The Ruins of Our Lives Chapter 2
Jill's POV
'Mrs. Taylor, the good news is your husband is alive. The bad news is, he is brain dead, and is currently on life support' says Dr. Johnjockamo.
'Oh my God' I say.
'So, what do we do now?' I ask the doctor.
'Well, you and your husband's family members need to talk it out, then have the power of attorney your husband appointed sign some documents, depending on what decision the family makes' Dr. Johnjockamo states morbidly.
'Okay. Umm… well, umm… once we reach our decision, how do we contact you?' I ask, trying to remember how to even talk.
'Just give this number a call' he says, handing me a card
'One of the receptionists will take the message, and contact me when I get back. If I'm here and available, then I'll come to the phone' Dr. Johnjockamo explains.
'Okay, I'll be sure to do that' I say, on the verge of tears.
Well, who do I call? Tim's mom, obviously, his brothers, I have to consult with the boys, they need to at least be able to voice their opinions.
Okay, just calm down, and think rationally.
I'll call his mom first, then I'll call each of his brothers.
But first, I have to tell the boys. Oh God, how do I tell them?
I guess I'll just be straightforward with them. I mean, I don't guess there's any beating around the bush on this topic.
'Hey, Randy, where's Brad and Mark at?' I ask.
'They're trying to steal a Snickers bar from the vending machine' Randy says in his voice he always uses when he jokes around.
'Well, go get them' I order.
Now I see Heidi walking over to me.
'How is he Jill?' she asks.
'He…he…he's brain dead' I say, sobbing.
'Oh my God, Jill, I'm so sorry' she says for the second time today.
'Oh, good, boys. I need to talk to you about your dad' I say.
I can tell Randy has already figured out something's up, Mark looks so innocently clueless, and Brad just looks clueless.
'Your father is alive, but he is brain dead' I say.
Randy's POV
I am completely shocked when I hear that he's brain dead.
I fight the urge to say "well duh, I always knew that", seeing as how Mark would probably strangle me.
It's just unbelievable that anything this bad could happen. I mean, he's been through roofs, explosions, and crashes, but never anything this serious.
I guess we're just lucky that this never happened before now.
But what's up with the roof collapsing? I mean, the set Tool Time is on is only about 10 years old, and just had an inspection this June.
Flukes happen, but still.
Before I found out the news, I know how mom and dad and Brad and Mark felt last spring when there was a possibility that I had cancer. You just wish that you could have that person's injury or illness for them, even though it isn't possible.
It doesn't bother me as much when I get hurt or sick, because then at least it isn't someone else physically suffering. The only thing that bothers me then is the fact that everyone else worries about me. I just hate to know that I'm causing other people grief or problems.
This just all seems so impossible. I can't even begin to imagine life without having my dad.
I mean, sure, he got on my nerves a lot with some of the things he did. But I'm still not going to be dancing on his grave.
Mark's POV
How can this even happen? Dad can't be dead yet.
Sure he's only brain dead, but he'll still never be able to be Tim 'the Toolman' Taylor again. He'll never get to work on the hotrod, or take me to the air show, or just sit in the living room and read the paper, or go out and talk to Wilson, or go out for pizza and come back with Polish food from Stan's, or do anything that he ever did.
It just doesn't seem fair. He's survived major explosions, he's gone through two or three roofs, and he's set fire to himself three times in the past month, then something he didn't even cause, some slight structural screw up, gets him?
Ugh. Just pinch me. Tell me it's all a bad dream. I just want to wake up now, and just be able to go down the hall and see dad lying in bed, and hear him snoring.
But I know that that'll never happen again, at least not in this lifetime.
Brad's POV
This is a real eye opener.
To think my dad can survive explosions and fires and anything else he may have ever screwed up, and then some stupid roof collapsing kills him.
I can tell Randy's keeping his mouth shut on purpose, because he knows that if he starts talking, a joke will slip out, and that's the last thing anyone needs or wants to hear. He knows Mark especially would cream him for a joke now.
I understand that Randy's way of coping with stress or problems or just about anything else in life, but it's as annoying as hell to the rest of us who have some actual emotions.
No, no, that didn't sound right, it sounds like I'm saying my brother is an emotionless jerk, which he isn't. Except for about 5 percent of the time, then he's obnoxious to be around.
No, if that's his way of handling stress, and his way of dealing with the loss of a loved one, then so be it. Who am I to criticize?
A/N: I hope this chapter was good; I had a real hard time writing it from about the fourth paragraph on.
I'm not really sure what should be next in the story, so if you have ideas, please submit them. For the love of God, submit them to me! Just send me a PM containing the ideas.
So, anyways, please R&R if you want more of this story.
-Your truly, Randy Taylor