24 Junior
We were up at four for Mac’s meds and breakfast. I had barely slept. I didn’t remember falling asleep, but Book II of the Dark Tower series was finished and I had no idea how it ended.
My anxiety must have been obvious. Mac took me in his arms. He said, “I know this is scary. I’ve been the new guy who had to prove himself.” He kissed me on the neck and cheek. “You are the most important person in my life. If this doesn’t work out, we’ll go back to St. Louis. No regrets.” He squeezed me and kissed me again. “You are a great person. Other people may not recognize that immediately. That doesn’t make it less true.” He stroked my head and kissed me once more. “We’ve gotten through a lot. We will get through this.”
We stopped once near Gainesville to take care of business and stretch. I punched Junior’s address into the GPS. I had put that off as long as I could. When the directions popped up, I took some time to review the route through the city.
##
We pulled up in front of a large two-story house with a two-car garage at 12:40. It was one of hundreds in the subdivision – all on spacious, immaculately manicured lawns. Mac’s son was waiting. He stepped to the edge of the porch and watched with his arms folded across his chest.
I got out and helped Mac dismount. He backed down in slow, laborious movements. We had the procedure down to a science but it was still a struggle. The noon-time sun had pushed the temperature up near 90. There was a breeze, but I couldn’t wait to get out of the heat.
I was helping Mac get stabilized on the ground when I caught a whiff of Old Spice. Junior was at my right elbow. He was taller than me by a couple of inches. His hairline had begun to recede. I could see the family resemblance.
Watching his father struggle clearly upset him. The look on his face said everything that needed to be said. He finally had an inkling of the man’s condition.
The three of us paraded slowly up to the house. Mac refused our help. We followed at his pace. Junior broke rank and hustled ahead to open the door. Once inside, he had to bring a chair from the kitchen for his father because the living room furniture wouldn’t work. He moved with the grace and ease of an athlete. He had put on a few pounds, but I was willing to bet he worked to keep himself in shape.
The living room was airconditioned. A sixty-inch TV dominated the wall to our right. A large leather sectional was set against the stairwell on our left. Two leather chairs that matched the sofa sat in front of a picture window that looked out onto the front lawn.
“When did this happen, Dad?” Junior asked as he held the chair for his father.
“I don’t know. I was having headaches. I stumbled a couple of times for no reason, so your mother insisted I see a doctor.”
“Mom knew about this?”
“She died before I got the diagnosis.” Mac closed his eyes and shuddered. “We were sitting in easy chairs in the living room, taking our afternoon nap. When I woke up, I noticed she didn’t look right. I went over to check. As soon as I touched her, I knew she was dead.”
Junior nodded. I assumed that he had heard the story before. Mac was looking at the floor, but his eyes were shut. He shook his head. “I didn’t get back to the doctor until after the funeral. I was too busy.” He focused a hard stare on his son. “When I did go back, he told me I had a tumor on my brain. My prospects didn’t look good. Then I came home and discovered Rex had gotten out and been killed by a truck.” The hurt in his voice made me want to run over and hold him in my arms.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” his son pressed.
“The way you and your sister acted at the funeral, I figured you didn’t care. So I took care of things myself.”
His son’s mouth dropped open. His brows arched. He shook his head. “That’s not true.”
“You came in, got a hotel room, paid your respects to your mother, and left.”
Junior bit his lip and dropped his head. He looked up to face his dad. “I’m sorry. I only took a couple of days off because I felt like I had to be at work. We got hotel rooms because there wasn’t enough room for all of us at the house.” He grimaced and shook his head. “When we tried to talk to you, you acted like you didn’t want any company.” He ran a hand through what was left of his hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just didn’t know what to do.”
Mac shrugged. “I got second and third opinions. They ran more tests.” He looked up at the ceiling and breathed out heavily. “The bottom line, I could drop dead at any time. Even with treatment, I was going to die before the year was out.” He bit on his lower lip. “I found a doctor who prescribed some meds that eased the symptoms. He told me they could keep me alive for an extra 6 months. I made a will, sold the house, and put all my cash into annuities. You and Ann are beneficiaries. I bought the RV and started across the country.”
“And now you’ve got a new wife,” Junior chided. There was a sarcastic bite in his voice. “How does she fit into all of this?”
“I met Kate in St. Louis when I stopped for dinner. She convinced me that a person in my condition shouldn’t be driving alone. She offered to go along and give me the benefit of her training.”
“So just like that. She jumps in and gets you all to herself. Do you realize the ethical implications of what she did?”
I could feel my cheeks burning. “I don’t give a damn about the ethics,” Mac snarled. “And I hope you’ll never say anything like that again.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. But we have to be realistic. She took advantage of you. I’ll bet she stands to get a substantial inheritance.”
I could feel my temperature rising. My fists clenched. My fingernails dug into my palms. If I didn’t get out of there, I was going to strangle him. “Where were you when I needed somebody?” Mac demanded with a quiet fury.
“You could have told me what was going on,” Junior shot back.
“You could have asked,” Mac roared. His face was bright red. His eyes bulged. I was afraid he was going to have a stroke. But he calmed himself. He shook his head. “Are you going to try to tell me you would have dropped everything and accompanied me on a drive across the country?”
“I would have moved you down here where Ann and I could take care of you.”
“But you wouldn’t have joined me on that last adventure.”
Junior clamped his hands to his head and looked up at the ceiling. “What difference would that have made, Dad?”
Mac took some time before answering. “It’s the difference between living and rotting away.”
The silence got to me. “Your father wants to see Ann this afternoon if we can do that.”
Junior turned to glare at me. “I need to call her and give her a heads up.” He added, “I haven’t had a chance to tell her about the marriage.”
I understood both men. Junior was dealing with a full and challenging life. He had a family, a job and a career. It would be decades before he experienced aging as his father and I had. When you are busting your butt to succeed, it’s difficult to imagine what it’s like to have all that behind you and nothing on the horizon.
I also realized we were heading for an awkward confrontation in the hospital. I was anxious to get on with it. “Why don’t you call your sister and let her know we’re coming over.”
Junior stood and pulled car keys from his pocket. He threw them to me. “Go ahead and get settled in the car. I’ll be right out.”