Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2005 07:31:23 -0800 (PST) From: Thomas Gaige Subject: Brothers, Friends, & Lovers - Chapter 18 DISCLAIMER: The following story is FICTIONAL. It contains descriptions of sexual activities between men, teenage boys, and between men and teenage boys. If you are not over 18 years of age, or if you find this type of story offensive, or viewing this material is illegal where you are, then please DO NOT READ IT! If you choose to read it, then - I hope you enjoy it! Brothers, Friends, & Lovers Chapter 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning, when Dan woke up, he was surprised to find Jason gone. He had to pee, so he got up and ran across the hallway to the bathroom. As he came out, he looked into Luke's room, and was again surprised to see Jason sleeping in his brother's bed. He felt bad for Jason, but figured that if he'd left his own bed, to go sleep alone in Luke's, that he probably had wanted to be alone with his thoughts of his brother. Quietly Dan went back to Jason's room and crawled back into his bed, and rested some more. * * * Later, after Jason woke up, he got up, pulled on his jeans, and looked into his room. Dan was gone. He smelled the scent of coffee and bacon floating up the stairs. Jason went downstairs. His father was still snoring loudly on the couch, and his parents' bedroom door was still shut. He found Dan in the kitchen, frying bacon. "You didn't have to cook. I could've done this!" Jason said. "Well, I can help out too. Least I can do," Dan said. "Have some coffee!" Jason poured himself a cup of coffee and watched Dan cook. "Y'all skipped out on me last night," Dan said. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep. I was going downstairs to get a drink, but found something my brother left me. So I went to his room to look at it. Guess I fell asleep," Jason said. "No problem," Dan said, as he scrambled some eggs in a bowl. Mrs. Anderson walked into the kitchen then. She looked exhausted, despite the fact she'd slept for hours. Her eyes were red and puffy as well. Dan offered her some breakfast, but she declined, opting for just a cup of coffee. Mr. Anderson arrived in the kitchen soon thereafter, and only wanted coffee and aspirin. Dan mixed up a Virgin Mary for him and made him try that along with his aspirin and coffee. Oddly, the drink sounded good to Herb, so he tried it. Later, he reported that he thought it had helped his hangover. * * * After breakfast, Jason gave his parents their letter from Luke and showed them Luke's will and funeral instructions. Mrs. Anderson took the letter and said she'd read it later, but didn't want to look at the will or funeral instructions. Mr. Anderson looked at the will, then grunted. "In his instructions, Luke asked me to handle setting up his funeral. Do you want me to do that?" Jason said, looking at his parents. They both looked at him. Mr. Anderson looked at his wife then, waiting for her response. "Can you?" she asked, as tears filled her eyes. "I don't think I can." "I'll handle it then," Jason said, gently. * * * Mrs. Abbott called a while later. Jason took the call. She asked how everyone was doing. Jason told her his parents were still pretty much in a daze, and that he was going to the funeral home in a while. Then he asked how Brian was. "He came to, and according to the doctors, he'll be OK - physically," Mrs. Abbott said. "Emotionally, he needs help though. He's still blaming himself for Luke." "I hope you told him we're not blaming him," Jason said. "We tried," Mrs. Abbott said. "I'll go see him, if that's OK," Jason said. "Please wait a couple days, then you can visit him whenever you want Jason. If he gets too upset though, please leave, OK?" Mrs. Abbott said. "OK," Jason said. He thanked Mrs. Abbott for calling, and hung up. Then, he left for the funeral home, to set up Luke's funeral. Dan went with him. * * * Jason made the arrangements for Luke's funeral, according to his instructions. The intervening couple days until the wake, the Andersons and Dan spent hanging around the house. A lot of phone calls came in. There were deliveries of flowers and people brought food several times a day. Much of the time, Jason and Dan spent upstairs in Jason's room though. The funeral home had asked Jason to gather up a bunch of pictures of Luke, which they said they would display at the wake. Jason and Luke spent the better part of one afternoon, going through the Anderson's photo albums, selecting pictures of Luke throughout his life. "Shit, he was a cute little bugger!" Dan said, smiling at a picture of Luke that was taken when he was about four years old. "Sure was," Jason, smiled wryly. When they'd finished with the photo albums, they also looked on Luke's computer, at the myriad of digital images he had stored on the hard drive. "Holy shit!" Dan said, looking over Jason's shoulder, as Jason brought up the pictures Luke and Brian had taken the day before Luke's surgery up at the cabin. The first photo was of Luke and Brian, naked and embracing. "Wow!" Jason said, looking at it. "They made a nice couple!" Dan said. "That's really a great photo of them!" "Yeah," Jason said, as he gazed at the photo. "Too bad you can't use it!" Dan said. "Yeah, Can you see the reactions if we did?" Jason agreed, smiling slightly. "They really loved each other, didn't they?" Dan asked. "Just like I love you," Jason thought to himself, smiling ruefully. To Dan he just said, "Seems that way." Jason printed a copy of the photo for himself. Then, they looked