Everything In Its Place

There was a place for everything, but it was all out of place. Forty-six years, two wives, three kids, and four grands all stuffed into that dusty two-bedroom shack, filled with memories. Robert Goast was a miser. A miserable old man who slept in an armchair because his bed was filled with—memories. His two wives were dead. His children had been excommunicated for their lifestyles. He had no one but his things. His hoard made him proud. The city officials posted a notice, calling his residence unlivable. They threatened to evict him. He wouldn't budge. Veterans deserve more respect, you'd think.

There was a knock at the door. To get to the front door, Bert wedges his decrepit frame between boxes. Once he's at the door, he throws it open. 

Millicent?

Could it be? Three years ago, she passed away from cancer. His love for her had never dwindled. 

"Hi Dad, I got a letter in the mail about the house." 

Oh, it was just Audrey. His daughter, the attorney. Although she sent money from time to time, she was the first to be cut off. 

"Yea, and?" Bert turned to walk away. Audrey followed him through the towering mess. 

"So, they are going to condemn the house." She squeezes through a pile of room-sized rugs piled to perfection. 

"Over my dead body. They think they can just come in and boss me. I've been in this house for forty-six years. I'll be damned if I move a muscle."

"Dad," tears welled up in her eyes, “Could you for once stop being so stubborn and pigheaded? This is a serious matter."

He hated to see her cry. She had her mother's hazel eyes. 

"Well, what do you suggest I do?" He lowered himself into his favorite chair. 

"I'll call a crew to come clean. We have 3 weeks...I...I called Bert Jr. He and Dawn are coming down from Canada. " 

"No, I don't want that traitor in my house." He clenched his teeth.

The younger Bert had made his choice. He had become a Canadian. America, The country his father had fought for, wasn’t good enough.

"Too late. They're on their way. In the meantime, I'll. be in a hotel getting things sorted."

"You ain't got no right. These are my things. My things." As he struck the armchair with his fists, he shouted, "Get out of my house."

"If I hadn't paid the mortgage on this dump, it would have gone into foreclosure. So don't get beside yourself, dad. I'll be here tomorrow. Don't fight it. It's best." She turned to walk back through the junk. 

'What's next, you're going to put me in a home?' he muttered, frowning. 

"Don't tempt me," she whispered as she disappeared through a stack of old Time magazines. 

A stack of old newspapers was tipped over by Bert as he stiffly kicked his creaking bones. His eyes were drawn to the scene around him. Everything held a purpose. Since he couldn't get to the kitchen or refrigerator, he ate tuna or beans from cans most days. Gloria's stuff made the bathroom a lost cause. Too stubborn to admit it had gotten out of hand, Bert sat for the rest of the night, watching game shows, eating beans, and plotting. He'd torch the whole place first before he allowed strangers to come to plunder through his belongings. That's it, he'd go down with the ship. He'd be a hero. Just not right now. That can of pork and beans weighed him down. He fell asleep and dreamed of his sweet Millicent. 

***

"Dad," Audrey banged on the door at seven the following day. Bert's truck was still there. That only meant he was ignoring her on purpose. Bert always got up at the crack of dawn, she knew he was about pillaging and hoarding more mess no doubt. It took him five minutes for him to appear in the doorway.

"You're going to awaken the dead. For God's sake." He complained.

"What took you so long?" She reprimands.

"What do you want?" 

"The crew will be over this afternoon. I thought I'd come by and help you salvage some things." 

He glared at her. Everything was salvageable here. How dare she pick and choose.

"Don't do me any favors. If you really care, you'd mind your business." 

Audrey followed him around the mess.

'You want me to let you lose the house?" she asked, rolling her eyes. 

"Well, that's what you all want anyway." He flopped into the armchair, dust filling the room. 

'I love you, dad. I just hate the way you're so stubborn. That you don't ever...never mind.' Audrey sat next to her father on the arm of the chair, "Can you for once just tell me you love me."

"You know how I feel," he sternly said.

The problem is, dad, I don't. I'm your only daughter. You raised me like a boy." All those dusty softball trophies lined up on the wall were not her idea. Bert had pushed her, so she had to work twice as hard to win his love. They bonded through sports. Audrey hated sports. 

"You became a hotshot lawyer up in New York because of it." He said. 

"It made me insecure. It made me unlovable."

He was hardened by the military. Feelings were not his strong suit. Here was his 40-year-old daughter confessing her daddy issues for the first time. It wasn't easy for him to change.

