I had just eaten dinner and was watching Wheel of Fortune when my phone rang. I expected it to be Colin telling me what he had found out. Instead, my phone said unknown caller. However, I remembered from a few days earlier Gary’s number.
“Hello, Gary,” I spoke nonchalantly into the phone. I didn’t want to sound excited that he was calling. However, I was. I had enjoyed talking to him. He still seemed to be the same old Gary- fun-loving and interesting. Even though he was younger than me, the age difference wasn’t that much.
“Are you busy?” he asked. “I can call back later.”
“No,” I insisted. “I’m not doing anything but watching television.
That was the beginning of an hour-long conversation. We reminisced about our days of teaching and old loves. I was surprised when Gary admitted to dating a student that he had several years after graduating.
I kidded him, “Didn’t you feel like you were robbing the cradle?”
“He was twenty-six,” he replied. “It wasn’t like he was a kid still in school.” He didn’t deny that there was a twenty-year age difference between them.
“I couldn’t do it today,” he laughed. “Hell, I’d probably have a heart attack trying.”
I admitted, “I don’t even remember what sex is anymore. It’s been so long.”
“I know what you mean,” he replied. “After my prostate surgery, I can’t even get the damn thing up anymore.” We spent the next fifteen minutes comparing our health problems.
“You know, Gary,” I laughed. “Thirty years ago, all we talked about was sex. Now, we’re comparing our illnesses.”
“Life is fucked up,” he said. “One day you feel like you got the world by the balls. Then you wake up one day, and you can’t even find the damn things anymore.”
“Got that right,” I laughed.
“Damn, Phil,” he said. “I just looked at the clock on the wall. We’ve been talking for almost an hour and a half.”
I replied, “I’ve enjoyed it.”
“I’m going to come get you one day this week and take you out to lunch,” he said. “How does that sound?”
I answered hesitantly, “I don’t know, Gary. I don’t get out of here often. When I do, I’m with my physical therapist.”
He laughed and replied, “Hell. Invite him to go with us. He’s hot.”
“He has a boyfriend,” I answered before thinking.
“That makes it all the more interesting,” he laughed. “It’s been great talking to you, Phil. I mean it. Let’s do lunch this week.”
I replied, “Let me think about it, okay?”
“I won’t take no for an answer,” he replied before adding a quick, “Goodbye.”
I smiled when I closed my phone. I had an enjoyable chat with Gary. It was something I had missed since Dwight’s death. I don’t have many close friends left. Most couldn’t take my mood swings after he died. I could be laughing one minute, and the next minute a thought would appear, and I would find myself holding back tears. We learn to live with grief, but we never get over it.
Susan came into my room early the next morning. She seemed a little more cheerful than the day before. “Good morning, Phil,” she smiled as she helped me sit up. “Do you need a bedpan?”
“No,” I replied as I turned and hung my legs over the bed and pointed toward my walker. “Would you bring that over to me?”
She gripped my arm as I started to stand. “You shouldn’t be trying to stand by yourself.”
I snapped, “I’ll do what I damn well want to do.” She jumped back as tears filled her eyes. Susan was used to me being grumpy, but this was the first time I had actually become upset.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized. I tried to explain that I wanted to learn to walk again. “If I don’t,” I said, “I’ll never be able to leave this place.”
She forced a smile and said she understood. She got the walker and placed it in front of me. She put her hand gently on my back as I made my way across the room. When I finished, she was standing by the door patiently waiting for me. Instead of returning to my bed, I sat in a chair by the window. I turned to see if anyone was looking in, but no one was.
As Susan tidied my room, we briefly chatted. “How is everything at home?”
She clicked her tongue and replied, “About the same. I’m beginning to look for apartments for Stanley and me to stay.” She frowned and added, “They are so expensive.”
I smiled and said, “I may have a solution for you.”
“No, Phil,’ she said with a frown. “I’m not going to take any money from you. It would be very unprofessional.”
