Heart & Sincerity

43/ Father & Son

Fourteen hours. Fourteen hours was how long it took for Charles to get a phone call from the hospital.

It was ten in the morning when he heard his phone buzzing. He had fallen asleep late after spending most of the night twisting and turning. He wondered what had become of his parents. He knew to expect to hear from FP in a matter of hours but it wasn't the same with his mother. Life had a funny way of letting him build a relationship with his parents one at a time.

"Yes, thank you. I will be right in."

Charles scurried around his hotel room. He threw on a new set of clothes and quickly tamed his hair with his hand. It didn't matter much to him. It was more important to him to get to the hospital.

Meanwhile in the hospital FP was watching the nurse replace his IV needle.

He hasn't said a word to anyone yet. It's been quiet since he opened his eyes. He did listen to his doctor say a couple of words to him but he blanked. He found it easier to stay silent.

He glanced around the room. He's been hospitalized before but this still felt strange. It wasn't like this.

FP pressed a hand over his chest. It felt strange. He felt strange.

"Does anything hurt, Mr. Jones?" The nurse noticed.

FP shook his head no. He looked inside of the hospital gown to see stitches.

"It was a minor heart surgery," She guessed what he was wondering.

FP recalled being at the Whyte Wyrm. He remembered he had fallen before everything went dark for him.

"We called your wife, sir." She informed him nicely. FP's face did not look appeased after that. "We also just got off of the phone with your son. He said he was on his way."

That's when FP remembered what he had been told prior to his heart attack. He had another son. Alice had his son years ago without him ever knowing. He remembered that he had also lied to him about who he was. But after all this that didn't matter to him. He had another son and that's all that mattered.

The nurse was yet to get a peep out of him. She wasn't going to force him to talk though so she let him be. "Press this button for assistance." She showed him a red button on one of the remotes. He nodded and she went on her way.

FP sat there peacefully. Nothing but what had happened came to mind. It daunted to him that that could have been it. He could have lost everything. His children, his life...his Alice.

The image of her popped up inside of his head. It brought a small smile to his face. It was her smile and sweet laugh that reminded him of the good times. He had seen her before the catastrophe. He wondered how she was. Was she still out of town? He didn't call her. He didn't call her like he said he would. Would she be mad? Did she know about this?

A lot of time went by while he was lost in his thoughts. A knock on the door pulled him back to reality.

"May I come in?" Charles nervously asked. He wasn't sure how he would take his presence. FP simply nodded. "How are you feeling?

"How long have I been here?" The man finally spoke up.

"A while. It's been over a week. They took good care of you though." FP turned to stare out the window. Charles came closer in. He waited for him to look back at him but FP was avoiding eye contact. "Uh, Jughead and Jellybean should be brought in straight after school. I'm sure you'll enjoy their company."

"You're really ours?" FP was still processing it. He believed him when he said it but the shock made him think otherwise.

"Yeah, I really am."

FP finally looked at him again. His face softened. Charles was trying to read him but he was struggling to. The look on his face could have meant anything. "I don't know who you are, but you are my son."

Charles looked at him with the same emotion running through him. He stood beside his bed. "And you are my father. My real father."

"I'm so sorry," FP couldn't help but feel guilty for everything he had endured as a child.

"For what?"

"For ruining your life...and your mother's. You both deserved better than me."

"You didn't do anything wrong," He assured him. "I don't hold any hard feelings against either of you. All that matters now is that you are both okay."

"Your mother and I are going to need to have a conversation about everything. Have you spoken to her by any chance?"

"No, Jughead tells me she's out of town."

"Oh, that's right. I should talk to her though. I would call her right now if I knew where my phone was. I was supposed to call her."

"Let's not worry about that right now. Why not get some rest?"

"That's all I've been doing."

"Right," Charles said. "Just don't work yourself up. You don't want to stress yourself out for no reason. Especially after making something out of nothing."

"I guess," FP shrugged. "I do have a question for you though."

"Ask away."

"Do you plan to stick around? I was thinking maybe we could have another go at this. One where I'm not laying in a hospital bed and wondering what the hell is going on."

"I'd like that. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." He perked up a smile. "It'll be nice to have an old man."

"I'm not that old," FP smiled.

"Whatever you say," Charles chuckled.

"I'm only 42," FP stated. He reflected on that thought. "So that makes you like what? Twenty six? Twenty five?"

"Twenty five, yeah. Damn, maybe I'm old too." FP let out a chuckle. Charles stepped back to take a seat. "But who cares, we'll grow old together."

"I'm never growing old." FP joked, earning another laugh from him, but his face then went straight.

"What's the matter?" Charles asked.

"I'm never growing old," He repeated but his tone was more serious than anything.

Charles thought about what he was implying. "No, don't say something like that."

"What if my-"

"No, you're going to be fine." He cut him off. Adamant to think otherwise. "You're going to grow old. Whether you like it or not."

"Son, let's be real here. I can't afford to-"

Charles didn't let him finish that thought. "You'll never have to worry about that ever again. I'm handling all of that. All you need to do is get better."

"What did they say about my condition?" FP asked, sensing that he was more informed about his situation than him.

"That's an area of observation, but hey, look how strong you are for fighting through a heart attack. You're capable of getting through this."

"I saw him."

"Saw who?"

"He was getting into my head and pressuring me into doing what he wanted. I don't want to be him."

"Who?"

"My father," FP balled up a fist. "It wasn't the first time. God, this could have been what happened long ago, but worse."

"But it didn't. You're not that nasty drunk of an asshole. You have three kids to prove you wrong." Charles wasn't going to let him demoralize himself. He knew he deserved better than that. "And we're only getting started."

"You mean that?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad you're my son too." FP couldn't ask for anything better. "Your mom's the reason you turned out so great."

"Really? She claims it's you."

"Now you're just lying," FP said. "You've met your mother so you know how great she is. And that's the kind of person you turned out to be."