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It was about a thirty-minute drive and I was shaking by the time Walter pulled into the ER parking lot. I jumped out of the car and Brandon followed me as Walter parked the car to join us in a few minutes. I knew that they were in a private room and strode towards them with my brother following me, seeing my blonde mother and sister sitting together as they listened to something that a man was telling them. He was dressed in the white coat of a doctor, though I noticed that the material was wrinkled as we approached. I saw my mother look past the man to the two of us; the tears sliding down her cheeks as I paused. Brandon crashed into me, asking what was wrong as my mom stood and walked out towards us, followed by a crying Ashley.
I knew that Dad was gone.
We stayed at the hospital for a while longer before I drove all of us to the brownstone in the city, my family’s main home. Ashley was still in high school and lived here to go to the private school that Dad insisted on. She was his princess and mom his queen and he spoiled them to no end, though my brother and I had it good as well. Dad treated all of us well and I didn’t know what was going to happen now.
I got my mom to sleep after a few strong cocktails that she deserved after tonight. She wasn’t normally a drinker, but her nerves were shot and she fell asleep on the couch in front of the television set before I covered her with a blanket.
Ashley was passed out in her room after crying herself to sleep, and I looked in on her for a long moment. She was just sixteen and her life was turned upside down now.
I made my way to the third floor where Brandon and I had large rooms and a loft, seeing his door open. I noticed when he disappeared after we got back here and I was trying not to resent that fact. I walked into the master sized bedroom and saw him looking out over the city from the fortieth story of the building. “Are they asleep?” Brandon asked in a soft voice and I walked over to join him.
“Yes. I think we have tomorrow free to let this settle in. I’d like you to handle as much as possible with me after that, Bran. I need you.” I looked at him as he nodded, knowing how hard this was going to be.
My parents were married for twenty-six years, still in love. A lot of my friends had money as well but their parents weren’t like mine. I grew up with real love and my brother was my everything. We’d slept holding hands in our crib, according to my mom and then shared a room until we needed our space. We were still
close and I knew that he might be tempted to handle this a bit differently than I was going to, but we needed to remain a team.
“Of course, I’m just so stunned by this. He was supposed to live longer than anyone, Brent. Both were.” I could hear the pain in my brother’s voice as I looked at the bright lights through the thick window pane.
The days following were a blur. Our family was small, with the only set of grandparents living out in California. There were so many friends, though. They were at the house with Mom a lot while Ashley went to her friend’s house to escape. I think it was a break from lots of sad talk and casseroles for her. Dad was ahead of the game and had details about what he wanted from here. His funeral was to be held at the large Catholic church in town that we’d attended when we were younger. None of us were practicing anymore but Dad was raised Catholic and always held his faith in his heart. Brandon and I picked out a coffin for him and planned the long service, along with the gathering at our house. It was going to be catered by Dad’s favorite restaurant.
It was the longest day of my life. Both my brother and I stayed away from the beer during the entire event, but hit the whiskey the second it was over. There was a lot of grieving as well as a lot of laughter. People told stories about Dad that brought back happy memories and I felt a bittersweet ache in my heart as Brandon passed me the bottle.
We shared it, feeling numb when we went to sleep late into the night. Tomorrow was another day of rest and we were meeting with the family lawyer the following day. I knew Dad and he had his finances all sorted out, so there wouldn’t be any fighting about anything. I just didn’t know what it meant for Brandon and me.
CHAPTER 3
Brandon
I sat up straight in the stuffy office, looking at Brent. “The business?”
“Your father always wanted you to take over the business. I know he pushed you to take some classes at school in the past for that reason.” That’s right. The business degree. “Anyway, I know that he has some good managers on board to teach you the ropes as well as a great team of accountants and all the help that you’ll need.” I glanced at Mom, crying softly as she nodded towards us.
I was twenty-one and my only skill was of the social kind. I graduated high school and just went wild, to what I knew was disapproval from my parents but they gave me my freedom. I knew about the business before this but assumed that it would be at least ten years before I’d have to think about it. Not now. I didn’t know what to do.
