COMPASSION

Chapter  13

The Bleed Out

Potato salad, cole slaw, chips, cold cuts, hard rolls, coffee, tea, soda, cookies, and cakes were on the buffet style funeral brunch table at Mike and Donna’s house. All were satisfied with the food and this was a good opportunity to catch up on how everyone’s lives were moving along. Tommy decided to have the money talk with Mike and Joe at the kitchen table. All three sons take seats at the table. Tommy starts the discussion,
 
“Mike what do you want to do about the fund?”
 
“How much money is there?” Mike replies.
 
“Around $300,000.00 dollars.” 
 
Joe enters the conversation, “$307,569.42.”
 
“Split it three ways,”  Mike answers.
 
Joe agrees, “Yes three-way split.”
 
“Well I am not working now and I don’t think it would be a good idea to break up the fund. What I could do is hold the money for a year and pay you and Joe the interest from the fund.”
 
Joe disagrees, “ I say split it now.”
 
“Here is what I want to do. Let me hold the money for six months. Then we will talk again about dividing up the money.”
 
“Well if that is what you want to do. Right now I really don’t care to talk about money.” Mike leaves the table.
 
Tommy tells Joe, “Let’s go home.” 
Tommy and Joe head for home mentally exhausted after the three-day ordeal. They pull into the driveway in the back of the home and enter the house. Tommy locks all the doors and tells Joe from this day on there must be one of them in the house at all times to ensure no one breaks into the house.
 
Joe is disbelief says, “Why would anyone break in this house?”
 
“Listen do as I say. I don’t have to explain myself on everything I say. This is how the house has to be run.”  I am going out now and I want you to stay here until I get back. Lock the door when I leave.” Tommy drives off in his black Chevy Pickup truck leaving Joe to guard the house.
 
Joe changes out of his blue suit and comes downstairs and turns on the TV. He is still upset over Tommy’s reluctance to divide the money and his order to stay home and guard the house. He flips through the channels and decides there is nothing on worth watching so he turns off the TV. 
 
“Nothing on TV. I think I will do my taxes.” Joe heads for the kitchen table and takes out his tax forms and starts to review his paperwork. He sits down and starts to complete his Federal Tax Form. Suddenly all the emotion from the last three days builds up inside of Joe and he stands up and starts to weep uncontrollably. Tears are flowing from his eyes and mucous is pouring from his nose.
 
Joe cries out, “ I can’t even do my taxes! Oh God why did you do this to me.”  Joe leaves the kitchen and lies down on the couch in the TV room. His heart is pounding and his blood pressure is turning his face bright red.
 
Joe feels like he is dying, “Please God take me now I don’t want to stay here! I don’ t want to live anymore. Do me a favor.” After several minutes Joe calms down and
his breathing is normal again. It is only Five o’clock in the afternoon but Joe decides to go to bed.
 
Tom and Catherine Havard watch their youngest son get off the couch and head to his bedroom to go to sleep.
 
Catherine tells Tom with fear in her voice “This is terrible. Joe looks like he is dead. He has not eaten anything in the last three days!”
 
“Tommy just went out to get a bottle of whiskey,” Tom tells Catherine.
 
“Joe does not know how to drink. If he did he could drown his grief in alcohol,” Catherine replies. Let’s go home.         
 
Tom and Catherine are driving in their Black Plymouth and turn onto a familiar street in West Pittston. Catherine looks at the home on Fourth Street, “ Tom why are we here?” 
 
“I wanted to see our old home with you. There is nobody home so let’s go in and look around.”  Tom and Catherine enter the home where they lived when they got married. It is a small two story cape cod style home.
 
“Let me ask you a question that has been bothering me for thirty-three years. Why did you lock the kitchen door the night I went
out with the guys from work. When I came home I could not open the door. I knocked on the door and you did not answer. My blood pressure went sky high and I busted down the door. Do you remember?”
 
Catherine turns to her husband and tells him a different story as she remembers. “First of all I remember the night differently than you do.”  Catherine and Tom are transported back to the night Tom went out with the guys from work. March 1958 and Tom Havard just came home from work and the couple’s three sons are playing in the TV room. The Havard’s just purchased a RCA TV the day before and Dad was to watch the Lone Ranger  with his sons after work.  
 
