What He Needs

Chapter 30

.:Author's Note:.

Winston's mom calls him Winnie, and the rest of his family calls him Pooh.

I'm too creative for my own good. 🤣 *pats myself on the back*

Please excuse any mistakes.

***

Winston's POV:

"It feels good to be home," my mother said softly as Dad wheeled her into their bedroom. My heart tightened at the peaceful look on her face when she caressed the familiar bedding. "Right here."

"Right here what?" I asked as I set her bags down. My brother, Conrad, helped her into the bed since my dad's back had weakened on him ages ago. Once she was sitting comfortably, my mom glanced over at me with the best possible smile she could manage in her condition.

"Right here is where I want to go."

Beside me, my sister, Francine, choked on her own breath. "I can't do this," she sobbed before quickly leaving the room. We watched her go before my dad, brother, and I all looked at Mom with obvious frowns

"Honey, can you at least try not to be so morbid?" Dad questioned, releasing a deep sigh afterward.

"I'm not being morbid. I'm sorry if it comes off that way; but I am at peace with dying, and it's not something I fear anymore, especially when I'm surrounded by my family." It was uncomfortably silent after her statement, but she didn't seem to notice – or she was blatantly ignoring the feeling. When no one moved to say anything else, she sighed. "Fine. I won't say anything morbid again."

"Thank you," Conrad spoke before kissing her cheek. "I'm going to make sure Franny is okay."

"Tell her I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Mom."

Conrad quickly went in search of our sister while I stayed exactly where I was. I didn't know what I should be doing with myself. There were bags that needed to be unpacked as well as funeral plans to start preparing, but none of those tasks seemed important at the moment. If anything, I was deliberately trying to withhold on working on the latter.

"Winston?" Mom called out to me as another few quiet minutes passed. It was then that I noticed I had been buried under my own thoughts. Dad sat in a comfy chair beside the bed, holding onto Mom's hand as they both looked at me with concern. "Why don't you give Jonathan a call? Let him know that we've reached home safely."

"Who's Jonathan?" Dad asked, causing the tiniest bit of color to fill my cheeks. His eyes widened in understanding at seeing the red tint on my face. "Oh, what do we have here? A new boyfriend?"

"Dad!" I groaned in embarrassment. "Now is not the time."

"Now is always the time, Pooh. Honey, do you approve?"

"I more than approve." My mom smiled teasingly. "Jonathan and his daughters are truly Godsent."

"Daughters?"

"Twin girls. When you meet them, you'll know what I mean when I tell you that they are angels."

"Well, I can't wait to meet them."

"I'm going to give them a call now," I mumbled, feeling just a tad embarrassed. My parents smiled playfully at me, and I took that as my cue to leave. I stopped in the living room to collect my bags but paused at the sight of Franny chewing on her nails aggressively as she stood by the window.

"I thought Conrad was coming to check on you," I spoke, causing her to jump before turning around to face me. My sister looked at me with red puffy eyes and a runny nose. There also happened to be small specks of blood at the corner of her mouth from all of her nail biting.