Real Love Ch. 10

"I'm not a kid, Kelly," Brad says. "Jesus. Are we arguing again already?"

She narrows her eyes, glaring at him.

"I know you're no kid, Brad. Think about Stacy though. She's naive, open. Do you think she won't reciprocate if someone shares a few secrets with her? Or Peggy, with her lack of trust in men and no real time to perfect her cover story? How do you think she'll react if someone asks her about an affair she inserted in her third novel?"

Brad frowns.

"Take a breath, Kelly. Why didn't you say that to them?"

"Because Nikki and Rick are already taking care of them, and they're going to steer them through the conversations."

"And you're meant to be doing the same with me?"

"No, apparently I've got to get drunk," she states, her hands moving to her hips. "I can see you're trying to do good, Brad, but you need to talk things over with me first. For now, anyway. Down the road, you will be able to handle it yourself."

"Okay Kelly, you win. Your not off duty until after the last boat and chopper has left. God, this place is insane. Please tell the others for me. And by the way, I didn't tell you to get drunk either," he mutters, knowing she's right in what she's saying, but feeling frustrated at the same time.

He gives her a hug, "I'm sorry I jumped the gun before speaking with you, but you need to have some downtime too. Especially you Kelly."

"I get downtime, Brad. Do you think I was working this morning when I got in the bath with you? Do you think that wasn't relaxing for me too?"

"Touché," he allows, nodding. "But how often does that happen? I just worry that you work too much without relaxing. I would like you to take more time and just chill. You deserve it. Besides, you can continue beating on me later. I can take it from you."

"That's so sweet of you. But, I'm fine, Brad. Honestly, I'm okay."

He grins suddenly.

"If this morning was relaxing for you, can I at least order you to give me more of them?"

"Try it and I'll kick your ass," she says, smiling and winks at him. "That's a volunteer only job."

"Fair enough."

"Right, now get your ass off to see Shiro, please. We'll finish the speech when you get back."

He nods and wanders out into the mayhem of the preparations. He doesn't care if he sees Shiro or not, but feels it's in his best interest to do what Kelly asks of him. Who knows, it can't get any worse than it is now, can it?

Shiro is tidying his facial hair when Brad had a 'eureka moment' about his speech and it takes him forty minutes to re-write it when he gets back to his suite, then scribbles the bullets onto cards.

Kelly wants to see what he's going to say, but Brad feels confident that he strikes the right tones with it and tells her she has to trust in him to stand on his own two feet for this once. Because he caved on the insistence of her having the day off, he knows she has to give him this one, pouty as she is about it.

Just as he hears the noise of a helicopter off in the distance, Margaret appears with a pocket watch that Brad is to wear in his waistcoat. It belonged to Danny. She frowns at him and orders him into a new shirt, so he changes and then he's off to greet the first of their guests.

* * * * *

The deafening noise of a helicopter announces the arrival of the first of their guests, and Brad, Peggy and Stacy, and their assistants, are waiting as the twin-rotor Chinook lands on the larger helipad. They shake hands with Sting, a couple of musicians he brought with him, and several of the CEO's. Charlize Theron is also among them.

Brad escorts Ms Theron to her suite by holding his arm out for her to hook. She hooks it and Kelly has a instant, momentary flash of jealousy. It went down to her bones and it's obvious to anyone who saw it. She wonders why it happened and doesn't know why it took over her emotions as it did. She has to force herself to stay focused, but the good news is, Brad didn't see the incident so Kelly thinks she's safe.

Stacy walks Sting to one of the guest suites in the side house that overlooks the pool, the other assistants escort some of the others. Then, Peggy and Brad are off to the pier to meet the boat as Charles shows the CEO's around.

As the hours race by, there's a constant hustle from job to job, place to place, greeting to greeting.

The following hours turn into a series of surreal experiences as Brad and his sisters meet people they've only ever seen on the big screen or in print. They're treated courteously in some cases, and like long-time friends in others. Brad is in awe at the presence of Charlize Theron, the natural beauty of Salma Hayek and how tiny Pink actually is, with her partner and baby in tow.

