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I sat at the table, chomping down my breakfast. My mother cleaned dishes at the sink, and Dad picked at his oatmeal beside me. I wanted to ask more about Uncle Jonas, but since I hadn't gotten too far with the subject last night, I figured maybe I'd check with my brothers and see if they knew anything about what I'd discovered.
So I went with a safer topic. “Did you know we have mountain lions in this woods?”
“Mountain lions?” Dad pushed out at the same time he shoveled cereal into his mouth. “Like, cougars?”
Mom didn't even glance our way. “I'm sure we do – it's very deep woods,” she said, opening the dishwasher and starting to load it. “That's why I don't like you roaming around in there at night, honestly.”
“Well, I don't at night.”
“Even in the day you should be careful.”
“I'm always careful!”
Then Daniel walked in, looking like he hadn't slept much. He fell into a chair, nearly knocking it backwards, and heaved a deep sigh.
“You're awake,” Dad commented, as if he needed to point this out.
“Yup,” Daniel replied, straightening up to accept a cup of juice that Mom handed him. “Cor, I'm going to see my dad today when Matthew gets here. Want to come?” He took a gulp of his drink.
“Joy, that's just what I'd want to do with my day. Go see Jack,” Dad muttered under his breath. Even after all these years, he had very few positive things to say about Mom's first husband. He could never understand why she had married him.
“Julian, please. Give Jack a break. He's sick. He almost died.” She slammed a pot down on the counter a bit too forcibly.
Dad chose to remain silent on the matter. He turned back to my brother. “Daniel, you look awful. When's the last time you slept?”
“I was out...late last night,” Daniel mumbled, standing back up. He dragged himself over to the cabinet and selected a cereal box.
Mom twisted around, glowering at him. “Doing what, may I ask?”
After dumping some cereal into a bowl, Daniel met her gaze, and his whole face reddened.
“Daniel, we really need to discuss this! Your sister says there are mountain lions out there!” Mom's eyes were blazing into my brother's, and he faced away, opening the refrigerator and peering inside.
“We'll discuss it later,” Dad said tightly.
Of course it would be later. Why should I know what was going on?
I had a feeling that Daniel's girlfriend was in town.
***
A TRAVEL-WEARIED MATTHEW shuffled in the front door, tossing his bag to the floor and then embracing each one of us in turn. “How's Dad doing?” was the first thing he asked Daniel.
“Good, I guess. As soon as you're ready, we'll go see him. Corinne's coming too.”
“Let me put this in my room and we'll go.”
“No lunch, Matthew?” Mom inquired. “No rest? You look exhausted.” She tried to smooth out his light brown hair, but it remained unruly.
“I ate before, and I'm always tired. Nothing different than any other day. Do you mind if we go now, Mom? I have stuff to do, so I'd rather get everything out of the way.”
As Matthew and Daniel went upstairs, Dad quipped under his breath, “We should have gotten Jack out of the way a long time ago,” and Mom hit him.
***
WHEN WE GOT IN THE car, I immediately asked my brothers about Jonas’ age.
“He’s old,” Daniel answered.
“Thanks a lot. That was very enlightening.” Sometimes I wanted to slap him.
Matthew, who actually took the time to consider my question, replied, “Gosh, he must be in his nineties by now, right, Daniel?”
Daniel grunted.
“I mean, he's Grandpa's younger uncle, but he's still gotta be pretty old. I never thought about it. But he's doing pretty well for his age.”
“He keeps active and busy. That's the secret to long life.”
“Thanks, Doctor Daniel,” smirked Matthew.
I remained quiet, unconvinced.
***
WE ENTERED JACK'S HOSPITAL room. Although he was facing away from the door, I recognized him immediately by his jaundiced, sickly-looking skin. His hair, which had once been a dark dirty-blonde, had grayed over the years and had now become thin and limp.
A nurse hovered beside him taking his pressure. “He may be a bit loopy from the meds,” she said, removing the blood pressure cuff. “Mr. Farber, your sons and daughter are here to see you. I'll be back later to draw blood.” She left, and Jack twisted around to view us.
“Daughter?” He tried to focus on our faces. “I have no...oh, Corinne. Yes, come here. Let me look at you.”
Jack had always been nice to me. Yes, he was kind of on the sidelines of the family – he came in and out to pick up Daniel and Matthew sometimes, and occasionally he'd show up at parties and events for them. But he was never anything but civil to me, which, under the circumstances, was probably rough. I'm sure he harbored plenty of resentment toward my parents.
Yet now he was peering at me as if just meeting me. “Yes, there's Patricia in you. There's some of him too, unfortunately. Those green eyes...it's like he's laughing at me through them. You know, I’ve always held it back, but you deserve to hear the stories about him and your mother. You have no idea...”
“Um, Jack, I know all the stories about my parents,” I reminded him gently.
He suddenly drew near me in a flash of angry energy. “No you don't! You know zero!”
