Rudy flopped down onto the couch and switched on the TV, flipping endlessly between the channels on his cable service and various streaming services. Before realizing there was nothing worth watching on and switching the TV back off. He grabbed the book he had been reading off the side table. It was a cheap supermarket romance novel. The type of book that Louise Belcher would have hassled him endlessly for reading. Louise Belcher. The name danced in his head. He wondered what had become of his childhood best friend. He knew the basic details of her life. She had taken over her dad's burger place the year before and she was still just as into Japan as she had been in her Wagstaff days. He stalked her social media profiles endlessly, but it was mainly reshared memes and posts from her fandoms. She kept the Bob's Burgers pages active but that was still just the Burger of the Day and information about hours. Last week she had closed for three days because Gene and their husband had had a baby. Well, their surrogate had had the baby, but the point remained. Louise was an aunt again. From the rare posts Tina made about her four children. Louise was a super aunt.
Rudy found himself increasingly unable to get Louise off of his mind. There was a time when he thought he would marry Louise Belcher. Then she dumped him out of the blue. It was sophomore year; they had been dating for nearly two years and everything seemed to be going amazingly. One weekend she went to visit Tina at her college and ended up in the hospital. All Gene would say was that she'd had surgery and Louise shot him down anytime he asked. Still, everything was great. Until about a month after Louise returned to school. He remembered it clear as day. They were at lunch it was him and Louise, Kaylee and Arnold, Jessica and Megan, Chloe and her man of the minute Trent or Tristan, or something, and Benj and his girlfriend at the time Monique Kaylee announced that her older sister was pregnant and that got the kids talking about families. Rudy mentioned that he wanted kids one day. Louise suddenly didn't feel well and left. The next day she dumped him with no explanation. Three months later Chloe was single again for the fifth time since the lunch incident. He asked her out and for the first time ever she said yes. They had been together ever since, and Chloe always talked about how Louise had missed out. Except lately she seemed to be the one missing out. His phone buzzed and he tiredly lifted it from his pocket. He studied his wallpaper. It was a picture taken at the wrap party for Chloe's latest movie. For the first time Rudy really looked at it. He was way in the back, not even really in the shot with their daughter Sylvia. While Chloe stood front and center with her handsome male co-star. It made sense. They were the leads of the film but everybody else had their spouses and families close by. Chloe hadn't even told Rudy they were taking the picture. He was so distracted by the picture. He forgot why he had his phone. Until he saw the notification up top. His dad had texted him.
"Hey son I am still feeling badly. I am going to the hospital tomorrow for tests."
"Do you want me to come down?"
"Oh no it's probably just a bad flu. I'm getting older and it's getting harder to fight off infections."
"OK but call me as soon as you hear anything."
"Of course."
It was four days later. Rudy was at his writing job. For seven years now he had been writing for a family friendly sketch show called "Garden Variety." He loved his job but sometimes he wished that he weren't trapped in the city. He loved New York, he really did but it was just too loud for him. He yearned for his quiet hometown of Seymour's Bay. He wished that Chloe would move back but Chloe was devoted to her career as a model and actress. In fact, Chloe had been begging him for years to pack up and move to LA. Stating that she deserved to have her dreams and that Rudy could find a writing job easy peasy. The truth was Rudy had tried to get hired in LA but for some reason he kept getting rejected. Despite having a degree from NYU. Oh well he didn't really want to move to LA anyway. The regular forest fires would be hell on his lungs. When he was ten a small fire broke out in the local woods. It was contained within two days and Rudy still got very sick. The fires in California could last months at a time. He would end up hospitalized every year for sure. Oh well that wasn't important now. His dad was calling him.
"Hi dad" Rudy greeted.
"Hello Rudy. Uh I got my test results back." Sylvester replied.
"What's going on?" Rudy asked if his heart rate picking up.
"Are you sitting down? Do you have your inhaler handy?" Sylvester asked.