at the rest of the pictures Luke had downloaded onto his computer. Eventually, they had all the pictures they needed, and took them to the funeral home and dropped them off. * * * "I hope Mom isn't too freaked out by things," Jason said to Dan, two nights later when they arrived at the funeral home for the wake. "I think she'd have done things a little differently." "I think y'all did a great job, and it's what Luke wanted," Dan said. * * * "Oh!" Mrs. Anderson exclaimed, as she walked into the funeral parlor for the first time a little while later, and saw her son lying in his casket across the room. She immediately started crying. "You got him a black coffin?" Herb asked, giving Jason a funny look. "Were you trying to save money or something?" "It's what Luke wanted! It was actually more expensive than a lot of them!" Jason said. "Why isn't he wearing his black suit?" Mrs. Anderson asked, with tears rolling down her cheeks, as they walked over to the casket. "Lukey was adament Mom. He wanted to be buried in his jeans and favorite shirt!" Jason replied. According to his own wishes, Luke was dressed in his old, bleached blue jeans, with a soft black cotton shirt on, open at the neck. Around his neck, he wore a gold necklace with a small crucifix on it. This was in lieu of a rosary, which he did not want to be holding. He was wearing a thin black woolen knitted winter hat, to cover his baldness and surgical scars. He actually looked pretty good for a dead person, as if he were sleeping. Luke's coffin was made of steel, and it had a shiny black metallic fleck finish, with gold-tone handles and trim, and a white liner. It was rather flashy, which Luke would've approved of. There were only three flower arrangements. One was laying across the foot of the coffin, and there were two sprays, standing on either side of it. They were all the same - arrangements of red roses and white carnations. This was per Luke's request as well. Carnations and Roses were his favorite flowers, and the colors contrasted nicely with the black coffin. There weren't any other flowers, because Luke didn't want anymore than that. He thought they were a waste of money, and he had left instructions that he preferred that people make donations to charity, rather than send flowers. Instead of the usual music you hear at funeral homes during wakes, Luke had requested that they play some of his favorite CDs, which Jason had brought along. They were playing in the background. On a large TV off to the side, a slideshow of the pictures of Luke, that Jason and Dan had selected was cycling like a computer's screensaver. There were over 100 of them. Mrs. Anderson stood and stared at it for quite a while. Finally, when she couldn't take it anymore, she turned and walked away weeping into a Kleenex. When it was time for people to begin arriving, Herb and Marge took up seats near the head of Luke's coffin, and Jason and Dan moved to the doorway into the chapel, to greet people as they arrived. * * * Jason was completely shocked when, around 7:00, Paul Kelsey arrived! "Holy Shit! I never expected to see you here!" Jason exclaimed, with a grin, that quickly faded, as he welled up with tears. "I couldn't not come Jase. I had to be here for Lukey, and for you!" Paul said, as he too became choked up. The two friends embraced, and stood unabashedly crying in each other's arms for a minute, as the line into the funeral home stood at a complete halt. After Paul and Jason parted, they stood smiling sadly at each other for a moment, both wiping tears from their eyes. "I'm so glad you're here!" Jason said, hugging Paul again. "I wish it was just for pleasure," Paul said, squeezing Jason tightly. The two parted again, and Jason introduced Paul to Dan. The two exchanged pleasantries, but Jason noticed they were both looking each other up and down rather closely. Paul introduced Jason and Dan to Darren then, who'd been standing unobtrusively behind him. After a minute, Paul said they'd best move on, as they'd held up the line too long already. "Will I see you later?" Jason asked, anxiously. "Yeah, we're staying until the day after tomorrow. We're at the Village Victorian down in Morrisville. Didn't want to be too close to my parents... Um... have they been here yet?" Paul asked. "Yeah, they were here about a half hour ago," Jason replied. "They've left already." Paul smiled and said, "Good. Listen, we'll see you in a while." He and Darren moved forward, then, and the line began to progress again. About an hour later, Paul walked up behind Jason and told him that he and Darren had hoped to get to talk to him again, but it appeared that the line was going to go on for a long time yet. He and Jason agreed to try and get together the following evening, after the funeral was over with. Paul and Darren left then. * * * The wake was supposed to last from 5:00 to 9:00, but there were still people waiting in line at 9:00. It was well after 10:00 when the last visitors finally left. It was a tribute to Luke's popularity that so many people came to his wake, but it was emotionally draining on his family. Everyone was completely exhausted by the time they got home, and went to bed right away. Jason and Dan were too tired to think about sex, but Jason did sleep in his own bed, snuggled up to Dan. * * * The next morning Services began at the funeral home at 8:00. From there, they would proceed to the church, and then onto the cemetery. Afterward the family's closest friends were invited to stop by the house for refreshments. A few of Marge's