Fic: Growing Up Dorian: Chapter 3/?
Title: Growing Up Dorian
Chapter: 3
Author: nighthawkms (beta'd by mostepotente
Genre: Future!Fic, Possibly AU
Chapter Rating: PG
Warnings: Slash, Obscenities, Angst, Character Death
Chapter Pairing:(s) Click to be Spoiled: Perry/Jordan, mention of Turk/Carla, hints of another pairing...
Summary: Excerpts from the childhood of Sam Dorian Jr.
Disclaimer: Scrubs is the property of Bill Lawrence and I guess ABC network nowadays. I don't own it, I'm just playing in the 'verse!
Notes: Hey look, I actually kept my promise about posting! Anyway, I feel bad about this but I feel I MUST warn people now; I have added the warning of Character Death up there on my list because the event occurs in this chapter. I apologize for not warning about this earlier, but I forgot that I should have warned for it. This chapter is HEAVILY focused around the character death and it's crucial to the plotline. I will leave the warning for this in later chapters and add it to the two previous ones so that anyone stumbling across this sees it earlier. Again, sorry if this affects your reading of the fic, but I hope you can get past it and take it for what it is. Now, onto the story.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
It happened one day in the middle of October; a slightly chilly day but full of clear blue skies. Sam was sitting in his eighth grade classroom, work on some geometry problems. Jenny was across the aisle from him, scribbling away eagerly at her paper; she was amazingly good at math, in contrast to his usual lackluster performance.
There was a knock on the door, and all eyes turned as the student closest to it got up and opened it. Mrs. Wallace was standing there, lips pursed and searching the room. Sam watched her gaze end when it landed on Jenny. “Ms. Cox, could you come with me, please?” she said. “I need to speak with you. Please take your things with you.”
The room broke out with hurried whispers, and Sam caught Jenny’s gaze; she looked nervous and confused, and it was obvious that she didn’t have any idea what was going on. She gathered her things and followed Mrs. Wallace out. Sammy watched her leave, slowly turning his head back as the teacher tried to get the classroom back to order. Everyone was now muttering questions to each other to see if they knew what she had done.
Sam didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that something was wrong, really wrong. “Mr. Edwards,” he said, shooting his hand up, “can I run to the bathroom?”
“Go ahead,” his teacher said. Sam was up in an instant, grabbing the hall pass and briskly heading out of the room. He glanced around and caught sight of Mrs. Wallace and Jenny turning a corner. Sam jogged quickly towards them, half-torn between letting them know he was following them or just staying out of sight.
When he saw Jenny’s face, however, streaked with tears and looking more terrified than he’d ever seen her, he decided in an instant, and ran over to them. “Mrs. Wallace,” he said as she turned around, “what happened?”
“Mr. Dorian, aren’t you supposed to be in-”
“It’s my mom!” Jenny yelped, sniffling. “She was in a car crash! I have to go to the hospital.” She was chewing hard on her lip, and Sam knew that she was trying to keep from breaking down; it was what she always did when she got mad or sad or scared, but this time it wasn’t working very well.
“I’m going with you,” Sam said instantly. He hesitated, and then slid an arm around her shoulder, surprised when she pressed against him.
“Mr. Dorian, I can’t let you leave unless one of your parents allows it.”
“Who’s picking Jenny up?” he asked Mrs. Wallace, staring up at her and trying to give her a look that read ‘just-try-and-stop-me.’
“I’m driving her; her brother is already at the hospital and we don’t want him driving right now,” she said.
“Then call my dad or my mom,” Sam said. “Please, I need to go with her!”
Mrs. Wallace stared back at him for a moment, and then sighed. “Fine,” she said. “Come on, we’ll make the call in my office.”
~
They couldn’t reach Sam’s dad on his cell phone, but they got in contact with his mom, who gave permission for Mrs. Wallace to take Sam with her, and said that she’d leave work immediately to be at the hospital as soon as she could.
