“What’s with the kiddie drinks? We’re meant to be celebrating” I said, teasing them.
“Bad heart”
“Driving”
They both said at the same time. Henry was excused on account of his bad heart and the medication he is on but Alex’s excuse was pathetic.
“I’ll be getting a taxi, just jump in with me, you’re staying at mine anyway,” I pointed out.
“Actually, while you have been dancing the night away, Nat has agreed to try again, I’m staying sober so I can drive my family home” he said proudly.
“Nice one little bro. Don’t lose her again,” I said seriously.
“Believe me I won’t, but I get the feeling I’ll be paying for this for years to come” he said meekly.
“You deserve it, look at her, how could you think you could do better?” Henry said, startling us.
I couldn’t help but laugh, he had a point. It was funny because usually he doesn’t get involved unless we ask, I guess he was just as pissed at Alex as we were.
We all looked over to the dance floor.
“The women in our lives, none of us could do better. Treat her right,” he added before going to find a seat at a table, he looked shattered.
“Here, one won’t hurt, we have lots to celebrate tonight” I said, handing him a glass of Champagne, “Cheers little bro”
“Cheers”
It wasn’t long before it was announced Ava and Layton were leaving for the hotel, they were flying out early in the morning to honeymoon, travelling across America.
“Be safe,” I told her pulling her into my arms for one last hug before she left.
“I’ll let you know when we land” she said squeezing me back, “Thank you for today, I love you dad”
“You’re welcome, and I love you too. Now go and have fun, I’ll see you both in a few weeks” I said pulling away, “Keep her safe Layton”
“I will do,” he said shaking my hand.
“Congratulations to you both” I added.
They disappeared into the night while the rest of us carried on dancing and drinking. I’ll admit I spent more time drinking then dancing. As guests started to leave, I was bombarded with comments on how well today had gone, and how proud I must be. Right at this point, I felt like standing on one of the tables and shouting just how much I was proud from the depths of my lungs. I was pretty drunk so I may have actually done it. To tell the truth I couldn’t actually tell the difference between what I was doing and what I was thinking.
I ended up drinking too much, making a fool of myself on the dance floor or stumbling about the dance floor, and I didn’t care. For once, I was truly happy and I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.
Chapter Fourteen
I couldn’t believe I had forgotten to turn the alarm off. Why was it going off already? After Ava and Layton left last night, I remember drinking in excess. For once it wasn’t because I was drowning my sorrows, but because I was enjoying myself. I hit the alarm, it kept going off, it took me a few seconds to register it was my mobile phone, not the alarm clock.
Surely nobody should be awake, it was barely five am when I looked at the time.
I didn’t recognise the number, I answered anyway surprised to hear my mother on the other end. It sounded like she had been crying.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately alert sitting on the edge of the bed.
“Can you come to the hospital please?” she asked.
Thoughts of Ava shot through my mind at an alarming rate, before I had a chance to panic too much, she added,
“It’s Henry…he was taken in not long after we got home last night…he has had another heart attack…he…” she trailed off into sobs.
“Mum? Are you okay? How is he?” I asked with a sinking feeling I already knew the answer.
I heard her compose herself before answering.
“He isn’t doing so well. I have already called Alex and Rose, they are on their way…”
“Is it that serious?”
“They said…to call anyone who would want to say goodbye,” she cried.
Shit, he didn’t look well last night, well, a lot of the time lately.
“I’m on my way, I’ll come and find you when I get there”
“Okay son” she said before hanging up.
Rushing around to find something to wear would be a lot easier if my head wasn’t banging, the adrenaline was helping but not completely.
I couldn’t drive with the amount of alcohol still in my system so I called a taxi, while I was waiting I quickly made a mug of coffee and took a couple of painkillers.
Once I could think a bit more clearly, it dawned on me, I had to let Ava know. I hated to ruin her honeymoon before it had begun. She would not be happy if no one called her, she would want to say goodbye, she had built a strong bond with Henry over the years, the same as Jas. He is like a grandfather to her and she is happy to take on the role of granddaughter.
Why whenever our family enjoys anything momentous, does the bad have to follow? Every time Ava enjoys an anniversary she will always remember today. I dialled her number while going to wait out front for the taxi.
With each ring I felt sick, both from a building hangover and from having to deliver bad news.
“Dad?”
I had woken her up.
“Ava honey, I’m sorry to call you, I have bad news”
“What has happened?” she asked, sounding a lot more awake, I could hear Layton in the background asking what is going on.
“Henry has had another heart attack, your Gran has called to say we should get to the hospital…to say goodbye”
“No, I saw him last night, he was fine” she said.
I could hear her voice crackle, I couldn’t get much out of her as she began to cry and sob, Layton took over the conversation.
“Chris, its Layton, what is going on?”
“Can you take Ava to the hospital? Henry had a heart attack and it isn’t looking good,” I repeated.
“Oh shit,” he replied, “Yeah sure, we’ll meet you there”
“Good, I’ll meet you outside”
I hung up, there I had officially ruined one of the happiest times in my girls life.
