Walter sat working hard all afternoon trying to finish the Gettlemen software upgrade. His mind kept getting distracted by the lockbox Paige had kept in her desk drawer. He had to put it in one of his desk drawers because his eyes kept looking at it. He'd always been curious about science, but this was the first time he'd been voyeuristically curious. Paige had always been so open to him but neither he or Ralph knew about it. Whatever was in the security box, it wasn't heavy, altogether the box probably weighed ten pounds.
Walter smiled as he finished the last of the bug fixes in the software and started the code to compile. He saw he had a short bit before starting dinner so he opened the drawer and pulled the box out. It had a six digit combination lock and he smiled. He flipped the small tumblers until it read "051205". He was surprised when it didn't open. He was sure Paige would have used Ralph's birthdate. And then he had an "Ah hah" moment. Because of the US's date format he changed the tumblers to read "120505" and he was able to lift the lid.
Walter saw a Sony camcorder inside of it, along with a number of SD memory cards. Chronologically speaking, the first card was labeled as "Ralph's Birth". Walter was surprised at that thought. And it made him really want to view it, but he put it aside. Since Paige had chosen not to share even the knowledge that the video existed with him, he didn't feel like he had a right to witness that moment. The next card in order was labeled "Ralph - Three months". Walter grinned at the prospect of seeing Ralph at three months old. He grinned again as he thought he'd share it with the family after dinner.
His software compiler beeped and he paused and saw the program was compiled with no errors. He sat the box down and put the package into an email file and sent it to the system administrator so they could implement it and check it for what they wanted.
Walter thought about the card again and he knew he couldn't wait until after dinner, he had to see Ralph at three months old, now. He quickly plugged the power adapter in and hooked it to the camcorder. A moment later the card was in the device and he pressed play on the view screen.
Walter's eyes went wide seeing Paige standing naked with a slight belly bump she modeled before the camera. He heard the voice of a woman, presumably holding the camera telling her she looked beautiful.
Walter swallowed hard and turned the video off. He quickly calculated a better security code for the combination and inputted it into the tumblers. He stuck the camera and cards back into the box and locked the lid back. The cards marked as Ralph - six months and nine months were undoubtedly the same. So those would have to be kept put away. But the two marked as Ralph's first and second birthday, he hesitantly felt he would be able to view. He swallowed hard as he decided he'd have to view them completely before letting anyone else see them.
Walter frowned hearing noise coming from the Loft kitchen so he stood and walked over to the stairs and started climbing them. He paused halfway up as he heard humming and tears ran down his face. Paige always hummed as she cooked. He remembered his Mom liked to hum when she did as well. "I don't know if I can take this. Paige, I miss you so much." Walter thought.
"You okay son?" Sean asked as he walked over to the stairs on his way to talk with him.
Walter's eyes flashed open and his Dad frowned seeing the tears.
"Walter? What's wrong son?" Sean asked.
Walter shook his head.
"Nothing really. I just, Paige always used to hum when she cooked." Walter told him as he climbed the rest of the stairs.
"Oh, that's got to be rough. You want me to ask your Mom not to hum?" Sean asked him softly.
Walter shook his head.
"It's my problem. I've got to work through it. But thank you." Walter gave him a weak smile.
"Well, I was looking at the roof, the area Ralph was talking about wanting a pool. And if you want, I think I can do the labor of adding supports to the roof." Sean told him.
"Oh." Walter said as he instinctively looked towards the area of the Loft where the pool would be over. He knew his Dad was a jack of all trades, but he hadn't considered that. "Let me go over my finances and see where I am. If you want to get me a list of materials you will need, I can make a decision. Thank you."
Walter yawned as they sat at the table after dinner.
"Thanks for dinner Mom. It was delicious." Walter yawned again.
"Thank you my boy." Louise smiled at him.
"Alright guys, I'm just too tired." Walter told them. "I'm going to bed."
"Already?" Ralph frowned. "I was hoping we could do some stargazing tonight."
Walter gave him a weak smile.
"Sorry buddy, as much as I would like to, I just don't feel like it." Walter told him. "I think my sleeping problem might be my mattress though." Walter pushed back from the dinner table and stood.
