The Trust

Chapter 35: Tender and true

Seeing him like that was a punch in the chest. 

"Come on, Uncle Jack. Let's get some hot food into you." Julie takes one elbow and I take the other and we steer him to a table. He's unsteady on his feet and nearly misses the chair when we sit him down. We look at each other fearfully while he eats his meal. He only picks at his food,  shoving the half-full bowl aside when he's done. He looks haggard and unkempt, like he hasn't shaved in a week.

"I didn't want you girls to see me like this," he says, wiping his mouth with a grimace. "I was told you didn't volunteer here anymore," he says, pointing an unsteady finger at me. "And you — I never expected to see you here at all."

"It's my first shift," Julie says. She reaches out to him and touches his hand gently, tears in her eyes. "Jack, what happened?" 

We both have so many questions, but we need to start somewhere. He begins to speak and doesn't stop for a half an hour. By the end of the tale, I'm covering my face with my hands. It's so unbelievably bad.

"So, let me get this straight," I say, dropping my hands. "You gave Rob everything? Every last penny you had? Your home? I still don't understand."

"Not my home! I built that house with my bare hands before you two were born," he rages. "Mary and I raised our kids there; thank God they're both living away and wanted nothing to do with this disaster. No, entirely it's my fault that I sent him my entire life savings. But he tricked me out of my house!"

"How?" 

"I got behind on the mortgage payments, and he convinced me to put his name on the title. Said he'd protect the asset in case I had to go bankrupt while waiting for his money to come in, the bloody liar. I was out of my mind with worry over my finances, I started drinking again as you can see, and I wasn't thinking clearly. He talked in circles, I don't know. It made sense to me at the time, I was desperate. Then he turned around and remortgaged it behind my back! It was nearly paid off, he got about 80 per cent of what it's worth, in cash. Then, he kicked me out. Gave me 24 hours to pack up and leave or he'd send the police after me. I've been living in my car."

Every time I thought Rob hit a new low, he kept sinking farther and farther. 

"Why would he do such a thing, Jack?"

He pulls a flask out of his jacket pocket and takes a swig. "Because he can."

The answer sends a chill up my spine. 

"It's not just me. Look at what he did to his own kids. He told his own daughter to quit her job — imagine, a single mom! It took her years to get on full time as a teacher, now she's back to subbing again, part time. One of her brothers is getting divorced over this, the other is filing for bankruptcy. Their father told them to go out and buy all kinds of shit over the holidays, not to worry about a single thing. They bought houses, cars, appliances, ATVs. And it all came crashing down. It's bad enough he did this to us. But to do this to his own kids..."

It was unbelievable. My head hurts just from thinking about how a person could do such a thing, what motivated them? What could be gained besides a bit of money? Why did he hate his family so much?

I was never going to figure it out at this late in the night, after a long, hard shift. 

"Come on, Jack. You're coming home with us. I have plenty of room," I lie, helping him to his feet. He tries to wave me off but wobbles unsteadily. "I'm not going to be a burden to no one," he says, but in the end, he does what I say. 

Julie puts him in the car while I lock up the shelter. My dear, solid Uncle Jack, the head of the family, the wise patriarch who guided us all, helped us when we were down. Our secret Santa every year, who made sure our little family had food and gifts all those years ago, reduced to this.