Chapter 11

Margie wasn’t quite prepared for Hurricane Von Greiner as Cassie and Hector parked and the whole family stampeded to welcome them back ... the very day after they had left to take Cassie off to school. In just a day or two, max, depending on how you counted it, they went from college freshmen trying to claim a spot in the dorms to orphans to a billionaire and his three wives. The twins were still in some level of shock, as were their kith and kin, to put it mildly.

“Everything was so great ... so great, right before they left for that drive! They were gonna put on a movie marathon and order some pizza ... damn! The Hobbit, no less! Talk about a classic! We were robbed, guys ... robbed of the best parents in the world!” Kirsten sobbed while holding onto Cassie ... and then Bridget and Natalie joined their sisters in a group hug.

“I know ... it just ... sucks! It fucking sucks!” Cassie wiped away some tears for a second before bawling all over again.

“This is some bullshit!” Hector ranted, even as he hugged Karl and Trevor in spite of himself.

“You guys, I want you to know that we’ll be here for you the whole time. Ty’s Sheriff now, of course, but under the circumstances, I doubt that he’ll run for another term. Too much on his plate, after all. This is a family emergency, wouldn’t you say? We all have to pull together and put the family first. I never realized how much your parents were the glue that held this family together. Now, we’ll have to put it back together ourselves and keep it that way for good,” Aunt Sandy asserted, even as she poured herself some coffee ... and others some as well.

Neither Aunt Sandy nor Aunt Julie opened any stiff drinks in front of Ty, of course, since he was a recovering alcoholic. This would be a sort of dry gathering, but they still needed to get along and work with each other to move past this tragedy. To Margie, it was amazing, seeing this whole family stick together and all comfort each other, even the macho ones like Karl and Trevor. This was one hell of a family and a legacy to Dan, Vicki, Haley, and Michelle. The four of them had built a real tribe around them that would continue past the deaths of this one patriarch and the three matriarchs.

“So young, too. I’m much older myself, and in very frail health, and yet here I am, alive, while they’ve gone on to their reward. Life and death are perverse, you know. Very perverse. I should know, old reprobate that I am,” Red Marsh snorted as he lit up a cigar, “see, I even have the worst habits, you know.”

“Bro, you’re the same generation as me, you know,” Ty reminded his brother, who admittedly looked much older than himself.

“I owe it all to clean living, of course,” Red sarcastically remarked.

“Yeah, you’re a model of diet and physical fitness, Uncle Red,” Trevor teased his uncle.

“If I didn’t know that you were taking the piss at me, whippersnapper..., “ Red mockingly threatened him.

“At this point in life, it’s probably too late for you, anyway,” Margie teased him now.

“Is that a challenge?” Red’s eyes widened as he gave her a very John Goodman stare.

“Maybe..., “ she winked at him flirtatiously.

‘Anyway, it’s a real tragedy ... a horror,” Ty brought their thoughts back to his ex-wife, her second husband, and their sister-wives, “divorce aside, they were awesome people, especially your mother, guys. To Vicki.”

“Amen,” another, very frail, female voice joined his.

There was a very elderly woman entering their presence, her blindness owed to cataracts and diabetes. She had sunglasses over her blue eyes, while her sandy hair was in a bun. She was so thin that her bones were ghoulishly visible in her hands. She wore a very conservative dress, one that reached the knees rather easily. She also limped and used a cane to get around.

“Who are you?” Cassie responded, unsure of what answer to expect.

“I’m ... Jordan ... I’m your grandmother,” the old lady informed her now.

“Oh, so you come back now, after years or being presumed dead or left as the fucking elephant in the proverbial room ... why bother? You abandoned Mom and left her entirely in the hands of Grandpa, you know! Why haven’t you been here, with us, making amends to your daughter, my mother, and being a good grandmother to us all? You’re a fucking deadbeat, you know!” Kirsten now raged for her part.

Jordan flinched, but then she steadied herself and and lifted her shades to face the very grandchildren that she couldn’t even see. She let some tears fall upon her cheeks, but then nodded in recognition of the complaint and grievance. She clearly felt some embarrassment and shame, and why not? She had abandoned her daughter, after all.

“What you say ... it’s true, but to be fair ... I didn’t know where she lived or with whom ... and it wasn’t until I saw the obituary that I realized that it was her. Too late ... too late ... too damned late ... my girl, my daughter ... my sweet little Vicki!” Jordan even broke out into Cajun French, no less.

“Why did you leave, Grandmother? And why did you return?” Karl confronted her at last.