I have to let you all know that I am really grateful for everyone who's reading the story and especially those giving me feedback. Some are doing reviews, some are sending me personal messages and I just am really humbled and appreciative of everybody who took the time to read and everyone who has taken the time to reach out and let me know how you feel about this work. If I could bake all of you toffee bars and brew you some vanilla chai tea, I'd do it and smother each of you with hugs. Love y'all!
On another note, there are several things that I kinda mention and skim past, but I promise that it is my intention to either go into detail of these things later in this story (which is turning out to be longer than I initially planned) or doing side pieces, through one shots or drabbles.
7. The Dead
It pleased Sam to not have to deal with Sammie this morning. It was the weekend and the nurse would be off, so he knew that his granddaughter would drag her poor boy to the house, even though there were no kids, his age, to entertain him. When Sam woke up, he found that Mercedes was no longer asleep on him, but he found her cuddled beneath the covers in the bedroom. They had slept on the lucky chair, because it honestly did not hurt him as much as the bed. He guessed that his lovely wife needed her big comfty space. He went into the kitchen to see if there was something that he could whip together for breakfast, but his hands were hurting – the arthritis, so he was just going to tough it out until Mercedes woke up, then see if she wanted to walk to the little diner right outside of their gated community. Sometimes, they walked there for breakfast.
He went through their home, which Mercedes and her old friend, Kurt had mostly decorated together. Kurt passed away a couple of years back, which broke Mercedes' heart so badly that she made him a little tribute section of the photo shelf… photos of his wedding to Blaine Anderson, the two couples at a Christian-based gay rights rally, photos of Blaine and Kurt's children (one, a boy which Mercedes carried after artificial insemination with Kurt, another, a girl Kurt's sister-in-law, Rachel carried, from Blaine's sperm, and their adopted gay son, who they took in after his parents rejected him for who he was), and even a framed copy of the program from Kurt's elaborately fabulous funeral. Sam smiled sadly as he picked up the frame. The only man that he could actually comfortably share Mercedes with…
When you got to be a certain age, all of the people that you knew began to die off – both family and friends. Sam no longer had living parents. His younger brother, Stevie, passed before him, which seemed unfair to Sam, but was of course, out of his control. Out of all of their old Glee Club friends, they had already lost Santana, Artie, Finn (young), Rachel, Sugar, Rory, Brittany, and Kurt. Besides that, Quinn was seriously ill, battling with her health back and forth, for the past few years (but seemingly getting worse, recently. Mike and Tina were surprisingly in wonderful health, despite their age, but he did not have the chance to see them much. He presumed that they probably were somewhere happy as hell, enjoying their last years loving each other without interruption.
Sam and Puck still got together from time to time, and Blaine stopped in, sometimes with the son that Mercedes carried and spent weekends with them, in between their travels. Joe and Sam were actually quite close, but Joe was currently overseas on some mission work. He was Pastor at one of the biggest churches in the country and frequently set up missions and outreach opportunities.
There were photos of all of their deceased friends on this particular photo display, but Sam startled when he saw a picture of Mercy on the end. He picked it up. It had been taken probably less than a year before, at a celebration of surrogate mothers. His eyebrows furrowed and he collected the photo from the shelf with shaky hands. He studied it, hard and tried to remember ever putting it there. Mercy certainly would not have accidentally… Sammie. He laughed, relieved and shook his head. Obviously their granddaughter did not realize that this was the death tribute display.
He carried the photo along with him to see if Mercedes had finally woken up and saw that the bed was now empty. He placed her photo on the nightstand and peeked into the bathroom to see her dressing herself. "Oh, trying to sneak a peek, eh?" she teased.
"I don't have to sneak anything, woman – all that's my stuff, already," he answered and walked in to give her a good morning kiss. "I was thinking that we could walk down to the diner and get some breakfast. You up for it?"
"Yes," she said with one nod.
"Good. Let's try to make it before Sammie gets here and tries to control everything that I do," he suggested with a serious face. Mercedes' countenance changed, now. He stared curiously at her and she simply continued dressing, without speaking her concerns. "Mercy, are you alright, Baby?"
She brushed her hair up into a ponytail. The walk would ruin any curls that she tried to put into it anyway. "I used to be her favorite person in the world. Now, she can't even stand to waste her time to acknowledge me. Does she think that I meant to let you slip in the tub?"