Sam didn’t remember much of the car ride; he only remembered sitting in the back seat of Mrs. Wallace’s car and holding Jenny as close to him as he could. She was quiet, sniffling every so often, and the world around them outside the car passed by at light speed. One moment he was at school, and the next they were getting out of the car and walking up the ramp of the emergency room entrance at Sacred Heart Hospital.
The first person they recognized was Mrs. Turk, who ran out from behind her workstation as soon as she saw them and pulled them both into a hug. “Your mom’s in surgery, honey,” she said to Jenny, stroking her hair. “Your brother’s in the waiting area; I’ll take you to him. Come on.”
Mrs. Wallace had to leave, hugging them both tightly before she did and telling them that Mrs. Cox was in her prayers. After she left, Mrs. Turk brought them to the waiting room. Sam spotted Jack in the corner; he looked disheveled and his expression was blank. They both ran over to him immediately; Jenny threw herself at her brother and he grabbed tightly onto her. “It’s gonna be okay, sis,” he said, rubbing a hand against her back. “Mom’s gonna be okay.”
They sat there for half an hour. Mrs. Turk had to return to work, but promised to come and update them if she heard anything. Jenny sat with her brother to her left and Sam to her right. As opposed to the car ride, Sam felt like time was now crawling at a caterpillar’s pace. He kept looking up at the clock to their left and seeing that only a few minutes had gone by.
Finally, Sam heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Mr. Cox storming down the hall, with Sam’s own dad only a few feet behind. Mr. Cox spotted his children and moved to them, picking up his daughter easily and hugging her tightly, muttering in her ear. She started crying again when he did.
Sam felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see his dad kneel down in front of him. “Hey,” he said, “how’d you get here?”
“Mom gave them permission,” Sam said, suddenly lunging forward to hug his dad. “She’s gonna be here soon.”
“Good.” When he pulled back, Sam was startled to notice the tear lines down his dad’s face. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad cry before in his whole life. “You are such a good person for coming with Jenny; I’m sure she was glad she had a friend to go with her.”
They settled into chairs after a moment; Mr. Cox had seated himself to the left of his son and put his daughter on the other side, an arm around both of them. Sam’s dad took Jenny’s empty seat, and a few minutes later, his mom arrived and took the chair on the other side of Sam.
They waited another hour, not speaking. Once or twice somebody got up to use the restroom, and Sam’s mom got coffee for the adults and Jack from the cafeteria, also bringing juice bottles for Sam and Jenny. Sam couldn’t drink; his stomach was queasy and the pale, hollow-eyed look Jenny was sporting made him even more nervous. He twisted the juice bottle in his hands, swallowing and staring at the door across from them that lead to the surgical area, hoping that it would open soon.
Finally, the door did open, and Mr. Turk stepped out from behind it, wiping his forehead and not looking happy. Mr. Cox immediately stood up and walked towards him, Sam’s dad following. Sam knew it was bad when Mr. Turk put a hand on Mr. Cox’s shoulder and shook his head, muttering to him. He heard Jenny start to cry to his right, and felt his mother’s arms coming to wrap tight around him.
For the thirteen years that Sam had known Mr. Cox, he had always worn one of two looks: annoyance or acceptance. Now, his face exploded into a mix of pain, rage and despair all in one, and with an anguished cry of, “No!” he lunged past Mr. Turk towards the door.
In an instant, Sam’s dad had moved forward and wrapped his arms around Mr. Cox’s chest, hauling him backwards as hard as he could. “Perry, stop!” he heard his dad say. “She’s gone. Your kids need you now.”
Sam tore his gaze away from that scene to look over to Jenny and Jack, who were clinging to each other tightly. Mr. Cox stopped struggling and sagged against Sam’s dad for a moment. His dad muttered something into Mr. Cox’s ear and then let go of him. After a moment, Mr. Cox turned and slowly made his way to his children. He knelt down in front of them and pulled them both into an embrace, and Sam hear him say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over again to them.