Kevin Smith sent his apologies which disappoints Brad, but he's apparently been spotted by a journalist at the airport earlier and there's a thing about him and planes, so he went back home again.

* * * * *

They had a few minutes to snatch something to eat at two and by that time, Brad is famished and twitchy. Kelly puts it down to the demands of the day, canceling the day's workouts after his morning one and his body is reacting to that, so when it's time to get into his suit, he does a quick set of pushups and crunches, then dives into the shower.

When Brad dons his suit, adding the pocket watch and phone, he walks to his lounge feeling slick, smart and confident. He pats the inner pocket of his jacket to make sure his speech cards are there and then he turns to see Kelly standing in the doorway. His jaw drops to the floor as he looks at his assistant, all beautiful and all.

She's wearing a black dress that comes down past her knees, tapering in from her hips, with black heels on her feet. It's simple and elegant and her blonde hair is rolled up high behind her head, reminding him of a glamorous bombshell from a black and white movie. A simple gold chain hangs around her neck. Brad stares at her for a moment as she returns his stare.

"The suit looks good," she says. "Very nice."

Brad picks his jaw off the floor and says, "Kelly, you look stunning, very beautiful," he says, staring at her and is pleased to see her blush.

He walks to her and gives her a hug.

"What's that for?" she asks.

"For being you."

His answer, as unexpected as it is, makes her feel weak in the knees. She holds on to him for a minute before letting him go and Brad wonders why she did that.

Stacy appears a few moments later wearing a black dress that stops just above her knees, and a matching short jacket, giving her a mysterious appearance. It fits the contours of her body perfectly.

Peggy's outfit is black too, a skirt and top split by a wide belt, with a long jacket over it. A large pair of sunglasses covers her eyes. She looks elegant and has a presence about her.

As his sisters approach him, he says, "You look very beautiful, both of you. I'm very proud of you for experiencing this with me."

Then he puts an arm on each of their shoulders and asks, "Would either of you like to join me at the podium when I give the speech?"

Stacy replies, "Brad, I don't think I'd better because..."

"You don't need to explain. I understand," Brad says. "Either one of you."

"I would rather not also Brad," Peggy says.

"Okay. Nuff said about that."

Brad lights up and a few minutes later, they're downstairs, mingling and making small talk with their guests. Kelly steers Brad around to most of the CEO's, having brief conversations about his personal past while dodging questions about his own feelings about Danny Packard, and his plans for the future.

Kelly seems to be keeping him away from the celebrities in the room, focusing him more on the business guests, perhaps because he's better able to hold those particular conversations, while Nikki and Rick steer Stacy and Peggy from actor to musician to model.

* * * * *

All too soon though, Charles appears and gets everyone's attention, asking them to join him for the ceremony. They all walk slowly along the path to the spot that Danny Packard selected for his final resting place and as they emerge into the clearing, Brad feels Kelly slip her hand into his and squeeze it.

"You okay?" he asks quietly.

"No, but I'll be fine," she replies, giving him a sad little smile.

There's no assigned seating, the chairs are set in a half circle around the body of Danny Packard. It's encased in a cocoon of palm fronds and flowers on a wooden stand before them. A small platform sits to either side, both with musical instruments on them. Kelly leaves his side and sits in the second row of chairs with her colleagues as Brad sits between his sisters in the front three chairs.

He feels a little awkward that he's in the front row at a funeral for someone he doesn't know, but he knows it's expected of him, of the three of them, and while they wait for everyone to settle in their seats, dozens of staff file in behind the invited guests. The area is well packed with viewers of the ceremony.

Charles is the first to speak, talking to them about Danny Packard's wishes to be buried here, surrounded by friends and those he loves the most, thanking them for coming to give him love.

Sting then gets up and talks about the first time he met Danny Packard, then he and two musicians do an acoustic version of Danny's favorite song, 'An Englishman in New York'.

Mr Alden then stands and describes his friendship, then reads a letter that Danny Packard wrote for the occasion that proves to be both witty and emotional. Then he reviews all of Danny's accomplishments.