friends were hosting the get together, setting up, and cleaning up later, so the Andersons wouldn't have to. * * * At 8:30, Jason and Dan were standing near the foot of Luke's casket, talking quietly with Paul and Darren, making plans to meet later that evening, when Paul's parents walked in. Mrs. Kelsey was shocked, but quite happy to see her son and Darren. She hurried over and gave them both big hugs and kisses, as her husband trailed her slowly, and stopped a couple feet behind her, staring at his son, with a sour look on his face. When Mrs. Kelsey stepped back, Paul looked apprehensively at his father. Mr. Kelsey just stared back at him. "Hello Father," Paul said, finally. Mr. Kelsey just looked at him. "This is my partner, Darren," Paul said, his voice quavering ever so slightly. Mr. Kelsey looked at Darren. He looked him up and down once, then looked back at his son for a moment. Then, without a word he walked away, moving to a seat on the far side of the room. Tears welled in Paul's eyes, as Darren stared hatefully across the room at Mr. Kelsey, who ignored the group. "I'm sorry Dear," Mrs. Kelsey said. "I doubt it will help, but I know for a fact that he does love you yet, regardless of how he behaves." "Yeah, right! The Bastard!" Paul said, sniffling, and rubbing his eyes. "I'm so sorry Dear," Mrs. Kelsey said, rubbing his cheek lovingly, as tears welled in her eyes as well. Darren wrapped an arm around Paul and suggested they sit down then. "Where are you two staying?" Mrs. Kelsey asked, quickly. They told her. She looked hurt, but told them she understood. She asked then if they could meet later, just the three of them, for supper. Just as the minister was asking everyone to find their seats, they agreed to meet at a restaurant for an early supper. They went and sat down then. * * * After the minister said a few prayers and the funeral director explained the processional to the church, everyone was told they could line up and say a last good-bye to Luke, before they closed his coffin. One of Luke's favorites songs, which actually seemed rather appropriate, "Here Without You" by Three Doors Down, began playing then as people lined up to pay their last respects. After everyone else had said their good-byes, only Jason and his parents and Dan remained. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson approached the casket. Mr. Anderson stood quietly crying, as Mrs. Anderson wept and spoke quietly to her son. After a moment she leaned into the coffin and kissed Luke on the cheek. Then, wracked with sobs, and barely able to walk, she allowed her husband to lead her out of the funeral home, to the limo. Dan stood a few feet away then, as Jason said his final farewell to his brother. Jason reached into the coffin and took Luke's hand in his. "He's so cold... and his skin's hard!" Jason cried, looking sadly at Dan. "Luke's not in the body in that box anymore Jase. Luke's spirit is right here with you now," Dan said, reaching over and rubbing Jason's heart. Jason started to cry then. He leaned over and kissed the back of Luke's hand, then gently put it back across Luke's belly as it had been earlier. "G'bye Lukey. I love you so much!" Jason said. Then, with a last sad look at his brother, Jason turned and walked away. Dan followed quickly behind him. The funeral director surreptitiously stepped over to the coffin then and lowered the lid. Then, he motioned to six young men, who stood out in the vestibule. They all appeared shaken and nervous. They were Luke's closest friends. Only Brian, who was still in the hospital was absent. They would be Luke's pall bearers. Wiping tears from his eyes, Jason stopped in front of them and said, "Thanks so much guys. Luke would really appreciate what you're doing for him. At the risk of sounding too mushy, I know he loved you all very much - in a brotherly way." The guys all smiled slightly or nodded and said "Thanks". A couple of them rubbed their eyes, as they walked back into the chapel for Luke's coffin. Jason and Dan left the building then and joined Jason's parents in the limo behind the hearse. At the funeral director's instruction, the pall bearers lined up, three on each side of Luke's casket. On a count of three, they lifted it up off the catafalque, and carried it outside to the waiting hearse. * * * The service at the church was somber and sad. Mrs. Anderson cried through most of it. Mr. Anderson looked as if he were in a daze. The minister had asked Jason to give his brother's eulogy. On the day before Luke's funeral, with some help from Dan, Jason had written what he hoped would be a good summation of who Luke was, and the life he'd led. He also hoped to give the congregation some words of hope or solace, tying it into a message from Luke himself. When it was time for him to give the eulogy, Jason was very nervous, and wasn't sure he could go through with it, but he knew he had to. For Luke, he had to do it. So he got up and climbed up to the lectern and pulled out the sheaf of papers he'd written his speech on. As Jason looked out over the crowd, he felt even more nervous. The church was filled to capacity, and many people were standing in back and along the side walls. Jason thought of Luke then. He reached into his jacket pocket and felt the chunk of Luke's hair that he'd kept when he helped Luke shave his head before surgery. Jason had carried Luke's hair around with him ever since. It gave him a sense of Luke's presence, and thus somewhat a feeling of comfort. His nervousness vanished then, but it was replaced instead with a profound sadness, and he felt his eyes filling with tears, as he gazed at his brother's flag draped coffin. Finally, taking a deep breath, he began. "Lucas Jason Anderson was a son, grandson, nephew, cousin, student, classmate, or friend to you. To me, Luke was the best little brother a guy could ever hope to have. Most of you knew him simply as 'Luke'. I knew him as 'Lukey'. 