SMACK!
SMACK!
"Ow!" my brother muttered finally coming out of his fainting spell. "Cut it out Athena!"
"You deserved that. I swear, you'd faint at a baby's birth, in fact, you DID faint at a baby's birth!" I said, referring to the time he fainted in the delivery room when his son, Tim was born a five years ago. Geez. And men say WE'RE prone to fainting most of the time?
"You try being in a delivery room and see how it feels," he muttered starting to sit up and clear his head. He had this confused look on his face as if trying to remember how he ended up passing up in the first place. Then we both heard a chuckle behind us and turned around to see my dad with a smile on his face.
"Martha nearly broke my hand when you were born," my Dad said.
I looked at my brother. A mixture of anger, fear, hope and I don't know what else danced across his face as though he didn't know what else to do. He got up off the one of the couches we'd laid him and Mom on after they passed out at the front door and went to our Dad, who stood up also. They seemed to stare at each other for a few minutes before Oje embraced Dad. I thought I saw my brother beginning to cry also.
"How?" Oje sniffled.
"I think that should wait for your Mom to wake up," Uncle Bret said. As soon as he said that my Mom started stirring.
"Oooooooooooh, what happened," My Mom said sitting up with Uncle Bret's assistance. "Bret, what's going on, the last thing I remember was," then she turned around and saw Dad and Oje hugging.
"O - Owen?" Mom said. I hoped she didn't faint again.
"Hey, honey," Dad said, going over to sit down next to my Mom.
Mom reached out to touch his face, almost tentative in doing it, her fingers shaking. As her hand lightly touched Dad's cheek, she suddenly swung her arms around him in a tight hug.
"You're here," Mom said sobbing, I can't remember the last time I saw either my Mom or my brother cry.
"Shh, yeah, I'm here," Dad said soothing her.
Uncle Bret gave me a look. "Um, me and Uncle Bret are going to get some drinks from the kitchen, we'll be back in a few minutes," I spoke up, both me and Uncle Bret figuring it would be best to leave Mom, Oje, and Dad to their own private reunion before we told everything.
We went into the kitchen to get some water bottles out of the fridge. It was far enough away to where we weren't disturbing anything but close enough to where we could come back in just in case a blowup happened or something. As much as that had been my fear, somehow I get the gut feeling that's not going to happen now. We sat down at the kitchen table.
"I think I understand now," I said.
"Understand what Athey?" Uncle Bret said.
"While Oje backed Mom up with such vehemence that night I told them about my training. I didn't understand why he said what he said, but over the last few weeks, especially with you and Dad and everything, I realize he wanted to protect me. He didn't want me getting hurt. Like you don't want any of the rest of the family to get hurt." I answered.
"Yeah," Uncle Bret snorted. "Some big brother I was."
"Uncle Bret - " I began.
"I'm his older brother Athena," Uncle Bret interrupted me softly, explaining. "I was supposed to watch out for him. But I couldn't even keep my youngest brother and his family from being hurt by Vince. I spent fourteen years wondering what would've happened if I'd stayed. If I hadn't gone to work for Eric, maybe Owen wouldn't have gotten killed. Now I wonder if I'd stayed if maybe I could've prevented Owen from being away from his family for so long."
I was quiet for a moment not knowing what to say.
"Ever think that maybe if you'd stayed, maybe you'd been the one that Vince would've killed and not the other way around?" I said in just as soft a voice, "Then who would've protected the family?"
"I spent a lot of dark nights, during those early years after your Dad's 'death' thinking that it should've been me." Uncle Bret admitted.
"Talk to Dad about this?" I asked.
"No, I don't think he needed me heaping my guilt on him,"
"Maybe you should talk to him. It might help," I said.
Uncle Bret nodded. There was really nothing else that neither of us could say at the moment so we went back into the living room, and finally explained things. Mom and Oje went from angry to horrified to happy to all sorts of different feelings. Me, Dad, and Uncle Bret wisely decided now was NOT the best time to bring up me putting Stephanie Helmsley in the Sharpshooter. It'll probably come up soon seeing as it'll probably be brought up at trial, if I'm called up on the stand, but for now, Mom and Oje really didn't need to know. Neither one was happy that Dad was kept from them for 14 years, but I think both were just so happy he was home that I don't think it occurred to either of them to get mad at Dad for it. We did tell them about Chris Benoit as we felt it was only fair seeing as what happened the night before with Ellie, Lance Storm, Diana, and Raven.
It was around 6 when everything was finally out in the open. Oje was going back to his house to explain things to Melody, with plans to bring Tim over tomorrow morning to meet his Grandpa (Dad had this goofy grin on his face at that), Me and Uncle Bret were going back to his and Aunt Julie's house. Mom wanted Dad to stay over with her in her - THEIR house. Mom made it clear that she didn't want my Dad out of her sight for awhile.
When Uncle Bret and me got back to his house, Danny called, crying. Apparently his reunion was everything I feared mine would be and then some. By the time we'd hung up I felt incredibly guilty and like crying at the same time.
How could one reunion go so incredibly wonderful and the other go so incredibly disastrous?
I didn't get much sleep that night.
That wasn't so bad? :-D One Atlanta chapter then we'll head back up to Canada for 79.
