Chapter 3

A few months passed and one evening I received a call from Marci. She sounded distraught. "Marci, what is it?"

"Can you take the boys for the night and make sure they get to school in the morning? I have to take Tom to the emergency room."

"Sure, no problem. Do you have any idea what's the matter with Tom?"

"He's been having some stomach problems lately. Right now he says it really hurts. I know Tom and if he chooses to go to the emergency room, he's in pain."

"I'll stop by and pick up the boys, hope all goes well with Tom. He really is a nice guy." It was hard for me to say the words, but it was true. He was the type of guy that seemed to have it all together. Loved by everyone, only problem I had was he had Marci.

After sending the boys to school the next day, Marci called to say they admitted Tom for tests. I told her not to worry that I would take care of the boys and she could stay with Tom.

The boys stayed with my mom that night because I had an overnight run to make. When I returned, mom told me Tom had pancreatic cancer. They gave him two months to live because of the advanced stage it was in. Surgery wasn't an option; they discharged him with several medications.

I stopped by to see him and Marci. It was so odd since he seemed to be fine when you looked at him. But as he explained it, his insides weren't.

"Have you thought about trying to fight it?" I asked.

"Barry, the odds are about five percent I would make it through all the surgeries. I'm not about to put Marci and the boys through all that pain. I care for them too much. Besides, the doctors don't think I could even make it through all the operations. The cancer has spread to my other organs."

On the way home, I thought about how unfair it was for someone like Tom to die an early death while someone like me lives on. A month later, I got a call from Marci saying she was taking him back to the hospital. I went over to get the boys and take them to my house.

We went to see Tom in the hospital the next day. The boys were crying on the way to the hospital.

"I'm sorry Dad, but Tom was like a second dad to us," said Jerry.

"I understand boys. It's hard to understand why God takes people like Tom so early in life. I guess we'll never really know why. Just be happy that Tom will be with God and not in pain any more. You boys were lucky to have a man as nice as Tom in your life. He was a special person and loved you boys and your mother very much.

"It's all right to cry when you lose someone you care about. There is nothing unmanly about showing your emotions."

We went in to see Tom and the boys gave him a hug. They both told him how much they cared for him and that they would miss him. He did his best to calm them by reminding them to cherish the memories they shared. The boys then sat with their mom in the waiting room after Tom asked to see me alone.

"Barry, I've known for a long time that you still love Marci. It's just something I could feel. I want to thank you for being so considerate of our marriage. You must have been uncomfortable at times, but you handled it as a gentleman.

"I want you to watch over Marci and the boys. Our son's are great kids. You couldn't ask for better boys; I'm so proud of them. As far as Marci goes, she still has feelings for you. There are some things we just know. Please just give her some time and take care of her."

I had tears in my eyes when I left the room. Again I had to wonder why God took men like him and left people like me. Maybe he wanted another angel by his side.

Tom passed away the next day.

For the first few months after the funeral, Marci was busy settling the estate so I didn't see much of her. The boys came over every couple of days to see me. Jane told me that she was helping Marci pack up Tom's personal belongings.

Tom had a will and had everything pretty much taken care of. Jane told me that he left his old house and furnishings to his adult kids.

Marci received the insurance money and everything they owned jointly went to her. She and Jane had been gathering up all of Tom's personal affects and were letting his kids take whatever they wanted of their father's things. She kept some of his baseball memorabilia for Larry and Jerry since he had promised it to them.

I saw Marci a couple of times at mom's but never long enough to talk to her alone. She was busy but I hoped her situation would improve soon.

It was about a month later when mom invited everyone over for a barbecue. Marci said she would do her best to try and be there. On the day of the cookout Jane showed up with Larry and Jerry but no Marci.

"Where's your mom?" I asked the boys.

"She was going to come but ran into some problems. She'll try to be here later if she gets it taken care of," said Jerry.

"What sort of problems, Jerry?"

"The garbage disposal stopped working and the sink is full of crud. She's been so busy already and then this problem with the garbage disposal. It's the stuff Tom used to take care of."

I looked over at my dad. "Where do you keep the tool box with the plumbing and electrical tools?

"On the workbench in the garage," replied dad.

"I'd like to borrow it for a little bit if I may."

My dad knew I was going over to help Marci. "Do you need me to come along?" asked dad.

"No thanks, Dad. I think I can handle this." I told mom that I would be back in time for the cookout as I headed into the garage to get the tools.