“I’m not offering you money,” I insisted. “I can’t tell you yet until I talk to Colin.”
She gave me a skeptical look and asked, “What are you talking about, Phil?”
“Let’s have this talk tomorrow, okay?”
She smiled, nodded her head and started to leave the room. “Hey,” I shouted out. “You didn’t take my breakfast order.”
She held up a hand and waved. “Same as usual. Bye.”
I couldn’t wait for Colin to arrive. I hoped that he had spoken to Mike Abrams last night. I didn’t want to go through a long court battle with my son. Several weeks ago, I would have died without caring what happened to my money and property. I had accepted the fact that I would soon be dead, and I would no longer need them. Now, I wanted to return home, and I also wanted Susan and her son to move into the house. I was hoping that I could move into the mother-in-law suite on the lower floor. With friends like Colin, Jason and Gary, perhaps my home could once again come alive with fun and laughter.
An aide brought my breakfast. I was hoping it was Susan. I wanted to apologize to her again for my outburst earlier. Jason peeked his head into the door a little past nine. I laughed and said, “You mean Colin let you out of bed this morning?”
He blushed and said, “Don’t start, Phil. Colin told me he told you all about his mother’s visit.”
“You mean the ass grabbing part,” I roared with laughter. “What a clever way to come out. I should have thought of that.”
He gave me a puzzled look and asked, “How did you come out?”
“Oh, no,” I replied. “That is a long story. You’ll have to ask Colin.”
“He told me that you were married and had a son,” he said. “That’s about all he said.”
“There’s more to the story,” I said. “But I don’t have the time to tell you.” I pointed to my walker. “Let’s get to the PT room.” He walked closely behind me as I made my way down the hall. With each step, I felt my strength returning. I didn’t want to become too hopeful because I was aware that it might be fleeting. However, I was determined to give it my best shot.
We talked more than work out. While I did upper strength exercises, Jason sat down beside me. Since we were the only ones in the room, we could talk freely. I asked, “How did you like Colin’s mother?”
“She’s wonderful,” he exclaimed. “We hit it off almost right away. I was afraid that she would object to me being black, but it didn’t seem to bother her.”
“Why should it?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “I just figured him being rich and white, his parents wouldn’t want him being with someone like me.”
I smiled and said, “You mean someone who is kind, thoughtful and smart?”
“His mother said almost the same thing to me,” he replied. “When we sat down after lunch and talked, she said I was going to be like a son to her.” Tears filled Jason’s eyes. “I had to go into the bathroom and cry. I never really had a mother.”
I thought Jason was going to leave the room and cry again. Instead, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and continued. “I’m so happy, Phil. I just hope it lasts. I don’t want to do anything to screw it up.”
“You won’t,” I assured him. “I talked to Colin yesterday, and he is as happy as you are right now.” I gripped his hand and squeezed it. “You’re both so lucky.” I pulled my hand away when someone entered the room. I wanted to walk back to my room, but Jason thought that it might be best for me to rest.
“You don’t want to overdo it,” he said. “Besides, Mr. Sullivan will have my ass if something happens to you.”
I laughed loudly and replied, “Colin has already beaten him to it.” Jason shook his head and left the room laughing.
Colin arrived a little after noon. He was dressed more professionally than normal. He was wearing a light gray suit with a light blue shirt and dark blue tie. I whistled and said, “Would you look at you. What is the occasion?”
He closed the door and plopped in the chair beside the bed. “I’m exhausted,” he replied wearily. “I’ve been in three meetings this morning.”
I furled my eyebrows and replied, “And?” I knew they must have been about me or he wouldn’t have mentioned them.
He opened his briefcase and took out several folders. “Mike and I had to go to court to get the paperwork you signed in Mr. Sullivan’s office when you came in here.” I nodded my head and continued. “You were right. You made your son your power of attorney. You didn’t technically give him anything. However, he could make decisions for you.” He opened a folder and flipped through it. “This gets really complicated.”
“What?”
“Do you know who Allen Reid is?” he asked.