"If she did think that, she would be an idiot. I think that since the slip, she's afraid that you can't help me with something if I get pains or lose my balance again," he offered, thoughtfully. "She's just worried about me, because I'm the one that's been in and out of the hospital. You're hardly ever sick. That's a good thing… Means that you'll outlive me. I sure don't want to try to figure out how to live without you here."
"When did the 'no morbid thoughts about a dire future' rule get thrown out?" She asked, looking at him with a serious and annoyed glare.
He laughed and said, "I guess it was on my mind because I was looking at the photos on the dedication display. Sammie accidentally put a photo of you there." He waved a hand and said, "To be honest, I couldn't even remember its rightful place, myself. I just put it on my nightstand – it's full of pictures of you, anyway."
"She put my photo on with our dead loved ones? That's an odd mistake, Sam. She knows that everyone pictured there is dead. There are only a few photos of living people on it, and those are only ones taken with dead people."
"Maybe it wasn't even her. Maybe it was the nurse, whose name I never remember. Innocent mistake, Mercy. But, I am gonna talk to Sammie about that attitude, again. I've told her a dozen times to stop ignoring you."
"Just leave it," Mercedes said as she hit the light and rushed out of the room.
"I can't. I made a vow inside my heart a long time ago that as long as I live, you will be respected, or me and somebody was gonna fight."
"Like you are really in any position at your age to be trying to fight anyone, Sam Evans!" She fussed.
"Zaydyn's almost sixty years old and he's still fightin' and even better now than ever," Sam declared.
"First off, Zaydyn's race can live for hundreds of years before their power core burns out and they have to be revived in other vessel. Second, Zaydyn isn't sixty in the comics. He's even older and has been revived several times, already. Third – of course he can fight better, he has a whole team responsible for every move he makes, now. In speaking of which, did you call your son back about the 60th Birthday Celebration?"
Sam tried to think if he could remember speaking to his son about this event, but was coming up blank. "I don't think that I did, but I don't know if I do want to be a part of it. It's like you said all those years ago, when I released it into someone else's hands, the work changed."
"Your son calls it reimagining," she said as they left the house for their walk. She rolled her eyes; then, she reached for his hand and they made their way to the diner.
This was Mercedes' first time in Tennessee. Sam had talked about it, befire and she wanted to visit the place that helped mold the man that she was made to love, but they never had time in their schedules and it wasn't a part of her tour. Project Zayden had branched out. There were other artists interested in coming out with their own comic books and Sam, knowing how hard it could be, began a small printing company to put out their work. Since Mercedes was constantly calling him "crazy" he wanted that in the name, and somewhere along the way came up with Borderline Crazy Comics.
While Zaydyn was under contract with another company, Sam was unable to put out any books involving him under his own label. But, he did quite well with the work coming through his place and eventually, Zaydyn became a part of the Borderline Crazy family. The first free weekend that Sam and Mercedes both had, they high-tailed it out of LA, and refused to go anywhere that people might bother them. "It's a good time for Tennessee," Sam commented when they went to the airport, without any plan, whatsoever.
Now, here they were, renting a cottage and walking the grounds. "This place is really pretty. When I think Tennessee… I'm sorry, but I've never imagined there would be nice places, here." She admitted.
"Well, there are. Now, you see why I want to come back when I'm old and have had all my fun?" He asked and pulled her close to him to snuggle her. "But, staying in the rental house has made me realize something… Even though anywhere that we're together is home to me, I think we should start looking for a house." Her eyes widened as she turned to look at him. "It has to happen, eventually. It's been on my mind. We're going to be together… I want us to just keep growing together, and we are outgrowing that apartment." She smiled and nodded her head. That man could probably talk her into anything. He kissed her on the lips and squeezed her tightly.
Upon returning to California, Sam began searching for their future house. It would be years before they settled down, down while in L.A, he didn't want to keep her in that little apartment any longer than he had to. Her album sales were ferocious and since the tour, her fan base had grown exponentially! She was working on her second album when she found out that she was nominated for not one but three Grammies! In her excitement and the growing volume of interviews, she barely had time to go house hunting with Sam. But, when he had her to himself, he decided to show her the perfect house for them. "What do you think?" He asked with this twinkle in his eyes.
Mercedes smiled, awkwardly and glanced around at the place. They could afford better – but that was besides the point, because this place left much to be desired. She tried not to scrunch her face up as she searched for a polite description of the place, "It has some character," she finally said and looked at him. "You really love this place? I mean, is that a twinkle I see in your eyes?"
