Family Sins

Ten

Bowie and his brothers were still at the gate when Riordan and his crew emerged from the house. It had been a little over three hours since they’d gone inside, and now the sun was directly overhead. The day was heating up, and distant clouds were already building over the mountain to the west. Likely another night of thunderstorms.

Bowie pointed. “They’re coming out.”

The brothers cast a short shadow as they stood together, but their message was unmistakable as the cars approached the gates. Riordan ignored their presence, but Bowie could tell by the set of his jaw that the constable was aggravated they were still there.

“I wonder what happened?” Aidan said, as the county cop cars drove toward the city limits and the Eden police cruiser headed uptown.

“We’ll know in time,” Samuel said.

“I need to get home,” Michael said. “I work this afternoon until 6:00 p.m.”

“I’m going to check on Talia and her dad before I leave Eden,” Bowie said.

“Give her our sympathies,” Samuel said.

“I will,” Bowie said, and one by one they returned to their vehicles.

Once the brothers were gone, the crowd began to disperse. By the time Blake headed to the office, the street in front of the estate was empty. He was trying not to panic, but the constable’s appearance had changed the way he viewed his life. He had thought their world impervious and their family above the law. Money had always made the difference, but not in this case. Damn Leigh for ever bringing Stanton Youngblood into their world, and damn Stanton’s soul to hell for bringing it down.

Bowie called Talia on his way downtown, but the phone rang so many times he thought it was going to voice mail. When she finally answered, he heard exhaustion in her voice.

“Hello.”

“Hello, honey, it’s me. Is it still okay to stop by your house?”

Talia sighed. Just the sound of his voice eased the knot in her stomach.

“Yes, of course.”

“Have you eaten anything?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“I’ll bring food if you’ll tell me what sounds good to you.”

The offer momentarily stumped her. She hadn’t had the luxury of being picky about food, but there was one thing she never turned down.

“A vanilla malt. I haven’t had one in ages.”

He chuckled. “If I’d thought about it, I would already have known that. I’ll be there shortly.”

She closed her eyes as they spoke, concentrating solely on that deep voice rumbling in her ear.

“I can’t wait to see you. Last night I dreamed you weren’t really here,” she said.

“I’m real, and I’ll bring a malt and a kiss just to prove it.”

“Thank you, Bowie. See you soon.”

He laid the phone in the console, took a right turn and headed for Larry’s Drive-In to get their food. He added two burgers, fries and a chocolate malt to go with the vanilla malt he ordered for Talia. Maybe he could tempt her to eat something, too.

While she was waiting for Bowie, Talia went to change her shirt and brush her hair. It had been so long since she cared what she looked like that it almost felt foreign to feel that way now.

She glanced in the mirror as she put her hair back into a quick ponytail, and then stopped and looked-really looked-at what caring for her father had done to her.

She was at least twenty pounds underweight. She looked as tired as she felt, and she could see the faint tic of a muscle near her left eye. She laid down the hairbrush and walked out of the bathroom straight to her father’s bedside.

Marshall Champion used to stand six feet tall in his bare feet, with a head of thick, curly brown hair he kept short. His body had been strong and muscular from all his years working on the railroad. But that was then, and this was now, and Talia could no longer see her father in the man lying in this bed. He was a shell of who he’d been, and she was so grateful for him that this hell was finally coming to an end.

“Hey, Dad, Bowie is coming to see us,” she said, as she patted his arm, then straightened the edge of his covers and smoothed back the tiny wisps of the hair he had left.

Suddenly he exhaled so loudly that it startled her. She stood stock-still for a few moments, her heart pounding as she waited for him to take that next breath. Just when she thought it wasn’t going to happen, she saw his eyelids flutter, and then she heard him inhale.

She sighed. He was still fighting the good fight.

“I’m here, Dad. For as long as you need me, I’m here,” she whispered, then kissed his forehead and eased down in the chair beside his bed.

She didn’t mean to fall asleep, but she did. The next thing she knew, someone was knocking at the door. She stood abruptly, checked on her father and then headed for the door.