'Lukey' was what we used to call Luke when he was a little boy. As he got older, he didn't want to be called that anymore, because he thought it was too childish. 'Luke' was cooler! Of course being the obnoxious big brother I was at the time, I continued calling him 'Lukey', which of course annoyed him, and at times embarrassed him. Over the years though, I began to mean it not in a teasing way, but rather as a private term of endearment, which he came to realize, and accept. Some of my very earliest memories are about Luke's birth. I vaguely remember being a little boy of about four years old, and my mother's belly was huge, with Luke inside her. My father tried to explain that I was going to have a new little brother or sister, and that he or she was growing inside my mother. At first I was angry, and scared for my mother. 'Who could've put such a thing inside her?' I thought. I also didn't comprehend that my new little brother or sister was going to be a baby at first. I was expecting someone who could talk and run and play already as soon as they were born. Boy was I surprised, and disappointed, when Lukey finally arrived! Then of course came the problem that Lukey was getting all the attention! My nose was out of joint over that for a while. My father tried to help, by taking me places with him, and doing things with me. That didn't work. It was my mother's attention I wanted. Wisely, she quickly figured this out, and had me start helping her take care of Luke. I remember sitting on the couch sometimes, holding him, and feeding him a bottle, under our mother's watchful eye of course. He was all gurgly and happy. It made me feel like he kind of liked me, and this is when I began to like him too. Of course there were a couple times he threw up on me, which I really didn't like! And diapers were another story! But overall, I liked helping take care of him. As time went by, Lukey grew. As soon as he was old enough, my mother showed me how to teach him to play with all kinds of toys. Soon, he was my constant play companion. Luke's first word was 'Jay'. I think my parents were a little disappointed he didn't say 'Ma' or 'Da' first. Luke couldn't say my whole name for some time, but whenever he wanted me, he'd yell 'Jay'! Once Lukey began walking, he was forever at my heels. As a little boy, I didn't mind too much, but when I got older, it began to annoy me. I wanted to hang out with kids my own age, not my baby brother! My mother used to tell me then, that the day would come I'd be sorry that I ever felt that way. How right she was. I never figured it would be for this reason that I'd feel this way though. Fortunately, I passed fairly quickly through the phase where I didn't want to spend any time with Lukey. Of course there were times I still wanted to be with just my friends, without him tagging along, but there were also times again when I did want to be with him. I could tell by the beaming smile he gave me when I let him hang around with me, how happy he was. It made me feel good, and made me feel older and more adult when he looked up to me. As we both grew, Lukey seemed to want to spend more and more of his time with me, and I minded less and less that he did. Some of my fondest memories are of the times he and I spent together. Being that he was a few years younger than me, I had usually tried and learned to do things well enough, by the time Luke was old enough to try them, so that I ended up teaching him how to do them. I taught him to ride a two-wheeler. I taught him to ride a scooter, and to skate board. Even though Dad tried to teach him to swim, it was really me who ended up getting him to try it. Once he learned how to though, he loved it. Every so often on a hot summer day, he'd tag along with me and my friends when we went down to the creek and went skinny dipping. Of course I was also the person Luke came to with any questions he had, about anything too. And, yeah - of course he came to me with 'those kind of questions' too, but no, I won't go into any further details about that! Luke and I spent endless hours talking about anything and everything. I was also his own personal tutor, when he had trouble with any of his school work. The last night before his surgery, when we were talking, Luke mentioned all of this. He told me how lucky he felt to have had me for a big brother, and thanked me for everything I'd ever done for him. I told him he didn't need to thank me, that I felt privileged to have such a great little brother. Luke was not only a great little brother, he was also one of the most selfless, caring, and generous people I knew. My brother cared deeply for his fellow humans, and for animals as well. Whenever he saw someone or an animal in need, he took actions to help them. It's quite possible that most of you never realized this, as he tried not to be publicly demostrative in this way. I'd like to share a few stories with you now though, about Luke, so that you'll have the chance to see the kind of person he really was. The Christmas before last, Luke and I went into Burlington to the mall, to do some Christmas shopping. We split up at one point for a half hour