Chapter 7

Later in the afternoon, the Albrights, Julie's parents, showed up, as expected. It went better than expected -- not good, but better than it might have.

While Dave couldn't categorize his in-laws (or was it former in-laws now?) as being rich, they were certainly far from being poor. Dave would have categorized them as 'upper upper middle class'; much of their wealth came from a family business Stan had inherited. But they, especially Deborah, had a pretty strong opinion of themselves; they had always given the impression that Julie had married beneath her. His relationship with them had never been as warm as it might have been, and he almost always felt patronized by them. Julie had been able to deflect a lot of it, and Dave had already reflected that if there was any possible bright spot from her death, it was that the Albrights wouldn't have him to kick around much longer.

Stan was in denial: numb, not wanting to confront the reality. Dave figured he'd be drinking himself numb before long. There was just a brief hug, a mild exchange of condolences, and that was it. Dave had long known that Stan was a basketball fan; he recognized Shae almost instantaneously from her WNBA coverage, and they spent much of the time there discussing basketball. At least, it was better than some subjects they might have discussed.

Deborah, on the other hand, was on the verge of hysteria from the moment she walked in to door, scooping up the boys, crying over them, and making everyone else feel uncomfortable. Finally, Eve was able to sit her down and get her talking a little, but it really didn't accomplish much. Deborah was very insistent that the boys come home to Hartford with them, right now, this minute, and plan on staying there permanently. It was evident she didn't think much of Dave's capabilities as a father, and the whole thing was somehow his fault. To have such a scene in front of his mother, his friends, and the boys, was embarrassing at a minimum. It got a little bit out of hand; eventually, Shae had to settle her down with a serious dose of The Glare, although Shae's words and voice were reasonable.

Stan actually helped with it; he apparently didn't think much of having the boys in Hartford with him, at least on a long-term basis. He finally told Deborah that Dave and his friends seemed to have things under control for the moment, and they could talk the idea over again in a few days. He and Dave exchanged glances that seemed to say, hopefully, as many days as possible but both knew they were both likely to hear more about it and sooner than they wanted to. Dave mentioned that it was too early to make long-range plans, and Stan agreed, at least for Deborah's benefit. Finally, Stan said he thought it would be best if they got on the road; they had a lot of city to get through, and he didn't like driving after dark anymore. Dave, Eve, Shae, and the boys accompanied them down to the parking lot, partly to be courteous but subconsciously to make sure they left.

Afterwards, Shae took the boys back upstairs while Eve hung back for a talk. "I think I see what you mean," she told him. "I can see why you don't want to figure them into even a temporary arrangement."

"Yeah, especially when Stan crawls into the bottle, which is any time now," Dave sighed. "I really do feel sorry for them. They're hurt just as bad as I am, when you get right down to it. They deserve just as much sympathy. But they would not be a good influence on the boys, and it would lead to a lot more problems than it would solve. What makes it tough is there are good reasons to not cut them out of the boys' lives entirely."

"Because they're the boys' grandparents?" Eve asked, likely pushing at a point.

"Well, yes," Dave nodded. "Julie was an only child, too. Stan pushed her several times to quit Bellinger Gates and move back to Hartford so she could take over his business. Julie never wanted to; she'd worked hard enough to get out of Hartford in the first place. Right now, though, I wish the hell Stan had talked her into it."

"Hindsight," Eve pointed out. "Nothing but a might-have-been, and there's no control over that. You could just as easily blame yourself for not talking her into taking the boys to school Tuesday morning."

"Christ, don't I know it," he replied sadly. "I've thought about it, I've thought about half a hundred other things I could have done to have her an hour late for work. But nothing like that happened."

"Nothing like that happened," Eve repeated his words. "Dave, you can't kick yourself over those things. I know it's easy, and there are many things we could make better if we could go back and change the past. But we can't, and that's that."

"I know," he sighed. "I keep telling myself that. Shit happens, I guess."

"One of the wisest sayings ever printed on a baseball cap," Eve grinned and changed the subject a little. "So, I suspect there's an inheritance involved, too."

"Yeah, maybe, depending on whether they piss the money away or not. They've set up trust funds that will go a long way toward paying for the boys to go to college."

"My guess is they'll be more reasonable once it's settled in," Eve opined as they headed inside. "And you're right; you really can't cut them out entirely. It wouldn't be fair all around."

"True," he nodded. "But it's going to be a pain in the butt."

"There's a bright side," Eve smiled. "And that is, you're looking forward some. That means you're beginning to accept this, and planning how to deal with it constructively. It's going to take time, Dave, but you're coming along."

"Glad you think so," he shook his head. "I still close my eyes and see that goddamn building coming down while I'm hearing Julie yell 'I love you, Dave'."

"It'll be like that for a while, but it will fade," Eve replied as they walked into an open elevator door for the ride up to the level of Shae's apartment. "Dave, uh, we haven't talked about this, but Shae said you had some trouble sleeping last night."

"If she told you that, she probably told you the details."

"Of course," Eve smiled. "It wasn't unexpected, and you really did need to cry for Julie, Dave. Look, I can't actually prescribe medications, but Shae has sleeping pills available. I'd strongly advise you use them for the next few days."

"Yeah, I know that already," Dave nodded. "It didn't take a doctorate to figure it out."

"Don't overdo it, and don't become dependent on them," Eve warned. "I'd say no more than five days at a time, then skip a day or two, even if it means having to stay up all night watching late-night TV and being groggy as hell the next day. Be very careful about using them with alcohol. They're helpful in the short run, but they're not the kind of thing you want to have to depend on in the long run."

"Yeah, I can see that," Dave replied as the elevator door opened. "That's why I didn't take one last night, but I think I learned better."

