    Markwhite (Markwhite) | Sunday, June 09, 2002 - 12:32 pm He then tried the bar, for it was probable that Suzan would be there, however today was her day off. He then rang her apartment and soon the phone picked up. "Hello." Came a soft innocent sounding voice, which Hector knew had to be his sister. "Hello boulders." He said, for it had been a nickname he'd given her since she had developed that chest of hers. She always thought it was cute. "Hector, Honey it's been a long time, how's my little brother?" It was true she was only a year older than he was, but she always taunted him with the little brother stuff. "Hi sis, I have some news to tell you." "Well that's good, had my share of bad as of late." "Well I'm getting married." He heard her shriek, "MY little brother is getting hitched! Oh my! Now aint that somet'n! Well who's the lucky filly!!" He knew she would think that, "Not a filly Suzan, a Skunktaur and her name is Heather." There was silence on the other end, "A what!!!! Hector, how could you go out of species. You're prime rib honey, any filly would loved to get knocked up by you." It sounded barbaric but it was true, many a filly had asked him out or come onto him; hard! "Yes but could they tear down computer and put it back together blindfolded." There was a gasp, "OH… A GEEK!!! YOU'RE MARRYING A GEEK!!!! Oh brother! She shook her head. "What a total waste of a good Equine sperm." "Suzan, you take that back! Heathers a wonderful woman!!!!" Hector became defensive; he wouldn't take Heather being insulted. "Sorry bro, I guess each to his own, she got herself one heck of a guy though." She hoped her compliment worked, knowing she had kinda put her hoof in it. "So when's the big day?" "I'm not sure yet, I have to wait till I see how Heather gets along, she had a stroke and is in the hospital at the moment. She's having a hard time walking." Another silence, "Oh boy, you haven't told Mother yet." "No I…." Suzan suddenly interjected, "Then it's best you don't, she'll have your balls for marrying out of species then kill you for marrying a cripple, Hector." He hated that word, "Heather is not a cripple." "Ok handicapped it doesn't matter Hec….Mom is Mom and she'll be furious. It wouldn't matter if your Heather was an angel." "She is to me, but you're right about Mom." "Then don't tell her." "What if she finds out……then what?" "Then call the cops." "Suzan!" "I mean it Hec…it's the truth, call the cops. You don't want another incident like Carl's to happen." "Huh …..Carl I tried to get a hold of him and…." He heard her gasp, then there was silence, "You don't know." She said quietly. "Know what?" "Hector it was all over the news…." "What was?" There was a pause then her regular voice returned to the phone, it was serious and he didn't like what that represented. "Hector, about a month ago Carl went berserk in his apartment complex, he shot four people dead then went on a rampage at a local bar. There he killed 10 more." She found it hard to say the words and her voice choked as they came out. "Hector…. Carl is dead, the cops took him out." She was silent and so was Hector. Then she spoke again. "I'm sorry Hec…I thought you knew." A lump was caught in his throat, he really didn't like Carl all that much but he was his brother, kin and someone at one time in life he looked up to. "I didn't…he swallowed….well at least I know now." "I'm sorry Hec, it was all over the news reports for days, I had thought …..well I guess I should have called." "It's ok Suzan…..Carl had been a bit wild in the last few years I saw him." "Yeah…..well enough about him, when can I see your gal. Never seen a taur, let alone a Skunktaur." "Well Dad and I…." "Dad….you don't mean our Dad." Her tone changed again and he knew he had stepped into hot water, Dad was a very touchy subject with her. "Yes ….our…..Dad." He said softly trying to ease this over. "Hector…..has love infected your brain. Dad's nuts….you've seen him." "Yes…at one time I believe…but I have news about Dad too…….he's dying." He thought this might cool her jets. There was silence, "Good!" Suzan said. "Suzan." This wasn't really the reaction he was looking for. "Hector, he beat us…..you were there, he hit you too." "I know, but you should have seen him today Suzan. He's a pathetic soul now, his main is all gray, so is his back. He's an old man Suzan, he couldn't harm anyone." "Don't you put it past him, he could if he had his way." She was angry now and Hector could hear it in her voice, it was high time to drop this. "Ok Suzan, look forget Dad, he doesn't have long anyway, 2 weeks they said probably at most. If you want to make peace with him, so be it. If not then you can attend his funeral." He paused letting his words sink in, "So when would be a good time for you and I to get together to go and see Heather." She was quiet…..he could hear her breathing, then she said something he didn't really expect. "Two weeks." Seems she did have a soft spot for him, maybe this fact even surprised her, "Yes Suzan, he has an inoperable brain tumor, he's terminal. The doctors told him about 2 weeks and he would probably slip into a coma then die." It wasn't a pleasant thought, for he had seen