"Why do you say that?" Louise asked.
"Well I've been trying to figure out what is so different that is causing my pain, besides my arm. And I know I'm not that comfortable when I'm laying on the mattress. I think the springs are just shot." Walter sighed.
"I could go get a piece of plywood and put it under the mattress for tomorrow night. If it is the springs that might help tell and would be cheaper than just replacing the mattress." Sean told him.
Walter nodded as he yawned.
"Good night Dad. I hope you sleep better tonight." Ralph said as Walter stopped and hugged him around his shoulders.
"Thank you." Walter kissed the top of his head. "You sleep well too." He paused to kiss his Mom's cheek and then walked off.
"Do you think it's depression?" Louise asked softly after Walter was gone for a few minutes.
"Well if it is, just like his IQ, he's not normal." Sean told them softly.
Louise frowned looking at Sean.
"Don't you remember when we sat through that class on depression for Megan? So we'd know what to look for?" Sean asked her.
Louise slowly nodded but she didn't understand what he was getting at.
"All of his symptoms aren't typical symptoms of men, they are more aligned to those of women." Sean told her.
"That's what I've been thinking the last couple of days." Ralph nodded.
Sean chuckled as he nodded at Ralph.
"That's my grand." Sean said as he reached over and rubbed his shoulder.
"I'm going to my bedroom. I want to finish some work before it gets dark. Then I'm going up on the roof. I want to do some stargazing tonight." Ralph told them. "Thanks for dinner Grandma, like Dad said, it was delicious."
"You're welcome dear." Louise smiled lovingly at him.
Sean stood as Ralph left and began gathering the plates and taking them to the kitchen sink.
Louise smiled and watched for a moment before she joined him.
They kissed before Sean took out his pipe and tobacco. He paused long enough to fill the bowl and light it.
"It was so nice cooking for more than just two people." Louise smiled. While she didn't like smoke, she did enjoy the smell of the dark cherry burning.
Sean nodded as they turned together to wash the dishes.
Ralph woke up his laptop and then checked the camera feed. He could see Walter's bed but Walter wasn't anywhere to be seen. A moment later Walter walked into view from the direction of his bathroom, in his pajama bottoms and slippers.
After Walter got into bed and started to turn off the light. He looked at the stack of diaries on his nightstand. His Dad had been kind enough to bring them up before dinner. He thought he'd try to read one before going to sleep.
Ralph watched as he started reading. It didn't take long, by Ralph's count he turned thirteen pages before falling completely asleep. Ralph started recording. He hoped it would help him confirm his thoughts about what was going on with his Dad. But it also filled him with trepidation, if he was right.
Ralph sat on the roof just staring off into the night sky. His telescope was all but forgotten. His entire life had been completely upended, the unshakeable bedrock of his life was gone.
He thought back to that first day…
When he had first found out he was completely numb. He heard every word, but it didn't make an impact. He was mutely accepting and denying the reality at the same time. At first he threw himself into helping Walter. Walter's emotions were out of control. Slowly he worked on the issue with him and through that himself as well.
For two men who shied away from most physical contact they must have hugged and held each other thirty times that first afternoon and evening. Both promised the other that they loved the other. Neither of them could eat the dinner that the Kovelskys had sent over after hearing what had happened. Cabe and Allie had spent part of the evening with them. And had put the food away for later. But at 10 p.m. they walked over to Kovelsky's diner and the late shift served them ice cream sundaes.
Ralph tried to sleep when they got back but failed. He laid in bed all night staring at the ceiling wondering why this had to happen to him. He knew why it happened, just not why it had to. His thoughts grew dark and vicious at times at Toby. He imagined horrendous acts against Toby. Ralph knew everyone of the adults in his life owned part of the responsibility for what happened, but the largest share owner was Toby. None of the others had a drive to start a new business, his Mom and Sylvester had just wanted to take some time off and think. Then come back and talk to Walter. Happy was too busy licking her wounds of another family lost.
But Toby had come up with the idea that had ruined Ralph's world. And now Ralph was trying to figure out how to glue the pieces back together.