Then Neil Finn spoke of a conversation he had with Danny Packard one night about the song 'Don't Dream It's Over', and how subsequently 'Crowded House' had covered it to great success. He follows that up by playing it, a slow, haunting rendition that seems to hang in the air.

Brad feels Kelly touch his shoulder and she whispers in his ear, "You're up. Take your time."

He re-wrote the speech not long ago, to make it better for him to deliver, giving it a much more personal feel. He also reworded it so it comes from his heart, instead of making such a big deal of his father's accomplishments, leaving him less of a person.

He stands, slowly, fully aware everyone is watching him and as he does so, his phone rings. He takes it from his pocket as he shakes his head and hands it to Kelly to turn it off. This is the first real test of any Danny Packard siblings, that appears out of nowhere to inherit the Packard Empire.

Brad walks up to the small podium, looking at the crowd in front of him. He wonders if he should give the new speech or stick with the old. The new one is well rehearsed so he thought it best to stick with that. He's hesitant about some of the things he wants to say, but it means enough to him to get it out in the open so it can be brought up in conversations later.

Brad inhales deeply, feeling that now-familiar churning feeling in his stomach of nerves, stress, anxiety, and he lets it out slowly. He removes his cards and begins to speak.

"Yup, I forgot to turn my phone off... I'm thinking the first test of Danny Packard's siblings is the ability to remember to silence your phone in situations such as this. I'm sure my father is cussing me out about now," he says, smiling and shaking his head at his own lack of attention to detail, getting several giggles. "If it's possible to wipe the slate clean and forget your first impression of Bradley Weber in favor of the second, it would be greatly appreciated."

The friends of Danny Packard laugh and it breaks the somber mood in the air for a short time. Then, he addresses the crowd of about one hundred people.

"Afternoon everyone. My name is Bradley Weber, for those of you whom I haven't yet made your acquaintance. I'm one of three heirs shocked out of our minds three days ago... We are here today to celebrate the life of our father, Daniel John Packard. I wish I could share some stories about him with you, but I don't have any... As sad as that sounds, however, there is a bright side."

"Danny Packard was a very accomplished individual by anyone's standards. That's evident by his staggering achievements during his short time on earth, as Mr Alden has already pointed out. However, that should not be the only reason to remember him. Rather, he should be remembered not only for what he accomplished, but also for who he was."

"The memories he leaves in the minds of the living will last a lifetime. The person he was is just as important as the businesses he built, but, I must admit, my sisters and I are very happy he built them," he says, cracking a smile.

An unusually loud laughter breaks out, followed by applause. It quiets quickly as Brad continues.

"It's important that he's spoken of with honesty, not just of the good by his friends, but also of the bad by his enemies. Hopefully, in that way, he'll be remembered more as a person, rather than a long list of accomplishments. I'm also sorry to inform you we neglected to invite his enemies, though."

A few more giggles come from the guests. Kelly doesn't know what he's going to say and is concerned, still hoping he can handle this, but he's off to a great start.

"Even though my father was a very intelligent business man, he wasn't perfect. Nobody is. He had his faults, as all of us do, but he had something within him many people don't have. He was filled with intelligence, drive, determination and a host of other adjectives I fail to mention, but the bottom line is, failure had no place in his person. Once he put his mind to something, he completed it no matter how difficult it became to accomplish. That's who Danny Packard was. There's no denying it."

"Three days ago, my sisters and I were introduced to our birth parents in a rather unusual manner. We were reborn into a life we never thought existed. Life, as we now know it, starts over for us. Now, I have a another family. A mother, a father and two sisters I never knew I had in the first twenty-three years of my life."

"Mother and father are gone now. Our mother, Karen, passed away from complications of childbirth at the young age of twenty-five shortly after delivering triplets. Father was devastated at the sudden and unexpected loss of the love of his life. He was forced to make a decision that will affect him and his family for the rest of our lives."

"Now that we have survived our rebirth, we don't wish that on anyone. It took my father two days, but he made the tough, emotional decision to release the three of us to adoption. I believe he was so in love with his wife, he couldn't bare the thought of raising their children without her. The day after he signed the adoption papers, he buried the love of his life. If you were in his position, what would...." Brad lowers his head.