SMACK!
"Ow!" my brother muttered finally coming out of his fainting spell. "Cut it out Athena!"
"You deserved that. I swear, you'd faint at a baby's birth, in fact, you DID faint at a baby's birth!" I said, referring to the time he fainted in the delivery room when his son, Tim was born a five years ago. Geez. And men say WE'RE prone to fainting most of the time?
"You try being in a delivery room and see how it feels," he muttered starting to sit up and clear his head. He had this confused look on his face as if trying to remember how he ended up passing up in the first place. Then we both heard a chuckle behind us and turned around to see my dad with a smile on his face.
"Martha nearly broke my hand when you were born," my Dad said.
I looked at my brother. A mixture of anger, fear, hope and I don't know what else danced across his face as though he didn't know what else to do. He got up off the one of the couches we'd laid him and Mom on after they passed out at the front door and went to our Dad, who stood up also. They seemed to stare at each other for a few minutes before Oje embraced Dad. I thought I saw my brother beginning to cry also.
"How?" Oje sniffled.
"I think that should wait for your Mom to wake up," Uncle Bret said. As soon as he said that my Mom started stirring.
"Oooooooooooh, what happened," My Mom said sitting up with Uncle Bret's assistance. "Bret, what's going on, the last thing I remember was," then she turned around and saw Dad and Oje hugging.
"O - Owen?" Mom said. I hoped she didn't faint again.
"Hey, honey," Dad said, going over to sit down next to my Mom.
Mom reached out to touch his face, almost tentative in doing it, her fingers shaking. As her hand lightly touched Dad's cheek, she suddenly swung her arms around him in a tight hug.
"You're here," Mom said sobbing, I can't remember the last time I saw either my Mom or my brother cry.
"Shh, yeah, I'm here," Dad said soothing her.
Uncle Bret gave me a look. "Um, me and Uncle Bret are going to get some drinks from the kitchen, we'll be back in a few minutes," I spoke up, both me and Uncle Bret figuring it would be best to leave Mom, Oje, and Dad to their own private reunion before we told everything.
We went into the kitchen to get some water bottles out of the fridge. It was far enough away to where we weren't disturbing anything but close enough to where we could come back in just in case a blowup happened or something. As much as that had been my fear, somehow I get the gut feeling that's not going to happen now. We sat down at the kitchen table.
"I think I understand now," I said.
"Understand what Athey?" Uncle Bret said.
"While Oje backed Mom up with such vehemence that night I told them about my training. I didn't understand why he said what he said, but over the last few weeks, especially with you and Dad and everything, I realize he wanted to protect me. He didn't want me getting hurt. Like you don't want any of the rest of the family to get hurt." I answered.
"Yeah," Uncle Bret snorted. "Some big brother I was."
"Uncle Bret - " I began.
"I'm his older brother Athena," Uncle Bret interrupted me softly, explaining. "I was supposed to watch out for him. But I couldn't even keep my youngest brother and his family from being hurt by Vince. I spent fourteen years wondering what would've happened if I'd stayed. If I hadn't gone to work for Eric, maybe Owen wouldn't have gotten killed. Now I wonder if I'd stayed if maybe I could've prevented Owen from being away from his family for so long."
I was quiet for a moment not knowing what to say.
"Ever think that maybe if you'd stayed, maybe you'd been the one that Vince would've killed and not the other way around?" I said in just as soft a voice, "Then who would've protected the family?"
"I spent a lot of dark nights, during those early years after your Dad's 'death' thinking that it should've been me." Uncle Bret admitted.
"Talk to Dad about this?" I asked.
"No, I don't think he needed me heaping my guilt on him,"
"Maybe you should talk to him. It might help," I said.
Uncle Bret nodded. There was really nothing else that neither of us could say at the moment so we went back into the living room, and finally explained things. Mom and Oje went from angry to horrified to happy to all sorts of different feelings. Me, Dad, and Uncle Bret wisely decided now was NOT the best time to bring up me putting Stephanie Helmsley in the Sharpshooter. It'll probably come up soon seeing as it'll probably be brought up at trial, if I'm called up on the stand, but for now, Mom and Oje really didn't need to know. Neither one was happy that Dad was kept from them for 14 years, but I think both were just so happy he was home that I don't think it occurred to either of them to get mad at Dad for it. We did tell them about Chris Benoit as we felt it was only fair seeing as what happened the night before with Ellie, Lance Storm, Diana, and Raven.
It was around 6 when everything was finally out in the open. Oje was going back to his house to explain things to Melody, with plans to bring Tim over tomorrow morning to meet his Grandpa (Dad had this goofy grin on his face at that), Me and Uncle Bret were going back to his and Aunt Julie's house. Mom wanted Dad to stay over with her in her - THEIR house. Mom made it clear that she didn't want my Dad out of her sight for awhile.
When Uncle Bret and me got back to his house, Danny called, crying. Apparently his reunion was everything I feared mine would be and then some. By the time we'd hung up I felt incredibly guilty and like crying at the same time.
How could one reunion go so incredibly wonderful and the other go so incredibly disastrous?
I didn't get much sleep that night.
That wasn't so bad? :-D One Atlanta chapter then we'll head back up to Canada for 79.