The Undertaking of Adam Novak Read online

  “She's here,” I say to him without taking my eyes off Colleen who has become flustered. “We just can’t see her yet.”

  “Was that so hard to say?” says Aaron to the woman who blushes and offers a weak smile.

  With everything settled we head back to the lobby and shake hands with Colleen. “Once again, I'm very sorry for your loss.”

  –

  We stand outside for a moment, taking in the fresh air.

  “How do they do it?” Aaron’s question puzzles me.

  “Do what?” I ask.

  “Act like they care.”

  “It’s their job,” Jaycob offers. “They get paid to act all sad and shit.”

  I turn to Jaycob and give him the look, but he ignores me.

  I make a last-minute decision to go home—Irene’s house—to pick up a few things and check on Jordyn. I continue to ignore the texts from Irene as I turn onto Pines Place.

  “Where are we going?” says Jaycob.

  “I need to pick up a few things. Is that cool?”

  He shrugs. “I guess.”

  –

  Irene’s house is in a nice quiet neighborhood, but it doesn’t match the rest of the homes on the block. Hers is… well, ugly and I think it perfectly matches the inside.

  When I first moved in I kept it neat. The grass used to be a lush green and the flowers alive, but I became tired. Work consumed me, or maybe it’s only an excuse to stay away from here.

  I pull into the driveway and when I don’t see Irene's car (thank God) my relief is instant. I'll avoid her for now. I shut off the engine, but neither Jaycob nor Aaron move. I look from one to the other and say, “I won't take long.”

  –

  I enter the house and the smell of rancid oil hits me right away. The house has lots of windows, but they are always covered with cheap drapes and old blinds. Irene says that open drapes make her feel exposed and since she’s the one always here I have no saying in the matter. “It’s my house, not yours.”

  “Jordyn?” I call up from the foot of the stairs but get no response. I cross the office into the family room and shake my head in frustration. There are pizza boxes on the floor, half-chewed crusts on the coffee table, empty soda cans on the sofa, used napkins, blankets. I go to the kitchen and as expected, more mess. The sink is piled high with dirty dishes and the garbage can is overflowing. There’s a burnt pan on the stove, the source of the rancid smell. On the table is a basket with old, black bananas surrounded by small flies, an empty bottle of wine and half-eaten bowls of cereal. I rub my face and leave the kitchen.

  Jordyn can’t live like this, I think as I make my way up the stairs to check in her room but she isn’t in there. I check the guest room; Irene said she wanted to create a guest room after Colin moved to Colorado with his dad over a year ago but we’ve had zero guests since.

  I cross the hall into the master bedroom, nothing there. However, it is a surprise to see that the blinds are open. On the floor are piles of clothes—clean and dirty alike. I walk into the bathroom and see the tub full of water, an empty bottle of wine next to it and I proceed to drain the tub.

  Back in the room, from my side of the closet, I take a few pairs of jeans, clean shirts, and sweatshirts—enough to last me a few days—and throw them in a duffel bag. From the dresser, I take socks, underwear, and my pajamas and from the bathroom, I grab my toothbrush, electric shaver, and deodorant. Once sure I have everything I need, I leave the room and go back downstairs. I unplug the laptop, take it with me and leave the house.

  –

  I throw the bag in the back of my Jeep, get in and ask Jaycob to hold my laptop.

  “Everything good?” he asks.

  “You mean aside from the fact that the house looks and smells like a damn landfill? Everything’s good,” I say, making them chuckle.

  I drive us to one of Tianna’s favorite restaurants for lunch. It feels good spending time with the boys. Yes, boys. Because no matter what Jaycob says, he’ll always be my little brother.

  17

  IRENE

  Irene checks herself in the full-length mirror in her room and when she’s sure she looks perfect, she texts Adam to let him know she will see him soon and leaves her room to get Jordyn.

  “Ready to go?” she says to her daughter whose eyes are bloodshot and puffy. Jordyn is wearing black jeans with black sneakers and a black sweater. She puts on a black beanie and follows her mom downstairs.”

  “Mom, the house is a mess.”

  “I know. You can stay and clean if want.”

  Jordyn shakes her head and walks out.

  –

  The girl puts on her headphones and blasts her music which is fine by Irene because she doesn’t want to talk to a grumpy teenage girl; she’s in too good a mood. They stop at Leno’s Bagels on Sahara and Jordyn gives her a confused look. She removes an earbud and says, “What are we doing here?”

  Irene grabs her bag and goes into a small building without answering. A few minutes later she returns with a bag of bagels and gives it to Jordyn.

  “What's this?”

  “Read the bag.”

  Jordyn rolls her eyes. “I know what they are but what for?”

  “We’re taking them to your dad,” Irene tells her, pulling out of the parking lot.

  After a moment Jordyn says, “He’s not my dad. And besides, he’s not at Tianna’s if that’s where you’re going.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  Jordyn shrugs. “He told me. He said they were going to the funeral home.”

  Irene chews on her lower lip. “We can wait for him there. No harm in that.”

  “Okay. And also you always told me and Colin not to call him dad.

  “I know, but it's time, don’t you think?”

