Skyfall

Chapter Forty

Rebecca woke up the next morning and turned around in bed, expecting to see Harvey. But the bed was empty. The clock on the nightstand said it was 7:24 am. She wondered how long ago he got up but pushed the thought out of her mind because that didn't matter in the long run. She quickly got out of bed and changed her clothes.

Then she walked down the hallway to Olivia's room. She opened the door quietly and saw that the girl was still sleeping. So she closed the door. Then she went to Ethan's room and did the same thing. He was still asleep too. So she closed the door quietly and went downstairs.

She searched all of the rooms downstairs for Harvey but couldn't find him. So she opened the back door and saw him sitting on the top step of the deck.

"Hey. I wondered where you went." She told him, sitting next to him and linking her arm with his.

"I couldn't sleep and I didn't want my tossing and turning to wake you up." He told her as he stared into his coffee cup.

"I wouldn't have minded." She kissed him on the cheek. "Did you get any sleep at all?"

"Not really." He shook his head. "Do you want some of my coffee?"

"I'd love some." She smiled, taking the cup when he offered it and enjoying a few sips of it. After a few minutes she handed the cup back to him. "Harvey, I know your head must be spinning right now. Mine is too. But we have some pretty serious things to discuss."

"I know." He nodded. "The kids have to come live with us." He turned to look at her. "It's not even a question. We have to take them in. I'm sorry if that's not what you want…"

"Honestly, the only reason I don't want to do that is because they deserve to be with their parents. But since that isn't a possibility anymore, I agree with you that they have to come live with us. I think we have a responsibility to them to take care of their kids." She explained. "It does present some issues though."

"What kind of issues?" He asked.

"Space for one." She told him. "We need to find a different place to live because there is no way our place can fit that many people."

"You're right." He nodded.

"We also need to enroll them in school." She pointed out.

"Yeah." He groaned.

She could see that his mind was somewhere else. "Don't worry. I'll take care of all of it."

"Thank you."

"We do need to think about how to tell the kids though." She wasn't looking forward to it.

"I know." He sighed. "I'm dreading it."

"Do you think maybe we should split up and tell them individually?" She suggested.

"It might be better that way." He shrugged. "We can be more honest with Ethan if Olivia isn't in the room. I'll tell Olivia. You and my mom can tell Ethan, unless she decides she wants to be with me when I tell Olivia."

"Ok." She nodded. A part of her wanted to tell him about the baby. She thought maybe it might put a smile on his face. But another part of her didn't think this was the right time. As much as she wanted him to know about the life they created, he wasn't in the right head space for news like that.

"Can anyone join this party?" Lily asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah, but it's a pretty crappy party." Harvey told her.

"We were just discussing how to tell the kids. I think we are going to split up. Do you want to be there to tell Olivia with Harvey or Ethan with me?" She asked.

"Olivia." Lily replied. "She will have more questions at first than Ethan. It will be easier if there are two people there. Besides, you have a good relationship with Ethan. He listens to you and you seem to be able to calm him down. Having me there may alter that."

"Ok." She nodded. "When should we tell them?"

"Tell them what?" Ethan asked from the doorway.

All three of them turned to look. Ethan and Olivia were standing in the doorway.

"There is something we need to talk about." She said, getting up from the stairs. "Ethan, do you want to come with me?"

"I guess." He said reluctantly.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go to your room for a moment."

The walk up to his room was silent and she watched as he went to sit on the edge of his bed.

"What's wrong this time?" He sighed.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing good has ever come from the phrase 'there is something we need to talk about'. Every time you guys use it, it means our lives are about to change again. So tell me…what's wrong this time?"

She went over and sat next to him. "I hate that you are getting so jaded. You should be enjoying your childhood…not worrying about what bad thing is going to happen next."

"Aunt Becca, can you just tell me already?"

"Ok." She gave him a small smile. "I'm not exactly sure how to say this, so bear with me. You know that you are loved by a whole lot of people, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well you are right that something new is wrong. And it will change everything again. But you are still loved and you are still going to be taken care of no matter what."

"What's changing this time?" He sighed.

"Unfortunately your dad isn't coming back from rehab like we planned." She told him.

"Is he going to jail instead?" Ethan asked softly.

