Forever More
Part 3 - . . . And The Greatest Is Love
Chapter Thirty Seven
Paula moved away from the table and disappeared into the kitchen. Coming back with a pot of coffee she refilled Jon’s and Scott’s cups and sat back down. They had just finished a late breakfast that Saturday afternoon.
Jon had forgiven his friend for any misunderstandings that they might have had the moment that Scott showed up at his door. Dealing with awkward situations like those the best way they knew how, he offered his old friend a beer. That was the extent of the formalities. Nothing more need be said.
Paula was happy to have the two of them seated back together laughing and this particular day more often than not making her the brunt of much good natured teasing. She didn’t mind. She had only wished that her friend were there right now as she had been on many occasions sharing coffee and also sharing their husband’s playful taunting.
Scott she felt, was doing better now. He still had a lot of problems but as she watched the two men it was almost as if nothing had ever happened and Scott was just there on one of his many visits.
That particular afternoon after they finally got up from the table and the men headed for the family room to catch a basketball game. Scott had decided to make a phone call to talk to his children. Paula had just seated herself on the sofa as Scott’s call went through.
Treage answered the phone. Scott spent a few moments talking with his son and trying desperately to piece together bits and pieces of information that Treage was feeding him. His son was always so hyper and it seemed that Treage wanted to cram as much as he could into the few minutes that he had.
Scott stood and rolled his eyes and shook his head toward Paula as Treage went on and on about some new video game that his brother had bought. Paula smiled. She knew the boy’s excitable behavior. It brought a smile to Scott’s face as well.
When it finally seemed that his son had run low on news to tell, Scott asked that he put his sister on the phone.
"Why don’t you get Sarah for me. Is she home?"
"Sarah? Yeah. I think she’s with Uncle Tom."
Scott’s brow narrowed. "Tom’s there?"
"Yeah, he’s upstairs with Mommy," the boy added nonchalantly.
Scott yelled into the phone, "What?"
Paula and Jon both turned as Scott’s voice went from sweet to hostile in a matter of seconds.
"What do you mean they’re upstairs? Go get your mother!" he demanded, "Right now!"
Scott whipped around to Paula and Jon, his lips pursed and fire in his eyes. They had heard Tom’s name and surmised that he was part of the problem, but as yet did not know why.
While Scott was holding for his wife he offered an explanation, "Tom’s there. Treage says he’s upstairs with Becky." His words were laced with anger.
Jon shook his head. Despite the obvious reference to their bedroom he was sure that there was another totally innocent explanation. Why was Scott going off the deep end anyway? Jon got up and came closer to Scott who was now talking into the phone again.
"Sarah, I told Treage that I wanted to talk to your mother. Just tell me, is Tom there?"
"Yeah, I think they’re in the bathroom."
Scott was seeing red. This was not at all the response that he was hoping for.
Jon could tell. He took the phone away from Scott who gritted his teeth again and stomped to the other side of the room.
Getting on the phone Jon asked Sarah what was really going on. "Honey, this is Jon. Is Tom really upstairs with your mom?"
"Yeah."
Jon was surprised a little but continued, "And what are they doing up there?"
"Tom’s fixing the pipes under the bathroom sink. They’ve been leaking or something."
Jon started laughing. Scott looked up to see what the hell was so funny.
Holding the phone a bit from his face he spoke across the room to Scott trying unsuccessfully to control his laughter, "Jeez, Scott! He’s only upstairs cleaning her pipes out."
Jon was quite pleased with how easily the situation lent itself to humor. But looking at Scott’s face the smile immediately left his own. For some reason Scott did not find any ounce of humor in that at all.
Putting the phone back to his mouth Jon said very straightforward, "Sarah, go put your mother on the phone."
Scott walked back over and took the phone and Jon slid next to Paula sharing a look of bewilderment.
Sarah had the portable phone and ran upstairs to the bathroom that adjoined her mother’s bedroom. Tom was indeed flat on his back under the sink, his long legs dangling half way across the room. Rebecca sat perched on the edge of the toilet where she had been visiting with him for the last twenty minutes while he replaced a section of pipe. He was just about finished.
A few days earlier he had called to see how everyone was doing. As was his custom lately he asked if everything was fine and if Becky needed any help with anything. Without even thinking she had mentioned that the sink in her bathroom had been leaking and that Ethan had not made an attempt at all to even check it out for her. She would do it herself but was hopping that he would get the hint, but so far he hadn’t.
Tom said that he would do that for her. She protested but it was a done deal. He would be down sometime that weekend and look at it.
As Tom started to replace the pipe that he had gotten from the hardware store Becky sat down just to talk. She liked Tom. For all his unconventional behavior and the moments of embarrassment that he had caused her in the past she enjoyed his company. He had made himself available to her and the children in Scott’s absence and she felt very badly that he and her husband had a falling out. She had long since blamed herself for that anyway. Tom had tried to talk her out of it on more than one occasion.
Today, as she sat watching him almost comically struggle to get his large body positioned just right under the cramped quarters of her sink she was having a good time. Tom was charming and witty and she laughed a lot when he was around. It felt good. She hadn’t laughed in a long time.