Bowie’s hands were full as he leaned in and kissed her instead of saying hello. He handed her the malt and carried the rest inside, smiling to himself when she closed her eyes at that first sip. Then he glanced toward the bed.

“How’s it going today?”

“He’s still here,” she said softly.

“Where do you want to eat?” he asked. “I’m good with in here if you want to stay close.”

She nodded, and pointed to the sofa.

“You can use the coffee table.”

He put down the food and waited for her to settle, then sat beside her and began unwrapping the burgers. He laid the fries out close to her, then put one in her mouth before he took a bite of his burger.

They ate without talking.

Bowie could tell by her red-rimmed eyes that if she had to talk she was going to cry, and he wanted to get as much sustenance in her as he could beforehand.

For Talia, it had been so long since she’d allowed herself to feel that now it was all overwhelming her. Bowie had brought her back to life when he’d forgiven her for the lie. The fact that he still wanted her hadn’t really sunk in. Everything she was feeling now felt new: the cold, sweet taste of ice cream on her tongue, and the savory bite of salt on the fries. She could feel the warmth of Bowie’s body as she leaned against it and absorbed the gentleness of his presence as proof she wasn’t dreaming. When he coaxed her to eat a few more fries, she did so to please him, and all the while she could hear her father’s unsteady breathing and the occasional rattle in his chest.

“You eat the other burger, too,” she said.

He frowned. “Are you sure you don’t want at least a few bites?”

“I’m sure,” she said, then pushed the food aside and allowed herself to look, really look, at Bowie. He was still so beautiful in her eyes. She remembered how much she loved making love with him. One day it would happen again. The thought was a promise to hold on to.

“The malt was so good. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” But when he saw tears pooling in her eyes, he opened his arms. “Come here to me,” he said gently.

Talia swallowed past the knot in her throat and wrapped her arms around his neck. When she did, he pulled her into his lap. She laid her head against his shoulder, then flattened her hand over the strong steady beat of his heart. His strength was what was pulling her back into the land of the living.

“He’s worse, isn’t he?” Bowie asked.

She nodded.

He held her just a little bit tighter. “Is your hospice nurse coming today?”

“Yes. I called her.”

“Because…?”

She lowered her voice to a whisper so her father couldn’t possibly hear.

“Because I think today he will die.”

Bowie felt her shaking.

“Are you not ready to lose him? Is that why you’re trembling?”

“No, God, no,” she said. “I wish for all this to be over for him. But I also want it to be over for me, too. I don’t have another week of this left in me. I’m not even sure I have another day, and I feel guilty for thinking that with every breath I take.”

Then she started to cry, and Bowie pulled her close.

“I won’t leave you alone, okay? I’ll be right here with you until it’s over. Don’t cry, please don’t cry.”

As he held her, he wondered how many times she’d cried like this alone, and why life was so damn hard to get through. His parents had been the happiest two people he’d ever known, and look what had happened to them.

He and Talia had been so ready to begin a life together when another man’s fate ended their dreams. When she buried her father, the sacrifice she’d made for him would be a thing of the past, but his mother was still waiting for justice. Life sure wasn’t fair.

A few moments later Marshall gasped. Talia flew out of Bowie’s arms and ran to her father’s bedside just as someone knocked at the front door.

“That’s probably Erin,” she said, and quickly let her in. “Dad’s really struggling,” she told Erin abruptly, and ran back to the bed.

Erin saw Bowie cleaning up the remnants of a meal, and since they’d already met, she nodded a quick hello.

Bowie headed for the kitchen with the trash and then walked out onto the back porch to call home. Even though he’d told Talia he would stay, he was torn about where he belonged. He needed to make sure all was well back home.

He made the call and then, as he was waiting for his mother to answer, noticed the helipad was easily visible from here and wondered if Talia had seen him arriving.

“Hello?” his mother said.

“Mama, it’s me. I’m at Talia’s.”

“How is she? How is Marshall?”

“That’s part of why I’m calling. She thinks it’s just a matter of hours.”

“Oh, bless her heart. Who’s there with her?”

“The hospice nurse just got here…and me.”

