Sorry for keeping y'all hangin'. I've been going through some stuff, ups and downs, and health issues, etc. Just haven't had the energy or much inspiration. Thanks for all who wrote to me, expressing concern. (And Vince, my replies to you are still bouncing back as undeliverable. Don't know why.)
Chapter 22
Several months have passed, and I've settled in with Jamie and Rob quite nicely. We've become best buddies, and despite the initial warnings about "hands off", we seem to have no tensions and have become relaxed around each other. No, I haven't indulged in anything with either of them. I'm gay and divorced, but I'm no home-wrecker. But we all three are rather loose in our language and various states of dress, and have no qualms about slapping the bare ass of one another when it's warranted!
Chris and I have dated off and on, but it's still not quite gelled into a solid relationship. We have a good time when we go out, and one of our favorite things to do is to walk through the Zoo. But the spark isn't there which enables us to go to the next level, so we've sort of become just friends, though neither of us have attempted to define our relationship. Sex was never a priority for either of us, and we've merely dabbled with some mutual fondling and a suck or two. I guess that's pretty much the answer to the unasked question. In fact, after the first couple of months, it's more or less a non-issue.
I've been back to work now during this time, and it's like none of the problems of the past seem to be following me around at all, which is good. But, despite the fact of being back into the routine, I've discovered that work is very unfulfilling, and that I need to change my life as far as career is concerned.
This evening, it's a cool night, but not so cool that we can't open a window or two. We're sitting watching Seinfeld reruns in our underwear when there's a knock at the door. We exchange puzzled glances, wondering who'd be coming over unannounced. Jamie goes to the door and looks through the peephole. "Jesse, it's your dad!" he tells me. He and Rob go to the bedroom to make themselves presentable, but I figure it's just dad, so I open the door in my briefs.
"Hey son...sorry to drop in on you like this, but do you have a minute?" Dad asks.
"Sure, dad, come on in."
Dad comes in. "We need to talk privately, Jesse." he says seriously. Fear grips my chest as I know something's wrong. I gesture toward my bedroom, and we walk in there. I close the door.
"Dad, what's going on?" I ask, putting on a T-shirt and some shorts.
Dad sighs, then turns toward me. "Son, it's about your grandfather. I'm afraid it's bad news." He sits on the bed, looking at me to watch my reaction.
"Grandpa Corey?" I ask, immediately concerned.
"No, your other grandfather." Again the expectant look.
"Wow," I say. "I haven't seen him since I was like six, since he and Mom had that falling out. What's wrong with him?"
"Well, it seems he's passed on, Jess. The attorney told us he died in his sleep and they found him this morning." Dad pauses, letting that sink in.
I blink, unsure of what this has to do with me. See, my grandfather was a cold man, and the fact that he had children at all is somewhat of a miracle in most of our books. He and Mom had a screaming match one day, after a long absence. I remember the yelling, but was too young to really know what it was about.
I sit next to Dad on the bed. "So...what does this have to do with me? He never made any time for me or even tried to keep in contact, so I assume he didn't care about me."
Dad made sort of a nodding gesture. "You are more right than you may realize. Son, there is something I need to tell you, but I want you to be prepared."
"Dad! You're making me nervous. Will you just tell me what's going on?" I say, getting a little exasperated. After all I've been through, what could an old geezer I haven't seen in 33 years have to do with me?
"OK, JD, you win. Look, do you remember what the argument was even about?" Dad says, giving up the pretense of trying to protect me.
"No. I just remember a lot of yelling and hollering, then him storming out of the house slamming the door so hard it broke the glass."
"Right. OK, here's the thing. Your grandfather was upset with us because we had you."
"What? Why would he give a shit about having another kid?" I ask, puzzled.
"Well, he said we already had our heir -- meaning Josh -- and he didn't see why we needed another kid."
"Oh I see. Well, I figured something like that. I mean, Josh got stuff from him, and I never really did. It used to bother me, but shit, it's been YEARS since I've let that be of concern." I reply.
"Well, you know your grandfather was quite wealthy? And this is the part that may bother you. He left his estate to Josh...all $50 million." Dad pauses, waiting for me to explode.
I inhale sharply. "$50 million?! Holy SHIT!" I knew that the old coot had money, but I had no idea it was this much. "Well, I guess Josh hit the jackpot then." I reply without malice.
"You're not disturbed by this?" Dad asks incredulously. "Your mother was beside herself. She called him every name in the book, and when I told her that she should respect the dead, she told me where to stick my respect and went shopping."
Mom does that when she gets really mad. Calms her nerves. Rarely does she buy...just looks.
"Dad, it's just one more example of how he cut me out of his life. And at least now I know WHY. And no, it doesn't bother me in the least. I may go piss on his grave later, just for show, but...well, I guess now I got a wealthy brother at least!" Of course, this is only half-true.
"Well, I guess I was wrong. I thought for sure you'd be cursing and hollering like your mom. Of course, she was cut out too, which is why she's so angry. It's not the money, of course, but just his way of still getting to her, only now she can't get back at him." Dad laughs suddenly.
"What's so funny?" I ask.
"Well, I just had a vision of the two of you pissin' on his grave."
We both laugh.
"Well, the will was read today, and so I guess once it all clears the red tape, it'll be done with. I just wanted you to hear it from me instead of through the news or something." Dad says, putting his hand on my shoulder.
I move into his arms and he holds me. "What is it, son?"
"Dad, DID you and mom ever regret having me?" I ask, but suddenly feeling silly for having done so. Dad holds me tighter.