or so. When I walked back to the spot we were going to meet each other at, I saw him talking to a little girl, who I could see was upset. Luke was 15 at the time, and the little girl was about 8 I think. She'd gotten separated from her mother, and was terrified. By the time I got to her and Luke, she was crying in Luke's arms. I was amazed at how gentle and kind my little brother was being with this little girl, who he'd never met before. While I looked for a security guard, he calmed her down and helped her blow her nose, then he asked her some questions, hoping to figure out where her mother might be. By the time I'd located a guard, Luke had narrowed down where the girl's mother might be, and we set off to those couple shops. Sure enough, her mother, who was frantic, was in the first shop we went to. The little girl was happy to see her mother again, but because of the way Luke had handled the situation, she wasn't upset anymore at all. I'd never seen him take care of a child like that before. I know he'd have been a great father. The following summer, a stray dog got hit by a car in front of our house. The driver raced off, without stopping. Luke had been in the driveway, and heard the squealing of the tires, the thump, and then the dog's pitiful whimpering, as it lay injured in the street. Nobody else was home at the time. Luke raced in, grabbed a blanket, and ran back out into the steet. Carefully he wrapped the dog up in the blanket, then he picked him up, and running, he carried the dog to the veterinarian's office, six blocks away. It was a pretty good sized dog too. Unfortunately the dog didn't make it, but at least the veterinarian was able to give it some pain medicine, so he wasn't in pain when he died. Luke was able to describe the car for the police and give them a partial plate number too. The driver was apprehended later. Poor Luke cried bitterly when the dog died. Like I said, Luke loved animals. Our father bought me a shotgun and took me out in the woods and taught me to hunt when I was 12 or 13. We used to hunt together a few times during each season. When Luke turned 12, Dad decided we should take him along with us, and teach him to hunt too. He bought Luke a new double-barrel shotgun, and Luke took the required courses and got his junior hunting license. We took Luke target shooting a few times, and he was an excellent shot! The next chance we got, we took took him with us rabbit hunting. Dad and I each bagged a couple rabbits, but Luke didn't get any. He told us he didn't see any. On our way back to the car, Dad and I kept our eyes open, hoping to see another rabbit, so Luke would get to bag one too. Dad was up ahead of us, as we trudged along. Suddenly, I saw a couple rabbits off to our right. They were very close to us, just sitting there. I stopped and tugged on Luke's jacket and pointed at them. He stopped and looked at them. I noticed he didn't smile, and his eyes got big, when he realized I was standing clear, so he could take a shot at them. If it had been me or Dad, we'd have easily gotten both of them. Luke looked sick to his stomach though, as he raised his shotgun and aimed at one of the rabbits. As I watched him, I noticed that once he'd sited the rabbit, he deliberately aimed a little to the right, before pulling the trigger. Of course he missed the rabbit. He also didn't even try to take aim at the other one. When he lowered the gun, he looked guiltily at me. I knew then, he could never shoot an animal. Dad ran up to us then, having missed everything. He was disappointed Luke hadn't gotten the rabbit. I quickly told him, it was too difficult a shot for anyone to make. Luke looked at me with surprise. I winked at him, and he smiled at me then. I never told Luke, but later that night, I explained to Dad. Luke always managed to be busy whenever we went hunting after that, and nothing else was ever said about it. Luke never went out hunting with us again. His shotgun is still in Dad's gun cabinet though. Luke's caring never wavered with time. If anything, as time went by, he seemed to care even more about people who needed help. Just this past year, when I was on vacation from school, and the high school was in session yet, I went into school to visit a couple of my old teachers. Mr. Jacobs invited me to have lunch with him. We were standing in line, when I saw Luke in line up ahead of me. He didn't notice I was there, and he was so far up ahead in line, that I didn't want to holler. I noticed, as Mr. Jacobs and I talked that Luke was staring across the cafeteria at a boy who looked to be a freshman, who had just sat down alone at a table with his lunch. As I watched Luke watching him, a couple of other boys walked over to the boy and started picking on him. Within a couple seconds, they'd diverted his attention, while a third boy took his lunch, and swiftly walked over to a trash can and threw it away. I was about to tell Mr. Jacobs, when I saw that the monitor had caught sight of what was happening, and quickly stopped it, dragging the three bullies away. The boy they'd been picking on sat there at the table, alone, looking upset and forlorn. Mr. Jacobs and I were about to go talk to him, and see if he was alright, but Luke broke out of the line and walked over and sat down with him, so we waited to see what would happen. The boy looked miserable. Luke talked quietly to him for a couple minutes. The boy soon looked less miserable. Luke stood up then and reached over and mussed his hair. The boy got up then too, and the two walked back to