Tom knew that she had been stuck at home and depressed far too long. "You know you should get out and do something instead of sitting home here every night." He stuck his head out from under the sink. "Its one thing to sit by and wait for the bastard to come to his senses but you don’t need to die in the process."
Rebecca laughed, "And what do you have in mind?" As soon as she heard herself she knew that her words might not be taken the right way. But it was too late.
"Oh, I don’t know. Get out for an evening with some friends. Dinner? Movie? You know, just something with adults."
Rebecca breathed a small sigh of relief. She had not wanted to give him the wrong idea.
"Well, actually," she went on, "I am going out with some friends that I used to work with."
"Yeah? Good. What ya gonna do?" He stuck his head back under and tightened the pipe down more.
"Just some girlfriends. We thought about going up to the casino next weekend."
"That’ll be great. You should go. Have fun. Blow a lot of the bum’s money."
Rebecca just raised her eyebrows and shook her head at Tom. He knew that she didn’t like it when he referred to her husband in those ways. But then Tom was still angry at him. She knew that deep down inside Tom still cared a great deal for Scott and despite his attempt to mask it she also knew that their falling out had hurt him a great deal.
Tom was angry with Scott. He was angry that not only had he neglected himself and his own medical and physical needs he had abandoned his family. That was what angered Tom the most.
Scott had everything going for him. A beautiful home, great kids, and a wonderful woman who had stuck by his side the last few years while he continued to mess things up. He had thrown it all away. He had thrown Becky’s love away in the process. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way and Tom didn’t care that she knew how he felt.
Sarah handed her mother the phone. "Its Jon, he wants to talk to you."
Expecting to hear Jon’s voice on the other end of the line, Rebecca was shocked when she took the phone to find out that only was it Scott but also that he was very upset and she had no idea why.
"What the hell is Tom doing there?" were the first words that she heard.
"Well," she said cautiously, "He’s fixing the leak in the bathroom sink for me."
"Couldn’t Ethan or Kyle do that for you?"
"I had asked Ethan but he hadn’t yet. Tom offered. Scott, it’s no big deal." She had thought at first that he was upset that she had asked Tom to do it.
"You can’t call a plumber? I give you enough money. You can afford to call a plumber."
She was starting to get his drift. She was also starting to get upset at his rudeness. Tom sat up knowing that his presence had upset Scott so much and finding that out brought a slight sense of satisfaction his way.
Rebecca spoke slowly and succinctly into the phone, "Yes, I know I could have called a plumber but I didn’t. Tom offered to fix it and I told him that he could."
Tom motioned that she should let him have the phone and she swatted at him knowing that would only make matters worse. The last thing that she wanted to do was make Scott more angry.
"This is so stupid!" she said into the phone. "I am not even going to sit hear and listen to this. Is there something else you want to say to me?"
"No," Scott’s voice lowed, "But next time you have a problem with something around there you make sure Ethan takes care of it. I don’t want you calling Tom or anyone else to do things."
Rebecca bit her lips to stop from saying all the things that were now about to explode out of her mouth, but she didn’t want to fight with Scott on the phone and especially in front of Tom.
Dutifully she agreed and the conversation ended as she pressed the end button and set the phone on the sink.
Rebecca lay in bed that night and tried to sort through the absurd conversation that she had with her husband that afternoon. She was angry at him for acting like Tom could not be there to help her. She was angry that he used his reference to money that he gives her to make her feel bad. Is that it now? I am supposed to feel thankful, even grateful that he allows me to live here? She wanted to scream into the phone that maybe if he was home where he belonged she wouldn’t need to ask someone for help. Now she wished that she had. But mostly she was angry that for some reason Scott had left her with the feeling that he did not trust her with Tom, or was it to trust Tom with her?
It had never occurred to her before but something in Scott’s voice hinted at jealousy. Tom? Why Tom? She had to admit to herself that she enjoyed it, just a tiny bit. In all the years that they had been married not once had Scott ever acted jealous. Not once had anyone ever given him any cause to.
She knew that she wasn’t the raving beauty that she had always wished she was. She didn’t have the body that most of the women who hung on and around her husband after a show were blessed with. She was all right but standing next to them she felt inferior at best, but she always knew that she had him and they didn’t. It was only in resent years that she had the courage to question even that. And now she didn’t have him at all. And since that was the case why did he care at all who was there fixing the bathroom sink? Jealousy? Yes, she liked it very much.
But still, why Tom? As she lay staring up into the blackness of her bedroom that night she remembered that on several occasions Scott had made reference to the fact that Tom was very fond of her. It had pleased her at the time. Better to have Tom with you than against you she always thought. Then a curious grin made its way across her face as she recalled one particular incident about six years earlier.
Dementia was on tour and she and Paula had flown to Las Vegas to see the show and spend some time with their husbands afterwards. Yes, those were rowdy days. Jon, Tom and Scott put on a concert with reckless abandon. Nearly anything could happen and usually did. You never knew what to expect. As she looked back now she wasn’t even sure how they made it through those years, but they were fun and she was learning much about herself at the time.
