Chapter 8

Mandy was very quiet on the ride home. Then she burst into tears again and cried, almost wailing at her loss. Jason was there for her. Again he pulled her to his shoulder to comfort her.

Through her sobs of desolation, Mandy cried that she and Bob had not been separated for more than a few hours since they met. He was the light of her life and and with that light extinguished she didn't know how she would manage.

Jason just held her in his arms and stroked her hair telling her that somehow this will all work out. "Yes, Bob will be missed and I'm sure he would want you to carry on."

"I know, but this is very hard," she said through her sobbing.

Jason kept Mandy in his arms until they pulled into the driveway. She looked up at him when he softly said, "Wow!"

"I love it here Mandy said. Both your father and I have so much and even though we wanted to keep things simple, our lives are not that simple. Well, we added what we needed for both of us for our emotional stability."

When Dave pulled into the garage he opened the door for Mandy and Jason. Mandy requested that he put Jason's luggage into the Guest Apartment and that he would not be needed until tomorrow for Bob's Funeral.

"I'll take the bags right over to the apartment," he told the pair. "I'll have the car all warmed up by 8:30.

"I checked with the Funeral Director and he said that the church service, followed by the graveside ceremony started at 9:30. So, we should be at the funeral Home by about 9:00 and the procession will leave promptly at 9:15."

Tears fell down Mandy's face again and as they walked into the house, Jason kept her at his side. She rested her head on his shoulder again.

"I don't know how I'm going to do all of this," Mandy reflected. "I just don't know. I get to kiss my beloved Bob for the last time tomorrow and then I have to watch his body lowered into the ground.

"I know it's his 'Final Resting Place' and the location is of our, yes, his and my choice, but I just don't know how I'm going to do that."

Jason whispered to her, "Mandy. I'll be there for you.

"If you just need a hand to hold, I'll be there.

"If you need a shoulder to lean on or cry on, I'll be there."

Mandy looked at Jason through her tear filled eyes and said, "You sound just like Bob. That's exactly what he would say if he were here.

"Thank you Jason. I really need you.

"Thank you."

What Mandy didn't tell Jason was that he looked like the spitting image of what Bob must have looked like when he was in his thirties. Even more so, the words he used and even the timber of his voice soothed her just the way his father had done.

Mandy, really needed Jason to give her strength to get through the next 24 hours. Trying to smother her tears, she dabbed her face with the handkerchief, hopefully wiping them away for a time.

"Well," Mandy said in a vary nasal tone caused by her repeated bouts of tears through out the evening. "How about the Grand Tour?"

Walking into the vaulted ceiling living room, Mandy told Jason she and Bob called this the 'Great Hall.' "It's a nice and open area where we held parties and gathered with a group of friends.

"Over here is the dining room and off through that door is the kitchen. It's well stocked and if during the night you need a snack, just browse.

"Maggie's in there and I can smell the coffee. Let's get a cup before we continue."

"Hi Maggie, this is Bob's son, Jason. He's here for a visit for a few days until he returns to Chicago..."

"Actually," Jason interrupted, "I have to go to Los Angeles before I return home to Chicago, but Hi Maggie."

"Oh. I didn't know," said Mandy.

Maggie handed them each a mug of coffee tailored to their choices and told them she had made a couple of roast beef sandwiches for starters and if they wanted more of a meal, there was turkey, pork roast and meat loaf in the refrigerator.

"If you need me to heat anything up for you, Please let me know. I'll be up for a while yet reading.

I'll have breakfast ready by 7:15 if that's OK with you, Mam. David said you all have to leave by 8:30 for the services tomorrow."

"That's thoughtful of you Maggie," Mandy said, feeling sadness well up a little. She leaned into Jason for support as she answered, "That sounds fine. If you don't mind, I'd like to eat light tomorrow. Just toast and coffee.

"I know I'll need my strength but I don't want to have much in my stomach.

"I just know I'm going to have a hard time at the cemetery."

Then Maggie left the kitchen through a door off in one corner. Mandy told Jason that's where her apartment was located.

"Yeah, that was the first addition to the house that Stan suggested. I can't cook or let's say, back then I couldn't boil water. Maggie has been a great addition and friend. She is also a good teacher and we have been working on my cooking skills."

Walking to the arch at the left side of the kitchen there was a short hallway and three doors. "The first door here is the laundry room. If you need anything done, just leave it in the hamper and Maggie will take care of it. It you want to wash anything yourself, well, I think you can figure what to do.

"The middle door leads out onto the patio. It's one of the many doors that lead out there. There's also a door out to the patio from your apartment too. Oh, the third door there is to your apartment. We'll skip that for now. You can settle in there in a few.

"Up these stairs is the loft on the side of the Great Hall and the three bedrooms upstairs." Taking her arm and winding it through Jason's, she moved up the stairway.

"Oh, there is a powder room downstairs off the Great Hall and there is one off the utility/laundry room. There is another that serves two of the bedrooms up here and of course, a master bath adjacent to my bedroom, over there," she said, pointing to the open door. Jason could see a magnificent four poster bed with a bright colorful canopy over it.

"Then of course ... this is the masterpiece of the house," she said. She walked over to the double French Doors and opened them.