I thought for a minute and then replied, “I believe he may be my grandson.”
“You’re right,” said Colin. “After your son signed you in here, he moved a few months later to Colorado.”
I shook my head angrily and asked, “Are you going to tell me he stole everything?”
“No,” replied Colin. “Quite the contrary.” He flipped through a few more pages. “Mike went through everything with your financial advisor, and it appears he didn’t touch a penny.” I let out a sigh of relief.
He flipped through a few more pages and said, “He did, however, sign the power of attorney rights over to his son, Allen. I talked to Allen a little while ago on the phone. It appears Roger was afraid that something might happen, and he would have to fly back here to take care of matters.”
I frowned and asked, “Like me dying?” What did I expect? I had planned to die, and I didn’t really care what happened to me after I died. Dwight wanted me to be buried next to him, but I never got around to making the prearrangements. At the time, it didn’t seem like anything I should be concerned with. After a few years, I simply forgot.
“It appears,” he continued, “that Dwight was worried about you being able to take care of yourself after he died. He drew up strict instructions about the transfer of all properties. You have sole right to everything, and nothing can be done until your death.”
I asked, “What would happen then?”
“Dwight figured that you would draw up another will. Did you?” He asked. “We couldn’t find anything in the probate court that you had done anything.”
“I was so upset after Dwight’s death,” I said, “that I really didn’t want to think about it. A few times I considered making a will, but who would I leave things to?” I shrugged my shoulders and added, “I guess I could have donated everything to a charitable organization. However, I figured things would go to Roger since he’s my next of kin.”
Colin frowned and replied, “I don’t know how to tell you this, Phil.”
“Tell me what?”
“According to Allen,” he replied, “His father doesn’t want anything from you. He calls it dirty money. That’s why he made Allen power of attorney.”
“Dirty money?” I asked. “What does that mean.”
“Allen said Roger is very homophobic,” he said. “He believes that your relationship with Dwight was sinful, and anything that came of it was dirty.”
“It must have killed him to come back here and sign me into this place,” I remarked sadly.
“It did,” replied Colin. “According to Allen, that is why he moved to Colorado. He wanted to get as far away from you as possible.” Suddenly, tears filled my eyes. I knew Roger hated me, but I didn’t know that the hate was so deeply embedded in him.
I wiped tears from my eyes and asked, “Where does Allen live?”
“On the north side of town,” he replied. “When we talked this morning, he wasn’t even aware that you were alive. His father told him for years that you were dead.”
I responded sadly, “In a way, I guess I was.”
Colin flipped through another file. “The good news is nothing was touched.” He let out a low whistle. “You said you had money. I had no idea you were this rich. It’s a good thing you didn’t die unexpectedly. Your wealth would have been tied up in court for years. Mike is going to come by in a few days and talk to you. He wants you to draw up a new will. He told me to tell you to give it some thought.”
Now, I was facing a new dilemma. Who did I want as my heirs? Roger wanted nothing to do with my dirty money, as he called it. I don’t even know who Allen is. And now I find out that he thought that I was dead. The practical thing to do is think of some charitable organizations I can leave a trust to.
Colin sat back and sighed. “So, as you can see,” he said. “I’ve been very busy.”
Suddenly, something dawned on me that I hadn’t considered. “What about my house? You mentioned the investments, but you didn’t mention my house.”
Colin pulled another file from his briefcase. “You are still the primary owner. It appears your financial advisor has been paying a property maintenance company to take care of your home.” He flipped through a few more papers. “I can’t find anything about maid service. So, I don’t know if anyone has been inside since you left.”
I reached over and opened my dresser. I took out a key and handed it to Colin. “Can you go by and check out the inside? I want to know if there is any damage. I may decide to move back someday.”
“You can’t live alone,” he insisted. “What if you have another stroke.”
I replied, “I don’t plan to live alone.”
He gave me a puzzled look and asked, “What do you mean?”
