Aftermath

Chapter 4

It was lunchtime when Bobby pulled into Edna’s Treasures Lane. He stopped at the house and they all got out.

“Am I going to school, Daddy?” Bree asked.

“Do you want to or would you rather wait until tomorrow?” Justin asked.

“I’d rather stay with you, but I want to see Ashley,” Bree said. She was torn.

“Maybe we can have the best of both worlds,” Bobby suggested. “What if you stay home with your daddy and he could call Ashley’s mother, and I could pick her up after school when I get Patrick. I could bring her here for dinner.”

“That’s a great idea,” Justin said with a smile. “What do you think, Bree?”

Bree thought for a moment and then nodded her head. She clutched grey bunny to her chest as they all headed for the house.

*****

“Kinney,” Brian said as he answered his cell phone. He was working at Kinnetik, keeping his mind busy and accomplishing some good work on an ad campaign that the company had been recently hired to create.

“How are you?” a worried Michael asked.

“I’m … okay.”

“I was glad you didn’t arrive drunk at my door last night.”

Brian thought about the night of Jack’s funeral and how he had needed Michael so much that night. This time had been different though. “I really miss Mom,” Brian admitted. “But we had come to terms with things. That never happened with Jack. I think that’s the difference.”

“I’m glad you and Joan were able to settle your differences,” Michael replied sincerely.

“Bree had a lot to do with that.”

“How is she?”

“Worried that I might die.”

“Jesus…”

“I think I reassured her,” Brian said quickly. He didn’t want Michael worrying when he should still be concentrating on getting well.

“Good. Ben and I are going back to the lane today. I’ll be there if you need me.”

“Thanks, I know you will,” Brian said before cutting the connection.

*****

“Kinney,” Brian said once again.

“It’s Lindsay. I was wondering how you were doing.”

“Not bad.”

“That’s good, I guess,” Lindsay said not sure if she believed him.

“How are the girls?” Brian asked not deigning to answer her implied doubt about his condition.

“They’re okay. They miss Joan.”

“Oddly,” Brian mused, “I think a lot of people will miss her. Who would have thought…?”

“She became an important part of the family.”

“Yes she did.”

“You’re going to be okay?”

“I’m planning on it.”

“Good.”

Brian cut the connection.

*****

“Kinney.”

“How the hell are you, and don’t tell me you’ve been taking up your old ways.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Deb.”

“Good.”

“Thanks for all the food … and everything you did at Joan’s.”

“Not a problem. It was the least I could do for old Joanie.”

“Joan would have been pleased with it all.”

“Yes she would, and you should be proud of what you and she were able to accomplish.”

“Accomplish?” Brian asked surprised at the choice of that word.

“You and Joan were able to create a happy family. That’s no mean feat when you consider where you both started from.”

“Yeah, I guess that is something to be proud of.”

“Very proud.”

“If only Claire could stop wailing long enough to make some decisions,” Brian said with a sigh.

“The house?”

“She doesn’t want it, but I can’t get her to agree to sell it.”

“She’ll come around.”

“I doubt it.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, Brian. You did good so far.”

“Thanks.”

“Talk to you soon, and hang tough.”

Brian laughed. “I will,” he said as he set the phone down.

*****

“Kinney,” Brian said answering his phone with a big sigh. It would undoubtedly be another one of his friends checking up on him.

“Brian, it’s Jennifer.”

“Mother Taylor.”

“That’s Harris to you.”

“Old habits die hard.”

“I hope you’re not indulging in any of those old habits of yours.”

“Nary a one,” Brian replied. He was almost proud of that fact, but so many people seemed to doubt him. “I don’t know why everyone thinks I will revert to my old pain management techniques.”

Jennifer immediately regretted what she had just said. She knew Brian had changed, but there was still a little grain of worry about what he might do when his emotions were so raw. “We don’t think you will do … any of those things,” she explained. “We’re praying you won’t, but we all know how hard this must be for you,” Jennifer added.

“I’m okay.”

“But Bree isn’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s really worried about other family members dying on her.”

“I know,” Brian said with relief since he had already dealt with that problem. “Justin brought her here before they went back to Edna’s Treasures. She needed to see with her own eyes that I was all right.”

“That’s good.”

“We had a long talk and I think she understands. She’s a smart little girl.”

“Yes she is. That’s really what I called for. I thought you should know how she was feeling.”

“Thanks for worrying about her.”

“She’s my granddaughter. I love her.”

“She loves you too.”

“But she’s missing the grandmother that’s gone.”

Brian rubbed his forehead. All this talk about Joan was starting to get to him. He decided to change the subject. “If I can get Claire to come to her senses and agree to sell Joan’s house, would you look after that for me?”

“Of course … if that’s what you want.” Jennifer was pleased that Brian wanted her to be part of this.