Sam felt wetness on his own face and realized that he’d started crying without even knowing it. There was a deep pain in his chest, and suddenly memories of Mrs. Sullivan were flooding his thoughts and overwhelming him. She was dead, oh god, this couldn’t be happening. He clung tighter to his own mother, pressing his face against her shoulder and never wanting to let go. He felt a hand on his back and knew it was his father’s. This couldn’t be happening- shouldn’t be happening. It wasn’t fair! Jenny shouldn’t have to lost her mother; not her! No, no, no!
But Sam knew that he could say it all he wanted, and it wouldn’t change anything. Mrs. Sullivan was gone.
~
The wake was two days later, on a chilly and rainy Friday afternoon. Sam stood next to his mom and watched his dad jog through the rain to get inside the funeral home after parking the car. Together, the three of them walked a short ways down the hall and entered the parlor room where the wake was being held.
About three dozen people were seated in the parlor on the arranged rows of seats. A short line had formed by the casket as people went to pay their respects to the body. Sam had a horrifying thought: how could they show the body? Wasn’t it all cut up from the car crash?
His parents pulled him towards the front of the room, where Mr. Cox, Jenny and Jack were seated on a couch at the head of the arranged seats. Mr. Cox stood up when he saw them, and gave them both handshakes, leaning in towards Sam’s dad and muttering something into his ear.
Sam moved over to Jenny, who only now looked up to see who had come. “I’m sorry about your mom,” he said quietly, suddenly feeling awkward. She looked a little better than she had looked at the hospital, but still had the same hollow-eyed look. When she saw him, her face got a little brighter and she tried to smile slightly.
“Thanks,” she said, nodding. “My mom really liked you. I’m sure she’d be glad you’re here.”
Sam moved to Jack and repeated his condolences, receiving a quick thank you and a handshake. He looked so different from the ten year old that Sam remembered meeting for the first time, but the arm resting on his sister’s shoulder told Sam that he was no less protective.
A hand landed on Sam’s shoulder, and he looked back to see his dad motioning towards the casket. “Your turn,” his dad said. “It doesn’t have to be anything big; just say goodbye.”
Sam moved forward hesitantly. He’d been too young to remember his grandmothers’ funerals, and his mother’s father was still alive, so technically this was the first funeral he’d been to of somebody he knew well. Suck it up, he told himself, moving towards the casket and sucking in a breath as the inside came into view.
Peaceful, was the first thought that came into Sam’s head when he saw her. She didn’t look bruised or cut up or anything. She looked asleep, except in a really weird position with her arms bent in an X shape on her chest. He thought that he saw a faint bruise poking out from where her dress began, but she also looked a good ten years younger and completely content.
“Mrs. Sullivan,” he muttered, suddenly feeling weird for talking to a dead body, but oh well. “I wish you were still here. You were always really nice to me, and Jenny and Jack shouldn’t have lost their mom so young. Everybody here loved you and we’ll all miss you.”
Sam stepped away from the coffin and turned around, heading back to his parents. “Mr. Cox and I need to talk,” said his dad. “Can you sit up here with your mom and keep Jenny and Jack company?” Sam nodded to his dad and watched the two men walk away together, slipping out of the room.
He sat down on the couch next to Jenny, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Here he was, sitting next to his best friend in the whole world, and nothing seemed good enough to talk about. He glanced at his mom next to him, but she had started to talk to his Aunt Elliot, who had just come in with her son and husband, both currently up at the casket. Looking back to the other side, he saw Jack talking to a school friend.
Finally, too frustrated to think of anything, he sighed and lifted his arm, resting it over Jenny’s shoulders. She didn’t resist. Again, he got the urge to say something, and opened his mouth, trying to form words.
“Can we- can we not talk?” he heard her say. Glancing over, he watched her struggle to find her own words. “I just want to think right now. Okay?”
He nodded and she settled closer to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. They sat there quietly, greeting the occasional new visitor and pointing out where Mr. Cox had gone to. Other than that, they said nothing. Honestly, Sam didn’t think there was anything worth saying; he hoped physical comfort could convey to Jenny whatever words he was incapable of saying.
