Sad Son Pt. 05

This is a 6-part story that provides plenty of fun. The story builds as the main character grows as a person. This chapter finally sees Hal shine and he has fun.

Everyone having sex is at least 18. This story is a work of fiction. I made it all up. Check reality at the door and enjoy it for what it is, a fun story. Special thanks to rancher46 and RF-Fast for editing my story.

*****

Chapter 13 -- Sad Times

It's Sunday afternoon. I just finished shoveling the driveway. I took a nice hot shower. I was sore from the hard work. I dried off, put clothes back on, and then plopped down on the recliner in the living room. I put the TV on, but I expect to be asleep soon enough. I am tired. I should make lunch, but I just don't have the energy.

My eyes are closing slowly.

I am woken up from my sleep by Gail. She threw my winter coat on me, and my winter shoes were at my feet.

She says like she's in a rush, "Get up, we're leaving now."

Gail then walks into the kitchen, looks at Becky, and says, "I just got a call from Andrea; Mitch wants Hal and his guitar. I don't know when we'll be back. I got the amp in my car."

She hands me my guitar, "This is Mitch's farewell tour." Tears are running down her face.

I grab the guitar, slip my shoes on, quickly zip my coat, and then off we go.

Gail sadly says, "Michelle and Veronica brought him into the ER. Andrea immediately took over. She gave him some pain relief and something to help his nerves. He wanted to hear you play one last time. He knows it's the end.

"They have a large recovery room up in Oncology. Mitch and several others receiving chemo will be there. You will need to keep it down, of course. Play songs that he likes if you can."

The rest of the way, there is silence. Gail lets me off at the entrance. My amp has wheels on the bottom. I will be forever grateful for that now. It's a long walk with a security guard guiding me down a myriad of long hallways and elevators.

As I walk in behind the security guard, it's hard to make my way through the room. They have people packed in here. Mitch is in a bed with Michelle, Veronica, and a few people I don't know around him. Gail plugs me in; I plug both Tardis devices and my amp into my guitar. I tune it a bit to make sure the sounds are correct. I then speak loud enough for all to hear me.

I almost shout over the noise, "Welcome to my small concert. Some friends of mine are sad today. I'm here to perk this place up. I have a quirky song that's selling well right now. Michelle, please come over here. Gail needs someone else to help sing this song."

Gail is scared, "Oh no, I can't sing."

I counter her, "You know I can't sing. You know the words better. This group is desperate; being bad may even be good here. Now go grab Michelle. She isn't getting out of this."

Now that I have two volunteers, I start up the music. No, they will never sing professionally. However, the song is quirky, funny, and takes a while to sing. They get a lot of laughs from the patients.

After that, Michelle goes back to her dad. Andrea was in the door; I called her up to sing with Gail. They confer with Mitch on a song they know the words to. One of the ever-present and rotating ER docs steps in when they don't.

Finally, a nurse steps up that can really sing. She was much better and knew all the old songs Mitch wanted to hear. From then on, they rotated nurses that knew songs and could sing. I think they had fun.

In between songs, I freestyled "happy" music. I see this as Mitch's last lesson to me, and it is an important one. Previously I played only what was in my heart. I now know I can play emotions I'm not personally feeling.

I played for six hours before Mitch passed. I saw it happen, fumbled my song, and then finished it for him. After that, I'm too distraught to play anymore. Michelle, Veronica, and especially Gail, give me a good hug. They decide it's a good time to end my playing.

Gail pulls me away so their family can grieve. Gail and I pack up, bundle up for the cold, and then turn off the lights as we leave. The same security guy guides us back. We stop at the edge of the ER, where a running Andrea with tears in her eyes hugs me hard. I cry as I hold her, thankful that she called me.

While she hugs me, a procession of female ER doctors come out to embrace us both. Most of them sang at least a few songs today. That was pretty cool of them.

Andrea sobs, "They knew what I did. They have heard your song. They all took their breaks upstairs today. The guys covered for us; they understood. This is a great group of people here."

The security guard loaded the amp for me and shook my hand. He, too, had tears in his eyes. He also stayed for the entire concert.

As soon as we leave, "I see the clown place on the corner; I never had lunch. I'm hungry."