"Uh yeah, just a minute." Rudy replied, he was sitting at his desk at work but based on the gravity of his father's voice. He suspected that he needed a more secure seat. So, he grabbed his inhaler and moved over to the couch.
"You set?" Sylvester asked.
"Yes" Rudy replied.
"Rudy, I have uh I have pancreatic cancer." Sylvester announced.
"Pancreatic cancer?!" Rudy gasped, knowing the abysmal survival rates.
"Yeah, and uh well it's pretty advanced. Rudy there is no easy way to tell you this but Rudy I'm dying." Sylvester announced.
"How long?" Rudy asked tears flowing down his cheeks.
"With treatment they think I can make it six maybe nine months. Without about three. Now uh that isn't a hard timeline. I could always live longer." Sylvester explained.
"But you could also die sooner." Rudy sniffed.
"Yeah" Sylvester agreed.
"So, uh are you taking treatment?" Rudy asked.
"It was a hard decision. Without treatment means I would probably feel better but with means I could get more time with you, Chloe, and Sylvia." Sylvester explained.
"Dad" Rudy sobbed.
Rudy hung up the phone and buried his head in his hands. When he composed himself, he went to his boss and asked to go home. At least his employer was sympathetic. He spent another hour crying in the car before driving home. Sylvia was at the table doing her homework when he arrived.
"Hi daddy" Sylvia greeted.
"Hi Sylvie." Rudy replied.
"Mr. Stieblitz you have been crying. Do you want me to stay?" Their nanny Kim asked.
"No, I am home. You can go." Rudy replied.
"What's wrong, daddy?" Sylvia asked.
"It's nothing. I will tell you later. Do you know when your mom will be home?" Rudy asked.
"Probably not until late. She has another meeting with Mr. Ishma." Sylvia replied.
"What's this one about?" Rudy asked.
"I dunno she wouldn't tell me." Sylvia replied.
Rudy managed to make dinner for himself and Sylvia. Chloe texted around eight and said she would be home soon. He sent Sylvia to bed despite it being an hour before her bedtime. Turns out he sent her to bed prematurely. Because Chloe did not arrive home until eleven forty-five.
"By Kevin!" Chloe called stepping through the door.
"You were supposed to be home three hours ago." Rudy commented.
"Shut up dad!" Chloe snarked.
"God, Chloe I got horrible news today. Something I couldn't tell Sylvie yet." Rudy replied.
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked.
"My dad has pancreatic cancer." Rudy informed.
"Oh, that's too bad." Chloe sighed.
"Yeah, and it's terminal." Rudy replied.
"How long does he have?" Chloe asked.
"Three to nine months." Rudy replied.
"Oh, that's too bad." Chloe repeated.
"It is and I have made a major decision. One I hope you can support." Rudy replied.
"What's that?" Chloe asked.
"I decided that I want to move back to Seymour's Bay." Rudy announced.
"Seymour's Bay?" Chloe laughed.
"Yeah, you know our hometown." Rudy replied.
"I know what it is." Chloe laughed.
"I know you hated it there, but my dad is dying! He needs somebody to take care of him. I am all he has." Rudy explained.
"Can't he hire a nurse? I mean if he can't afford it, we can." Chloe questioned.
"He can but my dad really should have family by his side. I really think it would be best if you, me, and Sylvie moved back. It would just be for the last months of his life and until his estate is settled. I've seen my dad's will. It's pretty iron clad. So that wouldn't take long." Rudy explained.
"Do you really expect me to give up my job because your dad has cancer?" Chloe demanded.
"You wouldn't have to give it up. You could commute to the city for gigs." Rudy suggested.
"Commute for gigs?" Chloe laughed.
"It would just be temporary, and it would mean a lot to me." Rudy explained.
"Moving to LA would mean a lot to me but you are always against that! Most recently because you didn't want Sylvie to leave her friends! Now all of the sudden you expect her to move to that nowhere town. Her and me? But I can't have my dream? You are selfish, Rudy Stieblitz!" Chloe cried.