~
For the next few hours, Sam watched people come and go from the parlor. Izzy and her brother and parents showed up a little bit after Sam had, and Izzy sat with them on the couch, her parents disappearing to talk to other people, and her brother going to play with Sam’s cousin Joey.
“How are you feeling, Jack?” Izzy asked, glancing over at him. Jack, who had seemed to be in a world of his own for most of the day, whipped his head around quickly when he heard her voice.
“How do you think?” He snapped, glaring. The glare faded instantly and he sighed. “Sorry, I’m just tense. It’s been a long day. Dad’s a wreck; I’m worried about him.”
Sam’s mom left around six; she had to get back home for a late night shift. “I’ll see you on Sunday at the funeral,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Don’t give your dad a hard time for the next few days, okay?”
“Yeah, Mom,” Sam said. “I’ll be good.”
By seven forty-five, most people had left the funeral home and gone home. The only people left in the room were the four children on the couch, Izzy’s brother and parents, and a few other adults. Sam had seen his dad and Mr. Cox pop in and out every so often, but they weren’t in now.
Sam’s curiosity overwhelmed itself finally. Saying he was going to the bathroom, he got up and headed out of the parlor room. The hallway was darkened and deserted, but he could hear voices at the far end of the hall and quietly headed towards them.
There was a shaft of light hitting the hall carpet that fell through the slightly open door, and Sam could see tabled and chairs piled together in what looked to be a storage room. Sam’s dad was leaning against one table across from Mr. Cox, who was leaning against a table parallel to the first. He kept to the shadows, but now Sam heard distinctly what they were saying.
“-if we’re going to do this,” Sam’s dad was mumbling, “then we need to rent hotel room or something. Keep the kids out of it. Carla and Turk can take them for a little while, but it can’t be all night; it’s not fair to them.”
“Fine with me,” said Mr. Cox in a gruff voice, staring directly at Sam’s dad, who was keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. “You sure about this, Newbie? No going back if you say yes.”
His dad was quiet for a moment and then looked up, locking his gaze with Mr. Cox’s. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m sure. We should leave now; are you ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
The two men started to move, and a rush of panic coursed through Sam; he jumped backwards and ran lightly but hurriedly back down the hall, entering the men’s bathroom, which was luckily empty. He opened a stall and sat down on a seat, catching his breath.
What had the two men been talking about? Rending a hotel room? Staying out all night? It was all confusing and didn’t make sense. What were his dad and Mr. Cox up to?
Sam made use of his excuse and used the bathroom, coming out to find the rest of the people who had been in the parlor now gathered in the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Turk were by the side with Jenny, Jack, Izzy, and Chris. Mr. Cox and Sam’s dad were nowhere to be found.
“Your dad had to go with Doctor Cox to take care of some business,” Mr. Turk said. “They’ll be back later tonight, but for now we’re all going back to our house for dinner.”
“What are they doing?” Sam asked, hoping that he could get the questions he had cleared up. But he was disappointed as Mr. Turk shook his head and spoke again.
“Just some personal business,” he said. “Nothing you need to worry about. Come on, let’s all get out of here.”
~
They ate dinner, everyone fairly quiet through it. After the dishes were done, the kids crashed in the living room while Mr. and Mrs. Turk went upstairs. Izzy got tired around ten and said goodnight to them all, taking her little brother upstairs with her.
Around eleven, Sam woke up from the nap he had drifted into to find that Jenny, who had fallen asleep on top of him, was being picked up by Mr. Cox, who looked somewhat more tired and disheveled that he had before. Jenny waved at him as she was carried out by her father, Jack following behind.
A minute or two later, Sam’s own dad came in. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, kneeling down next to the couch and patting Sam’s shoulder. “Ready to leave?”
Sam yawned and nodded, standing up and stretching. “Yeah, Dad. Did you and Mr. Cox take care of what you needed to?”
“Yeah, we did. Now come on, let’s go home.”