We stopped for drive drive-through. While waiting in line, my phone rings. It's Jeremy.

I answer and say, "Hi."

An exceedingly happy Jeremy asks, "Who peed in your Corn Flakes today?"

I can barely answer, "We just left the hospital. Mitch died. I played for several hours until ...."

His happiness is gone now, "Aw. Sorry dude. My condolences to you and his family. He seemed like a nice guy."

He pauses a long time before continuing, "Anyways. This isn't that important. Just thought you might want to know that our song hit 600,000 downloads. Some local radio stations are playing it. I'll let you go. If you need anything, let me know. Cya man."

I click off my phone.

Gail is curious, "So ...."

I sigh, "That was Jeremy. We hit 600,000 sales, and the song is on some local radio stations."

We almost ran off the road.

Gail screams, "YES! We can get a new car, a pool, go on vacation. YES!"

I rain on her parade, "Woah there, buckaroo. The first off, the money go towards Casey getting set up. The rest pays for Donna, Emma, Faith, and your college classes. My hand killed our nest egg that was paying for that."

Gail counters me, "But Andrea, Becky, and Casey have good jobs, and you're already making crazy money."

I point out reality, "There is no guarantee that I will ever have another selling record. I may end up a studio musician. Some of them only make $20,000 a year. Let's allow our chickens to hatch first. Besides, Andrea, Becky, and Casey earned that money. They might want to spend it on themselves for a change. Andrea is getting paid, but she has to still put in some years before she isn't a resident."

Gail smiles at me, "Heidi is going to make millions. No way she uses anybody else to play guitar for her. You will make good money."

"Still, your educations come first. I want each of you to have a happy and constructive life. It's what mom and dad would have wanted," I say with a small smile.

*****

Back at the house, Casey explains, "There is dinner in the fridge. My guess is you ate already?"

I confirm her suspicions, "I didn't have lunch. I was starving. While driving through, Jeremy called, the sales are up to 600,000, and local radio stations are playing it some. Expect another deposit soon."

Casey smiles at me, "I guess I better set up a company and start ordering merchandise."

I added, "I used those devices a lot when recording. Soon there will be many songs playing music with your sound. Pretty cool, huh?"

Casey is in a daze, "I never expected this to really happen. I need to talk to Becky. Did you know that Jeremy sent several people her way already?"

I'm surprised, "I had no idea. That's great!"

I laugh hard. My sisters look at me.

I explain, "I'm helping Casey build a company because of my ideas and playing. I'm helping Becky get business because of my playing. I'm helping Andrea stay busy by being in the hospital a few times now. You're all reliant on me!"

They laugh a short laugh, and then they all mockingly slug me.

I tease them, "Ouch! I need Andrea. See, you proved my point!"

The doorbell rings. I'm teasing my sisters; I ignore the door. Someone answers it. I don't hear a greeting, only a "Come right in." As I turn around, I am struck by a Mack truck. Damn, what did I do wrong?

Then I hear the crying. I have arms wrapped around my body, making it difficult to breathe. The back of my shirt is getting damp from the tremendous number of tears being shed by this woman. I look and yup, it's Veronica. She can't talk, so Michelle translates for me.

Michelle is sad as she says, "It wasn't long after breakfast that dad collapsed in the kitchen. We rushed him to the ER, where Andrea and another nice woman worked on him. It helped that Andrea knew his condition; she quickly diagnosed that he was dying. She made him as comfortable as possible, and then he was sent up to a room.

"Andrea was excellent. The room was small dark, and there was another family there already. The nurses knew everything about him from his chart. There was nothing to keep him alive; the only thing they could do was keep him pain-free. He filled out forms ahead of time to make sure that happened. All we could do was wait.

"A few minutes later, and dad is in a sitting position, and his bed is wheeled into that big room. We had no idea what was going on. It seemed rather odd that they packed the room with people. I was livid; I wanted daddy to myself, not for him to die in a room with strangers. Most of them looked as bad as he did if not worse."

She cries and then composes herself.

Michelle continues with tears rolling down her face, "We were in there for twenty minutes. The security guy barges into the room, and I notice that he's pushing your amplifier. You and Gail are soon through the doors, with your guitar on your back. All three of us lost our minds as we realized what was happening."

