Chapter 13; Harold von Gikkingken
The phone rang, eliciting a groan from Humbert – it was always his mother.
She was either going to tell him that she was coming over, or ask how the date went with the last girl. Since she had already called about his date, she would be telling him to expect her on such-and-such a day.
He was tempted to just let it ring, but he was home all day, and it would just keep ringing. It was better to get it over with, especially since Haru was giving the noisome thing a dirty look.
"Hello?" he said, picking up the receiver. It might not be his mother, it might be a tele-marketer, it might be work asking him to come in for some over-time, and if he was really lucky it would be a prank call.
"Humbert, it's your father," said the voice on the other end.
"Dad?" Humbert said, surprised. He'd hardly seen his father since he moved out – the old man dropped into the 'shop sometimes, wanting a part for the vintage auto in the garage, and they'd chat a bit then, but that was at work.
"Your one and only," answered Harold, his deep, mellow voice crackling over the phone line. "Son, you need to come over. I'm sorry for the short notice, but it's an emergency."
"What's up Dad? Should I bring my tool kit?" Emergencies with his father were often just a need for an extra pair of hands to help with the old car, because he didn't have four arms of his own.
"No son," Harold's voice said. There was something sad, tired and sagging about the tone, even through the distortion. "Your mother just had a heart attack."
"I'm coming Dad, see you soon," Humbert said, hanging up. As intimidated by his mother as he was, the young man was still very attached to having her around. The idea that she might be dead was terrifying. He'd never known a world without that was completely without her.
Haru padded up to him, what might have been a question on her face.
"Mum's had a heart attack," he told her. The cat stopped, her brown eyes wide. "Dad wants me. I'll be back in time for dinner," Humbert promised, throwing a jacket on over his white tee.
Haru nodded and, after she'd twined about his legs for a second, ran up the stairs to sit and wait, a perfect view of the front door available to her from there.
"Humbert!" Harold exclaimed, taking his boy into a desperate hug. The old man's world had been rocked too, and he found refuge in his eldest child and only son.
"Dad," Humbert said, wrapping his arms around the old man. He looked older than Humbert remembered; there were grey hairs mixed in with the orange ones, more wrinkles and his blue eyes were red rimmed.
"The docs say she's alive, but that she probably won't last the night," Harold explained, leading his boy into the house. "They took her to the hospital just after I called you. Son, I hope she doesn't last the night, I can't bear to see her like that," the old man confessed in the hallway, tears in his eyes, as if he were admitting to being evil.
In the kitchen, all the men of the family were congregated.
"The womenfolk followed the ambulance, they're going to keep watch or something, I don't know, the guys were all good enough to stay, but a man needs his son at a time like this," Harold said quietly as Humbert followed him into the kitchen.