Next Chapter
X-Posted to scrubsfic and jd_cox
Chapter: 3
Author: nighthawkms (beta'd by mostepotente
Genre: Future!Fic, Possibly AU
Chapter Rating: PG
Warnings: Slash, Obscenities, Angst, Character Death
Chapter Pairing:(s) Click to be Spoiled: Perry/Jordan, mention of Turk/Carla, hints of another pairing...
Summary: Excerpts from the childhood of Sam Dorian Jr.
Disclaimer: Scrubs is the property of Bill Lawrence and I guess ABC network nowadays. I don't own it, I'm just playing in the 'verse!
Notes: Hey look, I actually kept my promise about posting! Anyway, I feel bad about this but I feel I MUST warn people now; I have added the warning of Character Death up there on my list because the event occurs in this chapter. I apologize for not warning about this earlier, but I forgot that I should have warned for it. This chapter is HEAVILY focused around the character death and it's crucial to the plotline. I will leave the warning for this in later chapters and add it to the two previous ones so that anyone stumbling across this sees it earlier. Again, sorry if this affects your reading of the fic, but I hope you can get past it and take it for what it is. Now, onto the story.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
It happened one day in the middle of October; a slightly chilly day but full of clear blue skies. Sam was sitting in his eighth grade classroom, work on some geometry problems. Jenny was across the aisle from him, scribbling away eagerly at her paper; she was amazingly good at math, in contrast to his usual lackluster performance.
There was a knock on the door, and all eyes turned as the student closest to it got up and opened it. Mrs. Wallace was standing there, lips pursed and searching the room. Sam watched her gaze end when it landed on Jenny. “Ms. Cox, could you come with me, please?” she said. “I need to speak with you. Please take your things with you.”
The room broke out with hurried whispers, and Sam caught Jenny’s gaze; she looked nervous and confused, and it was obvious that she didn’t have any idea what was going on. She gathered her things and followed Mrs. Wallace out. Sammy watched her leave, slowly turning his head back as the teacher tried to get the classroom back to order. Everyone was now muttering questions to each other to see if they knew what she had done.
Sam didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that something was wrong, really wrong. “Mr. Edwards,” he said, shooting his hand up, “can I run to the bathroom?”
“Go ahead,” his teacher said. Sam was up in an instant, grabbing the hall pass and briskly heading out of the room. He glanced around and caught sight of Mrs. Wallace and Jenny turning a corner. Sam jogged quickly towards them, half-torn between letting them know he was following them or just staying out of sight.
When he saw Jenny’s face, however, streaked with tears and looking more terrified than he’d ever seen her, he decided in an instant, and ran over to them. “Mrs. Wallace,” he said as she turned around, “what happened?”
“Mr. Dorian, aren’t you supposed to be in-”
“It’s my mom!” Jenny yelped, sniffling. “She was in a car crash! I have to go to the hospital.” She was chewing hard on her lip, and Sam knew that she was trying to keep from breaking down; it was what she always did when she got mad or sad or scared, but this time it wasn’t working very well.
“I’m going with you,” Sam said instantly. He hesitated, and then slid an arm around her shoulder, surprised when she pressed against him.
“Mr. Dorian, I can’t let you leave unless one of your parents allows it.”
“Who’s picking Jenny up?” he asked Mrs. Wallace, staring up at her and trying to give her a look that read ‘just-try-and-stop-me.’
“I’m driving her; her brother is already at the hospital and we don’t want him driving right now,” she said.
“Then call my dad or my mom,” Sam said. “Please, I need to go with her!”
Mrs. Wallace stared back at him for a moment, and then sighed. “Fine,” she said. “Come on, we’ll make the call in my office.”
~
They couldn’t reach Sam’s dad on his cell phone, but they got in contact with his mom, who gave permission for Mrs. Wallace to take Sam with her, and said that she’d leave work immediately to be at the hospital as soon as she could.
