“Have you ever told your mother that?”
“I tried, just after graduation, but I was young, Dad had just died, she had to go back to school to upgrade her computer skills now that she was back in the workforce, and I probably didn’t articulate it too well. I was pretty angry back then. Mostly at Dad, for leaving, but also at her for, I don’t know… probably for not finding a way we could save him. That sounds stupid when I say it out loud.”
“It makes sense to me. I’m angry as hell that you’re sick and I can’t just align your chakras and heal you. Nothing I have been trained to do as a nurse or a Reiki Master is of any use right now, and I want to scream.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
They slipped into silence, each looking out a window as the city slipped past and the limo left the core, driving to the airport in Sydney, north of Victoria.
ELDON PULLED UP in front of the small, fog-enshrouded terminal with twenty minutes to spare. He opened the door for Mika and Jerry, then indicated a small parking lot a short distance away, barely visible through the fog. “Folks, you both head inside where it’s warm and dry, and I’ll park Big Blue then follow you in. Once your family arrives I’ll bring the luggage out to the curb, go get the car, and swing around to pick everyone up. It sounds convoluted, but it’s a small airport, and they need this area kept clear for the shuttle buses.”
Jerry nodded. “That sounds great, Eldon. We’ll go find some seats. Can we get you a coffee? I desperately need one myself.” He was feeling a bit light-headed.
“Thank you, sir, but I have a fresh thermos in the car with my wife’s special vanilla-hazelnut brew. I appreciate the offer, though. Go on in and get settled. I’ll join you shortly.”
“See you inside, then.” Mika linked her arm through Jerry’s and led him in through the sliding glass doors.
It was almost as warm inside the airport as it was in the limo, so they shrugged out of their coats and looked for a Starbucks, Tim Hortons, or some sort of café.
“It’s about time, Jeremy.” The voice came from off to their left. Jerry spun at the sound but wobbled a bit before Mika steadied him.
“Mom?”
Jane Powell approached him with her own coat over her arm, and Carole and Jean-Marc behind, with a cart loaded with their luggage. “Didn’t you double check our arrival time? We caught a tailwind or something and got here ten minutes ago. All you had to do was make a simple phone call and we wouldn’t have had to stand here waiting.”
Carole stepped around her mother and went straight into open Jerry’s arms. “I promised I wouldn’t cry in public, big brother.”
“You lied, little sister.”
“Jerk.”
“Brat.” He kissed her cheek and let her go. Jean-Marc stepped up and Jerry didn’t hesitate to take him into a bear hug as well. Jean-Marc and Carole had been together long enough for Jerry to consider him his brother. “Mon chum. Ça va?”
“Ça va bien. Et toi?”
“Comme si, comme ça. Cancer suck-la.”
“Oui. Beaucoup de merde.” Lots of shit.
They stepped out of the hug, managing only half smiles.
“Jeremy, are you going to introduce us to your friend?” Jane nodded at Mika.
“Hmm?” His concentration slipped and the terminal wavered for a moment. “Um. Sorry. Of course. Mom, Carole, et Jean-Marc, this is my assistant and dear friend, Mika. Mika, this is my fam.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Powell. Jerry has—”
Jerry abruptly leaned into Mika, interrupting her. “Oops. Sorry.”
His mother suddenly sobbed, her hand going to her mouth and her eyes filling with tears. “It’s true. You’re… my… oh, shit.”
“MOM?!” Carole and Jerry were both stunned. Jerry almost laughed, but the sombre situation robbed the moment of its humour. “Mom, the last time I heard you swear was… never.” He held out his arms for her and without another word, dirty or otherwise, tiny Jane Powell gave her son the hug of their lifetimes. Mika stood silently behind Jerry, her hand on his shoulder to steady him. “Yeah, it’s true.” He led his Mom over to a bench and sat down beside her. “Like I said before, I’m dying. We’re not giving up, the doctors will do what they can, but it ain’t lookin’ good.”
“Isn’t.”
“What?”
“It isn’t looking good.” She caught herself, wiped her eyes with a tissue that seemed to appear out of a pocket. “I’m sorry. It’s an old habit.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I finally get it. You take your job seriously.”
“My job?”
“Being my mother. You’ve always just wanted what’s best for me, even when I was being a goofball. I’m sorry I’ve given you such a hard time for so long.”
“No, I’m sorry. I should have encouraged you be who you wanted to be, and just let you grow up without all my poking and prodding.”
“As someone recently pointed out to me, that poking and prodding was just your way of showing that you love me. I get it. Thank you.”
“Well, of course I love you. I’m your mother. That’s just the silliest…” She stopped mid-sentence and looked at Jerry over her glasses as if seeing him for the first time. “You’re… welcome. Thank you.”
“For what? I’m a pain in the ass. Just ask Mika. She’s all ready to quit, after only a few weeks of my bullshit.”
Jane looked at Mika, who was shaking her head and smiling, then looked back to Jerry. “Thank you for being my son. For making me so proud. You’re silly and stubborn and have moved too far away from me, but you’ve always had the biggest heart of anyone I know, except your father. The two of you…” She trailed off, dabbing at her damp eyes again. Jerry hugged her with one arm and the other three sniffed back their own tears.
“Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Powell.” Eldon stood to one side. “I’m guessing that the flight arrived early. I’ll go get the limo, sir. I’ll hurry, because the shuttle bus is due out front at any minute, and there’s no room for both of us.”
“Thank you, Eldon. That’d be great. We’ll be right out.” Eldon jogged off at a brisk pace.
Jane stood up quickly. “Jerry, you didn’t hire a limo, did you? That was just silly.” She followed after Eldon. “Excuse me, sir, we don’t…” But the driver was already out the doors. She followed him, and the others scrambled to catch up, Jean-Marc bringing up the rear with the cartload of luggage. When the doors slid open for Jane, Jerry was right behind her, but Eldon was disappearing into the fog, on his way to Big Blue. Jane waved at him. “Sir, we don’t need a limousine, we’ll just take a taxi—”
Jerry heard the bus before he saw it. In slow motion, like a glass-faced behemoth, it parted the fog and appeared just as Jane reached the curb, intent on getting Eldon’s attention. “MOM!” He lunged for her, got a hold of her arm and pulled her back to safety, but he couldn’t reverse his own forward motion and tripped over his own feet, directly into the path of the shuttle bus. He thought he heard screams, but they were cut off by immense pain on the left side of his head, just before everything went black.