“Don’t they have any family in the area? Isn’t there someone from the church? She shouldn’t face this alone. You should stay.”

“I wanted to, but I had to make sure you would-”

“Oh, good Lord, Bowie! We’re fine. Polly is here right now, and Samuel already called to let me know he’d do the evening chores. We’re all in a state of wait-and-see, and you know it. You’ve lit a fire under the authorities. Now we have to wait for them to do their job.”

He breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“Thank you for understanding. I’ll call or text you later.”

“I love you, Bowie. Be happy with her, and tell her we love her and are sending her our prayers.”

“Yes, ma’am, and I love you, too,” Bowie said, and then went back inside.

Erin was at Marshall’s bedside assessing his vitals while Talia stood at the foot of the bed, watching. Bowie walked up behind her and wrapped her in his arms. She curled her fingers around his wrists and leaned against him, grateful for his strength.

“Was I right?” Talia asked.

Erin looked up and nodded.

Talia’s shoulders slumped, and then she stepped out of Bowie’s arms and moved to her father’s side. She touched his arm, his cheek, leaned over and kissed his forehead, then whispered in his ear, “It’s okay now, Daddy. It’s time to go home.”

Bowie couldn’t hear what she said, but he knew she’d just let her father go. He took a deep breath and focused on a picture on the wall above the bed to keep from crying. He knew what she was feeling. Even if the circumstance were vastly different, the loss was still the same.

Erin McClune was filled with empathy for Talia and what was happening. She’d been in this place so many times before, and it never changed. The medical staff who helped bring babies into the world always had their moments of elation, while Erin and others like her had their own sense of quiet accomplishment knowing they were helping families as their loved ones passed on.

For all three of them standing watch, time seemed to stop. It was as if the only sound in the little house was the faint, intermittent inhale and exhale of Marshall Champion’s breath.

Bowie wondered if Marshall was in pain, and wondered if, in his father’s last seconds, the pain had faded for him. God, he hoped so. His father had died alone. Marshall would not, and yet neither man would have ever imagined the way he would exit this world.

Talia had always heard that when someone died, their life flashed before their eyes. She didn’t know what her father was experiencing, but she was being bombarded with precious memories of their life together.

Once she glanced up at the clock. It was almost three in the afternoon. They’d been standing there waiting for more than two hours, and in that time Bowie had not budged from the foot of the bed. She hurt for the tears on his cheeks. This had to remind him of losing his dad, and yet he’d stayed.

She looked back at her father just as he exhaled again, and waited for him to take the next breath. When he didn’t, the hair stood up on the back of her neck.

Erin already had her stethoscope on his chest, listening for a heartbeat.

Talia’s fingers tightened around the bed rail as they waited. Bowie walked up behind her, then put a hand on one shoulder, just so she wouldn’t feel alone.

Erin glanced at her watch and called it.

“Time of death, 3:15 p.m.”

Talia took that deep breath her father had not needed as she laid her hand on the crown of his head.

“Rest in peace, Dad. You have so earned it.”

She was crying again, but Bowie didn’t think she knew it.

“What happens now, Erin? Is there anything I can do?” he asked.

Erin glanced at Talia.

“Maybe you could take her outside on the back porch for a bit. I’ll need some warm water, and a towel and washcloth. I’ll notify the funeral home. Talia already gave me all the necessary information. This much I can do for her.”

Talia realized this was where her path with her father ended. Wherever Marshall went from here, she could not follow.

“I’ll get the bath stuff for you,” Talia said.

“I’ll help,” Bowie said. As soon as they had everything Erin needed, Bowie took her hand. “Let’s go sit in your porch swing, okay?”

She glanced at her dad and then nodded.

Bowie grabbed a cold bottle of Pepsi from the refrigerator as they passed through the kitchen.

Talia settled in the porch swing, and Bowie slid onto the seat beside her. He unscrewed the lid on the pop and handed it to her. She took a drink, and then handed the bottle back to him and leaned against his shoulder.

“Oh, Bowie,” she said softly, and then let go of everything she’d been trying to hide.

