Dave and Leroy Ch. 16

Dave looked over at Jason because he perked up at hearing Leroy's name, "Yeah, your sister said hello. Jason, we're going to call daddy before you go to bed."

"Okay," Jason stated.

"Lee, can you talk for a few minutes? While I eat."

"Sure." Lee got up and followed Dave into the kitchen. "So, what's really going on?"

"Leroy would like you to come to see him. But after tomorrow, there will be no family allowed, only me."

"Yeah, I've already heard that. What's going on?" Lee asked.

"Harding figured out these seizures were stress-related."

"By who?'

"Not who, whom, all the brothers and sisters, it seems. Leroy is having a seizure after any Standish leaves."

"Why?" Lee asked.

"I had been around a few times when they'd asked but didn't know they'd been dogging Leroy before we moved. They're wondering if living with us is good for you. Now Leroy is wondering if he's keeping you here when you really don't want to be."

"Goddamn them. Can you do what Leroy normally does for me?" Lee looks at Dave. "Calls a family meeting."

Dave laughed, "I think I can do that."

"Thanks, tell them there are no buts," Lee ordered. "I want them over tonight, even if Jeff has to be on the cell phone."

"Yes, Sir." Dave smiled, pulled his phone out, and did a group text to everyone except Leroy. Dave finished his dinner when his phone was vibrating up a storm. He looked at all the messages and typed back that he'll see everyone at eight and thanked Aaron for bringing Sade with him to watch Jason.

Aaron was the first to arrive. He came at seven with Sade. They all sat around shooting the shit for a bit while Sade tired out Jason and got him ready for bed. "So, not going to tell me what this is all about, dad?"

"We will wait until the whole family is here," Lee responded. Everyone arrived, and Jason came out and was happy to see everyone. "Jason, why don't you have Sade, take you to watch tv, in my room."

"Really, Papa?" Jason lit up.

"Yeah, go on."

"Grandpa, you're a pushover," Sade responded and followed Jason into his suite but shut his door because she knew they wanted to talk privately.

"Okay, Dad, what's this all about?" Aaron asked.

"What the hell are you stressing Leroy about? Every single one of you?" He looked from Aaron all the way to his youngest Jewels. "Not going to tell me? Allison, you apparently asked about it today and caused him to have another seizure? He's not allowed family now. Because of it, they put two and two together before Leroy even knew. So, who's going to tell me?"

Jeff looked at Allison. "I told you to lay off of it. I told everyone to lay off Leroy."

"You asked too," Aaron stated.

"Once, I asked once, but I didn't continue asking like all of you did."

"What are you talking about?" Jewels asked.

"If dad should really be living here with Leroy or not," Patrick stated.

"And why shouldn't he?" Jewels asked. "Dad's happy. Dave and Leroy are happy."

"Dave and Leroy have a live-in babysitter. Dad shouldn't have to be that. Leroy is a ...." Allison stopped herself before saying something she couldn't take back. She even shocked a few of her siblings.

"Allison, sadly, I know what you were about to say," Dave said with a clenched jaw. "Don't ever let Leroy hear that."

"Let's get this straight right now." Lee looked at all his children. "When Leroy gets out of the hospital, this drops now. Dave and Leroy have never treated me like their live-in babysitter, and I've never felt that way. I like living here with them. Leroy, from the beginning, has told me he would help me out with an apartment of my own whenever I would like to move out. When they bought this ridiculously huge house to have my own space, I was honored. I was just expecting a bedroom, not my own suite."

"I'm sorry, dad." Allison frowned. "We should have asked."

"Yeah, you all should have." Then Lee looked at Allison. "Allison, for you, Leroy is not a burden to Dave or me. Leroy does everything around the house, cooks, cleans, hell, mows the fucking yard. He won't let me do a damn thing around here. He takes care of Jason, and the only thing I get to do is when he can't drive. I get to take care of my son and drive him around with his child." Lee had tears in his eyes. "So, yeah, you should have asked before you caused Leroy stress. And I would have done it for any one of you kids because that is what a parent's supposed to do for their children."

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes until Dave finally spoke up. "I'm sorry that I had to bring this up."

"No, Dave, we're sorry." Aaron apologized. "We should have asked dad first, not harassed Leroy for months about it."

"How long have you been asking Leroy about it because I truly didn't know until tonight when Allison asked again after Harding asked that the family not visit. Leroy just said before we moved." Dave asked.

"We'll go with that before your move." Allison quickly responded.

"Some of them have been asking since mom and dad got divorced." It was Jeff that spoke up, "Stop lying, Allison. A few of us, me included, started just before you started looking for the new house, but when Leroy said he had asked dad, I stopped bugging." Dave nodded.

"This subject drops," Lee stated, and everyone nodded. "Good, and everyone knows they're not allowed up at the hospital?" Again everyone nodded.

