Part 02

The cool wind billowed through Crystal's fur and his blue suit as he let the gorillas drag him out onto balcony. He trembled as it sunk in what he had to do. To protect his child from his terrible crime. He looked back at Suki, as if hoping for some form of mercy. Marcus just got in the way. He jabbed a large finger at the balcony.

"I'm sorry… please… I'll change, I'll be better!" He pleaded, terrified of what would come. "Please… I don't want to die…"

"I can let the cops have you. If I do though, then they'll freeze your assets. Everything you worked for will be for nothing. I'll still adopt her but she won't have anything to start her life with once she's ready. I don't have much to leave her. And I'll have two other kids. I'm a former bank robber turned mechanic moonlighting as a security guard," he told him. "And eventually someone in jail with you, will leave your mutilated body to be found in the bathroom. So you'll just die a worse death and Porsha will have to hear about it," Marcus said. "Believe me, I've seen these things happen to "tougher" men than you. Only the strongest survive and you're nowhere close. If you really love your daughter, you know what you have to do."

Carefully, Crystal climbed up onto the barrier of the balcony. He looked down, tempted to try and escape, until he felt something brush up against him, forcing his legs to buckle and he lost his balance. His fur flew around him as he fell, screaming. He watched the ground get closer. Then he knew nothing else as everything went black.

Something kicked him and he moaned. "Ugh… Porsha, stop kicking your dad. He had a rough night…"

"Porsha's not here!" A sharp voice made his eyes pop open. He looked up into the face of a rather angry wolf female.

"Rosamund…" he groaned and tried to close his eyes again. "It wasn't a dream… I was hoping…"

"No, it's not a dream. Now, get up! You and I have much to discuss. Starting with your arrogance and selfishness!" She ordered him.

The wolf stood up and looked at the ground, at his own body. "I was expecting that to hurt a lot more than it did. Mr. Moon suffered a great deal more." Brown eyes narrowed and he gulped. He loved his wife dearly but she was also the only person he ever feared, or rather respected.

"You dropped him from 1000 feet. You fell 2500 feet," she explained. "Oh, allow me to introduce my friends. Marion Green and Ruby Calloway."

Crystal turned to face the gorilla and lioness. "Um…. Nice to meet you… Wait, Marion Green?" He looked up. "He told me about you. You're…"

"Johnny's mother, yes. And for the record, I am not happy with you but I'll let your wife deal with you," she said sharply.

Ruby nodded in agreement. "My husband took a chance coming out of retirement. And you repay him by killing a helpless koala?"

The white wolf looked down at the ground. "Hey, I was the victim here. He hijacked my theater. The little twerp lied about knowing your husband."

"He was doing what he needed to do to get the job. You never even considered that there might be other forces at work. You just saw your own reflection," Ruby growled. "Come, Rosa, we should get back."

Rosamund nodded. "Come along, dear. You need to get checked in and I'll take you home. Then you can see exactly what your actions have wrought." She grabbed him by the tie and pulled him along as though he were her dog on a leash.

The pink whippet was still on duty at the check-in counter. "Hello Rosa. Who is this handsome man?"

"This is my husband, James Crystal, checking in," Rosamund said. "Marion, Ruby, I understand you have your own families to check on. I've got it from here. Thank you for coming with me."

Her friends recognized the dismissal while Annabelle looked up Crystal's name. "Yes, I see you. Another early check-in. What happened? You still had another twenty years."

James sighed. "All you need to know is I fell from a really high place."

"Uh huh…. And I see you leave behind a young daughter and three loyal friends. For someone as important as you, I expected a lot more," her tone was almost condescending.

Rosamund nodded. "He doesn't need your judgment, Annie. He's going to have enough of that over the next few days. Please, let me handle it."

Annabelle closed the book after making a few notes. "You'll receive your assignment in a few days. Rosa, you know where to make duplicate keys."

"I took care of that when I knew he would be coming," she held up a key ring that had a photo of him and Porsha. "Come, dear. We're in the Hall of Performing Arts."

Their trek through the hotel was quiet. She was quietly fuming as she used to do when he would make a mistake when they were alive. She wasn't afraid of him. Of course, until she died, he never tried to make others fear him. But he hated the silent treatment.

"Rosamund, please… I didn't mean to… please, talk to me. We haven't seen each other in fifteen years. Say something!" He begged.

"Like what? It's not like it'll make a difference! You didn't even bother to sound remorseful with Mrs. Calloway. You just blamed your victim," she growled. "What happened to you, James? This is not the man I left behind. What happened to the wolf who wanted to bring joy to the world through the performing arts?"

"That wolf died with you, fifteen years ago. The only way I could protect myself was to harden myself. To close off every part of me that could be hurt," he explained.

She glared. "Including our daughter. You shut her out almost as soon as she could talk. You were constantly glued to that phone of yours." She reached and pulled the device from his pocket. She threw it in the nearest trash receptacle.

"Hey! I have pictures of Porsha on that!" He went looking for it but the can was empty. "What?"

"I have every picture you ever took and more," she promised him. "Mortal cellphones aren't permitted. It only came with you because you're so attached to it. You spent so much time looking at that screen that you missed our daughter growing up right in front of you."

James sighed. "I'm sorry, Rosamund. It's not enough, I can't change anything now, but sorry is all I have."

She studied him and sighed. "I know. I just don't like that you used your grief over me to justify hurting innocent others. And I know this isn't the first time. But let's get you something to eat and we can check on Porsha."

"We can? How?" He asked as she led him to the door with C1013B on the plate. Inside, he was astonished to see just how many photos she had of both of them. "Wow… you weren't kidding. I didn't have near this many photos of her." He looked at one of her at her grade school science fair. "This was before I decided to homeschool her. The other kids were picking on her. And this… her thirteenth birthday." He sighed. "Rosamund, I'm so sorry. I missed so much of her life. And now, I'm going to miss the rest of it."

She wanted to stay angry at him but knew he would deal with enough guilt over the next several days. He would need her support to bear it. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, you don't necessarily need to miss it." She pulled him into the sitting room and sat him on the plush, velvety couch in front of a small telly. She picked up a remote with only five buttons. "This is the On/off button and these are volume buttons. There are only 4 channels that will work for you. I'm going to get our dinner." She kissed his cheek and went to the kitchen.

Curiously, James examined the remote. "Only 4 channels? Why only 4?" He flipped it on and he jumped.

'It's all my fault!' His daughter's voice broke his heart in pieces. He'd tried to assuage her conscience but it hadn't helped. She cried into the young gorilla's chest. 'You all should hate me! Why did I tell Linda!' She sobbed.

Crystal shook his head. "No, baby. No, don't blame yourself." Why did he lose his temper so badly? How could he put his child in this position? "I'm so sorry…" The tears came without his permission and he wept. He only barely felt Rosamund sitting beside him and pulling him close.

AN: Ending the chapter here. Crystal has now arrived at Hotel Afterlife and has been reunited with his wife. Are we understanding the significance of the telly yet? Can you guess why Crystal only has 4 channels available to him? Here's a hint. Ruby has 1 channel. Naveed has 4 channels. And Rosamund has at least 4, possibly more. Please review. Upcoming: Buster gets to see his new apartment and learn his own telly.