Chapter 34 #2
“What? Charlie? What’s going on?” Jimmy’s voice sounded like it was coming from a distance away. Quiet and muffled. He scooped up the papers I dropped. I turned to him, my system was misfiring, waiting for him to see what I had just seen. His eyes blew wide, “Holy shit!”
There it was.
He shuffled through the stack, putting them back in order and started reading from the beginning. I could see his eyes scanning each page before he flipped to the next, taking in all the details until he got back to the part that got the reaction, “Holy shit.” He turned to me in disbelief.
Yeah, join the club.
“They are giving you ten-thousand dollars in your separation agreement if you sign that you won’t sue them for your trauma and your father’s–,” before he cut himself off.
My mind was going a mile a minute.
Does that mean if I don’t sign, I could try to sue?
But where would I get the money for a lawyer even if I wanted to?
And if I lost, then I’d get nothing.
What should I do?
I must have zoned out, because Jimmy palmed my cheek, turning my face back to him again. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“What?” snapping out of it, then what he said clicked in my brain. “Oh, no. Jimmy. It wasn’t that. It was the whole lawsuit thing. I was over thinking. Trying to decide what to do.”
His eyes roamed the room while he nodded, probably thinking everything I was just thinking. When his eyes came back to me, it was like he had a plan in place. “I need to talk to Tom. Don’t sign that just yet, okay?” I nodded in answer but didn’t ask why.
I didn’t think my head or heart could take much more today.
Jimmy finished going through his forms, signing on the dotted line.
They were giving him five-hundred dollars because of the stabbing incident, since it’s linked to the same person that blew the mine.
He said, they didn’t even need to give him that considering that he probably didn’t have a case even if he wanted to take the company to court.
After that he took me back up to bed, but I went into my room. When I got in, he asked me if I was sure, and I nodded. I wanted to be held by him and that wasn’t going to happen in my dad’s bed.
The next two days were a lot.
After waking up, Jimmy finally told me that my dad’s funeral was the next day. He kept having it pushed back, not wanting to force me out of bed until I was ready. And if I still wasn’t ready, he’d arrange for it to be rescheduled again.
But it was time.
I needed to do this.
I asked if I needed to do anything, but he said between him, Tom and Betty, they set it up. He found some paperwork in some of my dad’s things that helped.
I couldn’t be more grateful for everything that he and they have done.
David ended up arriving while we were eating breakfast and helped himself to coffee like it was just any other day, which I also appreciated.
He ended up chugging the rest of the pot and then made more.
Jimmy asked him to go to the mine and have Tom meet us at Bigham Tavern at noon, if he could get away and to tell him it was important.
Meeting Tom over beers got Jimmy’s plan rolling.
We were going to up the payout without getting a lawyer or going to court by threatening to if they don’t tag on another fifteen-thousand dollars, saying that if we did go to court, I’d win double that total amount, minimum.
Tom went back to the office and started to make some calls.
I didn’t sleep well, even in Jimmy’s arms.
My mind was in complete meltdown over what was going to occur the following day.
And as you can imagine, the funeral was awful.
The church was on the back half of the mining site, right on the edge of the mountain side, making it the first time I’ve been back here since the incident.
It was a big, light orange brick building with one big, tall white spire to the right of the front door.
And what used to be a big stained glass window above the entrance, didn’t exist anymore as all the windows blew out from the force of the blast, letting fresh air blow into the building during the service.
Even with the thorough cleaning, you could still find glass fragments in the narthex, and around the nave.
High Street, the road the church used to sit on, fell over with the landslide right up to the steps of the church, saving the holy place, but making us use the back service doors as our entry point.
I was surprised they were even letting them use the building with it being so close to the site and the now edge of the mountain side.
The altar was beautiful. A massive white cathedral back wall with statues of those to be worshipped. Presented in front, my dad lay in a closed casket, adorned with blue bluebells and white early snowdrop flowers.
Just walking in and seeing the setting, set my tears flowing.
It had been the first time I’d cried in days, thinking I was as empty as a dead cactus.
