Caroline smiled when she woke up, it was five in the morning and Nancy, Robin, Amelia, and Penny were up and making breakfast so they could start the cooking. Jack had been up since Caroline accidentally woke him up since he wasnt able to go back to sleep, scared that he would have the same painful memories replayed over and over again. Jack got up to snag a pancake, a cup of coffee, and to head out.
He was going to visit his brother's grave for old times sake.
He knew his mother would have appreciated him waiting a bit before going but it was needed, since they were leaving as soon as thanksgiving dinner was over.
He would also stop by the nursing home his grandmother and great grandmother were in so he could catch up.
Jack got dressed in a nice shirt and put on a good pair of jeans, and headed into the kitchen.
" Where on earth are you going?" Nancy asked her son,
" I have some stuff to take care of." Jack sighed
" Okay..." She sighed " While you're out, I need you to get some pumpkin pie filling."
" What kind?" Jack asked
" It doesnt matter, Just Pumpkin!" Nancy sighed as she flipped eggs for breakfast .
" I hate to admit this but, that's a lie, it always matters what one you get." Jack sighed as he took a pancake from the stack, and ate it plain while standing up.
" Do we need to get any wine or anything for cooking and drinking?" He asked since he knew he had to go to the nearest Kroger.
"Yes, We need some more white wine for the shrimp." Nancy sighed.
" And I'll get wine for us because, after this ordeal we'll need it." Jack muttered in hopes Viper would hear.
Viper smiled at him and chuckled , knowing this was going to be a rough day, and that wine would be totally acceptable by the end of it.
" Jack, you need to be home by noon, Okay?" Nancy smiled
" Okay, Mom."
" Jack?" Nancy smiled as she looked at him, about to walk out the front door.
" Yes, Mom?" He sighed
" I love you."
" I love you too." He smiled as he left.
He got in the car and drove to the Kroger to pick up the Wine and Pumpkin filling before going to visit his grandmothers. He also had picked up some flowers for them, even if they wouldn't remember it.
Jack got to the nursing home, and entered after parking the Cordoba in the back.
"I'm here to see Ethel Harris and Margret Kingston." He smiled
" Okay whats your relation to the ladies?" The secretary asked to be safe.
" I'm their grandson." He sighed
" Oh, David? I've heard a ton about you.." The Secretary asked with a nervous face.
" No, I'm Jack, his younger brother." He explained, as the pain from the grief stung him deeply.
" Oh, I'm sorry, but they'll be here in a second." She smiled as she picked up her phone, " Hi, I need Margret Kingston and Ethel Harris from Memory care." She smiled " Aright, Thank you."
" They'll be here soon..So are you down here for thanksgiving?"
"Yes! I currently live in Louisiana." He smiled as she looked at his eye and face, and immediately got spooked, thinking he was some sort of criminal. Granted he was, but she didnt know that.
" That's lovely." she smiled " Do you have any kids?" She asked
" Surrogate kids at the most, Four of them." He smiled
" What's a surrogate kid?" She asked
" Its like unofficially adopting a kid."
" Oh! So like when you take in your kid's friend."
" Yeah, I took in my friend's kids since they didnt have parents who were around a ton of the time." He smiled.
" That's cool." She chuckled as the ladies were wheeled into the lobby.
" David!" The two old women smiled, unknowing that it was Jack.
" Hi Nonnie, Hi Gigi." He smiled as he came to hug them.
" You look just like your Dad, Handsome Boy!" Ethel smiled as she put her glasses on to get a better look at her great grandson.
" Thank you, Gigi." He smiled
" How old are you now?" Margret asked
" 38, Nonnie, I just turned 38 back in March." He smiled
" Oh dear lord! Please tell me you're married.."
" No, Nonnie, I don't think I ever will." Jack chuckled
" Well Damn, who's going to carry the family name, not that fa-"
"I have four kids who can." He sighed trying to change the subject as he handed them flowers.
