8.
The next three weeks Brian took Gus and spent as much time with his dad as he could. Justin handled the trips out of town for him. Mel and Brian sat down and simply told Gus that Grandpa Jack was sick, knowing he wouldn’t understand everything.
Brian hired a PI for Mel, who got enough information on Lindsey that with a word to her parents, she was given her part of her inheritance and she was sent to Paris where a section of town was nothing but artists. She lost her rights to Gus when they took her to court.
Late one night, Claire called Brian and told him Jack was in the hospital. He and Justin got dressed and headed there to find chaos. Jack’s doctor had already given his copy of Brian’s rights as POA to the hospital. Brian showed his ID and was let into his dad’s room. He was conscious but the morphine made him groggy. Brian held his hand until the medicine had worn off and his dad refused the medicine in order to try to talk to him. “Son... boy! Let Claire... ward… come and see me, but just for five minutes. I want... you and... Jus here. Okay?”
“Yes, Dad. Ted, Cynthia, and Murphy will handle Kinnetik. Try to rest for now. I’ll contact Mel and she’ll bring Gus in. He knows you’re sick.”
“Get... my billfold... I want... our picture... where... I can see it.” Brian got the picture out that had gotten snapped of Brian, Jack, Justin, Gus on his grandpa’s lap, and Mel. He propped it on the table for him.
The nurses hooked Jack up to be injected automatically with the morphine at set intervals. Claire threw such a fit she was removed to a waiting room and watched by security. Joan brought Father Tom, which Brian allowed to give last rites while his dad was sleeping. Then she walked out and left the hospital.
Mel brought Gus in at 9:00 and they took him in once while Jack was awake. The little boy was held by his grandpa while Brian sat beside him. Tears were in every eye. Justin sketched drawings of the moment of the three of them. Gus kissed his grandpa goodbye and left to go on to preschool. Brian continued to sit on the bed with his dad, holding him in his arms. After a long day, Jack opened his eyes and looked at Brian.
“I love you, son. See you up there someday.” He clung to Brian’s arm as Brian took a deep breath and said, “I love you, Dad, so much. I’m so glad I got to know the real you.”
Five minutes later, Jack Kinney took his last breath. Brian laid his head on Jack’s shoulder and cried as Justin rubbed his back. The nurses came in and Brian and Justin walked out to the waiting room and told Claire. Instead of having a fit, she clung to Brian and cried for a few minutes. A cab was called and she left to tell their mother and her sons.
The hospital called the funeral home where Brian and Jack had already made the arrangements. A spray of roses was on the casket with Joan, Claire, John, and Peter’s names on them. Jack had commented once that he loved his mom’s hyacinths so Brian and Justin had put six of them inside the lid. The viewing and service would be in two days. The Lodge was contacted and they said they would say something at the service.
On the day of the service, Brian sat with Mel and Justin on either side. Gus was with Dusty and Marie. The gang, except for Ted, was there. Craig, Kent, Molly, and Victoria sat in the row with Brian while the rest of the family sat behind. Joan, Claire, and the boys sat on the other side of the room, refusing to sit with Brian. Father Tom said a few words as Jack had refused to have the service at the church.
Brian got up and spoke of his dad, “I won’t go into details about it, but my pop and I reconciled just a few months ago. I got to know him like I never was allowed to. Justin and I, along with Gus and occasionally Melanie, often met at our loft for dinner or had a picnic in the park with Pop pushing Gus on the swings or helping him safely climb up the slide. At the loft, he would sit on the floor and play cars or with Gus’ train set with him. He even read stories to him using funny voices that had Gus rolling with laughter. It was a side that... yes, a part of me wishes I could have experienced, yet I did that through watching the two of them. Pop came out of his coma long enough to know I was holding him and for us to exchange I love yous. Pop, fly free. I do love you.”
*~*~*
Instead of going to the cemetery, Brian said goodbye by kissing his fingers and placing them on Jack’s cheek. He told Jack to celebrate with his union hall friends who had died before.
Jack had asked to talk to Deb and Vic and he thanked them for caring for Brian like they did. He asked if she would have a BBQ, and to let the warden have the wake with her church friends. Only the Liberty Avenue family and Justin’s family were to attend. He wanted a celebration, not a mourning party. When Brian came in, Deb hugged him then went outside with the others while Vic took him aside and let him rant and rage about losing his pop so soon after they had made their peace. Once his tears dried, he looked at Vic, “I love you so much, Vic. Other than Justin now, you knew me the best. Take care of yourself, you hear? I want you around for a long time. Now, Pop wanted a celebration. Let’s give him that.”
Going out, he hugged Deb and told her he loved her. Surprised to find Michael calmly talking to Justin, he walked over and accepted a hug from him. He saw the brief frown when he avoided Michael’s kiss, so he knew that today was a truce. The food was plentiful and everyone had a good time. Brian refrained from drinking too much, merely raised a glass in a toast to his pop. “This is to my father, my friend.
*~*~*
Three days later, Brian met with Joan and Claire at the lawyers. It turned into the horror he expected. But the lawyer threw them out once he’d read the will. Brian had gone ahead and paid for the funeral himself. There was an insurance policy covering the loan on the house, so it was paid for. Joan would get just over $1,000 a month from SS. The life insurance that Jack had, paid the little bit of the hospital bill that was left. Then surprisingly, the steel mill had good insurance for their employees. Jack had simply drunk the very decent salary he made away. The rest of the policy, with Ted’s help and Jack’s insistence, was to give Claire $200 a month for her and another $200 for the boys. Claire’s part would end when both boys were eighteen. The quarterly interest from the policy would be paid to Joan in a lump sum at the end of the year. The rest was tightly tied up to cover property taxes and a policy to pay for Joan’s funeral. If either fought for the money, it was to go to the Liberty Avenue Hospice and the GLC. Brian would never forget the look on Claire and Joan’s faces when they heard the lawyer say that Jack had told his son to let Joan handle her own finances. Claire and her boys were to leave Brian alone as well. After all, the two women were grown-ups. It was not Brian’s responsibility to take care of them. With a short goodbye to them from Brian, the lawyer’s secretary escorted them out the door.
Brian and Justin, along with Ted and Cynthia, got everything at Kinnetik arranged so the two men could go away for two weeks. They rented a cabin in Vermont and snowboarded and skied to their heart’s content. Evenings were spent cuddling in front of the fireplace or in a hot tub. When they returned home, Brian found that Justin had painted a picture that showed Brian and his pop with a smaller inset picture of a four-year-old Brian in his pop’s arms. Brian had it hung in his home office. Mel had a painting she hung up of Gus and Grandpa Jack playing with his train set, and at the park playing on the swings and slide.
That night Brian finished some work in his study and raised his glass to the portrait and said here’s to you, MY FATHER AND MY FRIEND. You will be remembered with love.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Brian follows through for his dad.
Chapter End Notes:
I know this was short, but I wanted one chapter for Jack’s death and the finalization of his personal effects.