Visits

What are you doing here?

I could ask you the same thing.

I mean, you didn't tell me that you're back.

Well, I don't need your permission to visit our dead Father's grave.

That's not what I meant.

What are you doing here then?

I thought I'd bring some fresh flowers.

Funny how you care so much about it now.

Really?! Remind me who it was that took care of him during his final days?

If you can call that taking care of somebody.

You weren't even here!

Because I have a job to do! Because we trusted you!

I reported EVERYTHING to you! You didn't fly back then, why give me grief now.

I COULDN'T fly back! And I gave you a list of things to do for him, but you did NONE of them.

You were not giving me any task that was feasible! Like, get him a kitten? Were you fucking joking?

No, I was not. He was miserable in his head and he needed some distractions!

So you wanted me to, on top of everything I was doing, including getting his medications, taking care of the house, taking him to the hospital, paying his caretaker, and getting a kitten for his amusement? You didn't think I had a life of my own?!

We were sending you money for all of that, don't get smart with me. And if the kitten was a tall ask, then what about just getting him Netflix, huh?! So he could watch those Bollywood movies he loved?

…...

Well?

It was too expensive.

Are you joking?! Did you know that when I called him, he cried to me about not wanting to live anymore?!

Well, obviously he didn't want to live anymore. He couldn't move the whole left side of his body.

Oh, and so he should just accept his misery and wait to die?! I can't believe you right now!

Okay, okay, I did look into it, alright?

NOT alright!! If money was the issue, why didn't you tell me or Aslan? We could have sent more money!

Money, money, money. It's always the money with you two. He wanted you two to be here, you know.

He understood perfectly about our jobs. And don't talk like we never flew back to visit.

Oh my gosh, yes, visits. That was all you two could ever do was to visit. You don't know the first thing about what it was like to live with him on a day-to-day basis!

I know he was terribly depressed and sad and you did nothing about it.

I didn't do NOTHING about it, okay?! STOP saying that!

Yeah, and yelling at me about it would certainly change my mind.

Oh, so you want a presentation of all the things I've done for him?

That would be a good start.

You are unbelievable!

Explain it to Aslan then, see if he agrees with you.

Is he back too?

Yeah, he should be here soon.

Great.

I see him walking over now.

Hey, sis. Oh, Paul. what are you doing here?

Fucking really? You ungrateful jerks.

Go ahead, tell Aslan and me about ALL the things you did for Dad before he passed away miserably.

I can sense the sarcasm, you know. Why do you always have to be so condescending?!

She's just really angry with the way you dealt with Dad's situation.

No shit! And of course, you're on her side. Been her little faithful follower since we were little.

And you've been insisting on “doing your own thing”, so please stop being bitter already.

He got you there, Paul.

Shut up, Catherine.

I will not, Paul. Why don't you tell him why you couldn't even get Dad Netflix?

Jesus Christ.

Tell me, Paul. I want to know why.

It was too expensive.

Wow.

I told you, Aslan, he's ridiculous. I bet he pocketed some of the money we sent for his own stuff.

How could you even accuse me of that?!

I have to admit I was also skeptical about the money we sent for his funeral. Paul, why did you have to do it so quickly that neither Catherine nor I could fly back for it?

Stop it, you two. Just because I don't make as much money does not make me less than you!

That was not what I was getting at, was that what you were getting at, Aslan?

No.

Somebody help me.

We could've, Paul. Why didn't you ask Catherine or me for more money for Netflix then?

So you can accuse me some more now?

We wouldn't if you'd just get him Netflix so he wouldn't cry every day.

He would cry every day regardless of whether I got him Netflix or not! Jesus, why do you think fucking Netflix would be the cure for it all?! HE WAS SICK.

But Paul, how would you know if you didn't even try? Maybe he could have been a bit merrier, even just for a few days.

I'm with Aslan.

Of course, you are.

Please don't roll your eyes at us, Paul. We are family, and we are just trying to have a discussion with you in regard to what happened with Dad during his final days.

Like I mentioned to Catherine earlier, I reported EVERYTHING to you two, so this conversation is feeling a lot more like an accusation than a discussion.

He was miserable, Paul. When I called him he would tell me he'd rather die.

Yeah, she mentioned that earlier.

Did that not make you feel sad? That our father was depressed?

Please spare me that therapist bull crap.

I am simply trying to understand your point of view.

Well, it's hard to explain, alright? You were not HERE. You don't have a clue as to what I was handling on a daily basis.

Then help us understand. Why was a simple task such as installing Netflix a hard thing for you to do?

He can't, Aslan. He doesn't have an excuse for his selfishness.

My...WHAT?! You...you...are such a vile person.

Okay, please. PLEASE let's stop fighting in front of our father's grave. It would break his heart!

…...

I was depressed, too, you know. I watched him deteriorating day by day. I felt helpless. I...I tried to talk to him every day, I tried to entertain him with singing, with telling him stories or reading him the news, but he would just...shut me out...and...and he said some awful sh*t to me about my efforts and my life choices. He was mean during his final days. But of course, he didn't show it to you two. He couldn't possibly insult his two proudest creations, but he let it all out on me, the runt of the fucking family. I did tell him about adding Netflix, and you know what he told me? He told me to shove it up my ass like what I should've done with my dreams.

Then why didn't you...

Sis, stop.

Fine.

I didn't want to tell you how bad his mind has gotten, okay? You know he had a tumor in his head but you didn't know that he was not in his right mind. He was not the same person anymore. I knew that. But I didn't think you two called in enough to fully understand. I know you think you would do anything for him, but honestly, I knew you couldn't do the one thing he really wanted, which was to be there with him, so I didn't bring any of this up to you.

How dare you question...

Sis, please.

Fine.

Oh my gosh. Did you really think he cried to you because he wanted fucking Netflix? Catherine, he cried to you two because he secretly wished that you guys would drop everything and fly back to him! Yes, he understood about your jobs, but he really missed you. You know what was the only thing that would make him smile? Talking about you two. He could go on and on and on. NONSTOP.

…...

…...

Look, I am sorry about the funeral. I understand why you two are angry and don't wish to stay in touch with me. I don't have any excuses. I was physically and mentally exhausted and I just needed the whole thing to end so I could move on. I really really couldn't wait until the date that you guys proposed, and I'm sorry, truly. He didn't want a whole show with lots of people, so I just took the first date the funeral home offered.

Did you not think that he would want us to be there?

I did. But I was also sad and I was angry at him, okay? Catherine, I was angry, and I just didn't have the mental capacity to care anymore.

But we didn't even get to say our goodbyes!

It's okay, sis, we're here now.

But...

And look, Paul has brought fresh flowers. The kind Dad had loved.

He was always so particular with his flowers.

He was. Would you like to say a few words to him, sis?

Yes...

Paul, would you please stay while we say a few words to Dad?

…...

Paul?

Yes. I will stay.