A/N Thank you TWBasketcase, DarkoBender, Jenifer, santafelover and everyone else who reviewed the last chapter. That one and this one are setting things up to come so bear with me a bit. Next up Andy and Allison.
It had been a long day. I went for a run, almost got hit by Claire, had coffee with her, and went home. Then I fell asleep, the door bell rang, I opened the door and found Allison standing there and she pretended not to know me. Then I went and saw Claire, and saw Bender. I'm not sure if it was a good day or not, but it was exhausting. After the day I had I was surprised to come back home and see a familiar Ford Escort in the drive. Jeff was there.
It made me angry that now Jeff comes. He was there at the funeral but he and his family left immediately afterward. He came by the hospital once and he lived closer to the family than I did yet I dropped everything to be there for mom. I know he has his wife and sons Mark and Jake but since he was dad's favorite you think he would have right there. "Mom, I'm home." I called as I entered and hung my jacket on the coat tree near the door.
"Uncle Andy, Uncle Andy," called the boys as they ran into the living room and threw themselves at me each attaching to one of my legs.
"Hey guys, what are you up to?"
"We're bored," whined Mark who was the oldest.
"Yeah bored. Will you play with us?"
"Sure just give me a second to say 'hi' to Grandma and your parents and we can play Candyland." Mom kept a couple of our old board games that Jeff and I had as children. They came in handy when the boys were over. "Where are they?"
"They are in Grandpa's office," said Jake.
"They don't want to be disturbed."
"I don't think they will mind just for a minute." I reached up and took the game down off the top of the china cabinet and handed it to Mark. "You guys set it up and I'll be right back. No cheating and stacking the cards." They looked at me innocently as if they would never do that but I knew the two often tried cheating at games even though they were basically good kids. I headed back towards dad's old office. It was more like a TV room but he did balance the books for the hardware store in there too. The door was closed and as I reached to knock I heard Jeff say, "But you know it will be easier in the long run."
"Jeff, I'm only two years away from turning sixty and while you mean well I am happy right where I am."
"But Mother," said Elaine in her patronizing way. "You will be with people and not cooped up here in this big stuffy old house."
"I don't want to sell it."
"You wouldn't have to, Ma. Elaine and I could live here and take care of it."
I couldn't believe that they would stoop so low. Like Mom told them she was fifty eight and she was strong and healthy, way too young to be put in a home or wherever they wanted her to go to. Then to try to take the house like that, it was too much. "So why would you and Elaine need to take care of the house," I asked opening the door. Jeff looked sheepishly at the floor but Elaine didn't back down.
"Andrew, it's much too big for your mother to go on living in alone so we thought that she might enjoy living in a senior residence better."
I looked a Jeff and he didn't meet my eyes. "Maybe, Elaine, you should give her a chance to live here alone before you pass judgment on her ability to do so. It's been a week; I've been with her the whole time."
"Well who will take care of her when you are not here; Andrew? We certainly can't drive out here from the south 'burbs everyday."
"She doesn't need someone here everyday. Do you, Mom?"
"I…" she began but Jeff jumped in and cut her off.
"Who the hell do you think you are, Andy? Think you are something now you are a hot shot lawyer? Where have you been? You quit coming home and now you think you have a right to tell us how to take care of Ma? I don't think so."
"Who the hell do I think I am? I think I'm the son who is actually concerned for her well being and not the one who is trying to steal her house out from under her." Jeff always had a short fuse. He pulled back to hit me and as he threw the punch I grabbed him. It had been awhile since I wrestled but I still knew how. As I began my take down he purposely went for my knee. Luckily I saw it coming and adjusted. He hit the floor. I held him there. "Now if you want to talk about this without getting violent we can do that. I'll let you up. But if you just want to attack again. I'll hold you here longer. It's your choice."
He didn't say anything. Elaine however piped up, "He will behave. Let him up, Andrew."
I let him up and he brushed himself off and I heard her say something to him in a low voice about me being a barbarian. I never knew what he saw in her. "Maybe Mother and I should go into the kitchen while you boys discuss this," she said.