"I must be insane to even consider this possibility." Ralph thought as he considered his plan moving forward. "But, if I'm wrong, I don't know what else to do. I really miss you Mom. I know you couldn't always be there to help make the world make sense for me, but I'm not ready for this. I'm barely keeping it together. It should have been Happy that died."
His phone ringing interrupted his thoughts. Ralph pulled the phone out and saw "Drew" on the screen.
Since he found out Paige had died, Drew has called Ralph several times a day.
"Hello." Ralph sighed as he answered.
"Hey Ralph, I wanted to touch base with you. I found an attorney who will represent me to get you back." Drew told him proudly.
"Why are you doing this Drew?" Ralph asked in a neutral voice.
"Hey, I know I've not always been around, but I'm your Dad and you don't call me by my first name." Drew told him angrily.
"What a joke." Ralph rolled his eyes. "Look, you want to pretend you're my Dad? Go right ahead, just leave me out of it. I don't want anything to do with you. You still don't care about me. You are just planning to sue on my behalf for wrongful death and then keep the money."
"What? How could you possibly say that? I've always cared about you. How you were doing. It isn't my fault your Mother made it difficult." Drew said and then instantly regretted it.
"Don't you DARE blame my Mom!" Ralph shouted. "You better forget I ever existed like normal, and quickly. If you keep this up, I'm going to erase you." Ralph screamed and hung up. He quickly set Drew's contact to block.
He was almost of a mind to go to his laptop and mess up Drew's credit rating. But he heard his Mom's voice telling him to be the good person she knew he was. Ralph sighed and got up. He grabbed his telescope that he had propped against the wall and went back inside.
After putting it away and taking a shower, Ralph got into bed and stared at the ceiling.
At 5:30 a.m. Ralph's laptop started beeping.
Ralph slowly heard the noise and he moved enough to grab it and stop the alarm. He looked briefly at the video feed and saw Walter sleeping.
He set it aside and climbed out of bed. He quietly walked out of his area and around the area set aside for his Grandparents and made his way to the bathroom to freshen up. He walked out and over to the area where Walter slept. He sat down on the desk chair to just watch. Making sure to stay out of the video feed's line of sight. He had thought about going out to the kitchen to say good morning to his Grandma. He had heard her moving around in the kitchen as he walked into Walter's bedroom. But he needed to be here.
As it got closer to 6 a.m. Walter began moving a little. He kept trying to move his right arm, but the harness Janice gave Walter to try to keep his arm from moving much, wouldn't let him. Walter kind of whimpered in the pain of trying to move his arm. And then it seemed like his legs moved quickly and then Walter was grunting. He watched as Walter's left arm moved up over his head and his hand stopped. Ralph watched as Walter's elbow pulled back down towards his ribs and his hand came back down. Walter's elbow twisted and his arm and hand twisted as his hand moved further down his body. Suddenly his body began spasming as he groaned and then screamed.
Ralph rushed over and shook Walter.
"What do you feel?" Ralph said as he continued shaking him.
"Electricity." Walter said as he stopped screaming.
Louise ran into the room just as Walter shuddered again and then went limp.
"Ralph?" Louise said as she was surprised to see him there.
"Morning Grandma." Ralph said without looking at her.
"What happened?" Louise asked.
"I think Dad's reliving the moment he was trying to save Mom." Ralph told her. "His movements suggest what Dad had told me happened. His left arm rose up like he said Mom did to grab the top of the hole to help pull herself up. If so, she was so close to making it." Ralph said as a tear ran down her face. "If Dad had been with them instead of them trying to run their own company, Mom would still be here."
Louise cried as she pulled Ralph into her arms and hugged him.
"Those idiots let my Mom die. They didn't think outside of the box." Ralph cried.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! The website had a huge falling apart the last few days, shockingly FFN actually was being somewhat updating about what was going on. Right now I think it is working, except for metrics for stories. I guess we'll see in a second when I post this.
Lucy - Sadly the diaries haven't revealed much...maybe next chapter? lol In his case 3 times? lol It definitely brought some pain to poor Ralphy today.