"For a few days, anyway," Eve agreed. "Wean yourself off of them as soon as you can." Dave opened the apartment door and held it for her.

"There you are," Shae said. "You just missed a phone call from some guy named Rob. He'd like you to call him back, either his home phone or his cell phone. I got the number."

"Then I guess I better call," Dave nodded, pulling out his cell phone and hitting the speed dialer.

Rob was on the phone in only a few seconds. "Dave, your friend there said there's no new word on Julie, right?"

"Right," Dave told him, and added, "I really don't expect anything until they tell me they've recovered her body. Honestly, from what I've picked up the little we've watched TV, it could take weeks, if they find anything at all. What's the deal with Ronna's husband?"

"Same thing," Rob replied sadly. She's still hoping, but it doesn't look good."

"Hell, I'm still hoping," Dave told him. He didn't know Ronna well -- she was in accounting, a fat little woman with a big smile. He wasn't sure he remembered her husband, but probably had been introduced to him at a Christmas party or something; Dunlap and Fyre wasn't a big operation. He let his mind wander to Ronna for a moment, hoping she was doing better than he was, and continued, "But the odds are so against it that I'm not pinning my hopes on anything. Have you guys got anything figured out about work, yet?"

"Bits and pieces," Rob told him. "We've got some ideas that need to be kicked around and a couple options to pursue. Any chance you could come over here for a while tomorrow, say, early afternoon, around one? I'm going to have a meeting of department heads, some editorial people to see if the larger group can come up with any brighter ideas than we've had so far. You don't absolutely have to be here if you don't want to, but your input would be valuable, and people would like to see you. And hell, it might take your mind off things for a bit."

"You're talking at your apartment, in midtown someplace?" he replied. "I'm not sure I'm ready to go down to lower Manhattan yet."

"Yeah, not too far from Central Park." He gave an address and continued. "Like I said, it's not a got to, but it might be worthwhile, for you and everyone else."

"I'll just have to see," Dave told him. "I've got my mother and friends here, so that complicates things, a little. But I'll be there if I can make it and stand it."

Once he got off the phone, he explained what the call was all about. "I'm not sure I want to head down there by myself," he said. "I'd just as soon I had someone with me, just to keep my mind on what I'm doing."

"I could go with you, at least for most of it," Shae nodded. "While your in-laws were still here, I had a call from network. They want to have a meeting down there tomorrow afternoon, talk about getting back on our shooting schedule, and whether we want to do some different episodes. I really can't duck that unless it's absolutely necessary, but someone needs to stay with the boys."

"I could stay, I suppose," Eve said. "I really had hoped to head back home tonight, or first thing in the morning at the latest. I've got some clients who have some concerns and need some support. I'd figured on sliding back over here for a while on Saturday or Sunday, maybe staying overnight."

"Eve, why don't you just go ahead and head on back tonight?" Emily said. "I'd figured on heading back tomorrow, but there's no reason I can't do it in the afternoon instead of the morning. I'm used to working weird hours; I can probably go all night if I can sleep in a little in the morning."

"I've got a better idea," JoAnne said. "If I hear you right, Shae is going to have to head back to work next week, and Dave might have to go in at least part time, too. There's no great rush for me to head back. I could stay here for a few days, and Emily, you could head back in the morning if you don't mind driving by yourself."

"Not a problem for me; I actually like it and don't get to do it very often," Emily said.

"Mom, it would be nice if you could stay," Dave nodded. "You're right, this isn't going to be the last time something like this could come up before the boys get back in school. But won't it cause problems at General?"

"No, not a bit," she replied. "Wes Russell is the general manager now. He told me to take what time I need; it won't be charged against my annual leave or anything."

"But how would you get back? No telling when the airlines will be going again."

"Then we'll work out something," JoAnne shrugged. "Take the train, maybe, there's a stop down in LaGrange. Or, if it gets difficult, maybe Emily could meet us somewhere halfway. But I'll expect the airlines will get back in the air in the next few days, if you could pick me up at the airport, Emily."

"Sure, no problem, or I'll have Kevin do it or find someone else," Emily agreed. "Given a choice, I'd rather pick you up at Kalamazoo or South Bend, but there may not be direct flights. If you have to go to one of the big airports, Detroit would probably be better than O'Hare."

"I could probably have Hazel do it, too," JoAnne observed.

"All right, I guess," Dave said. "Shae, you have any input? This is your apartment, after all."

"No problem," Shae said. "JoAnne, if we're going to leave the boys in the second bedroom, you're going to have to use a sleeping bag, on the couch, or something. Other than that, you'd be welcome, and I can see several ways it could simplify things."

"If that's worked out, then there's no reason for me to stay the night," Eve observed. "I wouldn't mind seeing my kids for a night or two. My folks are very good at watching them, and don't seem to mind, but I hate to put them out if I can help it."

"They live fairly close to you?" JoAnne asked.

"About ten miles," Eve nodded. "It just worked out that they decided to retire in Bucks County, although they spend the winter in Florida. But when John and I were looking for a house, we decided to look fairly close to them. It simplifies a lot of things, and it's someone to look after them who I can trust."

"It would simplify things," JoAnne agreed.

"I was about to get started on some dinner," Shae told them. "Eve, would you like to eat before you hit the road?"

"No, I might as well go ahead and get out of here," Eve said. "JoAnne, it's been good to see you again, maybe we can talk some when I'm back over the weekend. Emily, if you and Kevin are in the area, you're welcome to stop in and see John and me. That was a good time we had a year ago last summer."

"I'd love to do it," Emily said. "But there's always the problem of dragging Kevin out of work. Since everybody is pretty sure they're going to be closing soon, they'd rather pay overtime than put on new people, and he's so far behind on vacation days he's losing them."