where Luke had been standing in line with his friends. I heard the boy say, 'but I don't have any money', and Luke mussed his hair again, and said something to him. He saw to it that the boy got a meal, then when they got to the head of the line, Luke paid for his meal, and invited the boy to sit with him and his friends. That evening, I told Luke I'd been at the back of the line with Mr. Jacobs, and saw what he'd done. He got embarrassed when I told him how proud I was of him. I understand though from Mr. Jacobs, that Luke looked out for the boy for the rest of the year. I don't remember what the boy's name was, but if you're here, please find me later. I'd like to talk to you once. Not only did Luke help younger kids and animals, but he helped older people, and anyone in general who he thought needed a hand as well. I know of several occasions when Luke would see an older neighbor shoveling snow, or mowing their lawn, and he realized it was too much work for them. He'd immediately drop what he was doing, and go over and finish the job for them, never accepting any payment for his actions. I also never saw him pass by a homeless person, who asked for money, without giving them at least a quarter. It didn't matter how much I tried to tell him they would probably just buy liquor with his money. He always chose to believe that he was helping the person get a meal to eat, or a warm place to stay. My brother was a better man than I am! Probably the best example I can give you of Luke's benevolent personality is to tell you about his relationship with 'Whacked Out Willy'. I'm sure most of you have heard at one time or another about the old recluse of a man, William Appledorn, who lived alone in the old run down Victorian style house at the top of High Street. Many of you younger people knew him as 'Whacked Out Willy'. Ever since I can remember, Mr. Appledorn had lived alone in his big old run-down house. He never did any yard work, and the house was a disreputable mess. It looked like it was falling down around him. Mr. Appledorn was rarely seen in public. The most anyone ever saw of him, was if he came out on the porch to get his mail in. Rumor had it among the kids in the area that he was insane, and that he was a child murderer, and his house was haunted by his many victims. The kids that lived near Mr. Appledorn's house were all terrified of him, and his house. It didn't stop them from taunting him though, which when you think about it was pretty stupid if you considered him a child murderer! Anyway, we lived several blocks away, but when Luke was 9 or 10, he had a couple of friends from school who lived right near the Appledorn house. Occasionally, Luke would go to their house to play. One day, one of the boys suggested they take a closer look at 'Whacked Out Willy's' house. So, they walked over to it, and stood on the sidewalk, about a house away, staring at the place. As they watched it, Mr. Appledorn came out the front door, and took a piece of mail from his mailbox. After he went back inside, the boy who'd suggested they walk over there dared any of the others to go up to the front door, ring the door bell, and run away. One boy accepted the dare. He snuck over and rang the bell, and ran, while the others watched from afar. Of course Mr. Appledorn answered the door, and seeing no one there, went back in muttering angrily to himself. Slowly, one by one, the boys all took turns running up and ringing the bell. Mr. Appledorn ran out the door each time and, getting more upset each time. Eventually, Luke was the only one who hadn't rung the bell. When it was his turn, he said he didn't want to do it. He'd also been trying to get the others to stop, after the second time, but to no avail. Of course the boys all made fun of him and said he was too scared to do it. Finally, Luke told them he would go up to the door and ring the bell, and wait for Mr. Appledorn to answer it, then apologize to him for their upsetting him. They all thought Luke was nuts, but he didn't wait for their reply and marched up the sidewalk to Mr. Appledorn's. He was nervous, but he went to the door and rang the bell, and stood waiting. The door flew open, and Mr. Appledorn stood there weilding a baseball bat. He was in a rage. Poor Luke was suddenly terrified, and forgot about trying to apologize. He fled, as did the other boys who were waiting on the sidewalk. When Luke got to the sidewalk though, Mr. Appledorn suddenly stopped hollering, and Luke heard a funny noise, kind of a gasp or a gurgle, then the baseball bat hitting the cement, and a soft thud. He turned and looked over his shoulder and stopped short. Mr. Appledorn had collapsed on the sidewalk, and was clutching his heart. Luke stared at him in horror for a moment. He could hear his friends hollering for him to 'Run!', but he saw a look of utter fear in Mr. Appledorn's eyes, and realized he needed help. Luke quickly ran back to Mr. Appledorn and squatted next to him. He told the man he was sorry, and that he'd just come to the door to apologize to him for what they'd done. Mr. Appledorn just looked at him with frightened eyes, gasping. Luke asked what was wrong, and Mr. Appledorn managed to gasp 'heart'. Luke told him he would be right back, then he raced into Mr. Appledorn's house, and looked around the foyer. There was a phone on a table to the right. Luke quickly called for an ambulance. After he hung up, Luke took a couple seconds to peer around the room he was in. He wanted to find a blanket and pillow but there were none. The house was