"Chloe my dad is dying! Seymour's Bay isn't that far from here. You could bring Sylvie back if you have weekend gigs. Plus, it will only be for a few months." Rudy pleaded.
"You sure are playing that card a lot?" Chloe laughed.
"I've only known for eight hours!" Rudy cried.
"Well, I get the point! You can stop saying it!" Chloe cried.
"Do you?" Rudy demanded.
"I am sorry Rudy, but it is ridiculous. You expect me to trade a deluxe apartment, some of the finest shopping and restaurants in the world, cocktail parties with the elite. For your dad's crappy one bathroom condominium, Wonder Wharf, and backyard keggers with our former classmates?" Chloe laughed.
"Chloe! My dad is dying!" Rudy yelled.
"Oh, and I get to watch an old man die of cancer! I get to change poopy depends on and learn how to do a feeding tube! Gee that's so much better than my life!" Chloe cried.
"Grandpa is dying?" Sylvie asked.
"Oh, Sylvie, I didn't want you to find out this way." Rudy gasped.
"What's wrong with him?" Sylvie asked.
"Pancreatic cancer" Rudy replied.
"Daddy" Sylvie sniffed.
"Slyvia did you do your routine?" Chloe asked.
"Yes, mom but that is hardly anything right now." Sylvie replied.
"Sylvie if you want to be a model you have to take your beauty regime very seriously." Chloe reminded.
"I don't want to be a model." Sylvie sighed.
"Oh sweetie of course you do!" Chloe cried.
"No, I don't! And if Grandpa is dying! I do want to move to Seymour's Bay!" Sylvie cried.
"Look what you did!" Chloe snapped.
"Me?! Look what you did!" Rudy shot back.
Rudy wished he could say that he could say his fight with Chloe was a one-time thing. That it was the result of a late night and her being slightly tipsy from cocktails with her boss Kevin Ishma. Who ironically was one of the losers from Seymour's Bay. Unfortunately, Chloe and he had been fighting a lot lately. When she was home anyway. She wanted to break more into acting and would be gone for days to months at a time when she got a role. Even when she was home. She was always at a gig or going to some sort of event with her fellow models. Rudy and Sylvie were never invited to these events. Rudy hated to admit but he was beginning to doubt their relationship. After the previous night he doubted their relationship. Did Chloe care about him at all?
Two weeks after Sylvester's diagnosis. Rudy received devastating news. Sylvester was alive but he'd spiked a fever and had been rushed to the hospital.
"Chloe my dad is in the hospital! We have to go back to Seymour's Bay now!" Rudy cried.
"I have a gig tomorrow." Chloe snorted, not even looking up from her phone.
"You can join me after then." Rudy sighed.
"What about Sylvie? She has school." Chloe remembered.
"I want to go to dad. I can get my assignments and do them in Seymour's Bay. Then bring them back when we get back." Sylvie announced.
"Sylvie that is very sweet, but you should know we may not come back for a while. You may have to transfer to Wagstaff." Rudy explained.
"I don't care. I want to be there for grandpa, for you." Sylvie explained.
"Rudy! Now do you see how ridiculous you are being?" Chloe demanded.
"Chloe? Do you even love me?" Rudy questioned.
"What of course I do?" Chloe replied laughing nervously.
"Then why don't you care about me? About my dad?" Rudy asked.
"You are lucky I married you." Chloe snorted.
"Chloe, do you love me?" Rudy asked again.
"NO! OK? Are you happy now?!" Chloe demanded.
"Did you ever love me? Is that stuff you said about loving me since fourth grade but being too shy to tell me. Is any of that true?" Rudy asked.
"Pity and love can be intergenerational." Chloe snarked.
"Chloe is this true?" Rudy asked.
"Yes" Chloe sighed.
"In that case I want a divorce." Rudy announced, utterly shocked, that those words had crossed his lips. He had always promised himself that he would never put his children through a divorce. He never wanted Sylvie to know his pain, but it was better to be a child of divorce than a child in a loveless marriage.
"Good!" Chloe cried.