I met Ava and Layton by the hospital entrance, we were the last to arrive. My mother was sitting next to Henry’s bedside. It broke my heart to see her having to go through this, I knew the pain she was about to endure. Henry has been the best thing in her life besides me and my brother and the grandchildren.
He looked so weak and vulnerable, something I have never associated with him. I remembered the time he came to my house, he landed one of the most powerful punches on me I had ever received, and now he could barely lift his hand.
Ava rushed over and sat with my mum when she saw Henry lying there.
“We will come back soon,” Alex said, taking Nat out of the room.
It was becoming overcrowded, Layton stepped out too, he knew Ava was well looked after here.
I took the chair on the opposite side of his bed as Rose came into the room.
I stood to give her the seat but she refused, choosing to stand. Some start to retirement this is for her, losing one of her oldest and closest friends.
It felt like hours we had been sitting there, I can’t stand hospitals, the smell, the waiting and most of all the one time I should have been here and wasn’t, for Jas.
I must have fallen asleep as I opened my eyes to very quiet voices, Ava was asleep and my mother was whispering everything would be okay to Henry, although the tears in her eyes told him it was a lie.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” I asked, knowing it was a stupid question.
“I have felt better,” he muttered.
“I should get Rose,” I said, standing to leave and go find her.
“Wait”
I sat back down and moved the chair closer to the bed.
“I always believed it was Jasmine who brought me and your mother togeth
er, but it was you, your decision to stay with Jasmine. You’re a good man Chris and you deserve better then you have been dealt in life. I don’t believe her, I’m not going to be okay, look after my love for me,” he said weakly.
I would have thought my mother would have argued with him, but she sat sobbing, he didn’t need to ask, I would look after her anyway.
“I will,” I promised.
He smiled weakly, I don’t think he had much energy left to speak.
“I’ll go and find everyone,” I said standing up.
“And I will look after your love” he murmured so quietly I barely heard him.
“Just like old times” I smiled.
I never believed in life after death, I used to think that when you died that was it. Since Jasmine left me, I had to believe there is something waiting for me when my day comes, and hoping it would be Jas waiting for me makes it seem less scary. So as corny as it sounds, it makes me feel at peace knowing she will have Henry by her side once again, she won’t be alone after all these years.
I found the rest of them in the food court.
“Rose, he is awake” I said taking a seat with them.
She smiled and left us, walking back to Henry.
“How is he?” Nat asked.
“I should go and be with Ava” Layton said leaving too. I nodded and relaxed into the seat, well as much as I could.
“He isn’t good, he gave the speech about looking after mum,” I told them both, glancing quickly at Alex. If he had any insecure feelings about Henry not asking him, I didn’t catch any.
“I feel bad for your mum, this is going to crush her” Nat spoke up.
“We will all be there for her, we will help her,” Alex said soothing his wife.
Strangely I was hungry, thankfully my hangover was subsiding.
I asked if they wanted anything, both declined apart from Alex wanted a coffee.
After I had got my food, we sat for a long time in silence. None of us knowing what to say. We decided to head back and see how he is doing. Outside was a dark sea of black clouds, there was a storm coming, I could hear the low rumblings of thunder in the distance. It made today feel worse than it already is.
We turned the corner leading to Henry’s private room, all three of us heard the cries and picked up our pace. Everyone was standing outside of the room, my mother sobbing into Rose’s arms, Ava in Layton’s.
I took her from Rose and squeezed her tightly. Doctors were hovering around Henry, pushing his chest, the monitors going crazy. It was happening so quickly, and then all of a sudden everything was in slow motion. The doctors stepped away from his lifeless body, one pushing buttons on the monitors, turning it off. Everything went eerily silent.
As the doctors and nurses slowly left his room, I saw Jas. Standing at the bottom of his bed, her arms folded across her chest like she had been impatiently waiting for him, it reminded me how she used to be before I broke down her walls. She blew out a lifeless breath of relief and was gone. I know Jas wasn’t really there, but she was to me. The only comfort I can find in Henry’s death is that my Jas isn’t alone where ever she may be any longer.
The last doctor out of his room stopped, searching to speak to my mother. I pulled away from her and turned her to face him.
“I’m sorry Mrs Robinson, there wasn’t anything we could do,” he said.
She stood there motionless longer than I expected. I could feel her breathing begin to accelerate, she was going to break down. I kept a tight hold on her while she cried and called for Henry.
One of the nurses interrupted her, asking if she wanted to see him before they took him away. She asked to go in alone while we waited outside.
“Are you okay Rose?” I asked, taking a seat next to her.
“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine” she smiled, “When you get to our age, it is only a matter of time. He isn’t suffering anymore,” she said dabbing her eyes.
“No, he won’t be” was all I could say.