I told Brent that I wanted to get a drink and we headed to a favorite corner bar of ours. We ordered beer and sat at the bar to watch the Islanders game as we sipped them. “Do you know shit about running a business?” I asked him as he looked at me and shrugged.
“No, but you heard Larry. We’ll have a lot of help and its Dad’s wish to keep it going. Mom is set to stay in the house and we’re not losing anything, so let’s keep the business going and set up a future for her and Ashley. Mom’s so young still and she can travel and live her life. Do you want her worrying about the business, Bran?” Brent asked as I felt the sting of his words. I didn’t want that. Mom took great care of us kids growing up while Dad worked on the business, while still being an excellent father. She deserved to enjoy life as much as she could without her soul mate, once she recovered a bit more. Mom was also a beautiful woman and she might find love again, in a few years.
I knew that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She’d throw herself into taking care of Ashley until she was safe in college, hang out with friends and volunteer as she always had. I knew that Mom would be fine in time but for that to happen, we had to do our parts as well.
I nodded and sipped my beer again. “You’re right. We do need to take care of the girls. Let’s go to the office next week and sit down with someone to get a feel for things. I don’t think we’ve been there since we were in school, right?” Dad had arranged for us to put in the hours at school in the office, so we knew a little but I shuddered at the idea of running the whole thing. It seemed like a lot of responsibility.
We had a few more drinks and got a cab home, finding the house dim and quiet. Brent led the way upstairs, where I showered and dropped against my pillows to stare at the ceiling. A lot was going to be changing and I let the past play through my mind. I saw my childhood, teenage years and then all the wild years in order and heard my phone vibrate.
Looking at the screen, I saw that it was a girl in Queens that I hooked up with every now and then. She told me that she was sorry about Dad, having heard it through the grapevine and asked if I wanted to hang out sometime.
I thought about that, wondering if I couldn’t have both. I could run a business and still see people. My father managed, traveling with us a lot when we were younger as well as Mom on their own. I didn’t think that Mom was going to sell any of the vacation homes. I told her that we could hang out over the weekend, since I knew she had her own flat out there now. It wasn’t that this place wasn’t big enough to bring a woman back to my room, though I kept that to a minimum. The plan was for Brent and me to get an apartment, but we traveled so much that it just never happened. We stayed at friend’s a lot here in the city as well.
The house was calming down by the weekend. I knew that Mom was struggling but it was good to see her seeing her friends again. Ashley was going back to school the following Monday and life was going to settle into something again. I met up with Carlie at a local bar, drinking heavily and ending up in her bed much later in the night. I fucked her hard, taking out a lot of my emotions on her from the last couple of weeks, making her cry out my name. “Jesus. What got into you?” She asked as her green eyes looked me over with a lazy sheen to them. Carlie was a pretty woman and I dropped beside her on the mattress, taking a deep breath.
“It’s been a long week,” I admitted before I shrugged. “Two weeks, if I’m counting. I guess I just needed to release some poison.” I winked at her, trying to make light of the situation. “Thanks for being there.”
“Are you nervous about M&P?” Carlie asked me as I took a deep breath.
“I think between Brent and I, we’ll be fine. I hope there’s a good staff there that will let me get some time off,” I joked as my smile faded. Reality was approaching me quickly and I felt her roll onto her side to wrap an arm around my waist.
“You are a wild man but I think you’ll be fine,” she assured me in a sleepy voice as I looked at her in the dim light from her lamp. I debated on sleeping there since tomorrow was Saturday, deciding that I would. We were meeting the heads at M&P at nine on Monday and I might as well have some fun. I knew that my brother was across town with his own girl, even though there was a different feeling to it now. A part of me wanted to be home with Mom and Ashley, making sure that they were doing okay. I knew they’d call if they needed me for anything. Mom didn’t want us to stop living simply because things changed but I’d feel a lot better being there with them.
