has a few problems that's needs dealing with." His father explained to him.
" Oh," Jeffrey looked around then stood up, " that's all I wanted to say." He told his father.
" Look Jeffrey, you don't need to worry about Aunt Renee. She'll be looked after in Heaven."
" Can I send her a card?"
" I don't think that's wise. That will remind her what's going to happen." Don objected.
" Okay, thanks Dad." Jeffrey left the study and Don sat back in his chair. When he told the kids about Renee, Jeffrey was the only one to shed some tears. His daughter had been expressionless and told her father she was sorry about it.
It's time I had a talk with Sarah Amanda. Don decided and headed for his daughter's room.
Michelangelo & Maria's Residence…
Town of Darke
Michelangelo was sweeping the front porch of their forty year old two-storey home, complete with unused paddocks at the back. His ten year old grey cat, Klunk the 3rd was lying on the porch swing without a care in the world, washing himself.
The two year old golden retriever Splinter was chasing a squirrel in the front yard and lost it under the white fence. Mikey smiled as Splinter tried to wedge himself under the fence and failed. He then disappeared behind the house in search of another pursuit.
The door to the front yard opened and his fifteen year old daughter Phoebe joined the cat on the swing and watched his dad sweep.
" If you want something to do, you can finish the sweeping," Mikey suggested.
" Nah, I'll watch you do it," Phoebe stretched lazily and gave him a sly smile, " You're doing such a great job Daddy, don't stop now." She ran a hand through long black hair, the exact same shade as her mother's, except her mother's hair was short and curly.
" Where are the others?" Mikey asked her.
" Peter's gone out with his girlfriend," Peter was Phoebe's twin brother, " Matthew…I don't know where he went to and Madeline's watching a video." Matthew was his eldest at 17 and Maddie was the youngest at just ten.
Her father nodded and swept up the last of the dust bunnies before joining his daughter on the swing, with Klunk between them, purring contently.
" Sometimes I wish I was a cat," Phoebe mused as she scratched Klunk's ears.
" Why?" Mike answered.
" Because they have a carefree life. All they do is sleep, eat and catch mice."
" You have a carefree life. Don't I let you do anything you want…within reason?"
" I guess, but look at Aunt Renee. She's only going to live for two measley months! I hope she's making the most of the time she has." Phoebe shuddered, " And think of the pain she's going through."
" Honey, how do you know about the pain?"
" I looked it up on the Net," she told him, " I was curious."
" You shouldn't be worrying yourself over that." Mike's forehead creased, " your Aunt is gonna be fine."
" No she isn't Dad! She's never gonna be fine…and Megan's going to life her life without a mom! I don't know what I'd do without Mom around." Phoebe shook her head, " I feel so sorry for all of them."
" That's the last thing they need is for people to feel sorry for them. We have to be strong for them because when the time comes, Uncle Raph and Megan are gonna need us," Mikey predicted.
" I know and I'll be there for Megan. I'll be the best cousin she's ever had." She frowned, " it'll be kind of hard considering I don't know her well."
" Just be there for her," Mikey advise, " Don't pretend to be someone you're not."
Phoebe didn't answer. She wasn't looking forward for the two months. In fact, she dreaded it…