“I worked in quite a few homes before I went to work for Jasmine. Before she met you and was constantly working, Henry would be the only person I saw for days at a time sometimes. We were all each other had, but then you came along and everything changed, we became a proper family. Henry was one of my oldest friends and a gentleman, you don’t get many men like him these days, this is a sad loss” she finished quietly.
Henry had said something similar, looking back to when I was with Jas, it wasn’t just me who brought everyone together, it was both Jas and I. It hit me just how much us as a couple had changed so many people’s lives around us for the better when ours ended in tragedy.
“You’re the only one I know of who he changed his opinion of, he was very protective over Jasmine long before you came into her life, when you did he was against your relationship in the beginning, fearing you was only after her money. It wasn’t because he met your mother, it was because of your genuine love for Jasmine that changed his mind about you, he saw the real you and has ever since”
We always had a connection through Jas, we understood each other because of her. Rose is my last connection to Jasmine from those dark days, sure my family was around and spent time with her, but most days it was just the four of us.
“I’m going to miss you both” I said.
“I’m only planning on leaving the country, I will be back” she replied.
“It isn’t going to be the same though is it, with Henry gone and you leaving, if you ever get to leave” I tried to joke, “It’s like that life never existed”
That is what scared me the most, I feared feeling like she had never been in my life at all. All I had left was a ghost of the woman I love so much, a figment of my imagination because I’ll never be able to let her go.
She put her arm around me, it was comforting.
“That part of your life will always exist, she will always exist, because you keep her alive. You don’t have it in you to be any different, it is who you are”
For the first time in years I wanted to cry. I have had enough, I’m so tired of being without her.
“Dad?”
I looked up and Ava was standing over me, her eyes red and swollen. I sucked in a deep breath, it is my turn to be strong, my turn to crumble into grieving can wait.
Slowly we all left the hospital, ending up at my mothers’ house. I was expecting her to go into overdrive, but she shocked us all and sat on the sofa, not moving, not speaking, only staring into space.
“We have to get back for the kids, they don’t know about Henry yet” Nat said, coming up beside me with Alex.
“I’ll come back later, are you going to be okay?” he asked.
“Sure, I’ll call you if I need anything” I said.
After they left, I found Ava and Layton in the kitchen, she looked extremely tired.
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest?” I advised.
“We should stay here,” she said.
“I’m staying here as is Rose, you need to get some sleep Ava”
“We can come back tomorrow,” Layton told her.
She knew she wouldn’t win this, I gave her a hug and saw them out. Every instinct wanted to keep her here, but she is married now, Layton will be there for her.
It is weird, even though nobody in the house had been saying anything, it felt a lot quieter when they had gone.
Mum was still in the same place when I passed the living room. Rose had magically appeared in the kitchen, she had been staying here for the wedding, so she knew where everything was.
“Give this to your mother, I have made us all one” she said, handing me a tray of coffees, I suspected they were laced with something stronger.
She took hers to her room, as I took the tray to the living room. I didn’t waste time trying to get her to talk, I remember wanting to be left alone after Jas died. I handed her one of the mugs of coffee then sat next to her in silence, sipping my own drink.
For the first time since Jas d
ied, I was glad she wasn’t here to grieve for Henry. This would have broken her heart, she thought of him as a father, I don’t know how she would have coped grieving as so.
I went and stood by the window overlooking the front gardens, all gardening curtsey of Henry keeping himself busy. The rain had eased off, the cloudy sky turning to night.
Tonight will be the hardest, I hope for my mother’s sake the night doesn’t become her enemy like it had taken me after Jas, they were much harder to cope with then the daytime.
“Is this my payback?” she asked, making me jump.
“What?” I replied, joining her on the sofa again.
I was happy she was talking again, even if I didn’t have a clue what she was going on about.
“I stuck to you like glue after Jasmine died, making sure you didn’t do anything stupid, is this you paying me back?”
“I’m here because you shouldn’t be on your own”
“I told you the same thing,” she said.
“And I told you I was fine, that I wanted to be on my own” I said finishing what she was getting at, “I’m not leaving, I’ll sleep in one of the spare rooms” I compromised.
“Thank you, I’ll be fine, I just need some time to think”
“Come and get me if you need me” I told her.
“Go on, you need to sleep, it has been a long day”
She was still worrying about me after the day she has had, the respect I have for her is infinite.
“You too, try and get some sleep,” I said.
It was still early, but after today’s events and not getting a lot of sleep last night I was tired enough to fall asleep after a couple of minutes after my head hit the pillow.
In the days that followed Henry’s passing, time either passed too fast or very slowly. When I awoke the morning after he died, my mother had resumed her overdrive tendencies and was obsessive about keeping herself busy. Especially today, the day of Henry’s funeral. I had been trying to convince Ava not to feel guilty about going on honeymoon afterwards, my mum convinced her in the end by telling her Henry wouldn’t have been happy to know she wasn’t living her life. Rose was also leaving after the funeral, she had gotten worse since the hospital, his death had hit her harder than she thought it would. I couldn’t blame her, everywhere here was a reminder of what she has lost over the years.