"No." She shook her head. "Actually, your dad…he…well he died last night."

"No way." Ethan shook his head. "You're lying."

"I really wish I was." She told him. "I wish I was wrong about this. I'm sorry. I know this isn't fair and I know it has got to hurt…"

"You don't know anything!" Ethan yelled. "Stop lying to me about my dad! He can't be dead!"

"Sweetie, I'm sorry. But he is dead." She went to give him a hug but he stood up and walked to the other side of the room.

"No!" Ethan yelled. "He can't be…It's just not fair…I already lost my mom…I can't…can't lose him too." He finally sank to the floor.

She hurried over and embraced him in a tight hug. "I know what it's like to lose your parents. It isn't easy and it hurts. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. But it's going to be ok."

"How?" Ethan scoffed. "We're orphans now."

"Uncle Harvey and I are going to take care of you two." She told him. "I promised you that you would always be taken care of and I'm not about to break that promise now."

"He's really gone?" Ethan's voice cracked and she could tell that he was going to cry any minute.

"Yes." She nodded. "He's really gone."

"How did he die?"

She was worried he would ask that and didn't know just how specific she should get with him. He wasn't a young kid, but he wasn't ready to know everything yet. "Sometimes adults start to feel incredibly overwhelmed by their problems and their issues. And if they aren't careful, it can wear them down to the point where they can't see any other way out…"

"You mean he killed himself?" Ethan yelled.

"Yes, sweetie. I'm sorry." She told him, watching as he got up and started to pace.

"So what you are telling me is that he chose to leave us?" Ethan pointed out, his voice getting louder.

"He had some issues he was dealing with." She explained. "And although he loved you and your sister more than anything in this world, he couldn't get past those issues."

"So he was a coward?" Ethan asked. "My dad was a selfish coward who took the easy way out and left us as orphans. And he obviously didn't love us or else he wouldn't have killed himself. So don't lie to me."

"I know this is an incredibly difficult thing for you to process right now." She told him. "It's natural that you have some anger towards him. I'm not going to try and tell you otherwise because you have to grieve in your own way. But I will say this. I'm not 100% sure what was going through your father's head when he decided to do what he did last night. But I am 100% sure that he loved you and Olivia with his whole heart. Now you can be mad at him all you want. You can be mad at the world. You can even be mad at me for telling you about it if that's what you want and that's how you want to grieve. But please, never doubt that he loved you."

Ethan sat back down on the bed and started to cry, putting his head in his hands.

She rushed over and sat next to him, putting his head on her shoulder and wrapping her arms around him. "I am so sorry Ethan. But we are all going to find a way to get through this. I promise. Everything is going to be just fine."

"Every time you tell me bad news, I find it harder and harder to believe you when you say everything will be fine." He whispered through his tears.

Harvey and his mom sat down on the couch with Olivia between them.

"So we need to talk to you about something." Lily started the conversation.

"What is it?" Olivia asked, smiling at both of them.

"Well, something happened last night." Harvey said. "And it was something that is going to make you sad."

"Ok." Olivia nodded, the smile fading from her face.

"Your father won't be coming home from rehab like we planned." Lily told her.

"Is he staying there longer?" Olivia asked.

"Not quite." Harvey explained. "You see, the thing is he went to go be with your mom."

Olivia looked confused. "But she is in Heaven and once you go to Heaven you can't come back here."

"That's right." Lily nodded.

"So my daddy's not coming back?"

"No." Harvey said. "He isn't."

"Why?"

"He's dead, sweetheart." Lily told her.

"Why is he in Heaven?"

"He missed your mommy very much." Lily explained.

"But what about me?" Olivia asked. "And Ethan? Won't he miss us?"

"I'm sure he will." Lily told her.

"He loved you and your brother more than anything else in this world." Harvey told her.

"Then why did he leave us?" Olivia asked.

"I don't have a good answer for that." Lily replied.

"So what does it all mean?" Olivia asked, looking confused. "Uncle Harvey, are you staying here with us forever?"

"No. Actually it means you and Ethan are going to come live with me and Aunt Becca in New York City." Harvey told her.

"But I want my daddy." Olivia told them, starting to cry.

"I know." Lily gave her a hug. "And I'm sorry."