It was over, and she didn’t know how to feel, only that she couldn’t hold back the tears. They marked her relief. They stood for the joy that her father was no longer suffering, and at the same time, they were mute reminders of the years she would never get back.

Bowie set the Pepsi aside and held her. By the time the hearse from the funeral home arrived, she’d cried herself out. When they went back inside, once again Talia had to watch others take charge of her father’s body.

Mr. Monroe, the funeral director, was talking to her, but they were moving her father’s body to a gurney, and she felt like she should tell him goodbye. Instead, she got the garment bag from her father’s bedroom that held the clothing they would need to ready him for burial. She handed it over and then tuned everything out. She didn’t know how long she’d been standing there when she realized Mr. Monroe was repeating her name. She flinched. When she did, Bowie gently squeezed her shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t…”

“It’s okay, honey. I’ll fill you in later,” Bowie said.

“We’re going to leave now,” Mr. Monroe said. “You and I have already talked about your father’s wishes. We’ll do this right for you.”

“Thank you, but remember it’s a closed casket for visitation,” Talia said.

“Yes, ma’am. We understand,” Monroe said.

Bowie heard a quiet anger in her voice as she kept talking.

“No one came to see him before. I’m not putting him on view for the curious to remark upon now.”

“Of course. I’ll call and let you know when we have him ready. You can say your goodbyes before we seal the casket.”

She swallowed past the lump in her throat.

“Yes. Thank you.”

And then they were gone, and Erin was waiting with papers for Talia to sign.

“I’ll have the company call you before they come to pick up the hospital bed. It will likely take two or three days for them to get here,” Erin said.

“Thank you,” Talia said, and threw her arms around Erin’s neck. “I couldn’t have done this without you. I will hold you in my heart forever for this.”

Now Erin was tearing up.

“It was my honor to help your father and you,” she said; then she looked at Bowie. “My sympathies to your family, but I hope you and Talia will be very happy. You both deserve to know joy.”

And then she, too, was gone.

Talia turned around. Bowie was standing between her and that empty bed. When he opened his arms, she walked into them.

Neither one of them spoke. He just held her, but he could feel her shaking.

“Do you think you could sleep? You’re still trembling,” he said.

Talia shuddered.

“I can’t quit shaking, and I don’t know why. I feel cold inside, but the room isn’t cold.”

“That’s shock. You need to get off your feet and into bed. Even if you can’t sleep, you need to rest, okay?”

She was shivering harder now.

“I feel like I could sleep for a week, but I don’t know if I can relax.”

“Let’s try,” he said, then picked her up in his arms and carried her into her bedroom. He set her down by the bed and pulled back the covers.

Talia couldn’t think what to do next.

“Take off your shoes and jeans, honey. You’ll rest better,” Bowie said, but when she tried to unbutton the waistband of her jeans her hands were shaking too much to grip.

“Here, let me help,” he said, and had her barefoot and her jeans off in moments.

She crawled in between the sheets, and when her head hit the pillow, she sighed. She closed her eyes as Bowie drew up the covers to warm her, then pulled the shades and curtains to darken the room. She needed to thank him, but she could barely focus.

“Bowie?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for coming back. Thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for-”

Bowie sighed. She’d fallen asleep in midsentence. He glanced around the room to the easy chair near her desk, pulled it close to her bed and settled in. He sent a text to his mother, telling her Marshall was gone, and that Talia was in shock and he couldn’t get her warm. He said that he’d put her to bed and wouldn’t leave until he was sure she was okay.

Within seconds he got a text back.

Stay with her. Samuel and Bella are spending the night. They send their love and so do I.

Bowie pinched the bridge of his nose to keep from crying as he laid his phone aside. There was a knot in his belly. The past few days had, without doubt, been the worst days of their lives. Things had to start getting better.

He heard Talia crying, but she was asleep and so fragile he couldn’t bear to see her lying there alone. He kicked off his boots and eased down on top of the covers beside her. He put one arm over her waist, and stretched the other on to the pillow above her head and just held her.

Slowly her shaking began to ease until she was finally still.

And they slept.