13. EDDIE

Chapter thirteen

EDDIE

A s the days passed, little problems began to stack up. Firstly, pressure from my work began to grow. I got on okay with my boss in New York, but I was a lawyer, and as such, he expected results from me. More and more, I was sitting at a desk in the bedroom I was using, staring at my laptop screen, my inbox overflowing with emails, all URGENT subject lines and red exclamation marks. I clicked through them one by one, trying to prioritize the most pressing issues. But they all seemed urgent.

One afternoon, doing this, I saw an email pop into my inbox in blackened bold, unread, as I was working.

Subject: Re: Return to Office

Dear Eddie,

As you know, I was very sorry to hear that you are having family issues, but I wondered when we might expect you to return to the office in New York. Your presence in the office is a requirement of your position and necessary for client engagement.

Please confirm when we can expect you back on site.

Kind regards,

Irving

I wanted to respond: my sister just died, I just acquired a kid, my family is in chaos, you can shove your work! But of course, I couldn't say that. I did need that work, and until I was sure what I was doing, I was in no position to give up my job in New York.

So, instead, I typed out a more moderate response:

Dear Irving,

Thank you for your email. I understand the importance of being present in the office and am returning as soon as possible.

My family is going through a significant bereavement and a lot of change, and I am doing my best to navigate through all this. I hope to be able to return to the office within the next week or so, when I return at least temporarily to New York. I will keep you updated.

Best regards,

Eddie

As I sent it, I realized I had committed myself to returning east at least some of the time. I was not sure how that would even work with Jared out here and still at school. My boss must have been watching his inbox like a hawk because only a minute later, I got the terse reply:

Okay.

Irving

That didn't exactly settle my worries.

Second, I also had a few messages left for me by Megan's landlord, who said he had gotten my number from my Uncle Frank. He told me his name was Jack, and he needed to speak to me as soon as possible. I ignored the first message, but then two more came in rapid succession. I dialed the number he called from.

"Hello?" came the voice, with a hint of impatience.

"Hi, is this Jack?" I inquired.

"Yeah, who's this?" His tone was curt and businesslike.

"This is Eddie, Megan Smith's brother. Megan Smith, your tenant."

"You're living in my house now, right?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not really living here. I'm helping to sort things out." I paused, and he said nothing, just silence on a phone line. Did he even know she had died?" You know that Megan passed away?" I asked.

I could almost hear Jack's sharp intake of breath before he spoke again.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." His tone was a little brusque, to say the least. So he knew. He just didn't particularly care. Then, he added rather reluctantly, "My condolences to you and your family."

"Thank you," I murmured.

He cleared his throat.

"Anyhow, I wanted to discuss Megan's living arrangements."

I didn't understand.

"Her living arrangements?"

"Look, you know I served an eviction notice on Megan before she passed?"

It was the first I had heard about it.

"What? Why?"

"I want to sell the house."

For a moment, I was speechless.

"But can you do that? So soon after her death?" I managed to get out eventually.

"Of course," Jack retorted, dismissive, almost angry. "And besides, you're a lawyer, right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, Frank told me. So you know I can do it. The contract to quit was served before her death, without any knowledge that she was about to die, so I'm golden."

So I'm golden? I wanted to scream at him how inhuman he was being. Instead, I said nothing, the best thing a lawyer can do when they are backed into a corner.

"There's a child at the residence," I said eventually.

He seemed unimpressed by this.

"And if you're a lawyer, you can afford to take care of the kid."

I felt a surge of anger that he should even think it was about that.

"That's not the point," I replied. " A child has just lost his mother. He needs stability, not to be thrown out onto the street."

Jack seemed unmoved.

"Look, the law is on my side," he stated flatly. "I don't have to discuss it with you. Besides, Megan is dead, and you aren't the tenant, are you?"

"No."

"Well, there you are, then."

Without warning, he ended the call, leaving me sitting at my desk in stunned silence. The decision of what to do next, and where, with Jared, seemed very close indeed: we would have to move out of this house and possibly to New York. But Jared was still here, in school, at least for the next weeks.

I went outside to the back porch and sat down on one of the old chairs out there. I let out a heavy sigh. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to be enveloped in the gentle rustle of the trees' leaves in the breeze and the songs of the birds in their branches. The sun was on the porch directly then. Its warmth caressed my skin.

For a brief moment, I allowed myself to let go. I sat there, lost in the serenity of the space. I listened to the birds and the cicadas and the soft breeze in the trees.

"Eddie, you here?"

The sound of Max's voice calling my name startled me. I opened my eyes.

"Eddie?" he called out again. I heard the front screen door slam closed.

I emerged from my thoughts and stood up in time to see him emerging from the kitchen door onto the porch.

We hugged loosely. As he pulled me against the massiveness of his body, I could smell that light, masculine musk of his. He sighed a little and asked me how I was. I began to talk about some of the things I was dealing with, but lightly, rolling my eyes.

"Was just working down the street. Thought it would be good to call in."

Of course, no one "calls in" in New York, but it was nice: the idea that he would.

Maybe hearing or seeing Max arrive, Jared appeared, his face noticeably happy. They fist-bumped in a way guys like Max did; I would feel like such an idiot fist-bumping anyone.

"You hungry?" I asked Jared.

"Nah, I'm good," he said.

I laughed.

"Teenage boys are always hungry."

He grinned sheepishly.

"Juan had a Five Guys on the way home from school. He gave me half his fries, and I ate a bunch of the peanuts while we were waiting."

"But you're still hungry?" I asked. My nephew shrugged.

"Can Max stay for dinner, Eddie?"

"If he wants," I said.

Max nodded.

"Yeah, sounds great."

Jared said he had to go and do a few things, but he would be back. Once he was gone, Max and I gazed at each other for a moment.

"He's such a good kid," Max said. "If I had a kid, I would want one like him."

"Yeah, I'm realizing he's something else. He has dealt with all this so incredibly. I'm amazed at how he has been."

Max smiled.

"You're dealing it with incredibly, too. It's a lot just to be handled."

I shrugged, but I was glad he had said it.