“It’s what I want.”

“Then consider it done.”

“Thanks.” Brian cut the connection. Then immediately hit number one on his speed dial. “Sunshine,” he said.

“Is everything all right?”

“Yes, aside from all the concerned phone calls that I have been fielding all day.”

“The family?”

“The family. Everything okay on your end?”

“Yes, I decided to keep Bree home for the rest of the day. Ashley’s coming over after school.”

“Bree will like that.”

“She can hardly wait.”

“Tell her I love her.”

“Why don’t you tell her? She’s pulling on my arm as we speak.”

Brian chuckled. He could just picture his little princess yanking on Justin’s arm. “Put her on.”

“Dada!” Bree yelled.

Brian took the phone away from his ear. “I’m here.”

“I love you, Dada, and Ashley’s coming over and Daddy and me painted.”

“That’s good, Squirt.”

“Are you coming home?”

“In a day or two.”

“’Kay, Dada. I love you.”

“Love you more,” Brian said before he heard Justin’s voice.

“Bobby just drove up with Ashley,” Justin informed his husband.

“That should make the Squirt happy.”

“It will. I love you too, and stay strong.”

“Or as Debbie so aptly put it, ‘Hang tough.’”

“That too,” Justin said with a laugh. They each ended the call feeling a little better.

*****

It was a couple days later when Brian joined a somewhat calmer Claire at Joan’s attorney’s office. Brian pecked his sister on the cheek then held open the door for her. As they entered the lawyer’s inner office, the waterworks started up again.

“Claire, can’t you put a sock in it?” Brian growled. He was just as broken up about his mother’s death but he didn’t go around whining and sniveling about it all the time.

“Just because you’re heartless, doesn’t mean I have to be,” Claire said. “I miss my mother.”

“Don’t you think I miss her,” Brian said as he grabbed Claire’s arm then glared at her. “She was my fucking mother too,” he growled. He leaned in close and tightly held onto her arm. “I waited over forty years to have a real mother, Claire, and now after only a few years with her, she’s gone. If I had nothing better to do, I’d go around wailing like a banshee too, but decisions have to be made and life goes on. Now pull yourself together and let’s get through this fucking shit!”

Claire took her brother seriously and the tears ceased almost immediately. Brian handed his sister a tissue then they walked into the office together.

*****

“So it’s now an archeological site,” John explained to the Mayor. The Mayor sighed.

“At least it’s not a crime scene,” Gordon added. The Pittsburgh Archeological Society had been called in to view the construction site just after the Pittsburgh PD pathologist determined that the bones in the ground were old. Very, very old.

“But it also means that the whole area will have to be excavated making it unavailable for the housing project,” John said. “From the plans your Housing Commissioner has laid out, we do have several alternatives. If we can get on them quickly enough and...”

“If you don’t uncover any more old bones,” the Mayor interjected.

“We should have some homes built before severe winter weather sets in,” John stated with confidence. Gordon and the Mayor nodded with relieved smiles.

“I do have one concern,” the Mayor began. “One of the new homes was earmarked for the Jason Kemp Center,” the Mayor explained.

“Why does the Drop In Center need a house?” Gordon asked.

“Apparently, Mr. Montgomery feels that some of his ‘rescuees’ are sorely lacking life skills.”

“What does that mean?” John asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” the Mayor replied. “But since the inception of the Center, crime, prostitution, and underage STDs have been drastically reduced in that part of town and in the city overall. Some of his older ‘graduates’ have started smaller programs in other areas of the city with links back to Hunter. He’s found a way to get to these kids. They know his history and they trust him. They see first hand that there are options and hope. I don’t want to disappoint him.”

John and Gordon exchanged looks.

“We’ll make the house for the Center our first priority,” John assured the Mayor. “I’ll speak to Hunter today to see if he has something special in mind for the house.”

The Mayor was satisfied that his reclamation project would go on as scheduled.

*****

“Well, that’s just about it,” Joan’s lawyer said. “She didn’t leave much. Mrs. Kinney bequeathed all of her jewelry to you,” the lawyer indicated Claire. “Except for one small gold crucifix.” The lawyer held up a picture of the piece. “She wanted this to go to Briana. Claire, as you know gets first refusal on the house. Mrs. Kinney also stated that if you decided to sell the house, the proceeds minus any taxes would go to Claire.”

Claire nodded, smiling, knowing that her mother had left practically everything to her. Then she frowned.

“What about Brian? Did my mother leave anything for him?”

Brian stayed quiet. There was nothing material he wanted. Although he was devastated from his mother’s loss, and angry that they had had very little time together, he was very grateful to the gods for the time that they did get to share. Especially the time Joan shared with Bree and Gus.

“About a week before your mother’s death, I did receive a call from her stating that there were some personal papers, postcards, letters and documents that she and Briana were looking over. Apparently, Justin had helped Joan to organize these mementos.”