  “Whatever.” The girl shrugs and goes back to her music.

  Irene is in a wonderful mood. The weather is crisp and the day beautiful without a cloud in the sky. She thinks about what to say to Adam once he gets back from the funeral home. She doesn’t want to overdo it, of course, but wants to make sure Adam knows that she’s there for him to comfort him and take his pain away or whatever the hell it is that people do in these circumstances. She gets on Boulder Hwy and drives the twelve miles to Tianna’s house.

  –

  As they approach the house Jordyn becomes curious. She removes her earphones and says, “What are we doing here, anyway? Can’t we wait until he gets home?”

  “We need to be with him during this difficult time.”

  She parks her car in front of the house and crosses the yard, then she sees an old woman standing by the front door, holding a bouquet of colorful flowers.

  “Hi,” says Irene as she approaches.

  The woman turns to face her and walks down the steps to greet them.

  “Hello there.” Her voice is shaky and her legs wobble as she walks down the two steps. “I heard what happened to Tianna. It’s just horrible,” she says.

  “A real shame,” retorts Irene, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “I brought these.” The mystery woman hands Irene the flowers and says, “Are you related to her?”

  “Just... an old friend.”

  “Oh dear, I'm so sorry,” she says and gives Irene a weak hug. “I live next door and saw when she collapsed right there.” She points a bony finger at the steps. “I rushed right down to help her and called 911 and…” she stops to take a breath then shakes her head.

  After a moment Irene says, “Well, thanks for these. I'll be sure to give them to her family.”

  “What was it?” says the woman. “What happened to her?”

  Irene is now beyond irritated. “A heart attack.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  Irene goes past the woman up to the porch and before sitting on the bench the woman says, “I wonder if that man brought her bad news that her poor heart couldn’t handle?”

  Irene’s head whips around to face the woman and her entire body goes cold.
She looks to Jordyn who is still busy on her phone, oblivious to what the woman just said and Irene approaches the old woman. “What man?”

  The woman looks to the house and says, “Why yesterday morning. Right before she died there was a man in the house with her. I was watering my plants up there.” She points up to the balcony, a forest, of the house next door. “He was in the house for… gee, I don’t know, twenty minutes maybe? When he came out he didn't get in a car or anything and I know I’ve never seen him before.”

  Panic is starting to set in, sending a shiver down Irene’s spine. She glances at Jordyn, still on the phone. “Have you told them? The family?”

  “No,” says the woman. “I came by earlier to see if she was okay and that's when I found out she had passed. But the boys appeared to be in a hurry so I didn’t get a chance to tell them.”

  This is not good. “Yeah,” she nods. “It’s best to give them some time, you know, being how they’re in mourning.”

  The woman nods. “Yes, I understand.” After a long pause, she says, “Well I should go. I'm sorry for your loss.” The woman gives Jordyn a sympathetic smile on her way, which the girl returns.

  Irene looks at her daughter for a long moment, making sure the girl hadn’t heard the conversation.

  “What?” says Jordyn, annoyed.

  “We should go.” She goes up to the porch to put the flowers by the door, then turns to go, but changes her mind and picks up the flowers again. She knows that if Adam sees the flowers, he’ll most likely go and thank the neighbor and she can’t let that happen until she talks to Ken.

  “Where are you taking those?” asks Jordyn pointing to the flowers.

  “I like them.”

  With a roll of the eyes, the girl says, “You’re so weird.”

  Once in the car, Irene texts Ken.

  —Call me ASAP!

  Then sends one to Adam,

  —Hope you can come home today.

  Her plan is to keep Adam away from this place, away from the nosy neighbor, at least until the woman forgets about Tianna and the mysterious visitor.

  18

  AARON

  Aaron is happy to be hanging out with his two favorite uncles. Although they have heavy hearts, being together makes everything bearable; the pain lessens only by knowing they are in it together, experiencing the same grief. Sally’s Diner is an old fashion restaurant on Gibson Road. He knows, from hearing stories, that it was his mom and Uncle Adam’s favorite restaurant when they were young.

  A friendly hostess greets them and leads them to a booth by a window while Johnny Be Good plays on the Jukebox. The song sounds happy and has a nice rhythm. The place is decorated with a 50’s theme. The red tables have chrome on the edges and mini jukeboxes sit on them and there are red napkin holders, neon signs on the walls and a large colorful clock behind the cash register. The place is busy with people lined up for lunch and others waiting outside. Aaron looks around and sees how happy everyone is and it makes him a little jealous. The waiter interrupts his thoughts when he comes to take their order.

  Aaron orders a cheeseburger, fries and a strawberry shake. Jaycob wants a double cheeseburger with a double order of fries and a Coke, and Uncle Adam orders his favorite, a cheeseburger, onion rings, and a Dr. Pepper. While they wait for their food to arrive, they share stories about his mom. They discuss music and Jaycob gives Aaron a YouTube lesson on his new phone, but he can’t use it by himself or for a long time and Uncle Adam gives permission to download a game. “Just one,” he said and downloaded Candy Crush.