A few minutes later I was at Marci's.

"Barry, what are you doing here?" she asked when she answered my knock.

"I heard you were in need of a repairman and I wasn't busy. So lead me to the garbage disposal."

The boys were right. The sink was full of crud and the disposal didn't work. I hit the reset button and it ran but nothing went down the drain. I was busy taking all the things out from under the sink.

"Barry, you don't need to do this. I was going to call a plumber."

"Marci, you need the help and I know what I'm doing. Besides, we have a cookout to be at in two hours."

I smiled at her then asked her for a bucket. Taking out the trap from the garbage disposal proved my hunch. A combination of egg shells and potato peels jammed the trap. The minute I took it out all the crud went into the bucket. I put the pipes back together and told her to try the disposal.

When it worked fine, I gathered the tools and turned to her.

"Okay, the boys said your toilet keeps dripping. Is that true?"

"Yes but you don't need..."

"Marci, I'm here to help. Please let me try."

She smiled and nodded. While she put the stuff back under the kitchen sink, I checked the toilet. When I saw I would need a new part for it, I headed over to the hardware store. It took me longer to get the part than it did to repair the toilet.

"Okay, what else do you need to do before we go to the cookout?"

"The house is a mess. I can't just leave it like this," said Marci.

"Go do what you have to. I'll fill the dishwasher and mop the kitchen floor."

She looked at me as I reached for some dishes. I guess she figured arguing with me would be a waste of time, so she went into the family room and started vacuuming.

"What else do you want done?" I asked when I finished mopping the floor,

"I have to take those boxes of Tom's stuff out. Some I want put in the attic and the others I need to take to the Salvation Army. His kids took what they wanted; I don't have any use for the remainder of his clothes. The stuff to go up in the attic I'll try selling at a garage sale."

I carried the heavy boxes out to the garage and the clothes for the Salvation Army I put in my truck to drop off. While I was doing that the phone rang.

"Yes, we'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Yes, he got it fixed. I think so too. Okay, see you in a little bit," said Marci.

"That was Jane. She wanted to know if I was coming to the cookout. I told her we would be right there."

"What did she say that made you say, 'I think so too'?" I asked Marci.

"She thinks that you really are a caring person and have changed."

"Marci, if you need anything at all, please call me. I mean it. Now come on, we have to get to the Salvation Army and then to the cookout. I'm getting hungry."

We made our stop first and then headed over to moms. The food was ready and they were waiting for us.

While we were eating I talked to the boys.

"Tomorrow you two have to carry some heavy boxes up to the attic for your mom. Also, get your bedrooms cleaned up and the beds made each morning. You boys need to help your mom a lot more now; she's going through a rough time. Oh, and by the way, the grass is getting a little high. I'll leave it up to you boys on who mows and who trims."

Everyone was a little surprised that I spoke up; after all, I never interfered before in how Marci raised the kids. Even the boys looked surprised. But Marci didn't say a word.

"You two want to go to a ballgame next weekend? I got four tickets from work and thought you might be interested in going," I said to the boys.

"That would be great. We haven't seen a game since last year when—Tom took us," said Larry.

"It's all right to talk about him, Larry. He was a wonderful man and you should hold your memories of him close to your heart," I said.

"What are you going to do with the extra ticket, Dad?" asked Jerry.

"I don't know. Do you guys have a friend you'd like to bring along?"

"What about mom? She always went when Tom took us," Jerry replied.

I looked over at Marci. "Do you like baseball? Would you like to come with the boys and me next Saturday?"

"Yes, I like to go to the games; but I have so much to do," she said.

Jane spoke up. "Marci, you need to get out. I think you should go and enjoy yourself. Whatever you need done can wait."

I was surprised to hear Jane saying Marci should go out with me. Maybe I was a better person.

We had a great time at the game. When the boys told me what they knew about the players, I thought again how Tom sure taught them a lot. Just sitting next to Marci and seeing her smile made my day. I felt like we were a family again.

After the game we stopped at a pizza joint. While we waited for our order, Larry tapped my shoulder.

"Dad, can we go to the amusement park this year?"

"That's up to your mom, but I'm game," I replied.

Marci gave me that "you want me to be the bad guy," look, which made me grin.

"I don't know. Why don't I talk it over with Aunt Jane and maybe she can bring the girls too."

Our pizza came and the boys began talking about the game again. I really enjoyed spending time with them all.