I was about to protest when Mom said, "That is a good idea." It made me mad that she didn't seem to want to decide what to do with her own life but rather leave it to us, her sons to do. Then I thought about it again and it came to me that it wasn't really that surprising. Dad had made all the decisions with little or no input from her. He rarely asked for her opinion at all.
"So Andrew man to man what do you want?"
I didn't understand the question at first. "What do you mean what do I want?"
"You want the house?"
"No, I don't want the house. I want our mother to have the house. She worked as a slave in it for the last 30 years .She is entitled to it."
"She doesn't need it. Elaine and I do. The boys could use a big yard to play in."
"What happened to your place?"
"Our apartment in Blue Island? It looks like I'll be losing my job and won't be able to afford it."
"And you think Mom will be able to afford a senior residence?"
"We will pay for it."
"Let me get this straight. You are being laid off so you can't afford your apartment. You want mom to give you her house and move into an old folk's home and you can afford that?" He nodded. "Just where are you putting her the cheapest place possible?" He said nothing but the guilty expression on his face said it all. "If you tell me you signed any documents committing her to that place I will first beat the crap out of you and second get a court order against you."
He was pretty okay until I said the words "court order". "You little prick! You ignored mom for years. Didn't come to see her because you thought Dad was too hard on you and now you are playing the good son. Well fuck you! You just try for a court order. What we are doing is in Ma's best interest because we care about her and trying to help her out in a way that will also help us" I didn't say anything I just glared at him. "You know, Andy, dad was right. You have no sense of family."
"Why because I'm not controlling? Then again in your family it looks like Elaine is the one who has you by the balls," I replied doing my best not to raise my voice and upset Mom. He stormed out of the office and headed to the kitchen where Mom, Elaine and the boys were playing Candyland.
"That's it grab your jackets. We're out of here."
"What happened," asked Elaine? He didn't answer her just grabbed the boys' coats off the hooks and handed them to her.
"Dad, we don't wanna go yet .We're playing a game with Grandma," they whined. He shot them a look that said, "Be quiet" and they were. Elaine helped them in to their coats and they left without a word to either me or Mom. Exhausted I sat on the chair next to her and put my head on the table. She stroked my hair without saying a word.
I woke the next morning still sitting in the chair. My back and neck were stiff from the uncomfortable position. I stood and my spine popped back into alignment. In the quite of the kitchen it sounded like popcorn. "Damn," I quietly exclaimed and started up a pot of coffee. Wondering what time it was I looked at the microwave. It read 11:30. It was much later than I thought. "I wonder why mom didn't wake me." I thought out loud.
"I didn't wake you because you were so tired I left you where you were," she said walking into the doorway with a box of Dink-E Doughnuts, fresh flowers, and a newspaper. "I thought doughnuts would be a nice breakfast."
"You never let us eat doughnuts."
"No, but I didn't want to make a lot of noise in the kitchen. I like the chocolate coconut ones. Moderation is the key."
"So what better excuse than a sleeping son in your kitchen?"
"Right." We laughed together and it felt good.
We spent the next hour just talking about how the neighborhood had changed while drinking coffee and eating doughnuts. We purposely avoided talking about what happened with Jeff and Elaine, but I knew it would have to be discussed eventually. Then the phone rang. "I'll get it." She said and answered the phone in the hallway. "Hello? Yes, yes he is here. May I tell him who is calling?" I heard that much and moved to stand next to her in the hall. Slipping her hand over the mouthpiece she told me it was Jessica. I took the phone and thanked her. She just smiled.
"Jessi…" I began but was cut off by her angry tirade. Finally I got a chance to speak. "Yes I know I am an ass for not calling. I was going to call last night but things got a little out of control here." I apologized for not letting her know. And she accepted it but was mad that I had shut her out by not telling her about the funeral. We ended the conversation on a melancholy note. I wasn't sure if we were still together or would get back together if we weren't. Only time would tell.