A very surprised Daniel cautioned his father, “Dad! Let's not make everyone miserable!”
Matthew saw my discomfort. He pushed in front of me, nudging his father back down in the bed. “Dad, I wish you'd let yourself get better. Agree to a transplant already. Dialysis can only go so far. And stop fighting the nurses and doctors. Let them do what they need to do.” He rubbed his father's arm, attempting to calm him.
Jack thrust him away. “I don't need them. I don't need any of that. I need Patricia.”
Daniel looked alarmed, and I was horrified. Jack and Mom's relationship had concluded long ago! That was ancient history! Was he seriously still pining for her after nearly twenty years?
“Dad, you don't know what you're saying,” Matthew uttered.
“Oh, but she can help me. She'll heal me and make me all better.” His eyes sought me out. “Can you do it too, Corinne?”
“Mom's a dentist, Dad,” Daniel said in annoyance. “She fixes teeth.”
Jack went on as if Daniel had not spoken. “Corinne. Yes, I couldn't give your mom a girl. She refused to have any more children, yet she had no problem having another one with Julian! And he gave her a girl, no less! Julian, traveling all around, and never–”
Daniel had undoubtedly had enough. “Dad!” he burst out. “What are you saying all this for? Listen to yourself! What's Corinne supposed to think?”
An aide entered with Jack's lunch, setting it beside him on the table. Matthew stuck a straw into the container of juice and patted his father on the back. “Dad, eat and rest. Heal. Get well. We'll come back tomorrow when you're feeling better.”
But Jack wasn’t finished with his rant. Dismissively, he waved Matthew away. “And watch out for Brian too, Corinne. He can do...stuff. Crazy stuff.”
“Okay, Dad. You don't want the juice? Fine. Eat.” Matthew picked up a sandwich and forced it into his father's hand.
“Matthew, bring your mom to me tomorrow. I beg you to.”
I was staring into Jack's eyes when he said this. And it shocked me.
He seemed completely lucid.
***
AS WE WALKED OUT OF the hospital, Daniel mumbled under his breath, just like Grandpa Brian did when he was mad. Matthew's eyes were bright. “'Grandpa Brian can do crazy stuff'...I think Dad's losing it.”
“Hardly,” Daniel snorted.
I hadn't really thought that Jack still had feelings for my mom. He didn't get along well with my dad, which was understandable. And I think Dad secretly found the whole situation very amusing. “Guys, he's on all kinds of medications. He probably doesn't know what he's saying,” I added, without actually believing it myself. The way Jack appeared so sure of his words bothered me. I was rather stung by his outburst, however, so I wasn't too thrilled about defending him.
“He knows exactly what he's saying,” Daniel said, ducking into his car.
Matthew and I glanced at each other in confusion, then followed our brother. We drove home, avoiding any mention of Jack.
***
WE FOUND MOM AT THE kitchen table with her laptop. Before we could greet her, Daniel announced, “Mom, Dad wants to see you tomorrow.”
Flustered, my mother looked up from the computer. “But tomorrow's the party. I have to prepare, and make the food, and...” She scrolled down a web page, checking it closely.
“We'll go in the morning so you can go too,” Daniel decided without asking for input from any of us. “It would mean a lot to him. In fact, maybe you should have visited him when he first got into the hospital.” Not bothering to wait for a reply, he trudged upstairs.
Matthew peered after his brother. “What's with him?”
Mom swiveled around in her chair to face us. She twiddled a pen in her fingers, shaking her head. “I'm worried about him. Everything happened at once, and Daniel hasn't taken it so well. Jack's parents passing away, then Jack almost dying and his illness... Honestly, Matthew, you're doing much better, it seems. It also didn't help that Daniel broke up with his girlfriend.”
“Tara? He didn't tell me he broke up with her!” Matthew exclaimed.
He hadn't told me either, and Daniel used to tell me about every girl he'd ever seen.
“I think she couldn't take how depressing and negative he'd become.”
“But he was better for a bit,” I pointed out. It was true. He'd been depressed, and then suddenly he'd been fine. More than fine, in fact, he seemed to have gotten a new lease on life. He was full of energy, all excited, and then very recently, he slumped back into hopelessness. I assumed this was because everyone was mad at him. Perhaps Matthew could figure out why. He was good with stuff like that.
“He did tell me you're all driving him crazy and won't let him make his own decisions, but he wouldn't elaborate–” Matthew offered.
Mom clipped the end of his sentence. “How's Jack?”
Matthew appeared uncomfortable with the new direction the conversation was taking. He walked off to get a glass from the cabinet. “Dad's all drugged up,” he replied over his shoulder.
“He thinks you're going to heal him, Mom,” I inserted with a laugh.
My mother didn't react how I expected her to. She simply nodded. “Right...” she answered, drawing the word out longer than necessary.
Matthew stopped by the refrigerator before taking anything out of it. “Will you come? I do think it would make Dad happy to see you.”
Sighing, Mom nodded her head again. “I guess I owe him that.”