Chapter 66
Levi’s skin was on fire, and his heart pounded. The salty sting of tears at the corner of his eye told him he was about to explode in a rage. Someone had said something to Jon. That was the only explanation. “Jon? What’s wrong?”
Jon looked up at him and smiled. “Nothing’s wrong babe. Just memories. Have a seat. Tony will be out with our food and coffee soon. How’d it go?”
“Tony? He’s here?”
Sue raised an eyebrow. “Did someone say something to you about him?”
Levi sighed. “Sue, there was a letter from Mom waiting for me over there. It mentioned him, and some shit from that night. I have to process all of this right now, especially if Tony’s here. If you don’t want to learn some awful shit about your sister, you might want to leave now. Jon will come get you when we’re done, if that’s the case.”
Sue glared at him. “I know Joan was no saint. God knows there’s some shit you probably don’t even know. If that letter mentioned Tony, that’s his story to tell if he so chooses. But my sister is dead, and if finally learning some truth will help us all get some closure and move on, I’m ready. No matter how much it hurts.”
Jon’s hand moved to Levi’s shoulder. “I’m here for you, babe. I was just about to tell Sue about my family and what you did for me when you walked in. That can wait for another day. Let’s clear the air once and for all. I know you’ve held back in what you told me too.” Jon looked past Levi. “Tony’s bringing the food.”
Tony slid a tray in front of them. Jon passed Sue’s coffee to her and slid Levi’s plate in front of him. Tony smiled at Levi. “I was a friend of your mom’s. Do you mind if I sit down with y’all?”
“Normally, I would say no, but seeing as you are part of this conversation anyway, have a seat.”
Tony took a seat between Levi and Sue. Levi scooted his chair as close to Jon as he could. While Jon wasn’t neutral, he was the only person who didn’t have a personal relationship with his mother.
Everyone looked at Levi. Sue spoke first. “You said there was a letter?”
Levi cleared his throat. “Yeah. Basically, she was saying she was wrong twelve years ago and was sorry for everything she did and said. Claimed she had changed and talked about how she knew I wouldn’t believe her dying declaration and Tony could help me understand.” He looked down at the table, his body shaking.
Jon’s hand trailed up and down his back. “That all babe? You’re shaking.”
Levi gulped. “The amount of detail confirmed no one wrote it for her.”
Sue asked, “What are you holding back, son?”
He tossed the letter at her, gritting his teeth. “Read it yourself. It ain’t long. You know she was never one to beat around the bush.”
Sue picked up the letter and skimmed its scant contents. The color left her face when she got to the end. She trembled. Jon’s hand stopped moving, and he squeezed Levi’s shoulder. She looked at Levi. “I wish I had known about this. I’m so sorry. She fuckin’ shot you and you never told anyone?”
Levi shook his head. “It just grazed my arm, and I got the message. I just wanted as far away as I could get. I knew if I reported it, I’d have to come back to this godforsaken town and see her again.”
Jon’s hand moved to his arm, covering the scar. He’d asked about it countless times. Levi always changed the subject.
“I’m so sorry, babe. If I had known, I wouldn’t have pushed.”
“I should’ve told you, but it never felt right. With your shit going on, I felt like if I did, I’d be trying to make it sound like I had it worse than you did.”
Jon smiled and shook his head.
Tony cleared his throat. “Boys, your breakfast is going to get cold. I want you to eat while I tell you about why she wrote this letter.” He sighed. “I didn’t know about that last part, though.”
Levi raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, just eat up and listen.” He paused, waiting for Levi and Jon to eat. “About five years ago now, my late husband Joseph and I received some bad news.”
Levi choked and sputtered. “Husband? You had a husband and were friends with my mother?”
Tony smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Now don’t interrupt me, son. This ain’t gonna be an easy story to tell. Clear?”
Levi nodded. He could see Jon’s head moving along with his. He smiled, thankful he wasn’t going through this alone. Sue stared at him, eyes wide. She looked as interested as the rest of the table.
“OK. Now where was I? Oh yeah. The doctors told us Joseph had prostate cancer. We didn’t catch it early, but he was determined he wasn’t leaving me. So, we started the chemo. I stayed with him through his treatment, determined he would know he wasn’t going through it alone.” He closed his mouth and sobbed.
Sue placed a hand on his forearm. “Tony, I had no idea.”
He shook his head. “I know. It’s hard to talk about even now. It was at his second appointment at the chemo unit. Joan was sitting there, getting her first treatment for her first round with uterine cancer. The nurse sat Joseph next to her, and we just did our thing. Talked about how much we loved each other, how once he was better, we were going to open a bakery, you know. Just talk. Your mother was livid. She yelled for the nurse, demanding to be moved somewhere away from ‘those faggots’. The nurse looked at us, then at her, and said once the treatment started, she wasn’t moving anyone. So, we just ignored the hate. We’d been through worse.” He stopped to take a sip of coffee.
Levi raised an eyebrow. “That sounds like her. What changed?”
Tony laughed. “Yeah. She was a royal bitch. But that damned nurse kept putting us together, and somehow the schedules kept lining up. I learned later the nurse was a lesbian and had been so pissed off at your mother she did it intentionally. She said she knew we’d be able to handle her and hopefully teach her a lesson. The second time we were there, she protested less, but was making snide comments the entire time. Towards the end of that day, she said that we almost sounded like a ‘normal’ couple. I lost it. I told her we were a normal couple. We were high school sweethearts, how we had run away when our parents caught us and acted like her. We stayed together for years, suffering the indignity of not being married because people like her were terrified by just how normal we were. A boring old couple who bickered over landscaping and what to watch on a Friday night before going to bed early. The next week, she was more subdued and seemed extremely frail. She had brought a book and was reading when it slipped and fell to the floor. She looked so defeated, unable to bend to pick it up, so I did for her. When our eyes met as I asked what page she was on so I could find it for her, I could see that something clicked. She didn’t read another page, just asking question after question. That’s when she told us about you, and the broad strokes of what had happened. Joseph told her it was too late for his mother. She had died years before, but it wasn’t too late for her.”
His body started shaking and tears rushed out as if a dam had burst. “Joseph died two days later. I told the nurse to let Joan know, and that she could reach out if she wanted. Apparently, the nurse called Joan that day, because she came to his funeral. We stayed in touch. She told me about this place being for sale, so I bought it and haven’t left.”
Jon rested his head on Levi’s shoulder. “Tony, can I ask you a question?”
Tony chuckled. “Of course.”
“You encouraged her to find Levi, didn’t you?”
“You’re a sharp one. I did. She was resistant at first, but when the cancer popped up again, this time all over her body, she hired a private investigator.”
Levi cleared his throat. “We knew she had done that, but didn’t know why.”
“Yeah, I kept pushing her to reach out. I warned her you might have a hard time trusting her, but to open the door. You would come in when you were ready. When she hadn’t gotten the nerve, I suggested that if she didn’t think she could, to leave a letter and Zeke and I would take care of telling you for her.”
Levi cocked his head. “What does Zeke have to do with this?”
Tony looked at Sue. “You didn’t say anything?”
“I told him it was your place to tell your story, and it’s Zeke’s place to tell theirs. It is more genuine coming from the source.” Her phone buzzed. “Speak of the devil. He’s asking why we aren’t there, and it’s not even noon yet.”
“Tell him we’re having brunch, but we’re almost done. I bet he thought I’d head over there first thing, even though you said we were supposed to be there at one.”
“I’ll ask him if he wants us to bring him anything and we’ll be there in a few minutes. That’ll give y’all some extra time to catch up. I don’t know that he’s scheduled anything later in the day, but it wouldn’t hurt either way.”