Brian nodded, confirming what the attorney had said.

“What about them? Were they the papers in that big old cardboard box that she kept in the back of her closet?” Claire asked her brother.

“I think so. Joan had asked Justin to get them out of the closet for her. They were working on them for weeks. Bree has a school project about cultures and her heritage,” Brian said with a shrug.

The attorney smiled. Apparently he too had a school aged child who was working on a similar project.

“When I was a kid, she caught me playing in her closet. I looked through the box but the papers were dusty and smelled funny. I sneezed a lot then put them all back in the box. It’s fine with me if mom gave them to Bree.”

The lawyer made some notations on his pad and on some forms he had Brian and Claire sign.

“When you decide what you’d like to do with the house, let me know. Joan owned the property and was up to date with her property taxes. There’s no rush to make any kind of decisions on it.”

“I’ll discuss it with my husband but we live in a nice condo. I don’t want to live in a house again and be responsible for lawns and shoveling sidewalks and stuff like that. And I don’t think Brian wants the house either.” Claire felt confident to speak for her younger brother.

“Either way, talk it over with your family and let me know what you decide.”

Brian knew a dismissal when he heard it. There was nothing earth shattering about the will. It was pretty basic and unbeknownst to Claire, Joan had discussed the contents of her will with Brian a long time ago. The lawyer was someone Bobby had recommended so Brian knew that everything was fair.

Brian led Claire out of the office and they went their separate ways.

*****

John slid the loft door shut with a bang. Brian looked up from his computer.

“What’s eating your ass?” Brian asked from behind the monitor. He had come home after the meeting with the lawyer, changed into his faded jeans and wifebeater, got himself a beer then began doing some work on the computer.

“Our project hit a major wall the other day,” John began as he got his own beer from the fridge, unscrewed the cap and took a good swig. “We can work around it but the delay may affect Hunter and his kids.” Brian’s brow arched. “You heard me talk about the reclamation project, right?”

Brian nodded. “Justin was dogging you around Pittsburgh sketching your men and looking at old buildings for a while, right?”

“Yes. He’s interested in some of the old buildings that we’re renovating,” John explained. Brian made a ‘get to the point’ motion with his hand. John glared then got to the point. “Part of the plan is to make blocks of affordable housing, but nice housing that fits into the scheme of the neighborhood.”

“So no ultramodern highrises cutting off the view of the river from the little people?” Brian snarked.

“Something like that, but we ran into a snag. Bottom line, I learned from the Mayor that Hunter wanted one of the houses.”

“Hunter? What the fuck does he want a house for? I thought he and Nick liked it downstairs.”

“Not for them,” John said as if talking to a two year old. “For the Center.”

“Okay. What does the Center want with a house?’

“That’s what I wanted to know so I called Hunter. He feels that a lot of his kids need some place where they can transition from their old life back to a normal life. Some of these kids never had a normal life.”

“Meaning what?”

“Doing laundry, cooking a meal, paying bills. Normal everyday things that we take for granted. Sure they keep their cot tidy and the center’s bathroom and pantry area clean but that’s not caring for a home.”

“Like a halfway house.”

“Yeah. Nothing fancy. An ordinary home in an ordinary neighborhood. But someplace where they can learn responsibility. Learn to mow a lawn, rake leaves, things like that.”

Brian began to smile.

“What?”

“Big bro, I think I have the answer to your prayers.”

An hour later, there was one happy Kinney sister and two happy Kinney brothers. Plus one very happy Master of Social Work.

“You know the plumbing in that old house won’t take much abuse. It was just old Joanie for years,” Brian quipped as he and John put together a simple supper out of all the leftovers and care packages that were in the refrigerator and freezer.

“Well, Hunter does want his kids to learn about real life. What better than learning how to unstuff a stopped up toilet,” John mumbled around a dinner roll. “Gordon and I will modernize the place. Maybe finish off the basement and add another story. The house has to come up to code depending on the number of occupants. Joan had mentioned to me that she had always wanted to do a whole house makeover, but she was happy with what we did to it.”

“She was very happy with it. She said you made it more comfortable for her,” Brian said wistfully. “Thank you, big bro.”

“Anytime. We Kinneys have to stick together,” John smiled.

“Yeah.”

“Bri, are you ready to go home? Bobby said Beau’s been sneaking into your closet. He pulled out one of your boots.”

“Not my Pradas?” Brian asked in mock horror then snickered. John put a hand on Brian’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry to inform you that Beau has taken your favorite Prada boots and is holding them hostage until you’ve been returned to the old homestead,” John said with a straight face.

“Okay, I surrender. I’m ready to go home.”

“Good. Now eat!” John pointed to Brian’s almost full plate.

Brian ate.