I then told him my plan to have Susan and her son move into my home. “But that sounds temporary,” he said. “What will you do when she finds someplace else to live?”
I laughed and replied, “When you see my house, you’ll know why she would never want to leave. Besides, I’ll hire her as my private nurse. I can also pay Stanley to be my pool boy.”
“Have you talked to Susan about this?”
“No,” I replied. “But after you go by my house and check it out, I’m going to ask her to meet us there later this week. I’ll make my proposition to her then.”
“Are you really sure you want to do this, Phil?
“My boy,” I replied. “I’ve never been so sure about anything. I made a lot of mistakes in my life. It’s time I started making things right.”
“I’ll do as you ask,” he replied.
“One other thing.”
“What?”
“Can you make arrangements for me to meet Allen?” I asked. “I’d like to meet my grandson. I just hope he didn’t inherit any hate genes from Roger.”
“He didn’t,” Colin assured me. “When we talked, he seemed eager to do anything he could. Mike and I are going to sit down with him tomorrow and go over things with him. As I told you, it’s complicated. I don’t understand half of this myself.”
He put the folders in the briefcase and stood beside the bed. “I’m meeting with Stanley later this afternoon. This evening, Jason and I will stop by your house and check it out.”
As he headed for the door, I yelled out, “Don’t stain the bed sheets!”
He shook his head and hurried from the room. I lay back and laughed uproariously.
It was almost four, and I was waiting for my afternoon aide to stop by the room to take my dinner order. Usually, it is a choice between dry meat loaf, greasy Salisbury steak or overcooked chicken breast. I had decided to go with the meat loaf. I was watching a game show on the television when someone knocked softly on my door. I looked over and Gary was standing with a wide grin on his face.
I asked, “What are you doing here?”
He entered and laughed. “You don’t sound like you are happy to see me.”
“No,” I replied. “It’s not like that. I wasn’t expecting you. How did you find out where I was?”
“You mentioned it the other day on the phone,” he said. I don’t remember if I did tell him the name. I may have. At my age, it is difficult to remember what I said five minutes ago.
He walked over and sat down. “How about going out to dinner?” He asked with a smile.
“I can’t leave here,” I informed him.
He replied, “Sure you can. I stopped by the head administrator’s office and spoke to him. After checking with your personal trainer, he gave me permission to take you to dinner. However, you have to use your wheelchair.”
“Mr. Maxwell approved it?” I asked. I wasn’t even aware that he knew of my treatment.
Gary laughed and said, “You’re not a prisoner here. You have the right to come and go as you like. The center is just concerned that you don’t hurt yourself. That is why you must use the wheelchair.” He rose and pulled the wheelchair to the side of the bed.
I sat on the side of the bed and looked at my clothes. My shirt was wrinkled from lying in bed most of the day. My pants weren’t in much better shape. “I’m going to have to change my clothes if I’m going out in public,” I said. Gary walked over to my closet and searched inside. He held up a blue shirt, and I nodded. He then found a pair of gray slacks that didn’t appear in too bad of shape. He walked over and handed them to me. When I didn’t begin to remove the clothes I was wearing, he began to laugh.
“Don’t be modest, Phil,” he laughed. “It’s not like I haven’t seen a naked man before.” I shrugged my shoulders and began to undress. One thing you lose when you enter a hospital or nursing home is your modesty. Everyone sees you naked at some time. When I removed my shirt, Gary remarked, “Nice.”
I smiled and said, “You old fool. There is nothing nice about a seventy-eight-year-old man’s naked body.”
He replied, “When it’s been years since you last saw a naked man, any body will do.” I shook my head and finished dressing.
He wheeled me out to his car and helped me inside. It was a fairly new Honda SUV. I wondered what had happened to my car. Was my Cadillac Escalade still safe in my garage? I should have asked Colin to check on it when he visited my home. If I remember, I’ll call him later and ask him.
Gary got into the driver’s side and pulled off. “Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” he smiled as he pulled off.
Write me at ronyx@themustardjar.com