Sam looked slightly crestfallen, but he managed to still tell her, "I know that it isn't perfect, but I really think that it's perfect for us." He took her hand and walked around the place with her, talking animatedly, passionately as he shared his opinion of the place, "It tells the story of this ADORABLE but insecure angel who tried to pretend that she was the diva that she knew was inside of her and this homeless kid who thought that he had nothing to offer anyone and was scared to ask for anything, because of that. How they came together, thinking that they liked each other and found out that they were wrong."
He stopped in a room that she realized was starting to look more like a room that she could turn into the perfect family room, and even began mapping out where her furniture and decoration would work in it, as Sam wrapped his hands around her waist and stared at her, still talking, "Turns out that they loved each other; then, that turned out wrong too. They actually found that they loved each other more than anything. And since we got together, all we've been doing is building up each other and building up ourselves for each other, at the same time, together. We knew neither of us was perfect, but we worked as a unit to try to be perfect for each other, and we still work on that right now, and we build on it – just like we could build on this place. That's what this house represents to me… something that we can work on together and make our home."
Mercedes could see them placing their contracts on this mantle, and coming in after a long day to see Sam diligently working, seated on his lucky chair in this room. He looks up at her and his face brightens to see her as he rushes to scoop her off of her feet as his wife and love and to kiss her… "Is that a twinkle that I see in your eyes?" Sam asked and she looked out of her daze to see him smiling at her with great expectation.
"I see exactly what you mean," she said and nodded her head. "This is the house, Sam. It's perfect for us!" Then, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tightly. "You really ought to write more. You are a wonderful storyteller, Sam Evans."
Sam did not understand the fuss when he looked to see all five of his and Mercedes' children at the house with Sammie, when he got back. "What's this? Is there a party?" He thought really hard and asked, "Is it Zadyn's Birthday Celebration?" Sammie rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck, in tears. "I could have sworn that's supposed to be in Los Angeles," he mumbled, to himself.
"Grandpa, what are you doing leaving the house without telling anyone?" She fussed through her tears. "I called you so many times!"
Marvel warned, "Sammie. Calm down, or you might scare him. Go and make Dad some tea, please?" He had his arms folded, with stress lines all over his face, but his eyes were gentle. When Sammie disappeared into the kitchen with her mother right behind her, Marvel asked, "So, Dad – where were you today?"
"We walked to the diner to have breakfast. My pelvis was bothering me, so we stayed at the diner a while, laughing and talking. "It's great to see all of you together. Had I known that it took a death scare, I'd be rushing off, all the time," Sam said bitterly and folded his arms. Mercedes stood next to him, waiting to be acknowledged. Once again, she wasn;t and that just pissed Sam off even further than his childrenacting like he was a small child."
"Well, Dad, it's like Sammie said – we tried to contact you. She called, I called, everyone here called and none of us got an answer to know that you were okay. That would've been the right thing to do. When you never answered, we feared the worse," Marvel offered, calmly.
But, Sam was not here for this, today. He had just had an amazing morning with his wife – and here it was – the inevitable interruption! Why the hell couldn't these kids just leave him the hell alone, like they did when he and Mercedes began to age and found it harder to come to visit each of them? Why couldn't they just treat him the same way they were treating her, like he was already gone. "Ugh, Mercedes, deal with your children. I can't with them when they get like this." Mercedes opened her mouth to try to speak, but, the oldest of their daughters (their third child, Whitney), interrupted.
"Daddy, we're talking to you, right now. You are the one wandering off, knowing full well that you have a condition. What if you had gotten stranded? You weren't answering your phone. How could we know that things were fine?" She asked, looking almost just like her mother, except she was slightly taller, a shade lighter and lean. Her dark, hair was straightened and fell past her shoulders in a loose, silky bob, and her chestnut eyes were bloodshot from crying with worry.
"What the hell are any of you even doing in Tennessee?" Sam asked, his head beginning to hurt just from having to deal with this foolishness. "We just want to be happy as we grow old together and all of you are just…" He held the side of his head.
Now, his second born (his son), Dorian, the current owner of all things Zadyn (business-wise), spoke up, "Everyone should just be glad that Pops is safe and home." He wrapped an arm around his father's shoulders and led him to the couch, "Come on, Old Man. I haven't seen you in months and it's been a few days since we talked. Have you been getting ready for Zadyn's 60th Birthday Celebration? It's almost here." Dorian's head of wild black curls glistened at all times and his eyes were somewhere between a green and a hazel and liked to change colors on people. He was a golden color, and tall, but stocky. He had some girth on him.
