Everything had gone to somewhat normal... Oscar was sleeping in his own bed again and i dont know if it makes us bad parents but the first night alone in our own bed, we both let out a sigh and just enjoyed the fact we wouldn't be woken up by being kicked and almost pushed out...
I love Oscar i really do but it was driving me insane... It was just taking a toll on our mental health because sleep deprivation was making us all moody and snappy... After my talk with Oscar, he really improved... Lana could finally start to grief herself...
Bob had been a fresh start a buddy to get her through all the doubts and stress of starting over... He had been there to cuddle when she needed him to... He was her comfort when she was dealing with everything that happened in her previous life...
Weeks go by and life goes on... I am taking Oscar to school on my way to a meeting for ASP. Oscar is talking a mile a minute... I smile listening to him... He is so silly sometimes laughing and joking being all goofy... I smile when i drop him off and he runs with Carly's kids inside who were waiting for him at the gate... They were all thick as thieves...
I was about to drive off again when my phone ringed and Lana was on the line in a panic telling me i needed to come home... I couldn't make out why as it sounded like she was having a panic attack but i didn't question it and texted Mark that there was an emergency at home and that i was not coming... Lana needed me and that takes priority...
I drive home finding her on the floor of the kitchen hysterically crying clutching a piece of paper in her hand... I rush over getting down to the floor with her pulling her in my arms asking her what is going on but she can't talk and just holds the piece of paper...
To my surprise it is addressed to Oscar and when i see the return address my heart sinks it is a letter from prison... I start to think it is Oscar's bio dad that he demands contact, but it is no such thing... It is a death notification... He has died...
It was a request for Oscar to come claim the body and personal belongings as his only next of kin... A child is asked to come and get his abuser's body... The man who made their life a living hell... Which meant as Oscar's parents we needed to do that...
I put the letter away to deal with later but first i need Lana to calm down... She is still crying clinging on to me saying she can't do this because part of claiming the body is identifying it and she keeps saying over and over that she can't, and she doesn't want to see him even if he is dead...
"Come on sweetheart you need to get off the cold floor..." I whisper standing up and pulling her up and i pull her in my arms holding her tightly against me and rubbing her back... "I can't do this Chris... I dont want to see him... I dont want his shit... But Oscar... Will he blame me in the future if i dont..." She whispers and i sigh not really knowing the answer... He was nothing to Oscar because his rights were taken away but that was all on paper that didn't mean that he biological wasn't his father no matter how shitty he was...
"How am i going to tell him this... Do i need to tell him this... He is still so young will he understand... will he be able to process this..." Lana whispers. I sigh and take a deep breath... "I dont know..." I whisper...
"I am not crying because i am sad he is dead..." She whispers as she calms down a bit her tone apologetic as if she thinks i would be mad if she would have been... "Sweetheart it would be okay if you were... He gave you one good thing in life and that is Oscar..." I whisper and she takes a deep breath and starts to cry again.
"Maybe we should talk with Oscar's therapist to ask what the best way is to handle this..." I murmur and she looks up at me... "That is not a bad idea..." She says and smiles a little... "Dont look so surprised sweetheart... I have one every now and then..." I say grinning and she giggles...
Maeve starts crying and i tell her to go take care of her and i will make some phone calls regarding the letter... As Oscar's dad on paper and in life i think i have that right... I walk to my office and take the letter with me and the first i call is my lawyer... Because no way i am going to sent Oscar to that prison to identify his father and if it was up to me neither was Lana... They were free from that monster for so long now... That i was not going to subject them to him now...
My lawyer told me if we wanted to, he could go and take care of everything... But he needed to know what we wanted... If we wanted to claim his body, we needed to bury or cremate him... If not, he would handle all the paperwork to deny the request... He could claim his personal belongings which according to him would not be much but again we needed to let him know what we wanted but it was a relief that we wouldn't have to do it in person if we chose to go that route...
I then called Oscar's therapist... He didn't go a lot anymore but whenever we needed her, she was there... I explained her the situation and she said it was a difficult thing... Oscar never mentioned his bio dad lately and she thought that in this stage it would do more harm than good to tell him... He was still so young, and she suggested to not tell him but to claim the man's body bury him so whenever we would tell him in the future, he had a place to go if he wanted... To claim his personal belongings if he had any to give him if he ever asked about it or was old enough to understand... If we did want to tell him she was available to help were needed...
"Mr. Evans... Before you hang up i dont want to be out of line but i think i am not... Seeing as we have had some family session... Please dont blame Mrs. Evans if she griefs the man... As ridiculous as it sounds to you and me because off everything, he has put them through she might need to grief... Maybe not the man itself but what he did... And this whole thing might trigger some memories..." She said and i sighed... "Dont worry... I will never tell her she can't... He did one thing right he gave us our amazing boy... That counts for something and although i hate him for the way he treated them I am grateful for Oscar... As ridiculous as it sounds i wouldn't have them in my life if it wasn't for everything that happened..." I said and she agreed...
I hung up and when i turned around Lana was standing in the door opening... She didn't say a word... She just walked over to me put her hands on my face and kissed me... The most mind-blowing kiss...
