Chapter 27
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN
Ash
Muriel looked at her son, concern evident in her eyes. “How are you doing, Ash?” They were sitting in her sunroom drinking coffee on New Year’s Eve morning.
“I’m hanging in as best as I can, Mom,” he replied honestly.
“I need you to be honest with me, son,” she said. “Is Ker the man you want to spend the rest of your life with?”
“I …” Ash began, knowing what he wanted to say but unsure how his mother would react. “Yes, Mom, he is. To be completely honest with you, I love him.”
“Okay, then,” she said, her tone conveying the love he knew she had for him. “I’ll do whatever I can for both of you.”
“Thank you.” Relief filled him.
“Have you spoken to your brothers yet?” she asked.
“Yeah. Well, I talked to Mitch and Finn in person, and they told me the same as you, that both Ker and I had their support. I had to leave a message for Court, but he called me back relatively quickly, and again, he said he’d support Ker and me.”
“Good.” Muriel nodded. “Now when the time is right, would you please ask Ker if he would be okay with me speaking with his mom? Frankly, I’d love to give his father a piece of my mind, but I’m not sure it wouldn’t make things worse. But I would like to chat with his mother. I want her to know that she can depend on me through all of this.”
“Sure, Mom,” Ash replied, his heart filling with pride. He loved his family and their support. Thanks to them, he would get through this. No, they would get through this.
“So how are things going with Ker?” Hank asked. They were enjoying a well-deserved beer at the Gray Whale after a long week.
“Good. I spoke to him last night, and I’ll head down to see him tomorrow afternoon.” It had been a few weeks since Ash had dropped Ker off at the rehab center, and he was pleased with how well things seemed to be going with Ker’s treatment. He knew it was early in the process but was confident things would work out.
“I just want to make sure you know that I’m here if you need to talk,” Hank said, looking him directly in the eye.
“I appreciate that, Hank. The captain said the same thing,” Ash told him. “It’s so much easier just knowing that I have people I care about in my life to support me and Ker through all of this.”
Tony, their bartender that evening, stepped up and asked, “Another round, boys?”
“Not for me,” Ash answered. “I’m heading home.”
“Me, too,” agreed Hank.
“So what did she say?” Ash asked. He was sitting at home chatting with his mom on the phone.
“Well, at first she was rather surprised that I was calling her,” Muriel started. Ker had given his okay for Muriel to call his mom a few days earlier, and she had finally called Irene that morning. “But after I explained who I was and said that I would do what I could to support both you and Ker, she seemed to relax a bit. I made a point of calling midmorning on a weekday, hoping that her husband”—Muriel’s voice took on a hard edge at that point—“would be at work. After a while, she spoke quite freely about how she originally felt it was the right thing for Ker to move back home, but now she doesn’t agree with her husband at all. I really think I made an impression on her.”
“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate you doing that.”
“Of course, son. I said I’d do what I could to support the both of you, and I felt strongly that speaking with her was important. Irene needs to know that she’s not alone in all of this. Anyway, I gave her my number and told her that she can call me anytime. I also offered to speak to her husband if she felt it would do any good. We’ll see if that ever happens.”
Ash smiled, thinking of the tongue-lashing Muriel could give Ker’s father.
Ash’s days and weeks became a blur. He worked, visited Ker, and even attended regular meetings at the rehab center to learn how to better deal with loving a person with substance use disorder. His brothers kept tabs on him, checking in regularly and meeting up with him for lunch or dinner, sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs. He felt their love and concern for him and Ker throughout the entire time Ker was at Emerson House.
About three weeks before Ker was scheduled to be released, Muriel called Ash and asked him if it would be possible for her to visit Ker. After getting Ker’s okay and checking with the staff at the rehab facility, a visit was arranged. Ash drove his mom to Emerson House one sunny afternoon in late January.
They waited in the visitor’s lounge, and when Ker walked in, Muriel immediately stood and put her arms around him. “It’s so good to see you, Ker,” she said.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Ker replied.
“I’m so happy that you agreed to see me,” she told him. “I know this has been a difficult time for you, and even though I get regular updates from Ash, I wanted to see you for myself. After all, I welcomed you into the family a while back, so it was important for me to be here and let you know in person that I’m here for you. For both of you.”
“I can’t tell you how much that means to me, Muriel.” Ker’s voice broke.
Ash watched as his mom treated Ker like another son, and at that moment he knew with certainty that things would be okay between Ker and him. Once again, he was reminded of how very special his family was.
“Now, I know that Ash told you I’ve spoken to your mother. In fact, we’ve spoken on a few occasions now.”
“He did, and I’m so appreciative that you were willing to do that,” Ker said quietly.
“As I told Ash, your mom needs to know she’s not alone. She’s at the point where she doesn’t agree at all with your father about his feelings regarding you and the fact that he believes you should take over his business,” Muriel continued. “While I haven’t spoken to your dad, from everything your mother has said, I don’t see him changing his mind at this point.” She shook her head. “Personally, I think the less contact you have with him, the better.”
“I agree. And my counselor here agrees too. We’ve discussed it at length, and I don’t plan on having any contact with him for a good, long time. If ever again.”
“Okay, good. If ever you want to get together with your mom, we can make the necessary arrangements to have her come to Hawthorne Bluff. She can stay with me. No pressure, but just keep that in mind for the future.”
“Thank you.” A single tear slid from Ker’s eye. “I can’t even begin to tell you …” He paused, clearly completely overcome with emotion.
“Of course, son,” Muriel said gently, taking his hand. “This is what family does.”