Sam didn’t remember much of the car ride; he only remembered sitting in the back seat of Mrs. Wallace’s car and holding Jenny as close to him as he could. She was quiet, sniffling every so often, and the world around them outside the car passed by at light speed. One moment he was at school, and the next they were getting out of the car and walking up the ramp of the emergency room entrance at Sacred Heart Hospital.
The first person they recognized was Mrs. Turk, who ran out from behind her workstation as soon as she saw them and pulled them both into a hug. “Your mom’s in surgery, honey,” she said to Jenny, stroking her hair. “Your brother’s in the waiting area; I’ll take you to him. Come on.”
Mrs. Wallace had to leave, hugging them both tightly before she did and telling them that Mrs. Cox was in her prayers. After she left, Mrs. Turk brought them to the waiting room. Sam spotted Jack in the corner; he looked disheveled and his expression was blank. They both ran over to him immediately; Jenny threw herself at her brother and he grabbed tightly onto her. “It’s gonna be okay, sis,” he said, rubbing a hand against her back. “Mom’s gonna be okay.”
They sat there for half an hour. Mrs. Turk had to return to work, but promised to come and update them if she heard anything. Jenny sat with her brother to her left and Sam to her right. As opposed to the car ride, Sam felt like time was now crawling at a caterpillar’s pace. He kept looking up at the clock to their left and seeing that only a few minutes had gone by.
Finally, Sam heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Mr. Cox storming down the hall, with Sam’s own dad only a few feet behind. Mr. Cox spotted his children and moved to them, picking up his daughter easily and hugging her tightly, muttering in her ear. She started crying again when he did.
Sam felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see his dad kneel down in front of him. “Hey,” he said, “how’d you get here?”
“Mom gave them permission,” Sam said, suddenly lunging forward to hug his dad. “She’s gonna be here soon.”
“Good.” When he pulled back, Sam was startled to notice the tear lines down his dad’s face. He didn’t think he’d ever seen his dad cry before in his whole life. “You are such a good person for coming with Jenny; I’m sure she was glad she had a friend to go with her.”
They settled into chairs after a moment; Mr. Cox had seated himself to the left of his son and put his daughter on the other side, an arm around both of them. Sam’s dad took Jenny’s empty seat, and a few minutes later, his mom arrived and took the chair on the other side of Sam.
They waited another hour, not speaking. Once or twice somebody got up to use the restroom, and Sam’s mom got coffee for the adults and Jack from the cafeteria, also bringing juice bottles for Sam and Jenny. Sam couldn’t drink; his stomach was queasy and the pale, hollow-eyed look Jenny was sporting made him even more nervous. He twisted the juice bottle in his hands, swallowing and staring at the door across from them that lead to the surgical area, hoping that it would open soon.
Finally, the door did open, and Mr. Turk stepped out from behind it, wiping his forehead and not looking happy. Mr. Cox immediately stood up and walked towards him, Sam’s dad following. Sam knew it was bad when Mr. Turk put a hand on Mr. Cox’s shoulder and shook his head, muttering to him. He heard Jenny start to cry to his right, and felt his mother’s arms coming to wrap tight around him.
For the thirteen years that Sam had known Mr. Cox, he had always worn one of two looks: annoyance or acceptance. Now, his face exploded into a mix of pain, rage and despair all in one, and with an anguished cry of, “No!” he lunged past Mr. Turk towards the door.
In an instant, Sam’s dad had moved forward and wrapped his arms around Mr. Cox’s chest, hauling him backwards as hard as he could. “Perry, stop!” he heard his dad say. “She’s gone. Your kids need you now.”
Sam tore his gaze away from that scene to look over to Jenny and Jack, who were clinging to each other tightly. Mr. Cox stopped struggling and sagged against Sam’s dad for a moment. His dad muttered something into Mr. Cox’s ear and then let go of him. After a moment, Mr. Cox turned and slowly made his way to his children. He knelt down in front of them and pulled them both into an embrace, and Sam hear him say, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over again to them.