dark, dingy, and dusty. It really did look like a haunted house, he told me later. Anyway, he ran into what looked like the livingroom. There he found an afghan, and a throw-pillow, which he grabbed. He ran back out to Mr. Appledorn and told him an ambulance was coming. Then he put the pillow under his head and covered him up. He loosened his shirt collar and belt and sat down to wait. He told me he sat holding the old man's hand, telling him it would be OK. He said Mr. Appledorn looked a little calmer, but not well at all. When he heard the ambulance, Luke went and flagged it down. The paramedics took over then, and the police locked up the house. An officer brought Luke home and explained to our parents what had happened. Our mother called the hospital that night and found out that Mr. Appledorn had had a heart attack, but that he was doing OK. They said, if he rested, and progressed as well as he was, that he should make it OK. They told our mother though, that if he hadn't gotten to the hospital when he did, he would have died. When Mom got off the phone, she cried as she told us that Luke had saved Mr. Appledorn's life. A few days later, a nurse called to say Mr. Appledorn was doing much better, and wondered if it would be possible for Luke to come see him at the hospital. He wanted to thank him personally for helping him. Mom and Dad took Luke to see Mr. Appledorn that evening. I went along too. It was quite an emotional visit. Poor Mr. Appledorn cried as he thanked Luke for helping him. Luke cried, as he apologized for being part of the group who'd upset Mr. Appledorn, causing his heart attack to begin with. Mom cried in general. Dad and I were the only two with dry eyes. Eventually everyone calmed down and talked a few minutes. We left then, as the nurses said Mr. Appledorn needed to rest. Luke promised to visit him, once he was home. Luke did visit him once he finally got home. In fact, he visited him often after that, and Mr. Appledorn came over to our house for supper every so often too. There was nothing wrong with the man. He was just an elderly widower, whose son lived far away, and couldn't visit often. He couldn't manage his housework or yardwork, because it was too much for him. Luke began doing the yardwork for him though, even though he protested. Then he tried to pay Luke, who refused to take any money. The two finally struck up a bargain. When he was finished with the yardwork, he would go inside and visit with Mr. Appledorn for a while. The two would have cookies and milk, and play checkers. Mr. Appledorn felt he was providing Luke with a nice snack, and felt Luke was being at least partially compensated for his work. Luke on the other hand thought he was providing some company for a lonely old man. The two got on quite well, until poor Mr. Appledorn had another heart attack a couple years later. Unfortunately, Luke wasn't there that time, and Mr. Appledorn passed away. The doctors said he went quickly, and they pointed out that he was 91 years old, and had lived a long life. None of that mattered to poor Lukey though. He cried for days afterward. About a month later, a lawyer called, asking to speak to Luke's parents. Our father spoke to the lawyer. It seemed that Luke was mentioned in Mr. Appledorn's will, and he and at least one of our parents were invited to hear the reading of the will. Luke and our parents went. When the will was read, it was revealed that Mr. Appledorn was a wealthy man. He had left the bulk of his estate to his son, of course, and quite a bit of money to several charities. There was a paragraph in Mr. Appledorn's will, dedicated to Luke though, stating what a good and caring person Luke was, and how Mr. Appledorn had grown to love him, as if he were a grandson. Dad said that Luke sobbed bitterly when he heard that. He was still crying when the lawyer read that Luke had been left a very generous bequest by Mr. Appledorn as well. Later, when the younger Mr. Appledorn was saying good-bye to Luke, he asked Luke what he was going to do with his money. All Luke could tell him was that he didn't know, he just wished Willy was still alive. This was the kind of boy my brother was, and the kind of young man he was turning into. In my opinion, the world is a less better place without him here among us! The one big regret I had when I went away to college was that I was leaving Lukey behind, and wouldn't get to spend time with him anymore. That's been weighing heavily on my mind lately, as you might expect. It's not that I disliked school. It's not that I didn't make some great friends, and have a great time. And I got a good education along the way too. But, I wish now, more than ever, that I'd stayed home instead, because it took me away from Lukey for four years of our lives. I lost so much time I could've spent with him, and now I can't ever make up for it. Still, I'm privileged to ever have had any time at all with him. He was, at least in my eyes, a truly extraordinary young man, and the world's best little brother. As our lives went on, we grew to care about each other more and more. When he died, Luke and I were at the apex of our relationship with each other. Our friendship, love, and brotherhood had never been stronger. On the night before he died, Luke and I spent a long time together intimately sharing our feelings for each other in a way we'd never expressed ourselves to each other before. I so wish he were here now, so we could continue forging an even stronger bond together. I know in my heart though that our relationship isn't over yet. In a letter that Luke left behind for me, he told me that he would always be with me in spirit. I believe that's true. I can feel him here with me right now. I know our love for each other will never die, and that he'll always be with me! I know that everyone here is feeling sadness or pain over losing Luke, the same as I am. But, Luke will be with all of you in spirit as well. In the event that he didn't make it through his surgery, he asked me to play one of his favorite songs for you. He wanted you all to know that he'll be there for you too. The last three sentences of Simon & Garfunkel's song 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', which although it's an oldie, was one of Luke's favorites, say best what Luke wanted me to convey to all of you... 