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CHAPTER 2: THE VISITS
The next morning Chandler was in the kitchen drinking coffee when he saw his father coming down the stairs slowly and walking with some difficulty, she was much thinner and had a pale, almost grayish color to her face.
Chandler got up, walked over, hugged her, and helped her to the table.
Fred told them that he would leave them alone.
After Chandler told his father the news about the grandchildren, Monica, the trip, and showed her photos of all of them that he had brought to leave her, they began to talk about her health.
Helena was quite stoic explaining to Chandler about the progress of the metastasis, the inconvenience of the treatments and the poor prognosis.
Chandler took her hands tightly, and it was inevitable that both of their eyes filled with tears and they ran down their cheeks.
They were silent, absorbing the moment.
Chandler told Helena that he would come to see her every other weekend, and that surely on some trips he would come with Monica, since she loves her very much and wants to keep her company and also cook the dishes that she likes so much.
"Son, that would be wonderful, although I could only try a little, my stomach can't resist much food, but the smell of those exquisite dishes will invade me and that alone will compensate me"
Chandler had seen a wheelchair on one side of the room, the weather outside was warm and sunny, and he asked his father if she wanted them to go for a walk, he knew from other visits that there was a park near the house.
Helena liked the idea, she asked Chandler to get her a cap that was hanging in the kitchen and she put it on, she didn't like being seen with a shaved head.
Chandler helped Helena to sit in the chair and they went for a walk, in the park Helena stayed watching the children playing and climbing on the different games, and after asking Chandler
"Remember when I used to take you to the park near home…?
"Yes, vaguely, I do remember that I liked being rocked as hard as possible…" Chandler smiled at his father.
"Son you were very brave…. You liked the riskiest games, you climbed the slide and jumped headfirst" Helena laughed remembering those pranks.
"Well, that bravery didn't last long... I think," Chandler replied with a crooked smile.
"Why do you say that? … Look, the really brave are not aggressive, they don't need aggression or fighting to advance in life, in general those, the aggressive ones, stay at the bottom of the list. You were always very brave, with the little attention that your mother and I gave you, you could have taken any path, however you were brave, you managed on your own, you worked, you never asked us for help, on the contrary, you rejected it, and even so you knew keep a job and climb the ranks in it and then jump into another totally different job at over 30 years of age and you were very successful in that one too, you made yourself an economic position, and most importantly, that despite our disastrous example , you managed to form a stable family, united by love, and you kept your best friends through the years. Chandler that doesn't make you a coward…. "
"Maybe you're right …. although for my friends I was always the weakest …"
"Weak in what…? Weak compared with whom? Perhaps you were weaker than Joey? who I know always leaned on you and you were generous with him in concern, time and money, acting for him as an older brother or a father…. Perhaps you were weaker than Ross? who depended so much on the opinion of his parents or he didn't know how to control his character and he had a hard time starting a family… No, Chandler, you weren't and aren't the weakest…. You are strong, you have firm convictions, you love your wife and your children with body and soul... and you take them all forward with Monica's help"
"Well son, going back to the topic, what else do you remember about me from when you were a child..."
"Oh dad, let's not talk about it…. I saw and learned many things that a child should neither see nor learn..."
"I know Chandler, and I'm sorry about that, but there must be something else..."
Chandler thought for a moment and then smiling, he looked at his father "Yes…. Musical comedies...musical comedy songs..."
"Oh really …? Helena said with surprise.
"I once read that there are two things from childhood that stay in a person's brain until he dies, childhood smells and music…" Chandler told her.
"When some food burns I immediately remember the smell of pancakes left by mom" and they both laughed out loud.
"And I still like all the songs from the musicals…" "I remember that you had bought the Chorus Line record and you sang and danced in the living room… a while later you took me to see it, like other comedies… the music they all stuck in my memory… and when I hear them I immediately see you singing and dancing in the room…" Chandler said wistfully.
"The gang always laughed when they caught me singing one of those songs, even Monica as newlyweds found two Ani CD and looked at me mockingly… but in the end she got used to it. She accompanies me when I want to see one of this, and I accompany her to see a romantic movie, it's one on one"
"That's a good match," said Helena, "that's what Fred and I are…. I'm sorry to leave him alone…"
Chandler to get his father out of the slump continued saying:
"Actually Monica now likes them a lot since she is enchanted when Erica sings them and starts dancing with them, and even play a character in a musical at school"
"Erica wants to be a singer or an actress," Helena asked.
"Dad, she changes her mind every week…. anymore she will decide"
"The only thing I want from both kids is that, when they grow up and even when they have children or grandchildren, listening to these songs brings them a little nostalgia for their dad Chan Chan" and he smiled.
After the talk about the past, Helena felt tired, so they returned to the house where Fred was already waiting for them preparing lunch.
After lunch Chandler and Fred helped Helena upstairs to the bedroom to rest for a while. Chandler stayed with her until she fell asleep.
In the ward he found Fred on the phone, arranging treatment schedules for the following week.
Chandler, when Fred was free, suggested that they not lower his father's bedroom to the room on the ground floor where the office is now, that would prevent her from having to go up and down stairs.
"Look, I already suggested it to Helena, but she refused, saying that she was not disabled yet. But maybe she'll listen to you, propose it to her this afternoon and if she accepts, I'll call one of the girls to help us with the change. For the desk and the computers, we can make a place here in the room"
"I'm going to try to talk and convince her, that would be much better, since she would gain a bit of autonomy being on the ground floor"
When his father woke up, Chandler went up to her bedroom and after talking about other things, he proposed the change.