Sam felt wetness on his own face and realized that he’d started crying without even knowing it. There was a deep pain in his chest, and suddenly memories of Mrs. Sullivan were flooding his thoughts and overwhelming him. She was dead, oh god, this couldn’t be happening. He clung tighter to his own mother, pressing his face against her shoulder and never wanting to let go. He felt a hand on his back and knew it was his father’s. This couldn’t be happening- shouldn’t be happening. It wasn’t fair! Jenny shouldn’t have to lost her mother; not her! No, no, no!
But Sam knew that he could say it all he wanted, and it wouldn’t change anything. Mrs. Sullivan was gone.
~
The wake was two days later, on a chilly and rainy Friday afternoon. Sam stood next to his mom and watched his dad jog through the rain to get inside the funeral home after parking the car. Together, the three of them walked a short ways down the hall and entered the parlor room where the wake was being held.
About three dozen people were seated in the parlor on the arranged rows of seats. A short line had formed by the casket as people went to pay their respects to the body. Sam had a horrifying thought: how could they show the body? Wasn’t it all cut up from the car crash?
His parents pulled him towards the front of the room, where Mr. Cox, Jenny and Jack were seated on a couch at the head of the arranged seats. Mr. Cox stood up when he saw them, and gave them both handshakes, leaning in towards Sam’s dad and muttering something into his ear.
Sam moved over to Jenny, who only now looked up to see who had come. “I’m sorry about your mom,” he said quietly, suddenly feeling awkward. She looked a little better than she had looked at the hospital, but still had the same hollow-eyed look. When she saw him, her face got a little brighter and she tried to smile slightly.
“Thanks,” she said, nodding. “My mom really liked you. I’m sure she’d be glad you’re here.”
Sam moved to Jack and repeated his condolences, receiving a quick thank you and a handshake. He looked so different from the ten year old that Sam remembered meeting for the first time, but the arm resting on his sister’s shoulder told Sam that he was no less protective.
A hand landed on Sam’s shoulder, and he looked back to see his dad motioning towards the casket. “Your turn,” his dad said. “It doesn’t have to be anything big; just say goodbye.”
Sam moved forward hesitantly. He’d been too young to remember his grandmothers’ funerals, and his mother’s father was still alive, so technically this was the first funeral he’d been to of somebody he knew well. Suck it up, he told himself, moving towards the casket and sucking in a breath as the inside came into view.
Peaceful, was the first thought that came into Sam’s head when he saw her. She didn’t look bruised or cut up or anything. She looked asleep, except in a really weird position with her arms bent in an X shape on her chest. He thought that he saw a faint bruise poking out from where her dress began, but she also looked a good ten years younger and completely content.
“Mrs. Sullivan,” he muttered, suddenly feeling weird for talking to a dead body, but oh well. “I wish you were still here. You were always really nice to me, and Jenny and Jack shouldn’t have lost their mom so young. Everybody here loved you and we’ll all miss you.”
Sam stepped away from the coffin and turned around, heading back to his parents. “Mr. Cox and I need to talk,” said his dad. “Can you sit up here with your mom and keep Jenny and Jack company?” Sam nodded to his dad and watched the two men walk away together, slipping out of the room.
He sat down on the couch next to Jenny, but he couldn’t think of anything to say. Here he was, sitting next to his best friend in the whole world, and nothing seemed good enough to talk about. He glanced at his mom next to him, but she had started to talk to his Aunt Elliot, who had just come in with her son and husband, both currently up at the casket. Looking back to the other side, he saw Jack talking to a school friend.
Finally, too frustrated to think of anything, he sighed and lifted his arm, resting it over Jenny’s shoulders. She didn’t resist. Again, he got the urge to say something, and opened his mouth, trying to form words.
“Can we- can we not talk?” he heard her say. Glancing over, he watched her struggle to find her own words. “I just want to think right now. Okay?”
He nodded and she settled closer to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. They sat there quietly, greeting the occasional new visitor and pointing out where Mr. Cox had gone to. Other than that, they said nothing. Honestly, Sam didn’t think there was anything worth saying; he hoped physical comfort could convey to Jenny whatever words he was incapable of saying.
