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- 03/15/2021
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The Home - 42. Chapter 42
At breakfast, I told the boys to get dressed for school, and I would drop them off. While they were doing that, “Amalia, would it be possible for you to check on Frank’s mother? The last time I saw her, she didn’t look healthy.”
“Do you know her name or what hospital where she is a patient?”
“No, I’ll ask Frank her name, but I doubt he will know what hospital she is a patient.”
The boys were ready and getting in the car when I asked Frank his mother’s name. “Her name is Susan Winston. I don’t know where they took her. Are you going to find out where she is and if she is alright?”
“Yes, we will do our best. I’ll let you know what I find out after school tonight.”
I went and told Amalia Frank’s mother’s name. She will have to check with all of the hospitals until she finds her.
I dropped the boys off at their school, then headed to my office at the University. I had a light day today, one lecture on how specific cultures impacted history and an introduction to historical events that affected future events. There were quarterly exams to be given for the freshmen and sophomore students. This left me some time to talk to our priest and find out more about Susan Winston.
I took a long lunch break and went to see our priest. “Father, what can you tell me about Susan Winston. Her son, Francis, is staying with me while she is in the hospital.”
“I can’t tell you much as I haven’t seen her since Francis was born. I did baptize Francis, and I think that was the last time I saw her. I met her when she was in the hospital having the boy. I made my hospital rounds in the morning when one of the nurses told me of a patient who just had given birth. I went and saw her, that was Susan Winston. In the course of my visit, she told me she was raped. Her parents wanted her to have an abortion, but she refused. The child was a boy, and she had picked Francis as the name. The next time I saw her was when she asked if I would baptize the baby.”
“I have been to her home before she was taken to the hospital. Have you ever been there?”
“No, the local gossip said she and the boy were living in a two-bedroom home on her father’s property.”
“I have seen that home. It’s a shack and badly needs repairs. My animal pens are better constructed than that home. If you have time, I’d like to show you where she and Francis live.”
Father agreed to go with me. When I drove up to the house, there were two men, and they were in the process of emptying the house. They had a truck and were carrying out a cot when Father and I approached them.
“What are you doing? This is the home of Susan Winston.”
“Not anymore. We were called and told to empty the place and then tear it down. Here, look at this.”
It was an authorization written by the county tax authority to claim the property for back taxes. I handed the paper to Father.
“I thought you said her father owned this property?”
“He does or did. We can go and see him. He has an apartment in that apartment complex close to the Church.”
We did go and see Susan’s father. Her mother had died a few years earlier, and he lived alone in a small two-bedroom apartment. Father introduced me, and he commented on the carriage guy who likes to show off his money. Judging from that attitude, I kept quiet and let Father handle the questions.
“Yea, they told me they had to take her to General Hospital. She has the same disease that took her mom.”
Father asked him about the child. “I don’t know anything about the kid. She went and got herself pregnant. When I found out, I told her to get out. Her mother told her she could live in that old two-bedroom house we had on the other side of town. It was her mother’s home before we got married.”
“You never paid the taxes on that property?”
“Her mother paid the taxes. When she died, I guess they weren’t paid anymore.”
I continued to listen to their discussion. The more I heard, the more I resolved to help Francis and his mother. How a man could turn away, his pregnant daughter was something I couldn’t understand. Even if she was at fault, she was carrying his grandchild. His thoughts and action were alien to me.
On the way back to the Church, “Father, I don’t understand that man. He was so bitter. How can he turn his back on his daughter and grandson?”
“As long as I have known him, he has been a negative person. When he and his wife came to Church, he would sit in the back, went through the motions but never accepted them. In my opinion, he is one of the unGodly ones that we try and save. His wife was the one who brought some sanity to that relationship. The odd part, she was pregnant with Susan when her father made them get married.”
“What! He fathered Susan out of wedlock and then condemn her when she got pregnant. That is unbelievable. He is Susan’s father?”
“Yes. He admitted he was the father.”
I dropped Father off at Church and headed back to work. I kept thinking about Susan’s father’s comments. His attitude was so alien to me.”
When I got home from the University, I told Amalia about my meeting with Father and Frank’s grandfather.
Amalia told me she contacted the hospital and arranged to pay for Susan’s medical costs. “Tony, she has cancer, and they said it is terminal. They gave her two to three weeks to live.”
“We need to get her consent to be guardians for Francis. I’ll get one of the staff in the University’s legal department to draw up the papers. You can get her to sign it and someone from the hospital as a witness. We need to break this news to Frank.”
“That’s going to be hard on him.”
“I think we should doubt as a family, then leave him and Vic alone to deal with it. I’ll talk to Vic before we tell Frank.”
That evening after dinner, Vic, Frank, and I took a walk. While Frank was feeding the animals with Tom and Brad, I told Vic about Frank’s mother. “Vic, we are going to tell Frank about his mother tonight. I’ll need you to be a brother to him. His mother has cancer and is dying.”
I watched Vic as he wiped his eyes. I pulled him close to me as I hugged him. “What is going to happen to him?”
“We are going to get his mother’s consent for Frank to live with us. He will be like a bother to you.”
“Dad, can I tell him.”
“You sure? We were going to tell him as a family.”
“Let me tell him, and then we can meet as a family.”
“Alright, but Mom and I will be close if you need us.”
Vic surprised me with that request. My son is growing up faster than I would have liked. I smiled as I put my arm around his shoulder as we walked to the barn.
Walking into the kitchen, Amalia had a hot chocolate for the children and coffee for us.
“Girls, homework, Vic, Frank, finish your homework so we can check it before you go to bed.”
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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