I feel terrible arriving home to the bad news of Merlin’s passing. The thought of Me-Me and the kids suffering through this without me is devastating. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make this up to them, but I’ll do my best.
Dray is the first person I see when I step out of the S-Uber. He’s in the front fiddling with an unfamiliar bike. I walk over.
Kai: What do you have here?
Drake: Daddy!
Dray is surprised and happy to see me. He approaches, and I pull him into my arms.
Kai: Where did you get the bike?
Drake: It was delivered yesterday from grandma and pop-pop.
Kai: Oh
Drake: Everyone is sad today because pop-pop died.
Kai: I know. Are you doing okay?
Drake: Yeah, but I feel bad because I don’t remember him.
Kai: That’s okay. You were very little the last time we visited them.
Drake: Oh *slight pause* I also feel bad because I can’t ride this bike.
Kai: I understand, but it’s cold out here. Maybe you should go back inside, and I’ll teach you how to ride your new bike when it’s warmer.
Drake: *smiles* Okay
I lead Dray back into the house. Mase and Dub rush over to me as soon as I enter.
Wade and Mason: *together* Dad! You’re back!
I hug each of them.
Wade: What was it like – being so high up, looking down at everything?
Kai: Funny enough, we couldn’t see much below us because we were above the clouds. But the sky up there is beautiful. I’ll hang some pictures later. *hesitation* How are you two? I know about pop-Merlin.
Wade: It’s sad, but we remembered everything you told us when gran-Peri died, so it wasn’t so unexpected.
Mason: Yeah, it helped a lot.
Kai: Good. Where’s your ma?
Wade: She’s upstairs taking a nap.
Mason: We’ve been helping her out. We already took care of the cow and chickens.
Kai: Good boys. Thanks for stepping up while I was gone. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when it happened.
Mason: It’s okay, dad.
I climb the stairs in search of Me-Me as guilt weighs me down. She has helped me through so many tragedies, and it hurts that I wasn’t here to help her through this. I enter the upstairs hallway, noting the dust and dirt that has begun to accumulate. I’m sure the boys have tried their best to be helpful, but I can see that neither of them thought to grab a vacuum. It’s okay; I’ll take care of it later.
I quietly enter the bedroom and find Me-Me there, sleeping peacefully. She can probably use the rest, so I avoid waking her.
I step back into the hallway and vacuum, hoping it’s not too loud. Despite my good intentions, it’s only a matter of moments before Me-Me steps out of the bedroom.
Melisa: You’re back!
I turn off the vacuum and hurry over to embrace her.
Kai: Oh, baby. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.
Melisa: It’s okay. No one knew.
Kai: Why didn’t you text me? I couldn’t get a signal on the mountain, but it would have come through once we came back down.
Me-Me steps back from my embrace.
Melisa: Because I wanted you back safe. I didn’t want to take a chance of you getting the message while you were still up there. I know you – you would have rushed and possibly hurt yourself coming down.
She’s right about that. Nothing would have stopped me from being here with my family.
Kai: Is there a date for the funeral?
Melisa: No. My mother is being weird about the whole thing. She keeps saying that her time is near, and she only wants one funeral – with both of them together. She won’t even visit because she says she wants to die at home – with daddy.
Going through something similar with my ma, I can understand Jalisa’s position and Me-Me’s frustration. Having parents getting older is challenging for both sides.
Kai: I’m sorry. Should we visit her?
Melisa: I don’t know. Jay says she doesn’t seem up to any of it.
Kai: *deep sigh* What can I do to help?
Melisa: Make dinner, maybe? I’m sure the boys are starving.
I turn to head back downstairs, but Me-Me calls out.
Melisa: Oh, Kaby – I’m sorry! I didn’t even ask you about the climb. How was it?
Kai: I have some pictures. I’ll hang them, and then we can talk about it during dinner.
Melisa: Okay
I take some time to stop and hang up the pictures I took during the climb because everyone is curious about it. Then I go into the kitchen to start dinner.
Me-Me and Dray step into the front hallway and stop in front of the photos.
Melisa: *to Dray* Here are pictures from daddy’s climb.
Dray turns to look with Me-Me.
Drake: Did you make it to the top, daddy?
Kai: *from the kitchen* I did! That’s where I took the pictures. And I was given that plaque when we made it back down.
Drake: Can I go with you next time you go up?
Kai: I might be too old by then, but maybe you and your brothers can climb it together one day.
We all gather at the dinner table, and everyone listens as I tell them about climbing Mt. Komorebi.
Kai: Our fourth guy, Nate – he was a beast. You should have seen him; there was no stopping him. And the crazy thing is, he’s not much older than you, Dub.
Wade: Really?
We finish eating as I continue talking about the journey. I describe how it’s harder to breathe the higher you go up and what it was like to camp at the peak. After we clean the dinner dishes, I spot Dub checking out the pictures.
Wade: That’s Nate?
Kai: Yep, that’s him.
Wade: He looks familiar.
Kai: Oh, I forgot to tell you that part – his sister is Melany Pierson**.
Wade: No way! She just married that actor, Nick Wilkinson**, from that movie you like.
Kai: Apocalypse Rising
Wade: Yeah! *excited* You climbed with a celebrity!
After everyone has calmed down from the excitement of having Kai back from Mt. Komorebi, they scatter to do their own thing. Kai and Me-Me escape to their bedroom to discuss Merlin and Jalisa. Dub goes to his bedroom to play video games and chat with Perla on the Social Bunny app.
Dray asks Mase to help him put a puzzle together. Mase agrees and goes to the new game room with Dray, but after checking his phone, his mind suddenly isn’t in it. Now that he is old enough to access the Social Bunny app, he can see some of the flirty messages that Dub and Perla have exchanged. He’s not sure why, but it pisses him off. Perla is his friend – who permitted Dub to like her too?
After about 30 minutes, Dray is ready for bed. He gets up to leave, but Mase continues working on the puzzle. There’s something therapeutic about finding the right piece and snapping them together. It forces him to concentrate and temporarily helps to get his mind off his troubles. Before he knows it, he’s completed the whole thing. Of course, Dray won’t be too happy about Mase finishing without him, but Mase isn’t worried about that right now. All he cares about is getting some sleep.
**Characters created by Jess – link takes you to Tumblr
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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