Clearly a rainstorm came by without me knowing because I became uncontrollable again, emptying my reserves that had refilled.
Jimmy held me through the service, letting me lean my full weight on him in the uncomfortable dark wood pews.
The service itself was nice, even if the day was horrible.
In with the stuff Jimmy found at my dad’s was my mom’s diaries with stories of their lives before and after me that were used in remembrance.
I didn’t even know she wrote them or that my dad kept them.
It was already agreed that I wouldn’t speak.
Even if I did, there was no way I would be able to get anything out clearly.
After, we went to Bigham’s Tavern since it was close and a lot of us needed a drink. People gave me condolences, but Betty was on guard duty apparently, because she kept chasing people off that lingered too long.
Except the boys from The Underground who showed up, which shocked me stupid.
Stewie’s eyes were probably as red rimmed as mine were.
They all gave me singular hugs and let me cry onto their shoulders.
Their support meant the world to me. It made me feel like I belonged to people when I actually had no one to belong to anymore with both my parents now gone.
When I said as such, Stewie framed my face and said, “Family is important and is one of the great things about life even though it is also one of the hardest because it is so fragile. Living life without family is impossible, everyone needs people. That’s why we are allowed to make our own,” looking around at all of us with a wet smile, “this is your family, Darlin’. If you want it to be.”
I choked up, and tried to gulp back my emotions.
I nodded, unable to speak what needed to be.
Stewie shushed me, “It’s okay, Darlin’,” rubbing my back.
Each one of them, Donald, Mickie, Sam, Jacob, and Stewie, put a hand on me at once, like a ritual to the gods.
I felt their energy course through me, making me feel lighter with their love.
Before they left, Stewie asked who Betty was and so I introduced them.
That might have been a mistake as I could see those two being dangerous together.
Stewie said to bring her along sometime, with a wink.
And that if Jimmy and I needed anything, and he meant anything at all, to let him know. He’d rally the troops if need be.
I did say that I was turning in my notice to the mine and was going to need a job, and his response with a big smile was, “Darlin’, that job was yours the moment you walked in my door. I was just waiting for you to see the rainbow.”
Tom came up at one point too. He had already caught me at the church, and he gave me my dad’s chit from the board as part of the service, which about ruined me completely.
I wasn’t expecting it. I really didn’t want repeat visitors, even from people I did like, so Betty put her foot down, hands on hips, but before she could shoot her verbal attack, Tom said, “I come with good news,” hands up, like he was trying to calm a wild wolf, but with amusement in his eyes aimed at Betty.
“And even though today isn’t the greatest, I also can’t think of a better time to tell you. ”
Betty relaxed, shooting the same amused look back at Tom. Jimmy protectively wrapped his hand around my hip, not caring what others think anymore. He’s been holding me all day to comfort me, getting some looks from people. You’d be a horrible human to arrest someone on the day of a funeral service.
I swallowed my nerves before asking, “What is it?”
“They agreed to your terms. I have the new paperwork in the car for you to sign, with the condition I have them signed and in my hand by end of day tomorrow,” he smiled at me.
I sagged into Jimmy, who held me up. I was in shock. I couldn’t believe they agreed and that I was twenty-five thousand dollars richer.
Well, Jimmy and I.
It’s our money.
The papers were signed before we left Bigham’s, and Tom went straight to the office to call it in.
We didn’t stay much longer after that. My emotional battery was completely depleted.
Betty gave us a hug and sent us on our way, David trailing behind us, turning off to head to his place after he gave us both a full hug.
Even though it’s still early, we got ready for bed, both of us drained of energy, or in my case, emotionally. By the time I was done in the bathroom and got to the bedroom, Jimmy was under the covers with a book in his hand. He looked up and saw I was holding the jar of Vaseline.
His brows shot up in surprise.
I sat on the edge of the bed, talking to his chest, not able to make eye contact with my request, “I need to feel and let go.”
He used the knuckle of his finger to lift my chin, sincerity on his face. “Are you sure?” When I nodded without a verbal response, he added, “Tell me how, Honey?”