He stands there a few seconds shaking his head, not wanting to go down that road. Raising his head, he continues.

"My father had twenty-three years to inform us, but he didn't. Should we be mad at him because of that? Maybe.... Possibly.... But we can't judge him fairly not knowing the circumstances he was experiencing twenty-three years ago."

"We can only respect him for making the tough decisions that was in his best interest at that stage in his life."

"Even though we never met the man, we're learning about him from the people he surrounded himself with, by your attitudes, the influence he had on you, the influence you had on him and the memories you share."

"For a long time, I didn't know I had sisters. Being a brother is a new concept for me, just like being a sister is a new concept for my sisters. It takes adjusting of priorities for me to be a brother, but I'm embracing that as I get closer to my sisters. Over the last three days, my sisters and I have come to terms with this new life, but we're not use to it yet. The burden of ownership weighs heavy on us, but, if my father can do it, so can we."

"Realizing my sisters and I were in turmoil since we first arrived here, it took time for us to learn that each of us experienced the same withdrawals and emotions, each in our own way. We had no choice but to deal with it, and we have."

"We're learning how difficult it is to fill Danny Packard's shoes. It was the shortest education we've ever had, but it doesn't seem to be enough. I wish I could've learned a thing or two from him. Stacy and Peggy feel the same way. We only regret it never happened, and never will."

"Not having a relationship with your birth parents is another thing I don't wish on anyone. Learning you have another family at twenty-three years of age is tough, and learning about our birth parents has been a process of discovery.... and some emotional pain."

"To set that stage.... Imagine, for a moment, what it feels like for the three of us to work with a group of people that knows our father better than we ever will."

He pauses as some reactions come from the attendees, mostly sobbing.

On the bed stand next to Danny's bed is a picture of Danny and Karen. I look at it every day wishing they can tell me about their life, but that also will never happen."

Another pause as Brad collects himself.

"Still, we have to move forward with our lives and this business. Danny Packard would encourage us to do that. We have to look at our future as a new challenge, to embrace it, to walk in the shoes of a great businessman, never forgetting the parents that brought us into this world, and the love they shared."

"It's somewhat difficult for me to give accolades to my father, but I've learned to respect his staggering accomplishments. Just as important is the close friends that take time from their personal lives to give him love by your presence here today. My sisters and I thank all of you for being here for Danny Packard."

"We promise to continue our quest to get to know who our father was, and not just by what he left behind. The memories you share are his true legacy."

"Finally, my sisters and I are in awe not only of the small fortune we are currently swimming in," he says as many giggles break out, "but also of the tremendous responsibility associated with ensuring the Packard Empire remains a prosperous and expanding business. If you think that will be easy, try walking in our shoes for a while," Brad says with a smile.

More giggles break out.

"Thank you... each and everyone of you... from the bottom of our hearts, for being here today to celebrate the life of Daniel John Packard with us. My sisters and I would like to thank Craig, Charles, Kelly, Nikki, Rick, Debi and Jack for the support they have given us since our arrival."

Looking up, he says, "Mother and father, keep a watchful eye on us and help us make you proud... May you forever rest in peace and love."

As Brad picks up his notes and puts them back in his pocket, he turns and moves in the direction of his chair. Applause slowly breaks the silence as he makes his way. Then it turns into a standing ovation.

He's surprised to see Stacy with tears running down her cheeks. Kelly, Debi and Nikki, the same. Rick and Jack have sad expressions. Even Peggy's eyes are wet and she looks a little pale. He quickly glances around and can see several of the guests are the same.

He wonders if his speech had that affect as he approaches his sisters, but knows deep down it does. He feels that what he said isn't how he feels because he's honestly confused about that issue. In some ways, Brad wants to know who he is, but in other ways, he's angry at the man who abandoned him as a child, and denied him the opportunity of growing up with his sisters.

As Brad gets closer to his chair, his sisters stand and give him a hug. Brad returns an emotional hug, pausing to collect himself before they sit down together, the applause slowly fading. Stacy immediately takes his hand, squeezes it and holds on to it while leaning on his shoulder. Peggy does the same with his other hand and shoulder.