ValleyVille

Grand-Fa

Jacks POV
We pulled up to the house. I whistled admiring it. "Nice digs" Duke says. I cringed. "Dont say that again" I say getting out of the car. "Seriously though, its a nice mansion" Duke says. "Yeah no kidding" I say. "I cant believe everyone in town knows this guy and we've never heard of him" Duke says. "May I remind you we havent been here for that long" I say. We walked up to the door. "It feels like we've been here longer" Duke says. I rang the doorbell. We waited for a minute minute and then we heard the door being unlocked. A tall man with dark grey hair and a scruffy beard answered. "Hello boys. I was wondering when youd come pay me a visit" he says. "You know who we are?" I ask. "Sure I do. Jack Russel. You cant stand on a podium and call yourself a hero without drawing some attention" he says. I laughed nervously. "Oh yeah" I say as if I forgot. "And you must be Duke Russel. I heard you helped with that movie everyones talking about" the man said. "Thats right" Duke says. "Two fine young men indeed. I have yet to meet your father though I hear he's the new mechanic" he says. We nodded. So he doesn't know we're related. "Thats good, we've been needing one. Come in boys. We'll have a chat" he says. We followed him inside.

"So, what brings you two to this side of town?" He asks sitting down. We sat across from him on the couch. He put his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together. "Um well, we were wondering if you had a daughter" Duke says. He stiffened. "I did. She died recently" he says. He looked down for a moment and then back at us. "Why do you ask?" He asks. "Were you at her funeral?" I ask. "Of course. It was packed. I was somewhere in the middle. By the time I got up to say my sorrows to her family, they had left. She never visited. I wish she had. She and her husband were always so wrapped up in work that I never even met my grandchildren." He says. "Oh. Well, have you ever tried reaching out to her?" I ask. "I did all the time. She always promised she'd bring her family here someday. Actually, the day of her accident I called her. Im glad I did, because the last thing she told me was that she loved me" he says. We smiled lightly. "Well, she did make good on her promise" I say. He looked at us confused. "Farren Shnayer married Bruce Russel, and we are her children" Duke says. His eyes widened and he put his hand over his mouth. "I knew I heard your names before. I feel like an idiot. Its not often Im surprised by things but really takes it" he says. "You're all we have left of her now so when dad told us you lived here, we set out to find you" I say. "Im glad you did. I can see her in you. Both of you." He says. We smiled. We got up and walked around the coffee table to sit next to him on the couch. We hugged him. "Where is your father?" He asks. "At work" Duke says. "Do you mind if I go visit him? You boys can come over anytime you like to chat" he says. "Sure. We'll see you later" Duke says. My watch beeped. "Shit. Im gonna be late for work" I say. I grabbed Dukes shirt and dragged him with me and Grand-Fa laughed.

Bruces POV
Im at my desk. Im looking on my phone at a few pictures of Jess. I dropped my phone on my desk and looked at my family photo. I sighed. "Hello Bruce" I hear. "We're closed" I say looking over. My eyes widened seeing the man standing next to my desk. "Fabian?" I ask. "Its been a long time since someones called me that" he says. I stood up from my chair and faced him. I just stared at him for a moment. "Im sorry I didnt send you an invite to the funeral Sir. I had so much on my mind and... I dont know where you live. When one of Farrens friends said she invited you I felt like an idiot" I say. "Youve always been an idiot Bruce, but my daughter loved you dearly so I guess you're ok" he says with a smile. I looked down ashamed. "Whats wrong son?" He asks. "Where to start? I failed to keep Farren safe. I didnt look for you when we came to town. I started a new relationship only months after she died and I feel weird about it" I say. "Well first, you didnt fail. There was nothing you could do. Second, I can imagine you had other things on your mind when you got here. And third, you deserve to be happy Bruce. If you found someone who can do that for you, then its ok. Farren would want you to move on" he says. "You think so?" I ask. He nods. "Now. You're going to stop calling me Sir. Im your father too" he says. "Yes sir- I mean, dad" I say. He nods. "Ok, and now that Im here, show me the girl" he says. I opened my phone and showed him the photo. He smiled. "Shes pretty. You stick with her ok? I want you to be happy too" he says. "Thank you dad, and I will. Actually Im seeing her soon. Shes gonna pick me up and give me a massage" I say. He looked at me grossed out. "I didnt need to know that" he says. "What? Oh, no! I meant literally. Shes a massage therapist. Not that kind of massage" I say. We laughed. "Thank the gods. If that does happen, I dont want to hear about it" he says. "You wont" I say. "Well Ill leave you be, but you will come by right? Your boys know where I live" he says. I nod. "Of course. Here, before you go" I say. I grabbed my family photo off my desk. "Here, I have too many of them. You should have one" I say handing it to him. He took it and smiled at it. "Your boys have really changed since this photo" he says. "Yeah. This town does that to a person" I say. He smiled. "Ill see you around son" he says leaving. "Bye dad" I say. Jess walked in as he left. "Whos that?" She asks. "My father in law" I say. She looked back at Fabian as his car left and then back at me. "Thats terrifying" She says. I chuckled. "Its ok. He actually encouraged me to date you" I say. She breathed out relieved. "Good because that would have been scary. Anyway, you ready?" She asks. "Yeah. Thanks by the way" I say walking with her to the car. "Its nothing. Especially for my boyfriend" she says. I smiled and got in the passenger seat. She got in the drivers seat. "Thats me alright" I say. She backed out of the parking space and drove onto the road. She drives with one hand. I took her other hand in mine. She smiled but stayed focused on the road.

"And we're done" Jess says. I got up off the table and holy shit, that felt so good. "I think you made me a soprano. Ive never screamed like that before" I say walking to her. "I figured that was a good thing. And I think I wont give you back your shirt because Im in awe" she says looking at my chest. I rolled my eyes. "You dont have to give it back as long as you promise not to tell my kids I scream like a girl" I say. "Deal" she says. We stared at each other for a moment. "We should probably go. Our kids are probably waiting" she says. "Right" I say. We still didnt move. She waited a moment and then went to walk away but I grabbed her arm and pulled her into me. She looked up at me shocked and put her hand on my collarbone. I put my hands around her waist and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around my neck. We pulled away but kept holding each other. "Now we can go" I say with a smile. She smiled and looked down. "Do we have to?" She asks. I chuckled. "Ill see you tomorrow" I say. I grabbed my jacket and zipped it up. I threw my shirt at her. "Do whatever your teenage girl heart tells you to do with that." I say. "Thats mean" She laughs. "Was I wrong?" I ask. She hesitated. "No" she says.