She's crying too much, so Gail continues, "Hal makes Michelle and I sing his hit song. It got massive laughs. Many were crying from laughing so hard. We didn't come within 100 miles of Heidi and Lauren, but it was fun. Michelle sits down with her dad, and I sing things I know. A series of ER nurses sang songs, and some other family members sang and were quite good. It was nice."

Veronica lets go of me and finish the story, "Mitch was so proud of Hal. He, too, cried a lot. He passed with a smile on his face as you played some Van Halen. I was never much of a fan, but Mitch was, so I know their stuff. We have a family at home, in the car, and on the way to see us. I had to stop by and say, 'Thank You.' That meant a lot to all of us."

She hugs me again, and they leave.

The rest of the night is all Becky explaining how to Incorporate and what the options are. We make lots of decisions about Casey's company. Faith is working on a degree now, and she wants to be involved with advertising and sales. Casey wants nothing to do with sales, she's already planning more options for the current devices, plus she's working on some of my other ideas. I have taken on all her chores, allowing her to concentrate on new products.

Casey is using USB to connect her sound devices to a computer. The computer reads in several standard music file formats. I can program what device and what settings I want on each note. The device keeps track of where I am in the music and then uses the devices when I like it. Well, in theory, it will. She has a host of issues to work through. Then she has to write drivers and interfaces. Much of this she can't do, but she has people in her company that can.

Becky will work out a deal with her company to assist her, and everyone will make money. This is lightyears ahead of everyone else, and only our devices will work with it. That means patents and licensing deals for others to make other devices compatible with our system ... once it starts to work. Becky thinks they can mock something up in a month with her company helping.

If you're lost, I will pause here. A guitar makes a sound, and my fingers on the strings change the sounds to get different notes. It's just like a violin, cello, banjo, and piano. Pluck a string to get a tone, and fingers adjust the length of the string to change the note. The sound goes through a cable to the amplifier with an electric guitar, where it's broadcast louder. Simple.

Some smart people came along and said that a pile of electronics in a box can distort the sound if the box is between the guitar and the amplifier. They found many cool sounds for the guitar over the years. I'm doing the same thing. I'm manipulating the sound, so it changes. Typically, it's a bit of a pain because you either leave it on all the time, or you must take your hands off the guitar to change the settings, turn it on, or off. That means with Casey's device, every note could have a different effect, and my hands never leave the guitar. Casey wants to tell my device what notes I'm playing and then when to enable and disable my sound effect and how much to affect the sound.

I just had an epiphany.

I ask Casey, "Hey Casey?"

She looks at me, "Yeah?"

I explain, "I was just thinking ... we want to automate the sound devices. I don't want to take my hand off the guitar. I'm not saying you stop the other super cool controller device that reads music. But. What if I had a pedal on the floor, like a sewing machine? The harder I press, the more the effect of the device. Now I don't have a steady effect, but one that can rise and fall as I desire. Best yet, it works with every other device on the market."

Casey's eyes light up, "I will get to work with some of the mechanical engineers. That would be fun!"

Becky laughs, "We will need a warehouse soon if you keep coming up with ideas like this."

Donna snickers, "No way Andrea lets you do that. She will want college paid for first."

I offer, "Becky will just need to make Casey's company handle warehousing. I think it's fair to use half for Casey to get started. I agree with Andrea, though; I want to put some big dents in the college shortfall we have."

Faith reasons, "Well, we don't need it all right now. Gail has three years; I have two more, and Emma only has one more. Donna graduates at the end of the year, which isn't that far away. That will be four salaries plus anything Hal does. We will be fine."

Emma pipes up, "Gail. I think it's time you take our man back to see Lauren. She took a chance on him; I think it's time to go back and shop with real money. We owe her so much. We can't say we're penniless anymore."

They all agree, but Andrea isn't going to like this one bit.

I'm tired. It's been a long emotional day. I say good night and then head upstairs. I'm thinking about Mitch and feeling sad. No other sister stood up with me, so I'm surprised when I got to the top of the stairs, and two hands startle me by grabbing my shoulders and directing me into Gail's room.

