The Things That Will Be

Chapter Seven

James drove outside of town, with the radio playing Digital Bath by Deftones.

The surroundings turned into green blurs as he drove by. They then turned yellow as he made it to the countryside.

James had always wanted to live out in the countryside, so did Eileen. The only problem was James' job would require him to travel to different towns and cities. He'd have to sleep in motels in which he disliked.

Hotels were hazardous locations to him. It was an unhealthy living condition. The staff always seemed careless when it came to their jobs. And ontop of that, the bug infestations. James hated it. He absolutely hated it.

One town passed and so did another and James realized how far Willow Tree was from Winterdale. A plane ride would've beeb simpler but he didn't really care much about flying so much as he got sick a lot.

He remembered a time that he had to fly to San Francisco in which case he got terribly sick and puked into the bag. He then looked over at the person next to him with puke residue on his lips and said that he was sorry.

He had refused to fly since, so he drove. Sure, it took longer but he didn't mind. It beated flying easily.

By the time he made it into the town he called his dad to let him know that he made it to town. His dad then got to talking about random things in his life. James tried to explain to him that he was hanging up.

"Dad, listen. I gotta go. I'm in traffic right now." James said.

"Oh alright. Say, do you know the house?" His dad asked. He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I know the house. I was raised in it." James said.

He then remembered when he was a kid. Running around the house, scaring his sister, being rambunctious. Life seemed to not have morals back then. It was all just 'Have Fun & Don't Die' and he missed that. He missed it alot. He didn't start maturing until middle school and what a life that was.

"Yes, I know you were." The dad said chuckling lightly. James could sense his father smiling which made him smile. He hung up the phone and focused on the road. He was happy to see them again but he was also nervous. Afterall, he was there for a not so nice reason.

~

He pulled up to the house and got out. He went over to the door and knocked on it. A couple seconds passed and a woman opened up the door. It was his sister Michelle. She looked at him and smiled.

"James! You made it!" She said and she gave him a hug. He accepted it warmly.

"Hey Michelle, how are you holding up?" James asked. She wiped a single tear from her eye and answered him.

"I'm going with it, you know. Trying to take it all in." Michelle said. James nodded. She had exposed to him that she was feeling the same way he was about all of this.

"Wow, I always thought they'd live together until the end." James said and Michelle nodded.

"I'm sorry, come on in." Michelle said with a light chuckle and let James walk into the house. "So, how are you and Eileen doing?"

"Oh, uh, we're good." James said. "Eileen is pregnant so we are expecting a child within 9 months or so." Michelle's face had blossomed into joy and happiness for her brother.

"Oh my God, really? That's incredible!" She exclaimed. James smiled and blushed. "I'm glad for you, James. I really am."

"Thanks, that means a lot." James said. He was happy to be back, though it wasn't for a good reason. And the two of them knew that.

"Well, I guess they're in the living room?" He asked. She nodded and the two walked into the room and saw that the mother was there but the father wasn't. The mother was happy to see James.

"James! It's so nice to see you again." She said warmly to him. He walked over to her and gave her a hug.

"Hi, mom." He said. "Where's dad?" His mother pointed to the bedroom.

"He's in his room. He's just staying in there. All booty hurt and such." She said. James nodded and went to go look for his father in his room. When he found him, he was sitting on his bed staring at his hands and at the window next to his bed.

James calmly made his way towards his father and sat down beside him.

"Hey dad." James said. His father didn't even bat an eye but knew it was James sitting there.

"James." His father said. James looked at his father and talked to him.

"Dad, what's wrong? Why are you and mom wanting a divorce?" He asked his father. His father just sat there and looked at his hands.

"There comes a time in every man's life where he has to decide whether or not he wants to keep doing this anymore." His father said. James looked at him in worry.

"Dad, you're not thinking of killing yourself, are you?" He asked. His father looked at him with a look of tiresome on his face, his face was wrinkled with age.

"No, but it can lead to that very easily. Especially, if you are not careful and only listen to your heart. Your heart can oftentimes betray you and tell you what you want instead of what you need. The heart is a liar but it is seen as a healer." His father said.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So, what is it with mom that you don't want to deal with anymore?" James asked his father.

"She's so clingy. She won't let me be on my lonesome. We get into fights, many many times over stupid matters. I don't want to fight anymore. I want to live and die in peace." His father said.

"Have you two tried marriage counseling, I'm sure that would help." James suggested. His father shook that thought away quickly.

"Counseling is a no go. It's nothing but younger adults advising you on how to live your own life whereas they haven't done much living in their own. It's just not in our cards." His father said. James nodded.

"Well, I honestly don't know what to say. This is still a shock to me." James said.

"Well, that's enough about me, what about you? How are you and your wife doing? Her name is Eileen, right?" He asked James. James smiled.

"Yes, her name is Eileen and we're doing fine, dad. You're gonna be a grandfather." James said.

His father bent his head down and started sobbing. James wrapped his arm around his father and held him close. "Hey, it's alright. Everything's okay."

"I'm going to have a grandchild and I can't even get my life in order at the age of 87." His father said in tears. James held onto him and felt that in this moment, that he didn't want to let him go. Not ever for a million years.

"Hey, it's okay. Most people have a hard time getting their lives in order. Being at the age of 87 doesn't really make it worst. It's okay to not be okay." James said.

His father didn't argue with him or anything. All he did was cry onto his wrinkled hands while leaning onto his son's side. But James didn't mind, that's what he was there for. For leverage. For help and aid. For guidance.