Chapter 9

Elsewhere in the city, just as Phillip was being embraced by sleep, his mother and twin sister were finally arriving at home. They would have been home nearly an hour earlier but had stopped at their favorite Greek restaurant, The Omega, for a late supper. Neither had sought to eat anything earlier, being reluctant to leave Phillip.

It had been a mostly silent meal, both lost in their own thoughts.

Mandy's thoughts on how to get rid of her new competition for her brother's love, and Elizabeth's thoughts on the incredible sexual episode with her own unconscious son in the recovery ward.

Finally at home, both women were pleased to see that the Daloudin twin's parents had indeed finished making Phillip's Thanksgiving dinner and had stored it in the fridge. The two also checked the guest room and it was obviously cleaned up and ready for Moira and Kathleen, much to Mandy's disappointment. The bed had been made up with clean linens and everything dusted. It was a room ready for residents. They'd even set up the spare twin bed that had been stored in the attic. It was obviously for Kathleen, as it had been made up with a set of old pink Disney princess bedding that Mandy had outgrown years ago and also stored.

This reminder of her new rival, sent Mandy straight to her room where she cried into her brother's t-shirt covered body pillow. Elizabeth headed to her own room to change for the night. She heard her daughter crying and knew what the problem was. It tore at her heart to hear her precious little girl so distraught, but she still had no idea how to handle this particular problem. She wanted desperately to comfort her baby, but there just wasn't anything she could do right now. She would have to think long and hard on that problem.

Entering her own room, Elizabeth changed out of her hospital uniform and into her favorite black nightgown. Once changed, she sat on her bed and stared at the pictures on her dresser. There was of course a picture of her late husband. He was still a major part of her heart, and she knew that there would be a piece of her missing for all time now. But the near death of her son made her realize just how much she's let her grief control her life. It was something that she refused to let control her anymore. Next to his picture was her favorite picture of Phillip and Mandy. It had been taken when they were just twelve years old. They'd taken it at the beach during summer vacation that year. It was going on evening in the photo and her babies were snuggled together on a blanket looking out over the lake, Mandy held in her brother's arms. Just looking at it now, she could see the love on her daughter's face for her brother. Why she'd never noticed it before she would never know.

Driven by the memories that photo brought back, Elizabeth left her room and made her way down the hall to Phillip's room. As she passed Mandy's room she could her that the crying had lessened to small whimpers. They tore at her heart, but she continued on to her son's room.

Like her daughter, Elizabeth hadn't been in Phillip's room in years and that reminder of her own grief-driven neglect almost brought her to tears. She remembered what his room was like before her husband's death, and was surprised that at first look not much had changed. That was, until she looked closer.

The movie posters that used to adorn his walls were gone. Only two posters now hung on the walls, both now in poster frames, not just taped or tacked to the wall. One was a poster of an evil-looking man in dark armor riding a twisted steed and holding a flaming sword. A small print in the bottom corner proclaimed him the Bringer of Chaos, by a company called Games Workshop. The other was a dark skinned beautiful woman in a TINY white thong bikini that really made her bubble butt stand out. A fake autograph showed it was Kim Kardashian. Elizabeth wasn't even aware that he liked the woman enough to have a poster of her. Then she began to notice other changes that she at first missed.

"Mandy," she hollered. "Come meet me in your brother's room. NOW!"

A couple minutes later Mandy walked into the room. Like her mother she was dressed for bed. In her case she wore a pair of blue boy shorts panties and a blue sleeping slip, both with a picture of Piglet on them. Her eyes were red from her crying but she'd obviously taken a minute to clean herself up a bit. "What do ya need mom?" she asked.

"Mandy," her mother started, "Take a good long look at your brother's room and tell me what changes you see."

Mandy looked around quickly, but really didn't bother to look. Without thought she said, "It looks pretty much the same to me mom."

"Take a closer look baby. I didn't see it at first either, but really look. It's been years since either of us have stepped foot in here. But I know you have to remember what it used to look like. You used to spend every waking moment you could in here."

Taking the tone of voice her mother was using seriously, Mandy REALLY looked the room over.

Taking her time she too started to notice the changes. She finally noticed the posters, and a couple of new photos on his wall. Most were pictures of old family and friends. But there was even a photo of him standing next to an attractive fortyish women with greying hair. They were standing in front of a small store with a sign naming it Tally Thrift and Save. She recognized the name from the pay stubs she'd seen earlier, and realized it must be someone he worked with. She spotted a tall bookshelf in one corner that had never been there before. She saw it was loaded with books. Many she recognized as ones he'd owned for awhile, but there were also a large number she'd never seen before.

"Mandy," her mother called, drawing her attention. Her mother stood in front of the old TV stand that Phillip always had. Elizabeth looked back at her daughter and asked, "When did your brother get all this?"

Mandy noticed that instead of the old TV that she remembered, there was a small 26" Vizio LED TV in its place. There was also a blu-ray player, his old VCR, and a Playstation 3. Standing next to the old TV stand was a new looking media tower loaded with DVDs, a dozen Blu-Rays, and about a half dozen games for the PS3. She never remembered her brother buying any of this! "I don't know mom."

The shocks kept coming.

There on his desk with his desk top computer was also a work station for what looked like painting small miniature plastic soldiers. "Mom, did you know that Phillip was into this stuff?" she asked pointing to the workstation.

"No baby, I never knew." replied Elizabeth. Her eyes were drawn to a new shelf mounted on the wall above the desk where several small armies of figurines were displayed. "But he certainly seems to enjoy it if those finished figures are any indication."