The door opened and shut, and through the jungle of memories came Bert jr and his wife dawn. They all looked at each other before Bert and Audrey embraced. 

"I'm so happy to see you." Bert turned to face his sister with a smile on his face. 

Despite having different mothers, they loved each other no less.

"There's snow on the roof." Audrey teases him.

"We don't all have hair stylists to dye our...snow." He chuckled. 

The elder Bert stood up and cleared his throat.

"Hi, dad." Bert Jr. tentatively smiled. 

Without saying a word, Senior walked away into the memories.

Audrey smiled as she widened her eyes. It was impossible to expect much from a pig-headed old geezer like Bert Sr. 

The elder Bert entered his bedroom and sat in a chair hidden in the corner. He didn't want to see his face. Being a traitor had nothing to do with it. His son, his namesake, abandoned him. It had been three years since Gloria died and three years since they spoke. Of all the low things to do. He just up and moved to Canada when he was needed.

All Bert wanted was to put an end to this. He couldn't bear to part with his treasures. 

"Nice to see you again, Dawn." Audrey smiled.

"A pleasure," Dawn replied, looking around suspiciously. 

She never cared about Bert Jr's family. They were just Alabama hicks.

"So...what's the plan? Taking him out kicking and screaming?" Bert asked. 

" Lower your voice. He doesn't know." Audrey whispers.

"You haven't told him you're putting him in a home." Bert gasped.

In essence, no. And it's not a home either. Audrey replies, "It's a retirement community.". 

Bert Jr smirked, "He's going to freak.". 

"Well, I can't babysit him or his little habit. Plus, I'd like to rent out this house so I can get back the money I spent to save it."

Bert Jr. gave his sister a look of knowing. He knew putting their father out was wrong. 

 In her sighed response, she said, "I have a life in New York, and you went to Canada. God knows we can't rely on Greg."

Greg was the middle brother. He was still undecided about whether to be a rock star, a career criminal, or a bartender. Sometimes he did all three at the same time. 

"Ah, Greg. Have you heard from him?" Bert Jr. asked.

"Not since the whole bank robbery thing." She said. 

Silence followed by sighs.

"Well, we'd better get started, crew will be here sooner than we think," Audrey says. 

Bert Jr. volunteers, "We'll take the basement.".

"We?" Dawn furrows her brow.

The boxes stacked in the corner pique Audrey's interest as she looks for a place to start. Memories. She walks over and pulls back the flaps on the box. It's got a framed picture of her and her dad on top. It was her first win for her team. There was such pride in Bert's eyes. Her face glowed with a smile. He had taken them all to a fancy restaurant downtown because he was so happy. That was the night she fought with Gloria. Gloria never appealed to her. Her father was taken from her by Gloria. The reason for her mother's sadness was Gloria

Under the photo were her first shoes. Her first shoes were accompanied by her baby teeth. All of them Bert had to chase her down to pull. Laughing with tears in her eyes she continued to pillage through the box. The whole box was full of her things. She moved on to another box. Inside that box was Bert Jr’s. Awards and accolades from science fairs he had won up through high school. No wonder Bert didn't want to throw anything away. All of this was their stuff. Though he messily had it spread about, everything had its place. 

Bert Jr. rummaged through boxes in the basement. The memories were so vivid. This wasn’t junk. How could his sister or anyone else have thought that it was junk? He looked at pictures of his science fair wins. He hadn’t seen those for years. Then he saw pictures of his mother, always beautiful in her prime. All of this brought back both good and bad memories for him. 

"Bert, Is this you?" Dawn giggled, spilling over with laughter. 

Embarrassed, Bert grabbed the picture from his wife and put it in a box. He remembered that day when he was dressed in suspenders for that picture. He hated it. 

Nervously clearing his throat, he replied, "Yes, it is."

"How adorable." Dawn smiled as she kissed her husband. 

" I can't believe he kept all this stuff. I thought...I thought he wasn't much for sentiments." 

"You were wrong." Dawn comforted him. She could now see his family weren't just hicks; they were family who cared about each other. 

In that house, Bert Sr. treasured everything. It could be that his mother abandoned him at age four. Or perhaps it was that he fell in love only to watch her slowly deteriorate before his eyes. Bert Sr. hated goodbyes, and he was enraged when others abandoned him. 

In the midst of the mess, Audrey and Bert Jr. met. They knew what had to be done. They rushed to their father's side. 

Audrey touched her father's thin and wrinkled hand. "Dad," she said. 