~
For the next few hours, Sam watched people come and go from the parlor. Izzy and her brother and parents showed up a little bit after Sam had, and Izzy sat with them on the couch, her parents disappearing to talk to other people, and her brother going to play with Sam’s cousin Joey.
“How are you feeling, Jack?” Izzy asked, glancing over at him. Jack, who had seemed to be in a world of his own for most of the day, whipped his head around quickly when he heard her voice.
“How do you think?” He snapped, glaring. The glare faded instantly and he sighed. “Sorry, I’m just tense. It’s been a long day. Dad’s a wreck; I’m worried about him.”
Sam’s mom left around six; she had to get back home for a late night shift. “I’ll see you on Sunday at the funeral,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Don’t give your dad a hard time for the next few days, okay?”
“Yeah, Mom,” Sam said. “I’ll be good.”
By seven forty-five, most people had left the funeral home and gone home. The only people left in the room were the four children on the couch, Izzy’s brother and parents, and a few other adults. Sam had seen his dad and Mr. Cox pop in and out every so often, but they weren’t in now.
Sam’s curiosity overwhelmed itself finally. Saying he was going to the bathroom, he got up and headed out of the parlor room. The hallway was darkened and deserted, but he could hear voices at the far end of the hall and quietly headed towards them.
There was a shaft of light hitting the hall carpet that fell through the slightly open door, and Sam could see tabled and chairs piled together in what looked to be a storage room. Sam’s dad was leaning against one table across from Mr. Cox, who was leaning against a table parallel to the first. He kept to the shadows, but now Sam heard distinctly what they were saying.
“-if we’re going to do this,” Sam’s dad was mumbling, “then we need to rent hotel room or something. Keep the kids out of it. Carla and Turk can take them for a little while, but it can’t be all night; it’s not fair to them.”
“Fine with me,” said Mr. Cox in a gruff voice, staring directly at Sam’s dad, who was keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. “You sure about this, Newbie? No going back if you say yes.”
His dad was quiet for a moment and then looked up, locking his gaze with Mr. Cox’s. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m sure. We should leave now; are you ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
The two men started to move, and a rush of panic coursed through Sam; he jumped backwards and ran lightly but hurriedly back down the hall, entering the men’s bathroom, which was luckily empty. He opened a stall and sat down on a seat, catching his breath.
What had the two men been talking about? Rending a hotel room? Staying out all night? It was all confusing and didn’t make sense. What were his dad and Mr. Cox up to?
Sam made use of his excuse and used the bathroom, coming out to find the rest of the people who had been in the parlor now gathered in the hall. Mr. and Mrs. Turk were by the side with Jenny, Jack, Izzy, and Chris. Mr. Cox and Sam’s dad were nowhere to be found.
“Your dad had to go with Doctor Cox to take care of some business,” Mr. Turk said. “They’ll be back later tonight, but for now we’re all going back to our house for dinner.”
“What are they doing?” Sam asked, hoping that he could get the questions he had cleared up. But he was disappointed as Mr. Turk shook his head and spoke again.
“Just some personal business,” he said. “Nothing you need to worry about. Come on, let’s all get out of here.”
~
They ate dinner, everyone fairly quiet through it. After the dishes were done, the kids crashed in the living room while Mr. and Mrs. Turk went upstairs. Izzy got tired around ten and said goodnight to them all, taking her little brother upstairs with her.
Around eleven, Sam woke up from the nap he had drifted into to find that Jenny, who had fallen asleep on top of him, was being picked up by Mr. Cox, who looked somewhat more tired and disheveled that he had before. Jenny waved at him as she was carried out by her father, Jack following behind.
A minute or two later, Sam’s own dad came in. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, kneeling down next to the couch and patting Sam’s shoulder. “Ready to leave?”
Sam yawned and nodded, standing up and stretching. “Yeah, Dad. Did you and Mr. Cox take care of what you needed to?”
“Yeah, we did. Now come on, let’s go home.”
Next Chapter
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