Southbound Ch. 15-16

She was on Skype at the time and was talking to... Phil. That caught me by surprise.

"Hi, Phil," I called. I assumed he could see me.

"Hi, Dad," he answered immediately, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"How are you?"

"Fine. I'm good. Just talking to Tina and catching up on the news."

"Good. Anything happening in your world?" I asked.

"Nothing special. I'm still working at Williams Auto Supply. I'll be registering at Douglas College in a couple of weeks."

"Good for you. Glad to hear it. Do you need anything from me?"

"Nope, I'm good, Dad. Mom's good too. Everything's fine here."

I knew it was a signal he wanted me to leave, so I said goodbye and went back downstairs. It was good to see the two of them talking. Tina would probably check in with me later.

"What's happening?" Fiona asked absently, curled up on the sofa and watching TV.

"I went up to ask Tina about her job, but she was on Skype with Phil."

"Oh."

"You don't sound surprised."

"No... they get along quite well and have become friends. They are almost the same age, so it's no surprise," Fiona said as she continued to watch TV.

That was the end of our in-depth conversation, but I was pleased that our son and daughter had seemingly become good friends and were talking to each other. I took it as a positive sign. Both of them were outgoing personalities, so it wasn't surprising that they might have a lot in common. I wished Phil's brother was a little more sociable. We seldom heard from him.

It got pretty darn warm in our part of Alameda County in the summer. A lot warmer than I was used to in Canada. The average temperature in July and August was 90+, while September was very little cooler. The locals were accustomed to it and seldom commented on it. Bobby Lee and his family thought it was far nicer than the same temperature in Louisiana, thanks to the much lower humidity. They can say what they like, it was hot. Thank goodness for air conditioning.

Fiona and I continued to play the Las Positas course, choosing to play nine holes early in the morning to avoid the heat. If we teed off by six-thirty, we would be done and home before nine and in the office before ten. We played every second week so as not to cut into the business day too greatly.

We discovered that a loosely organized "businessman's club" was playing on Thursday morning and they had no problem with a woman being included. We got to meet a number of people we would otherwise never have met and made some new friends while we enjoyed an early round of golf. It was the beginning of my search for new friends outside our business associates.

We settled into domestic life quite nicely. I was still very much occupied with making sure we had the plant running well and producing good product on time. Fiona was totally focused on sales and the results confirmed her skills. By the end of August, we were solidly ahead of expectations and I could see our planning session for the following year would be dedicated to what further equipment we would need and when we would need it. All the indications said we were going to be the success we had envisioned.

I had to visit Langley for some financial review meetings the week before Labour Day. The meetings were a precursor to our developing the business plan for the following year. Fiona would stay behind since I would only be gone three days. It would give me the opportunity to visit my parents and see Phil and Neal as well.

I was surprised when I walked out of the customs area in Vancouver to find both Phil and Neal waiting for me. I don't know how they found out I was coming on this flight, but they did.

"Hi guys, how are you?" I smiled before noticing the grim look on both their faces.

"Hi, Dad," Neal said, hugging me. That was unusual. He was more of a handshake guy. I got a hug from Phil too, and realized that this wasn't a happy meeting.

"What up?" I asked, looking at both of them.

"It's Mom," Neal said solemnly. "She's sick. She has cancer."

"Oh," was all I managed as the air went out of me. "What's the situation?"

"She has brain cancer, Dad. It's inoperable," Neal said sadly.

At that point, Phil broke down and began to cry. Big, heaving sobs as I moved to him and held him tightly to me. I wasn't far from tears myself.

"How long have you known?" I asked, wondering if it really mattered.

"Since yesterday," Neal reported. "She's had some... episodes. Disoriented, speech problems, forgetful,"

"How long has it been going on?"

"I don't know, Dad. It can't be that long or Phil would have noticed. But... she called us together last night and told us. She isn't going to get better, Dad. We're going to lose her."

"Oh, God," I moaned, "I'm so sorry. Let's go home and we can talk about it some more."

It was a silent ride to Langley, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I drove directly to my former home. I wasn't going to stand back and watch this happen. I was going to be involved, one way or another. The boys would need me, particularly now and especially Phil.

We entered the house and I saw Carla sitting in her usual chair. She looked up slowly at me and tried to smile. It was a cock-eyed effort. It seemed some of her facial muscles weren't working well. How could this have happened so quickly? It was only six weeks ago that I was here and she was fine. Or was she?

"Hello, Carla. I'd ask you how you are, but they've already told me the news."

She nodded slowly. "Yes... it isn't what I expected to happen, Andy," she said, her voice slightly slurred. "Boys... would you excuse us please. I'd like to talk to your father in private."

Neal led Phil out of the living room and off toward the upstairs bedrooms. There was a tomb-like silence in the room. I was completely unprepared for this and had no idea what to say or do.

"I've had a suspicion for a while that something wasn't quite right with me, Andy," she said slowly and deliberately. "It started before you came to visit me in July. Unfortunately, I didn't do anything about it until recently when the symptoms became worse. My doctor tells me it wouldn't have made any difference. The tumour was too far advanced to be operable.