She had never been a free spirit. Even through high school, she always weighted the consequences. She didn’t go out and party or drink like a lot of her friends. Maybe her first husband, Jack, had a lot to do with that. Still, for whatever reason she had missed out on a lot of fun and Scott was having the time of his life and taking her right along with him.
That night in Las Vegas she and Paula had decided to join the audience. It was a pretty rowdy crowd and after a while they were worked into quite a fever. Scott and Jon loved to play off of that. It brought out their best. Tom could be counted on to liven the evening with anything from harmless comical interpretations to blatant sexual situations and anything that fell between.
On that particular night Paula and Rebecca were standing near the front center of the stage. Aside from the normal references or sexual gestures that their husbands threw their way they usually blended into the crowd rather well. This night Tom had other plans.
About three quarters of the way through the set Tom got off on another one of his dissertations. He was standing between Jon and Scott, arms around their shoulders while he let the whole venue in on a little secret.
"You see these two guys here? They’re not what they seem. Oh, no my friends. You might think that these two are quite the studs, that long sexy hair, running all over the stage stickin’ their fuckin’ dicks in all your faces. Am I right girls?" Tom waited while the women screamed their agreement and Scott grabbed his crotch to make the point more vividly.
More undergarments flew through the air and onto the stage. At that point Jon already had a bright red bra hanging about his neck.
Paula and Rebecca just shook her heads. Yeah, they had married these guys. What you gonna do?
Tom went on, "But I told you, they are not what they seem. These are nice family men." He patted Jon on the chest. "Yup, they both got beautiful loving wives waiting for them at home every night." Then turning to the two apprehensive subjects now at his side added, "Am I right?"
Jon and Scott stood there worried.
Tom went on, "Of course I am. They got kids too. Hell, they even got babies. Both of ‘em. So you see, this is all just an act. Truth is they’re both so whipped that they wouldn’t know another cunt if it hit them smack dab in the face. Not at all an unpleasant experience, I might add."
Tom moved closer to the edge of the stage, "Yeah, their so pussy whipped and I’d like you to meet their pussies right now."
Paula and Rebecca suddenly found over seven thousand pair of eyes directed toward the front of the stage where Tom was now pointing.
Jon’s and Scott’s own eyes doubled in size as they gasped and both said in unison, "Oh, shit!" It wasn’t Tom they were worried about. They wanted to search their wives faces for some sort of a sign but neither could muster the courage. "Oh yeah. We’re dead," Jon whispered to Scott.
But Tom wasn’t finished. Walking back to the center stage he added "But then if I had a couple of pussies like that waiting for me at home maybe I would be whipped too."
In Tom’s unique way that was a compliment.
Luckily Jon took the split second to dive headfirst into the next song. Paula and Rebecca were stuck though. Not only were they pointed out specifically but Tom had made quite a vivid reference to their otherwise personal anatomical features. They stood there still feeling eyes upon them. They were not amongst the most social of creatures at that point and when Paula felt a hand slide along her backside she grabbed Rebecca and said, "Let’s get the hell out of here."
The rest of the concert they stood in the back dodging comments and questions and lewd remarks.
Both Scott and Jon knew that Tom had crossed the line but it was Tom and not them who the girls should be annoyed with and they hastened to make that point immediately after the show.
But it was Tom and what were you going to do? Nothing. No one is going to tell Tom what he can or can not say. But after a few unforgiving glances sent his way by Scott, Tom for the first time in his life made an attempt at an apology.
His exact words were, "I feel bad that you feel bad."
Scott was shocked. He told Becky that Tom must really like her since that is the closest to an apology anyone ever had gotten from the big guy. At the time she took little comfort in that fact. But now as she lay in bed she wondered if it was true.
The following morning Tom wasn’t even out of bed yet when the phone woke him. He was not at all surprised to her Scott’s voice on the other end.
"Well, I was expecting to hear from you," Tom acknowledged as he slid his lengthy body to a sitting position. "I just didn’t think it would be this soon. What the hell time is it?"
"Stay away from her Tom," Scott spoke authoritatively into the phone.
Tom nearly laughed out loud, "Yeah, sure."
"I mean it. You don’t need to be going over there to help her with anything. She’s got a problem? She can call me."
"Like right? What are you, there twenty-four-seven for her?"
"You know what I mean."
"Well, you know what? Maybe she needs some things taken care of that you just can’t fix anymore."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that if you have a problem maybe you should come back home and take care of it. Don’t preach to me."
"Goddamn it, Tom! I’m warning you. Stay away from Becky."
"Well, buddy boy, if and when that ever becomes a problem I don’t think the decision will be up to you, now will it?"
"You heard what I said." Scott got in one last time before he slammed down the receiver while Tom was still talking. He knew that was the only way to get the last word in with Tom.
Tom heard the connection break and pulled the phone back and stared at it a second, "Well, goddamn, he hung up on me." Tom was more amazed at Scott’s audacity, "Huh? The guy’s got balls."