I don't fight her. Like I said, I'm sad and tired. I can sleep here just as quickly. Gail guides me to the side of the bed, spins me around, and then pushes me back, so I'm sitting on the bed. She sits next to me with one leg under her, turning towards me to talk.

Gail starts talking on her own, "I lay in bed at night wondering how I'm going to pay for college. I didn't see how we all could go to school since your injury, draining all our savings, and mortgaging the house again, even with three salaries. It's a huge weight off my mind to know that you prioritize my education so highly.

"After all you've been through at school, and here at home, I can't fathom how we got so lucky. You are the most decent guy I've ever met. I didn't say cutest, Jeremy beats you there, but wow, you really care about others. With your life, I expected you to be just the opposite. How can you be so decent to Michelle or us? I need to understand you. I need to know we're not being played. Please help me understand."

I notice that her phone is on; I've been set up.

I say loud and clear, I want all of you to come upstairs. I want you to see the sincerity in my eyes. You'll doubt me from just the sound on the phone."

Gail face palms her head, "I guess we've done this too many times, huh?"

She closes her phone, and I hear the collective walking up the stairs. I wait for everyone to file into the bedroom. Now that they're all here, I can start.

I am emotionless as I explain myself, "High School was a living hell. The football team got away with murder. Most ignored me; many joined the team in their abuse. You saw, nobody stood up to that idiot in charge. His rules were law. He encouraged them; he wanted them to feel empowered and undefeatable.

"Home wasn't abused as much as it was being ignored and basically forgotten. It didn't matter unless I didn't do one of the many chores. Each of you was all that mattered. Michelle enjoyed the status Gail gave her. Gail, Faith, and Emma all saw what they did to me and ignored it. I did not exist in your world.

"So, how did I become me? Well, I suffered a lot. Mom and Dad were the last people that put me before themselves. They truly loved each of us equally and individually. When they died, you all pulled back into your own world. Starting in junior high, the abuse started. It was much worse in High School. I had nothing. My hope was college would be different. I lay awake at night, envisioning college.

"I didn't want to be a bully. I wanted to be a kind caring person that helped save people from that. I didn't want to be like the jerks from high school or any of you. I wanted to be a better person hoping that someone may again love me someday. I don't hate anyone, I don't love anyone alive, but I want to be a better person than those I've experienced."

Emma pretty much sums it up, "Woah."

They all file out, deep in thought. I try to stand up and follow them out. Gail will have none of that.

Gail asks timidly, "Do you think any of us love you now?"

I carefully answer the question, "When you say yes, now I do. I think my black eye woke you all up. You remembered you had a brother, and you didn't like looking in the mirror. You felt sorry for me. You all devised a plan to make me feel more comfortable around women. Then you were all forced to care for me for two months, which wore you down.

"You all love me as a brother now and in time, will upgrade to people you're in love with, date, and get married. I don't see myself getting married. Women will love me for my money, my talent, but not for me. Look at all of you. Had you been in love with me, you would not have been worn down by my care. I didn't see it at the time, but it was a test. I know where I stand."

Gail asks me, "Will you be famous?"

I smile at her, "I don't know yet. If I join a band, yes, I will become famous. If I do just studio work, I will be a nobody. I'm not sure which way to go."

Gail has the most expressive smile I've ever seen on her, "Jeremy, let me hear your new album of our Christmas songs. He added drum, piano, strings, and band pieces here and there. Each song has a different feel. You, the lyrics, and Heidi all stand out. It was beautiful to listen to. In a matter of weeks, you will be famous. You or Heidi alone are worth buying the album. You both are going to be rich and famous. You better get ready."

I honestly reply, "I don't know if I can handle that."

She surprises me by saying, "Don't."

I ask, "How can I ignore it?"

Gail smirks, "You have two choices. You can hide behind Jeremy and his production company. He does studio work by choice; I'm not sure he wants that either. No. I think Emma would love to be your Public Relations spokesman. I'm pretty sure she was looking at a PR minor. She might be shifting it to a major. If Becky is going to represent several musicians, maybe she can as well, on the public side. You know she would love having the spotlight."

Relieved, I reply, "I will talk to her tomorrow. Maybe while we're out, we can stop by to hear the album."