"We need to talk about what comes next," she said after a pause. "Philip is very upset, you know. We are very close. Neal will be hurting too, but he'll recover sooner. He's like that. Very durable. I haven't told Ruth yet, but I think she suspects something. I wonder if you could bring her here tomorrow evening and I can let her know."

I nodded, unable to speak.

"How long?" I finally had the courage to ask.

She slowly shook her head. "Two weeks, a month... no more. It probably won't kill me right away, but I'll be completely unable to function. They will have to put me into palliative care for however long I last."

I could feel the tears trickling down my cheeks.

"You need to take Phil with you, Andy. He can't stay here on his own. He needs you and your new family around him."

"Your parents? Do they know?"

She shook her head, again very slowly. "No. I think I'll ask Ruth to tell them. I don't know if I can.

"Andy, I'm getting all my affairs in order, just as the doctor suggested. You will need to sell the house and the furnishings as well, I suppose. Neal will be named executor and my lawyer assures me it won't be an onerous task. I'm sorry to dump this all on you, but I can't see Phil going with anyone else.

"I'll probably be taken back to the hospital in a week or so, but I'm not sure when. Phil won't be able to handle taking care of me and neither will Ruth or my parents. Besides, I wouldn't wish that on any of them. It's better I should be where they can do what's necessary to keep me comfortable."

"I'm sorry, Carla. I'm so sorry it has turned out this way for you. You don't deserve this. No one does."

"I'm not afraid of dying, Andy. I thought I would be, but I'm not. I just drew the unlucky card. There's nothing I can do about it except to say goodbye to my family and friends."

I stayed at the house than night, foregoing the hotel I had booked. It seemed important that I did. It was a solemn meal with little conversation. Carla hardly ate more than a mouthful and the rest of us not much more. I went up to the guest room and called Fiona and told her what was going on.

We talked for an hour and my new bride encouraged me to stay as long as necessary and not worry about her and Tina. I told her about Carla's wish that we take Phil in and she immediately agreed. He would be very welcome in our home.

I called Leo at his home and spent another half-hour on the phone explaining what was happening. He was deeply affected by it. He considered the people who worked for him family, and Carla was still one of them. He deferred the meetings until further notice, stating this was far more important to me and to my family.

My stay in Langley was mercifully short. Carla's condition deteriorated almost before our eyes. She was taken into Langley Memorial's palliative care facility and never came out. The last person to see her alive was Phil. Her suffering was mercifully short just as her life had been cut mercilessly short. I grieved for her. I grieved for what we had and what we had lost. I had loved her, at least for most of our life together.

I went home to Livermore when she was taken into care, taking Phil with me. We were greeted at the airport by a solemn and silent pair, Fiona and Tina. Fiona held me close while Tina did the same for Phil.

We got Phil settled in the third bedroom and allowed him to find his way. We knew it wouldn't be long before we would by flying back to Langley and the services for Carla. It was the end of September when Carla finally took her last breath. Phil and I flew back to Vancouver and Neal met us, taking us to our former home.

I talked to her doctor about how it was she went so quickly. He simply said her brain shut down and ceased to allow her to live. All her other organs followed. He said she likely did not feel any pain... or for that matter, anything at all. The tumour was the size of a half-grapefruit and had been there for quite some time. She simply didn't know it.

The funeral service was held three days later, ninety days after she had been diagnosed. That seemed an impossibly short time to me. I decided to ask some questions and contacted a friend who was a doctor. He said it was unusual, but not unheard of. That she was unaware of it was not uncommon, and to have such a dramatically rapid effect on her wasn't rare. He couldn't see anything that might have been done to save Carla.

Ruth took it very stoically. She was saddened and frustrated that she had so little time to say goodbye to her sister. We spent a couple of evenings together, remembering the good times. She agreed completely that the best thing for Phil was to come to California with me.

Ruth and Carla's parents were devastated and couldn't come to terms with how quickly this had all happened. They thought at first that Carla had withheld her condition from them, but Ruth and I convinced them that it was not so. Still, they were deeply hurt by the loss of their youngest daughter. It wouldn't help that Phil was moving away as well, but I assured them that it was best for him and we promised they would see him as often as possible.

As I stood by the gravesite while the minister finished his intonation, I looked down into the grave that had been dug for my late wife. It struck me that life wasn't fair. All Carla wanted was a better life than I had been able to give her. She did nothing wrong. She didn't deserve this to happen to her. No... it was not fair. The church bells rang and I dropped the single white rose on the coffin as it was lowered.

We put the house up for sale and began the laborious process of clearing out all the things we had collected over the past twenty-three years. Phil found some things that he wanted to keep as mementos of his mother, while Neal took some of the furniture for the apartment he had rented. He was tired of living in the campus quarters and had partnered with two other students to rent an apartment not far from the campus.

I salvaged the photo albums and other items I wanted to keep, while Ruth and her parents found a number of things they would keep. The rest would go to the charity shop or in the hastily organized yard sale. When all of it was disposed of, one way or another, I gave Neal power of attorney to sell the house. We had quite a bit of equity and I would make sure that it was distributed equally to the boys and Ruth.

It was a week later when Phil and I walked off the plane and into the Oakland baggage claim area. Fiona and Tina were there to greet us again. A few words of greeting were exchanged quietly as we waited for our luggage. It was good to home again. Yes... this was home now.

To Be Continued