Railman - For both of you! lol But at least she had some empathy for him, having heard what happened. Might not have been a bad idea for her to do that, but as a general practitioner or family doctor as we call them she's decided to see what a specialist thinks and let them order a new scan if they deem it necessary. Well, Walter found an eyeful! LOL So far not much from the diaries...12 or so pages from when she was 10 or so years old...maybe more next chapter. Yeah, the pool had been on his mind for a little while, but it presented a great chance to get his grandparents out of the way so he could place the webcam...sneaky little man. lol
LouBe - You're welcome. I should have thought of that to begin with...lol Was his weight check something significant? Maybe, but that is also a typical metric they gather about a patient...*grin* Good question about the door issue...if so, it seems his Dad and son both think he's exhibiting signs of depression for a woman...More wait and see on the scans for now. LOL Poor Paige and her birth control. lol I guess for now, we'll have to wait and see if the eating has any other meaning...hehe Nothing more than Cabe being curious why she wasn't around. He'd given Walter time to just "settle" before asking. Aww...thank you! Glad you are enjoying EQ Walter. Yup, her in his shirt definitely had an impact. And now you know what is in the lockbox! lol His main goal was just to get them out of the Loft while his Dad was gone so he could get the webcam placed. And now we've seen one version of what is happening. Well you never know, he might feel something...He certainly has some ideas going on inside of his head about what is happening. Aww...Sorry that story made you cry...well...not really, if it didn't then I failed in the story. hehe 15 finally broke and got finished and now 16 is being a pain. lol
DaToad - So far nothing has come from the diaries but Walter definitely got more than he bargained for in the lockbox! lol "Need a Bigger Vote" was a wonderful episode for the pair's relationship. "Crazy Train" was another great one too. I really was shocked that writer actually said that. While I fully believe in the saying "Be careful what you wish for" being told "I don't want what I think I want" when it comes to entertainment is a good way to get on my bad side. lol I guess the Happy/Toby relationship could really be the expression "opposites attract" for Happy. Toby was exactly the opposite of what she wanted. And trying to get her to "submit" in a sense was his ultimate gambling addiction as he stated but in a different way. And I can see why they wrote her becoming a bit like Toby junior, after she began to grow, she probably patterned after him. In my Lady Knight story, I wrote a bit about that when Walter asked Lady Paige about Happy's sense of humor. She was definitely softer with Ralph and Ada as well. She only really got softer with Toby, at least with as far as the show ran, I could see her eventually becoming softer with Paige. But just because she became softer didn't mean she didn't have edges, she could still cut anyone. lol Yep, Walter/Happy and Walter/Toby relationships S1 were great. W/T's changed the most the quickest, but even W/H changed (not in a good way) as the show ran on.
Pearliegirl - hehe I hope it is a real psychic and not one of those charlatans! lol Well, only 6 more chapters for "stupid". Glad you are finding the story interesting and loving it! As for Paige's "boobs" well see...***'* ****** ** ** ******'* **** *** ** ***** ** *****'* **** ******* *** ** ****** *** ***.
Marie Mac - It is basically bread. They are slightly interchangeable with dinner rolls (more of a "fancy" name), I don't know if that translates better. Typically about 2-3 inch (50-76 mm) in diameter and about 1.5 inches (38 mm) tall. hehe there are definitely some pretty good names out there for companies and stuff. There used to be a show on and sometimes they ended it by showing company billboards and stuff that people sent in and they'd have some pretty good names and stuff. I just can't remember the name of the show now. That's a pretty funny name phonetically! lol That's a good thing to try and remember for sure. But of course with grief, sometimes you can't help to remember when you "failed" so to speak.
James - I totally get that...It is like saying you enjoy sweet and sour at the same time. Yup, his guilt is very much alive and kicking, no doubt as we get another glimpse of it here. I definitely could see a story where Mark did kill Paige. Though...*IF* I was to write a story in that vein, I'd write it that he killed Ralph, not Paige...and it would be written with Walter striving with everything in him to save Ralph and failing in front of Paige. Now that would be a viciously nasty story. Walter would totally sacrifice himself, in the most horrific way even, to save either Paige or Ralph. Glad you are here for the haul! Hope it turns out to be worth it! Diaries, nothing really, lockbox...eyeful! lol Ralph definitely has some things going on! Thank you, I'll do my best and you take care too!
Sonya - Aww...thanks! So glad you are enjoying it!
To the Adventure! -Tim