Heather and Swallow in almost the same condition. "When are you going again?" "Tonight at 7, can I pick you up?" He waited silently for her answer, he crossed his fingers. He knew that he couldn't change the past; what was done was done. However they could make peace with him before he passed on, that's not to say they would not still hold some resentment, but it would ease some of the burden on their souls. There was silence on the other end, then she spoke in a soft voice. "Your telling me the truth huh Hec, he has changed?" "Suzan I was there, I know what he did to you and me. You could flatten him easily now, even though he's still pretty big, however there is no fight in him, just pain. I can see it when he moves, he's not the father you ran away from long ago." Another pause, "Ok, come pick me up." She told him the address and he wrote it down. "Tell him though that you are picking me up, at least he'll be prepared." "I'll tell him…..sis…?" "Yeah Hec…." "Thanks for being there, without you I don't think my life would have turned out as well as it did." There was a slight laugh, "We had to look out for ourselves back then little bro, we had no one else." "Yup just us." "Don't tell Mom." "Gonna have to sis, I'll find her and confront her on her turf. I can handle myself, I don't want her to show up on my doorstep chewing me out for this, it would be just like her to do so. Once she knows then what she does from that point on is her own damn business." "You're asking for it." "Better than her finding out later then having her come and frighten Heather, she really has no defense if Mom attacked her, except for her spray but I doubt that would stop Mom." "The way Dad and her went at it, I doubt it too." There was another long pause then, she said it, he really didn't think she'd offer but it came. "You want me to come with you, the two of us there would put her in her place." "You know sis you always seem to amaze me." "Well I am your big sister." "Yes you are, I appreciate the offer, lets just see how you get along with Dad…..Mother is another ball park all together." "Ok….that's fair." "Good, I'll see you at 7" "Ok….thanks for call bro." "It's good to hear from you sis, I'll make sure that Dad causes no trouble." "Ok….I trust you." "Thanks…Oh one last thing….I have a surprise to tell you when we get to see Heather, one you and Dad won't believe." "I've seen a lot of strange things in my life Hector, nothing really surprises me anymore." "This will trust me." "Ok….I do……bye little bro." "Bye boulders." He heard a slight giggle then the phone went dead. Hector thought about what had just happened, his Dad never mentioned Carl and he wondered if he knew. It didn't matter, he would have to look into where they buried him. He got in his truck and went to the hospital, Heather ought to know that she was going to have company tonight. When he arrived at her room he found that Mrs. White was still there, which also meant that Mr. White was also probably around as well. Heather looked to be sleeping so he came in quietly. "Hello….Mum." He was sort of getting the hang of calling her that…. but not quite. "Hi Hector, come sit." She said in a low tone. "Has she been asleep long?" "Awhile, do you need to talk to her?" "Well I found my Dad…" "Oh, that's good, how is he?" "Not too good… Mum, he's ….dying." Nancy didn't know what to say, "I'm so sorry Hector." He could see she truly was, "Thanks, its kinda a blow, us kids didn't really get along with Mom or Dad. They fought day and night and well we took some beatings from some of it." "Oh Hector…" "It's ok, it's been a long time, Sis and my older brother Carl got out of there when they could. Dad split with Mom just as Carl left, and that just left me and sis with Mom. It wasn't a fun time. The minute I turned 18 I got out of there, she was abusive and an alcoholic. Whether or not she is any better, I don't know. I haven't spoken to her in years." Nancy took Hector's paw, "Well it just goes to show that decent and honest people can come from the worst of places. Seems you have done well for yourself." "I've tried hard and it looks as though it has paid off. I convinced Dad and my sister to come and see Heather tonight, together. Which should prove interesting, since sis doesn't care a whole lot for Dad. I'm going to have a small talk with him when I pick him up, just to tell him where he stands with sis. I don't think he's going to rock the boat." "It's good you went to talk with him. It's too late when they are gone." "Yeah, I would have regretted seeing his name in the paper without at least saying good-bye. When we were kids our perspectives were different back then. We didn't know the whole story." He sighed, "What does matter at least is that Heather will at least see my Dad, old as he is. Mom I'm not sure she will get to see. I have to see how my sister gets along with Dad first before we tackle our Mother. She's a fighter, did it actually for a living in a ring." "Really." "Yup, Killer Rose was her name and boy was she mean and nasty. I think I have one of her fights on tape if I'm not mistaken, I'll show it to you sometime if you'd like." Her eyebrows went up, "It might be