Marvel announced, "I'm going to see how things are going with the tea," and retreated into the kitchen. Whitney followed, without any speech, but slammed her palms against the kitchen door to shove it open. The two youngest of the siblings, Majesty (the fourth born) and the youngest, Wagner, looked at each other and decided to just stay in the room.
"You've said a lot of words, but haven't explained why you're all in Tennessee," Sam said.
"It's been brought to our attention that it isn't exactly fair for Marvel's daughter to be solely responsible for you," Dorian answered.
"Dorian Creed…" Mercedes practically hissed the name out as she glared at him, ready to give him a piece of her mind. He certainly wasn't concerned about Sam's welfare when he was snatching his life's work from his grasp!
Sam patted her leg and said, "Dorian, no one has to be responsible for me. I'm fine. Mercedes and I have never been better. I mean, the worst thing that I have going on, aside from my shakes is arthritis."
Mercedes got up from the couch and said, "I'll be in the bedroom."
Sam's eyes dampened at her retreating back and Dorian looked towards her, then back at his father. "What's up, Pops?"
"All of you are here, waiting for me to die and upsetting your mother!" He fussed, then pulled himself up and followed her out of the room. "I'm going into my bedroom. Let a man and his wife have some privacy. Do not bother us."
Dorian said with a shrug, "When you're ready to see us, we'll be here, waiting, Pops." Sam left without another word.
Dorian Creed Evans and his mother fell out a few years prior, when Dorian forcibly pushed Sam out of his place at Borderline Crazy Comics – Sam's company. While their son insisted it was best for Sam and the company that he be removed, the matter in which it was done enraged her and began a war between the two of them that she never thought that she would ever have with one of her children. While he claimed to love her and his father dearly, and did make sure that Sam still received a fortune in royalties, he changed everything about the company and most importantly, about Zaydyn.
During Dorian's reign, the character went through a series of evil, starting with the issue Dark Zaydyn, in which Zadyn becomes so enraged at the enslavement of the Xetygeron on his current Earth that he turns against Earth and decides to become a freedom fighter for his own people… That wasn't the problem. It was debatably out of character for him, but to ensure to his people that he was serious about the issue, he killed the one human that he had protected for decades, the love of his life, his best friend and partner, Madison… the Mercedes character.
Mercedes took it as a personal attack on his feelings for her and found it hard to deal with him every since. But, Dorian remained as pleasant as he could with her. Little did he know – she would have forgiven him all day long, every day, even if he had abused her with his own hands… but turning on Sam, that, she could not forgive and would not let go of.
"He's just so smug with his curly hair and his 'I will forever be just some comic book nerd' look and attitude!" Mercedes said.
"He still loves you," Sam offered and sat next to her as she lied on the bed.
"And I will always love him. I would give my life for his happiness. But, I don't like him, Sam. We raised him better than that, but he bought into the L.A. culture and he betrayed you." She sniffled and asked, "Did they leave?"
"They claim that they aren't leaving."
"Why are they in Tennessee?" She asked.
"I think that there's something happening that they don't want me to know about." He shrugged his shoulders and laid down.
"So, I guess he won't be coming with us?" Whitney asked as she came out of the kitchen, followed by Sammie with a couple of mugs of tea on a platter and a few cookies. Sammie glanced around, then went directly to Sam's room, presuming that's where he had gone.
Marvel said, "I didn't expect him to. What I expect is for all of you to just understand that and leave him alone about it. And, let me reiterate that no one is to tell him that she is not there."
"Marvel, this is dangerous!" Whitney complained. "He fell in the tub because he thought she had his hands. He injured his pelvis because he thought she was there… er… with him. What if he would've thought that she was going to be hit by a car during that walk and gotten himself killed?"
"Then, they'd be back together, for real!" Marvel snapped. Then, he covered his mouth with both hands, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that… but Dad is really lonely. Most of his best friends are all gone and his closest friend died beside him." He sat on the arm of the couch and said, "Sammie will stay here with him while we go. But, during our worry time, we totally forgot what our reason to be here was supposed to be."
Dorian looked at his phone and said, "Aunt Stacey's Ranch Carnival. Maybe Pops will be up to it, later. Hopefully, since the entire reason Kelsey even put it on was to cover for us this weekend."
"They love carnivals. Reminds them of when they first fell in love," Whitney said, sadly. "The rest of you ready to go?" The five of them went on their way as Marvel texted Sammie to let her know.
Headed to the gravesite for Mom's birthday… See you when we get back to the house.