"I think you know better than that, my boy, and NO, for the record, not ever for one minute." Dad backs away so as to look me in the eye. "Let me tell you a secret, and don't repeat this to your brother. Josh was a surprise. We weren't planning to have kids yet, and one night I come home and your mother was all upset. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me she was pregnant. Now I said he was a surprise, but not an accident, and not an unwanted surprise. The practice was just starting out, and we were hoping to save for a year or two. Well, you know how it goes. Anyway, a few years later, we realized we wanted to have another child, and we actually planned to have you. In fact, I can probably tell you the exact night you were conceived."
I put my hand on Dad's chest. "Please...don't go into detail. That's enough!" I grin, and he laughs too.
"Right." he says. "OK, well, since you seem ok about this, I'll get going. I'll talk to you later, ok, buddy?"
"Sure, Dad. No problem. I'll call Josh later and congratulate him." I say as I usher Dad out and toward the front door. Jamie and Rob are back on the couch, but in jeans and shirts. I kiss Dad on the cheek and bid him good night. Then, without a word, I head back to my room and close the door. I sit on the bed to ponder this for a moment.
So, the old coot didn't want me to be born. Well, fuck you old man! I can't understand why I'm so angry suddenly. I mean, I had no feelings of love or family with this man, but you know, I didn't ASK to be born. Oh well. I'm not going to let it bother me. Just then, the phone rings, startling me out of my revelry.
"Hello?"
"Hey bro....what's happenin'?" Josh asks, but his voice sounds funny. Not at all like a suddenly-rich man.
"Hey man...not much. Dad just left after telling me the good news. Congratulations!" I say sincerely. It's not Josh's fault the man was a prick.
"Jesse, I'm livid." Josh says, his voice restrained, as if trying to keep from leaping through the phone. "I can't believe Grandfather would do this to you!!"
"Josh, you know the man had no feeling. I think his heart was run by an ice machine. It's NO big deal!" I say, trying to convince him.
"Yeah, but this is low. I mean, I knew he loved me, or so I thought, but I never imagined he'd say those things about YOU."
"What things?"
"Well, about how he only wanted one heir to pass along his fortune to, and that he didn't need a faggot for a grandson to spoil his corporate image. Those sorts of things."
"Whoa!! Dad didn't say anything about Grandfather knowing I was gay! How'd he know that?" I ask.
"Oh, Grandfather apparently had his ways about finding things out. He may have treated you badly in the past, but he kept close watch on you, man." Josh explained. I could hear the fury in his voice.
"Look, I don't care, Josh. The bastard is dead. And he's made his decisions. Just remember that we're brothers so I can say I knew you when, ok?" I chuckle trying to convince him that I'm really not that upset. Sure, the money would be nice, but not HIS money. I wouldn't take a glass of water from that asshole if it was the only thing saving me from certain death.
"Be that as it may," Josh starts to say in his official lawyer voice, "I've decided to give you some of it. And some to Mom and Dad too."
"You can't do that. It said in his will that it goes to you." I say, confused.
"Yeah, it does, but it doesn't say what I can and can't do with it. It's my money now, and I've decided that this is what I'm going to do. Period." Josh says with finality. My head starts to get light as reality sets in of what he's saying. "And even if it did, I know a few legal ways around it."
"I don't know, Josh. I don't really know if I want the bastard's money after what I've just found out today."
"Well, don't think of it as his money. Think of it as a gift from ME. And Marianne." Josh offers.
I think on that for a few seconds. Yeah, I could do that. DUH!! Of COURSE I could do that!!
"OK, you got a deal, bro." I say, trying to contain my excitement.
"Great!! I've decided to give Mom and Dad 50% of the total amount. As his only daughter, I feel she should get half. The other 50% we'll split, you and I."
"That doesn't seem fair...he left it all to you. Why would you settle for 25%?" I ask.
"Because I'm setting things RIGHT. It's my way of saying 'screw you' to him post-humously. And to think that I used to hold him in such high regard."
"Well, I won't argue with you, Josh. It's your decision, and hell, $12.5 million isn't anything to sneeze at."
"Exactly. And I still plan to keep my law practice with Dad, so, we decided to invest our share and live off the interest. I advise you do the same." Josh says.
"Yeah. I know. That makes the most sense." My head is already working through the numbers, and I know that investing it into an account that makes 12% interest is the sensible thing to do. I'll take the 8% interest annually, leaving 4% in there for inflation. That'll give me an annual salary of $1,000,000, or $83,000 per month to live off of. No small change there!!
"Hey, Josh, will you take care of the taxes and stuff?"
"Consider it done, bro. I'll take care of everything. Stop by the office in the next couple of days, and I'll have whatever paperwork needs to be done taken care of. Ciao!"
"See ya, man! And thanks!" I hang up the phone, my head spinning. This day has been an incredible one. I just grossed up my annual salary by a factor of 12! I imagine this must be how the lottery winners feel.
Suddenly, I realize that my entire life is about to change, and now I have to decide what to do with it. I know it'll never buy happiness, but it sure gives me more options to help FIND happiness! And maybe finally I can find some of the things I want in life that have eluded me up until now....
To be continued...
Well, here's an interesting twist of fate. I'm back to having no clue where I'm going with this...but at least now there's some movement. I felt it was important to jump forward in time rather than dwell on dating rituals and such. Bear in mind that the financial stuff and legal issues may not be "kosher", but that's why this is fiction! :-)