  Uncle Adam shares stories of his days in the Air Force—which Aaron always enjoys. They talk about baseball and basketball, but they know they are going through difficult times and that life is never going to be the same without his mom. He’s not sure what’s going to happen next, but right now he’s in the company of the most important people in his life. One thing that he is grateful for is that Uncle Adam is moving in.

  They pay for the food and head home, but Jaycob asks Uncle Adam to stop by the Radio Shack a few blocks away from home.

  “I won’t be long,” says Jaycob and goes inside.

  A few minutes later he comes back with a small bag and tosses it to Aaron, who opens it and finds a new pair of earphones in his favorite color, red.

  “Sweet!” Aaron tears at the package and puts them on. “Thanks, dude!”

  Uncle Adam looks at Jaycob and nods his approval and then drives them home.

  Aaron feels blessed and lucky to have these two guys in his life. Looking out the window, he recalls his mom’s own words and looks to the sky in the distance. “I’m gonna be okay, mom,” he whispers.

  19

  IRENE

  Jordyn takes the bag of bagels with her into the house and tosses it on the kitchen table before heading up to her room. Once she’s gone, Irene walks out of the house and around to the garbage cans. She opens one and feeds the flowers into it. She isn’t sure what she’s feeling. Is it anger? Fear?

  –

  After hours of waiting, of panicking, of pacing, Ken finally returns her multiple calls. She’s sitting at the desk and answers the call then notices that Adam’s laptop is gone. This only infuriates her and puts her in a sour mood.

  “You called?” says Ken.

  “We have a problem.”

  “What?”

  It infuriates her that he’s so damn calm. “Someone saw him.”

  “What? Who? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Poole! Someone saw him at Tianna’s.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure! I was at her place and a fucking nosy neighbor told me.”

  “Fucking great. Which neighbor?”

  Irene tells him about the encounter with the old woman and she doesn’t like the panic in his voice. For the first time since they planned it, he sounds concerned. “What are we going to do?” she says, desperately wanting a cigarette.

  “First you need to calm the fuck down,” he tells her.

  Irene goes to the kitchen for a glass of wine and takes a long swallow.

  “Did she mention this to Adam or the other one?”

  “No. But what if she does?”

  “What the fuck can she say?”

  “I don’t know, Ken. That Poole was there before the bitch died, maybe? I don’t know!”

  Ken laughs. “Relax, honey. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Everything’s going to be okay. Now, go and enjoy this. You deserve it.”

  The call ends.

  She assumes he’s right. Obviously, she overreacted and laughs at herself for panicking without reason. She’s sure Ken will make it all better and she takes her wine to the family room to call Adam.

  20

  ADAM

  We arrive home just after two in the afternoon with our spirits high—broken, but high. I think it helped the three of us to spend time together. I pull into the driveway and shut off the engine, but before getting out I get a call from Irene.

  “It’s Irene,” I announce.

  The guys exchange glances and exit the car. Jaycob takes my laptop and grabs my bag from the back then they disappear into the house.

  There’s no use in prolonging the inevitable. “Yes, Irene?”

  “Hi, love. Were you here earlier? Your laptop’s missing.”

  This is it. I take a deep breath and exhale. For the first time in a long time, I enjoyed some time with Aaron and Jaycob. Granted, most of it was spent while making difficult and painful decisions, but still, being here with them in the house I grew up in feels right.

  “I have it. I stopped by earlier and picked up a few things. I'm staying here for a few days.”

  Telling her that I’m moving out is my priority, but I need more time. I need to get my thoughts in order and figure out exactly what to say to her. For now, I’ll leave it at that.

  There’s silence on the other end for what feels like an eternity and I wonder if she’s even there.

&n
bsp; “Hello?” I say.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  I pull the phone away from my ear while she rants. I can’t make out a word she’s saying; all I know is that she’s not happy and I wait for her to finish screaming.

  “Are you done?” I say, but the line is dead.

  This is the pattern: whenever I tell her that I have to travel she gets in a horrible mood. She starts to yell at me telling me what a horrible husband, I am and what a horrible example I am for the kids. That I don’t care about them and that I need to be home to help out. Every single time I travel, we fight. When she calms down a few hours later, she apologizes for acting that way and we do it all again the next time. It’s a vicious circle.

  They say that everything happens for a reason and that something good comes from tragedy. For years I’ve been trying to leave Irene and use Jordyn and Colin as an excuse not to. I had to lose the love of my life to finally get the courage to leave. I have a new purpose, a new meaning. I promised Tianna that I would take care of her boy and that is exactly what I intend to do. Aaron is my responsibility now and I will continue to guide and be there for my brother as well. I have so much time to make up, but this is the beginning of a new life, a life without Tianna, which hurts to think about, but I will not let her down.

  21

  IRENE

  Irene is livid. She’s way too angry to continue talking with Adam and doesn’t want to say things she might later regret. She stands in the family room and throws her phone on the sofa as desperation starts to set in. She takes a sip of her wine and then hurls the glass against the television, causing an explosion of wine and glass.

  Tears of anger form in her eyes. “You can’t do this to me,” she mumbles and walks into the office. “Asshole!” she screams and proceeds to throw everything on the desk to the floor as Jordyn rushes down the stairs.