Her beauty reminded him of Millicent. 

A whisper escaped his lips: "Millicent...".

"It's me, Audrey." 

A second whisper echoed, "Millicent.". 

Dad?" 

His eyes were wide open. He looked so fragile sitting there. He'd worried himself into high blood pressure. 

"Millicent, don't let them take my memories. I love those memories so much. Don't let them do it!" 

Falling over, Bert clutches his chest.

"Call 911," Audrey says as she catches her father. 

At the hospital, Audrey paced the floor.

“There’s no way I can do this, Bert Jr.” She bites her nails in frustration. 

In light of the fact that their father suffered a heart attack because they wanted to take his things, she could not bear the thought of him being in a home. It was a ‘HOME', not a ‘Retirement Community.’

“What are we going to do? I live all the way in Canada, and who knows where Greg is? Has he even replied to your text?” 

“No, but I will just take my dad back to New York. I will find him a full-time nurse there.”“No, but I will just take my dad back to New York. I will find him a full-time nurse there.”

“Audrey, you have two kids in college and a full-time law practice. You can’t look after dad. I feel the same as you do about all of this, but Bert is getting older and it's time we prepare...”

There was an awkward pause. 

“Don’t--don’t say that.”

Audrey didn't want to think about her father dying. They both had already lost their mothers. 

The doctor walked out of the room, and all eyes were on him. 

“He’s resting. But it’s going to be a rough night. His kidneys are failing, and we are trying to keep his blood pressure down the best we can. Your father is dying. You might want to make arrangements.” 

“A--arrangements?” Audrey burst into tears. She didn’t want to say goodbye to her father just yet. 

Dawn cried into Bert jr’s chest. The doctor walked off down the hall, and everyone took a moment to think about what was going on. 

“What's up with all the sad faces?” Everyone turned around. 

There stood Gregory, with his long auburn hair in leather pants and a jacket. There was a helmet under his arms. 

“Oh, Greg...” Audrey fell onto him. 

"What's up? Is Bert alright?" Greg asked.

“It doesn’t look good, buddy.” Bert Jr said. 

In spite of Bert Jr's sternness, they all realized how good he had always been. One by one they entered the room and sat with him. He never even noticed. Audrey went last. She had to light up first. 

She inched her way to the side of the bed.

She touched her father's cold hand, "I just wanted to say I love you, and that no matter what we've been through I never held any of it against you." She put her head down and cried. 

"I...love... you ...too sweet girl." 

Suddenly he opened his eyes. She remembered when she was a child he called her that. 

“Daddy...oh my god.” She embraced her father tightly.

His words broke up with a labored breath as he said, "Don't cry sweet girl, just do me a favor. 

“Anything you want, daddy.” she tightened her grip on his hand. 

“Down there in your ma's old chest, there's...there's--” 

The machine began to beep and Bert's body trembled violently.

“Nurse, nurse, anyone help!” Audrey cried out. Sadly, Bert was gone, reunited with his beloved Millie. 

He was buried on a Sunday. It was a gloomy day because there was so much left unsaid. All of Bert's things went to charity. Audrey had never told anyone what her dad said on his deathbed. She had managed to salvage the chest. After the funeral, and she had headed back to New York, she sat with the chest open in her living room looking into it. It was a bunch of her mother’ s old hats and dresses. Old pictures from when her father was in the service, but the bottom was hollow. Audrey pulled at the bottom of the chest and it came right up. Inside it was a manilla envelope that read...”Will and Testament of Robert Paul Goast sr. July 17, 1985. It was Bert's will. Why hadn’t he told her of all people that he had a will? She had been on him for years about getting one. 

After taking out the documents, she decided to call her brothers on three-way. Both of them picked up and she told them about Bert's will. 

"Are you guys ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure."

“Sure.” Bert Jr replied. 

“In the event of my death, I would like to leave $300,000 to my three children, as well as equal rights to my house and possessions.” Audrey stopped reading. 

“Hello, Audrey,” said Bert Jr. 

Gregory exclaimed, "Holy crap." 

"I'm here." Audrey cupped her hand over her mouth. "There's a catch," she said.

“Go on,” Bert replied, now that he was interested. 

“I’ve spread the cash out in all the memories in the house. if my things are kept and cherished, the money is to be split evenly amongst my children.”

There wasn't a word said. No one could catch their breath for a split second. What had they done? Bert came up with one last trick on them. If only they had left everything in its place.