“Catherine I am home!”
 
“I hope you are hungry I made meat loaf and mashed potatoes, gravy, peas and apple pie.” Catherine kisses Tom and returns to setting the table.
 
“Honey one of the guys gave his notice today so a few of us from work are going to take him to Maxie’s tonight. I probably won’t be home until eleven.”
 
“You promised the boys you were going to watch TV with them tonight. They are waiting for you in the den.” 
 
Four year old Joe Havard walks to the TV and turns the dial. Dad walks over  to his young son and slaps his hand away from the tuner. Joe starts to cry and Mom enters the room. “Why did you slap his hand?”
 
“Because I don’t want him to break the tuner.  If you keep treating him like a baby he will grow up to be a baby. Now Joe should be more like Tommy his first born.”
 
Tom picks up Tommy his and tickles him. “Tommy and Mike do you mind if Daddy watches TV with you tomorrow night. I have some business to take care of tonight?” 
 
Tommy and Mike both tell Dad, “No Daddy we can watch TV tomorrow.”
 
Tom runs upstairs and Catherine yells to him, “What about the door. You were going to fix it? It keeps sticking.”
 
 
Tom did not hear his wife and he did not listen to his Doctor to reduce his drinking because it was raising his blood pressure. Tom takes a shower gets dressed and comes downstairs to say goodbye to his wife and sons.
 
“Tom dry your hair it is soaked and its freezing out! You will catch your death! Are you going to have supper with us?”
 
“Don’t worry about my hair I will grab something at the Bar.”
 
Tom was gone and went out into the early evening to his night out with the guys. Little did he know a severe price was to be paid for his night out with the boys. It was around two am in the early morning when Tom parked his car on the street. He stumbled out of the car having too many beers. Knowing the front door was locked
locked he headed for the back door which he knew his wife would not lock. He turned the door knob but could not open the door. He then banged on the door but no one could hear him. Thinking his wife locked the door Tom grew intensely angry and put his shoulder to the door knocking it off its hinges onto the kitchen floor. The loud bang woke Catherine up and she ran downstairs to see her husband on the floor.
 
“Why did you break the door?”  Catherine asked.
 
Tom slurring his words asked? “Why did you lock the door?”
 
“I did not lock the door. Remember I told you the door swelled from the wet weather and was sticking in the door jamb. You were supposed to take the door off its hinges and sand it down.”
 
Catherine tried to pick her husband off the floor but hurt her back
doing so. Tom stood up and sat down at the kitchen table asking his wife to make him a cup of coffee.   Catherine turned to put water on the stove when she heard Tom yell in pain. Tom fell to the floor and blood started to pour out of his mouth. He grabbed his stomach and blood poured out of his ears and eyes. Catherine rushed to Tom’s side and helped him out of the kitchen and into a first floor bedroom.
 
She got her  husband on the bed face down and screamed for her sons, “Tommy, Mike, Joe wake up and come downstairs and help me with Daddy!”
 
Tommy six and Mike five got up and ran downstairs. “Tommy get me the yellow bucket under the kitchen sink!”
 
“Yes Mommy,”  Tommy ran for the bucket and put it next to the bed under his Father’s mouth. Catherine called the ambulance while the couple’s youngest so Joe four carried his blanket downstairs and walked into the bedroom to see his Father vomiting blood
into the yellow bucket. Tom looked at Joe and turned his head away so his son could not witness the Horrific Bleed Out.
 
Catherine and Tom are again in the present day looking at each other wondering how they can help their sons cope with the death of Mom.
 
“I wish our boys never saw me bleeding like that. I did not know the artery in my stomach could burst like that and I would bleed out.” 
 
“There are two times children really need their Mother. The first time is when Dad dies and they can go to Mom for an explanation on why God would do such a terrible thing. The second time children need Mom is when Mom dies. Well ours sons won’t have you to explain death to them this time. Let’s get out of here before the people who live here come home.”