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That morning, Wilson called George. He quickly came over, eager to get out of the emptiness in his own house, and he and Wilson began to make plans regarding their father's wake and funeral. They took off after a few hours, leaving Mary all by herself, to go and meet with her Dr. West's lawyer. Mary sat on the couch for hours, anticipating their arrival. When they finally did get back home, they appeared apathetic and stunned.
"Where did you go?" Mary asked Wilson. "You can't just leave without telling me where you are going; I was worried sick."
"Cell phone," he said distressed, implying that Mary could have called him if she was so set on knowing his whereabouts. Mary pointed to the kitchen table where Wilson's phone was on. He shook his head. "We were at the lawyers. I've just inherited a little over a million dollars."
Mary's eyes bugged out of her head. "The both of you combined?"
"Each," George clarified. "Dad had a lot of investments, and his practice did well. We never knew he had that much, but frankly I wasn't all that surprised."
The two brothers went over and sat next to Mary on the couch. "The wake is tomorrow, funeral on Thursday," Wilson explained morosely. Mary sighed and reached her hand out to him. "What?"
"How are you doing?"
"I don't want to talk about it now."
Mary was shocked by Wilson's apparent belligerency that day. He certainly was continuing to be very hostile; something that was starting to annoy her more than it concerned her. She loved Wilson more than life itself, but she felt as if he was going out of his way to make it tougher for her to love him. She liked him a lot more when things were easy.
***
The wake was uneventful, and so was true about the funeral. Mary accompanied Wilson to both events, though he didn't really communicate or anything with her while she was there. To be honest, she was starting to feel a little dejected. She understood that everyone had to grieve in his or her own way, but it was killing Mary to see her husband acting like this.
After the funeral, George and Billy came back to the apartment with Mary and Wilson. This was when all the action started. They hadn't been there for too long before the doorbell rang. Mary got up and answered it, smoothing out her black skirt as she stood.
"Marie…" It was Wilson and George's mother. Normally, Mary wouldn't have been surprised to see her, but she hadn't been around for the past few days. She hadn't come to the hospital, consoled her sons, and didn't attend the wake or funeral.
She pushed past Mary and into the room without so much as a word to her. "Boys," she said when she spied her sons. "I'm so glad I found you."
"Where else would we be?" George said.
"And were you really looking for us?" Wilson countered.
The two men stood up, ready for battle, and Mary stepped back. She didn't want to be caught in the middle of this.
"Yes, I was. I have something I need to tell you."
Mary went over to Billy and put her hands on Billy's shoulders and turned him toward his bedroom. "Come on Billy. Let's go play something." Mary didn't think he needed to stick around for this conversation, and neither did she.
"Is everything OK Mom? Are you sick?" George asked. He was most definitely a doctor at heart.
"No, I'm fine."
"That's nice," Wilson interjected, still angry, "but unless if you are going to explain to us why you haven't been around for the past few days then I don't want to hear it."
Mrs. West swallowed hard. "You're father and I divorced on Friday. That's why I didn't go to the funeral or anything."
George wasn't surprised. He was closer to his mother than Wilson ever was, and he saw her more often. He could sense the strange vibes coming from her for days now, and although he never truly expected this, he was almost prepared for it. Wilson, on the other hand, was nothing of the sort. He was angry, sad, and confused all at once. He really needed Mary right then, but of course she was off tending to Billy. Why couldn't his mother be more like Mary?
'Why didn't you tell us this before?" George asked.
"Because he died. I was giving you both some time."
"Didn't you need some time?"
"Not really. I was almost happy, actually. I was glad we divorced before his heart attack. I didn't want him to die and still be married to him. That would have been wrong."
Wilson took in a deep breath, trying to keep his cool. "The only thing that's wrong is you. Now get out of my house." His voice was calm and low in a frightening sort of way.
"Honey-"
"Don't 'honey' me. You divorced him and you divorced me too. Now get out. I don't want to see you."
Her eyes turned cold. "Fine. I'll take Billy and leave."
Wilson walked toward the door to Billy's room, blocking his mother's path. "He's my son. He is staying here with me."
She reached around Wilson's body and started to turn the doorknob. "Billy, sweetie! Time to go home!" Inside the room, Mary grabbed Billy and held him tight. She wasn't sure what was going on out there, but whatever was happening she was on Wilson's side. Billy's grandmother was the enemy.
"Mom-" Wilson started.
"Don't use that tone of voice with me! I am still your mother!"
"Only by blood," George muttered from behind her. She turned around, upset that both of her boys had ganged up on her, and then walked out the front door.
Mary walked out of the room and looked at George. "Switch?" she asked as she motioned with her head to Billy's room. He nodded and walked inside.
Wilson wrapped his arms tightly around Mary and held her as close as he could get her. "I love you," he whispered over and over again as he rested his head on top of Mary's.
"I love you, too." She leaned against him. "What time is it?"
He rubbed her back. "What is with your obsession with time?"
"I'm a busy woman."
He smiled. "I see." Mary grinned widely. He was back. "So, where are you going? Do you have a hot date or something?"
"Not quite." Her smile slightly faded. "I have radiation this afternoon."
Wilson's shoulders slumped. "What?"
"I'm sorry. I should have told you about it before. It's just that with everything going on…I didn't think you needed something else to cloud your head with."
He kissed the top of her head. "Well, it's a quarter past 4."
"Then I should get going. My appointment in for 4:30."
Wilson brought Mary in closer to his body, not wanting her to leave him just yet. "Do you have to go?" he pleaded with her.
"I'm sorry. I would stay home with you if I could, but I really should go. I need to go." She kissed his neck. Mary hated to leave him when he obviously wanted her to stay, but she needed to continue with her treatments. The last one she had had done was the internal one, and that was a long time ago. Too long, she thought. Mary kissed his lips once passionately and then looked him in the eye. "Bye." If he didn't have some sort of mental breakdown before she go t back home, maybe everything would be all right.
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A/N: This one was definitely longer than the last chapter. Too much dialog though, but it was kind of a necessary evil for this. I think it turned out almost fairly decent, though. Not the best and not the worst.
Next chapter will be everything post radiation. Yeah…no clues this time. Evil, I know.
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Reviews are the mental breakdown antidote.
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