Page 3 of Gary

“I know I don’t deserve any consideration…”

“You deserve nothing!” Taking a deep breath, Gary reined in his temper. When his uncle had picked him up from the private landing, he had promised to keep his calm and let things go.

“He is dying, Gary.” Graham had told him soberly, “he is a son of a bitch and doesn’t deserve anything from you, but he is still your father and my brother. The doctors and nurses warned us to keep his blood pressure from spiking. If you know you cannot go inside that room and talk in a reasonable tone of voice, stay away.”

“How can you be so forgiving after what they did to you?” Gary demanded.

“Your mother,” he smiled fleetingly, “I know you are probably aware of the relationship between us. We kept each other sane.”

“She should have divorced the bastard.”

He smiled sadly. “She was Catholic and would not have considered such a thing. Besides, my brother would not have let her go.”

“Even though he knew of the affair between you and mother.”

“It amused him to realize that she had turned to me. He taunted us with the knowledge that he held the upper hand. He knew she would never go against her religion, and he always threatened to take you away from her. You were her life, and she would have gone through all manner of evil or walk through flames to keep you with her.”

Now looking at the man who had made their lives so unbearable, he felt the anger rising and knew he had to leave the room before it spewed over.

“I have to go. The flight was long and turbulent, and I am tired,” he muttered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his tan dress pants. “I will come by and see you in the morning.”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah.” He stopped by the bed. “I can see that you want to do what you think is best, but I am not into being that forgiving, just yet. Believe me, I am not quite there yet.”

“I am willing to wait.” His father’s smile was thin. “I have nothing better to do.”

With a curt nod, Gary walked swiftly from the room, closing the doors behind him. He stood there for a few seconds taking in the familiar hallway that led to the kitchen, formal dining room and large library leading off to the powder blue salon that had been his mother’s favorite place.

The nurse came hurrying forward with a smile on her plain face.

“It is time for his night medication. Will you be staying here?”

“No!” He shook his head. “I will be back in the morning.”

The woman pushed the door open as he went on his way. Passing the doors leading to the library, he stopped in front of them and felt his gut clenching sharply.

His mind spun back to the past where he saw Isabel Moretti sitting behind the desk, doing her daily household accounting. He would come barreling inside the room without knocking to tell her about his day.

“She loved that room.”

He jumped slightly at the sound of his uncle’s voice to his left.

“I thought you had left.”

“I knew you would want to get to the apartment to freshen up and I thought we would have dinner. There is this little Italianrestaurant owned by a friend of mine and they serve the best pasta, I have ever tasted. How is he?”

“Unlike himself.” Gary’s voice had a twinge of cynicism. Pushing the doors open, he stepped into the past. The place looked the same. Rows of books lined the pastel walls.

The desk was a feminine looking cherry wood with a worn leather chair behind it. He could still smell her perfume, the subtle floral scent that he always associated with her. “He wants to make amends.”

“He started to just before his diagnosis.” Graham stepped past him to walk over to the sofa where his mother had spent time helping her son with his homework.

“It’s too damn late.”

Plumping up a cushion, Graham turned to face his nephew. Gary had been more like a son to him than a nephew. He lovedthe boy’s mother since the first time he saw her when she was introduced to them by her dad. And he loved her still.

“You should hear him out.”

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