'If you need a friend I'm sailing right behind. Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind. Like a bridge over troubled water I will ease your mind.' It's my fervent hope that all of you will remember these words that Luke wanted you to hear, and that you'll feel Luke's presence in your life whenever you're feeling down, and need someone to care about you. In life, Luke would've been there for any of you who needed a friend. Even now that he's passed, it's my belief that he will still be there for all of us in spirit. May this thought ease all of your minds! Peace and God Bless. Now, listen to the song Lukey wanted us to hear." Jason started the tape player on his boom box which had "Bridge Over Troubled Water" set to play, and Simon & Garfunkel's song reverbrated through the church, as people sat listening, many of them crying. * * * It was bright and sunny, and warm, as Luke was finally laid to rest. The cheerful day did nothing to ease anyone's pain over Luke's passing. The minister said a few prayers and people finally started to disperse. As the Andersons stood saying good-bye to people who weren't stopping back at the house, Jason noticed a teenage boy of about 14 or 15 hovering off to the side. Suddenly, Jason realized he was the boy from the school cafeteria that Luke had befriended. He smiled and stepped over to him. The boy looked nervous, and his eyes looked damp, bloodshot, and puffy. "You're the boy I saw Luke with in the cafeteria at school, aren't you?" Jason asked. The boy blushed slightly, and quietly said, "Yeah." "Well, you're probably aware, I'm Luke's brother Jason. What's your name?" Jason said. "Bobby - Bob Callahan," he said, glancing into my eyes, but then quickly averting his eyes. "Well, I'm pleased to meet you Bob," Jason said, smiling. Bobby sniffled, and said, "I'm sorry about Luke." "Thanks," Jason said. "So am I. Luke promised to be with all of us who cared about him though, so I expect he'll be with you in spirit too." Bobby looked up at Jason. Jason noticed that his lower lip was trembling, and his eyes looked a little more watery suddenly. He tried to say something, but couldn't. Instead he lowered his face and started crying quietly. As tears welled anew in Jason's eyes, he stepped closer to Bobby and put an arm around him. "I know Luke cared a lot about you Bobby," Jason said, sniffing. "And, I can tell you cared about him too. I'm sorry he won't be here in person for you anymore. I know just how you're feeling." Jason was surprised then, when Bobby leaned into him and pressed his face against Jason's chest, and began crying even harder. Jason wrapped his arms around the boy and held him then, as they both wept. After a while, Bobby stopped crying and pushed himself away from Jason. "I'm sorry," he said, looking guiltily at Jason. "No problem," Jason said, smiling slightly, as he wiped his eyes. "Listen, I know Luke's gone now, and I'm probably a pretty poor substitute, but if you need a guy to talk to ever, you can come see me, OK?" Bobby looked up at Jason. He smiled slightly, and said, "Thanks". Other people stepped over then, so Bobby gave Jason a small wave, and walked away. Jason spoke to a few more people, then it was time to head back to the house, to see anyone who decided to stop by. The rest of the afternoon went quickly, as a lot of people stopped by to deliver their condolences. * * * Eventually everyone was gone, and the house was picked up. Mrs. Anderson went to take a nap. Jason and Dan went upstairs to Jason's room. Mr. Anderson decided to go get the mail in. The mailbox was stuffed with mail. Herb emptied it completely, and brought it into the living room. He set it on the couch, then went and poured himself a glass of bourbon, before settling on the the couch to sort through the pile of mail. Herb set aside a pile of bills, and another of his wife's catalogs and flies, and a third one of junk mail. He put the considerable amount of personal cards and letters into a fourth pile. When he'd gotten it all sorted, he took a sip of his bourbon and contemplated the pile of condolences. He recognized most of them as being from friends, neighbors, and co-workers. There were a few he wasn't sure of, and one that was postmarked San Bernardino, California. The handwriting on that one looked familiar, but he couldn't place whose it was. Oddly, it was addressed to just him, not the whole family. Curious, Herb slit the envelope open and pulled out the letter that was inside it. When he opened the letter a picture fell out. Herb stopped short when he saw the picture. "Holy shit!" he said under his breath as he stared at the picture in his lap... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next chapter in this series will be published shortly.