The following morning Lee went up to the hospital, and the nurse stopped him from going into Leroy's room, telling him he wasn't allowed visitors. Lee told her, he knew but was asked by Leroy to come up for his last visit and that no one else but his husband would be up. She reluctantly let him in, and Lee thanked her.

"Leroy, Nurse Rachet out there is not happy that I'm here." Lee laughed.

Leroy chuckled, "I forgot to tell them that you were coming up. I'm sorry. I'm sure she's watching the clock with you too."

"Yeah, she told me no more than thirty minutes," Lee responded. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I'm sure Dave already told you." Leroy looked at him and could tell. "Dad...."

"Leroy, don't you even ask. I pulled all those damn siblings of yours over your house last night and gave them a piece of my mind."

"Our, not mine."

"Damn you, Leroy." Lee smiled and shook his head.

"It's just as much yours as it is Dave's and mine. We love you, dad." Leroy smiled.

"I love you too, Leroy."

"How's Jason doing? He's not running you ragged, is he?" Leroy asked.

Lee laughed, 'Hell, that kid of yours, you're going to have a spitfire on your hands, Leroy. You didn't start causing me problems until you decided not to come home when I would lock the doors at curfew. I know you were well over eighteen, but I couldn't have one of my children climbing through a window to get in, in the mornings. So finding you sitting on the porch every morning for those two weeks got under my skin. Your mother thought you were drinking."

Leroy laughed, "I was meeting Dave at a motel. It was before his divorce."

"Well, watch your kid. He's going to turn out just like you two."

"I hope not." Leroy laughed. Then someone cleared their throat at the door, and both Lee and Leroy looked over. "Hello Dr. Watts, This is my father, Leroy Sr., but he goes by Lee."

Dr. Watts walked into the room, "Lee, it's nice to meet you. You can call me Frank. How are you?"

"I'm good, but it looks like you have an appointment with my son, so I will be leaving you. Leroy, I hope to see you in a week or so, and before you say it. I will kiss Jason for you." Lee squeezed Leroy's hand before leaving the room.

"Sorry for interrupting Leroy. Harding said you wouldn't have visitors."

"I wasn't supposed to have any, but I had asked my dad to come up to talk to him for one last time before being without my family."

"So tell me, what's got you stressed?" Dr. Watts got straight to the point.

"Wow, not going to beat around the bush on this one, huh, Doc?" Leroy laughed as Watts shook his head. "I didn't realize it until Harding put it together, it could be more, but most of my siblings have been on me that I've been using or abusing dad. That is because I'm a medical case that dad won't leave. It's starting to make me feel like a burden, and I don't want to say it. Because I know that I do everything that I can. But they are making me feel like it now."

"Have you ever voiced it to them that they are causing that reaction in you?" Watts asked.

"No, and it's my fault that I allowed it. That I let myself get worked up. But really, the problem is I most of the time didn't realize I got myself worked up about it."

"That you put it in a box and kept putting it in the box until you moved into your new house, and that box dropped when you seized?" Watts said.

Leroy chuckled, "Something like that."

"So why was your father here today?"

"I was going to ask him if I was keeping him from moving out, but he surprised me by telling me that he had a family meeting and bitched my siblings out. Apparently, he and my husband took care of what I couldn't."

"Oh, so if you could just speak up, someone would and could help you." Watts noticed.

"Yes."

"Were you okay with this?"

"Oddly, yes. I'm tired of fighting my battles sometimes. I love my family, but they have turned to me for certain things for a long time. Then when other things aren't right for them, they seem to find the nerve that my mom would step on."

***

"Daddy's home!" Jason screamed.

Jason was so excited while standing in the living room window watching when Dave brought Leroy home from the airport, aka hospital. Aaron and Allison's families were there with Lee and Jason.

Dave and Leroy walked in, and Jason tackled Leroy. "Daddy, I missed you."

Leroy laughed, "I missed you too, kiddo." Leroy sat down on the couch, and Jason ran off to the other room. Dave sat down beside him and looked at him. "I'm okay right now."

"How often are they still coming, Leroy?" Allison asked.

"Harding is correct, they peeked last week, and now it's generally over a day between them. The periods are getting longer. He did want me to thank you all for following his order of staying away from the hospital." Leroy stated as he looked tired to Allison.

"Leroy, why do you look tired?" Allison asked.

Dave squeezed Leroy's hand as Dave responded, "I had to pull over just a few miles from here."

"Oh," Allison responded as she realized what that meant.

"Harding would like to keep Leroy off the meds for just a little longer before reintroducing him to them. Basically to see how few he has first." Dave responded.

"To see if they taper off completely and to see if he really does need his meds?" Aaron asked.

"Yes, in a way. Sadly he doesn't think he will stop having them entirely. Fewer without the meds, yes, but stop completely. No." Dave responded because Leroy was just resting, per the Doctor's orders.