"Wow, I'm sure Fred was talking you into that move."
"No dad, it was me who suggested to Fred that you move to what is now the office, and he told me that you didn't want to, but think that change would give you much more autonomy, you wouldn't have to depend on Fred or anyone else to help you down the stairs, and doing it only you know that it is dangerous, you are somewhat weak, you could fall and you would make things worse"
Helena was silent for a few moments, and then she looked at her son's eyes and said, "okay, if you think it's better, let's do it."
Chandler gave her a huge smile, got up from the edge of her bed, kissed his father's head and climbed down to tell Fred they could start moving.
Fred summoned the girls who came quickly, they were a whirlwind, and a couple of them started flirting with Chandler, until Helena yelled at them "Leave my son alone, he only likes women and he's married to a goddess."
Chandler smiled at her, thanking her for getting them off him.
In a couple of hours, they had completed the move, actually the room on the ground floor was much brighter and had a perfect view of the garden through the French doors.
Everyone was exhausted, ordered pizzas and beers, Helena went to bed and Fred and the girls ran to the club since they had to start the show in half an hour and still had to get ready.
Chandler stayed with his father talking mostly about the grandchildren's anecdotes and pranks until Helena fell asleep.
On Sunday morning, after breakfast, and with Fred still half asleep, Helena took out some folders from the desk drawers and asked them both to sit at the table that she wanted to talk to both of them.
"Look guys, here is my will"
Chandler immediately jumped, "please dad, this isn't necessary."
"Yes son, it is, I want to make things clear to both of them, although Fred already knows, but I want to ratify it in front of both of them"
And Helena continued "Fred and I never got married, it didn't take a piece of paper to know that we wanted to be together. And we have always been members of the club, we built it together just like we built this house together, but each one kept separate the administration and destination of half of the profits that corresponded to each other and each one deposited the money in their respective accounts."
"What I say here" and she shook the folder with the will "is that my part of the club and my part of this house is for Fred, he will continue as the sole owner of the club and I know he will do well, as he has done up to now. As for money, each one of us treasures a similar sum, perhaps I a little less because I am more of a spender, but it is a considerable fortune that I want it to be for my son Chandler"
"Dad, please, I don't want you to leave me anything, it's not fair to Fred…"
"Wait, Chandler," said Fred, "this is a decision we agreed to years ago and with which I totally agree, the money goes to you."
"Look son, I know that you never wanted to ask us for anything, that you always managed alone even when we offered you help, you were young, proud and angry with us, but now it's different, and I need you to accept the money to leave in peace. Don't think about yourself, think about insurance to give your children the best education possible, and also to enjoy it with your family. That is my last wish and I need you to accept it."
"Okay dad, whatever you say, if it's a decision of both it's fine, but I don't want to deprive anyone of something that belongs to them..."
"Chandler," said Fred, "you're not depriving me of anything, it's your father's money, my partner's, and I've always considered it fair that it should be yours, in the same way that Helena agreed that my money should be inherited by my nephews and in that case, the club and the house would belong to your father, it was a mutual agreement "
"OK, okay, and thanks to both of you…" Chandler said, feeling slightly awkward.
On Sunday afternoon Chandler took his father to the park again and entertained her by telling stories about the gang, and about their secret relationship with Monica for 6 months, how they managed to slip from one apartment to another and from one bed to another during the night when the others slept. And then how the members of the gang found out one by one. This part of the story of the relationship, between his son and his wife, Helena did not know in detail and she enjoy every moment of the story, laughing out loud.
Chandler was glad that he was able to distract his father from her long enough to make her laugh out loud.
At sundown on Sunday Chandler said goodbye to Helena and Fred, stating that he would try to come back every other weekend at least through Saturday. Helena told him that it wasn't necessary, but Chandler replied, "Dad, it's necessary for me."
Chandler continued to visit his father, on a couple of his trips he was accompanied by Monica who was impressed by how deteriorated Helena looked. But she was very happy with Monica's visit and tried some of her favorite dishes.
Erika and Jack asked their parents why they traveled to Las Vegas so often, and they very carefully explained that Helena was very sick and they were going to see her.
Erika asked "but is she going to be cured or is she going to die"
Chandler got a lump in his throat "My daughter, sadly Grandma's Helena illness is terminal, this means that she is going to die in a short time, we don't know when, but she will be soon..."
Jack with a sad face told them "but I love Grandma very much, we can't go with you to see her."
Monica, who was sitting next to Jack, hugged him saying "son, Helena is not well, and she doesn't want you to see her like this, she wants you to remember her as she was the last time she was here, cheerful, happy, strong"
"It's very sad" said Erica and hugged her father.
Chandler fought back the tears.
In August Chandler told Fred that he would be away for a couple of weekends since they had been scheduled to take the kids to Disney for a long time, but that he would call him to see how things were going.
The reality was that every time Chandler visited his father he found her worse, and he came back sadder.
Obviously during the stay at Disney Chandler was quite distracted, the children were so happy that it was impossible not to catch their enthusiasm. They went up to all the games, except Monica who escaped the most daring. Those two weeks really were a haven in Chandler's constant concern for his father's health.
The month of September passed slowly, with Chandler's periodic visits, a couple of which coincided with Helena's hospitalizations, which showed that the outcome was drawing near.
On Wednesday, October 3, Chandler received a call from Fred, it was necessary for him to travel, since the doctors had told him that there was not much time left.