interesting sometime, Hector. Heather showed me the gifts, that's a beautiful set of jewelry you got her Hector; it must have cost a small fortune." "She's worth it…. Mum….every penny." Nancy leaned over and kissed his cheek. "She is so lucky to have someone like you Hector, your perfect for her." If equines could blush he would have turned bright red, "Thanks…I'll do good by her, she'll keep me in line. I really hate to wake her, she looks so peaceful." "Oh wait till you hear her snore." Nancy said winking. "You're kidding?" She was so quiet now. "Nope, sometimes she'll lay just strange enough that the most bizarre sounds come out that mouth of hers." "Oh boy." "Yup, better get used to it, usually we just wake her up, she moves and all is quiet for awhile." "I'll keep that in mind, when it happens and from the sounds of it, it probably will." He gently pushed on Heather's exposed shoulder and tried to wake her. At first nothing happened and he tried again. This time her eyes fluttered open. "Huh….what??" "Hey there 4 foot, where you been?" "Hector?" "Yup and your Mom is here too." She rubbed her eyes and stretched, she felt exhausted, Sarah had really put her through a work out. "So….YAWN…..what brings you about?" "Well I have some news, I'm bringing by some visitors tonight to see you. My Sister and my Dad." Heather knew some of Hectors past, plus the whole father bit. "That must have been some talk." She knew it had to be. "Well it was more than I thought it would be. He's dying, Heather, and looks like he wants to make amends before passing on." "Oh….Hector I'm sorry." She took his paw. "I know, he has promised to be on his best behavior so I hope that's the case." "You said your sister is coming as well?" "Yes, I just hope we don't get into a shouting match." "I just hope not too, that's going to put you in the middle." "I already am, I know where my sister is coming from, I was there. But I've also seen my Dad, which she hasn't and I can see his point too." "Ok what time you coming?" "About 7; a few hours away yet but I wanted to give you a heads up first." "Wise decision there, you haven't told me much about your sister?" "Well she's very out going, ahhh….well she works as a ……" He was finding it hard to say the words but out they came finally. "A stripper in one of the bars here in town, she has the attributes to do such a thing if you get my drift." "Ah…..I think I do." "That's good, she's nice, just don't get on her bad side. She has quite the temper if you get under her skin." "Will note that." "How'd your session go with Sarah?" "Good, I had lots of energy when you left, so I got a good day in. We're going to try some different exercises tomorrow to see if she can help get my back half working better, it's still not doing great." "Well you'll get it working, always knew you were a pain in the ass." He winked and she hit him. "What'd I say?" Nancy behind him snickered, it was funny. "You know exactly what you said!" Heather said in mock anger. He laughed, "Well I gotta get going, you two have fun. I'll see you in a bit ok." He gave her a kiss and relished in her beauty. She too didn't want to break apart but they had to. "See you later." She said as they parted "Bye Heather, Mum." As quickly as he had come he was gone. "He's quite something Heather." Nancy said pretty sure that Hector was long gone. "That he is Mom, but I really didn't expect a proposal so soon though. Our dates must have really meant more to him than I knew. I had enjoyed myself immensely and thought we had a nice friendship. I guess my illness really put things into perspective for him. I had thought maybe we'd get a bit more serious down the road if things worked out for us, but he seems genuinely in love." "Oh he's in love alright, I can smell it." "Oh…." "Yup just like your father, he was all over me. Followed me from class to class in High School and by the time we graduated we were joined at the hip so to speak. We knew almost from the beginning we were destined to be together, and here we are years later still together. Now we get to see our little girl get to have all the fun, like we did when we first started out." "Yeah….not so sure about the fun stuff, from where I'm sitting that's going to be a long time coming." "I know….dear. It's not going to be all fun and games and there are going to be hard times along with the good. But when you're down remember back to today, his proposal and how happy it made you feel. Remember this time, remind him and let him remember too and things will work themselves out." "I'll try Mom." "You'll succeed, I know you will," Nancy smiled and secretly crossing her fingers. Heather and Hector had a lot of obstacles ahead of them, she only hoped they were both strong enough. A strange thought entered into Heather's head at that precise moment, it was an extremely wacky thought, out of the blue so to speak but it stuck in her head like crazy glue. It was something she was going to have to look into, just to keep herself on the ground. If it worked, boy would it be a surprise." End of Chapter 2 A horse is a horse of course of course. Hector and Heather sittin' in a tree, k.i.s.s.i.n.g. (a very low tree BTW) |