" Oh David, that's great! Who's the lucky lady, your married to?" Ethel smiled as she looked at her bouquet, already forgetting that he wasn't married and that he wasn't his brother.
"My Wife's name is Sunny." He lied, just to keep them calm as they were brought into a private room.
" What was her maiden name?" Ethel asked
" Bordeaux." He lied, just to answer questions.
" Is she pretty?" Margret asked
" Yes, of course she is." He lied
" Can we see a picture of her?" Ethel asked
" Of course." He smiled as he took out a picture of him and Viper from his wallet.
" Oh My goodness! David, Is that purple hair?" Margret asked as she looked at the photo closely
"It was an accident from the salon but she liked the way it looked on her." He lied to keep them calm.
" Oh dear. So has Jack come back from Vietnam yet?" Ethel asked, as Jack cringed, knowing that's where her mind was set, and where she was stuck. Of course it was a part of Ethel having Alzheimer's disease but it still hurt him.
" Yes, He lives in Louisiana now." He said with a fake smile as memories hit him like a brick.
One of the nurses caught on and had someone take Ethel and Margret taken back to their rooms in memory care.
"Thank you." He sighed as he looked at the small nurse.
" It's not a problem, They do that a lot." The nurse smiled
" Do What?" Jack asked in confusion
" Talk about you and your brother, Mr.Kingston. They have told some crazy stories about you two."
" I was a crazy kid." Jack chuckled, " Well I need to get going, my Mom needs me home before noon."
" Alright, Thank you for stopping by." The nurse smiled as a few couples walked in the nursing home to see their loved ones.
Jack went out to the Cordoba and got in, he had one last stop; The Cemetery.
He he took the 15 minuet drive to the cemetery where there were palm trees shading a few of the headstones. Jack parked the Cordoba after hiding the wine in hopes no one would bust out his windows for it, then walked out to the top right corner of the yard until he got to a Cast Glass headstone. He put a penny, a dime, and a quarter on top of his brother's headstone. He looked down at the Red Dahlia their mother had planted many years ago.
Jack smiled as the sun peaked out from behind the clouds and hit the cast glass stone perfectly, causing it to light up and shine.
Jack's smile didnt last very long as memories he tried to hide started to come back,
Jack was rejoiced to find his brother in the rain forest after being lost, running low on ammo, food and water.
" Jack, it was reckless as hell for you to get lost, you could have been killed." David sighed as he helped him back to camp.
" I didn't mean to get lost, I nearly got shot and I ran off trying to hide so I could shoot but that didn't work out for me."
" No Shit Sherlock." David growled
" Alright quick question, do you have water and good food? I haven't had the good stuff in a few weeks."Jack asked
" I just saved your ass and you have the audacity ask about food- Yes I have some of the good raviolis but I'm not willing to share at the moment, we need to get back to camp; it's nearly dark and once that sun goes down it's much more dangerous." David sighed as he checked his flash light batteries.
" Okay, So how's everything going for you?" Jack asked
" Right now, not the best, we had to move into y'alls camp since we got chased out of our other one."
" Damn, that's crazy..." Jack chuckled
" Yeah, How's Mom? She writes to you more than me." He asked
" Good, She's really worried about us two."
" I would suspect that, She's always been over protective." David chuckled,
" Hey David?"
" Yes asshole?"
" Do you remember per chance that time we put a fake alligator in the baptism pool?" Jack smiled
" Yeah, are you ever going to let me live that down?" David sighed
"Probably not." Jack chuckled "Expect that to come out at your wedding."
David was walking until he heard a click from under him, he stepped on a land mine.
" Jack. Run, don't stop running, And make sure to tell mom I love her." David directed without a second thought.
" What? Why?" Jack asked
" Jack, I'm standing on a bomb right now, If I move, we're both dead." David huffed
Jack Hugged David, " I love you, Man." He sighed as tears started to form in his eyes
" I love you too, Now run; go, while you still have half a chance!" David instructed as Jack started to run far away.
" God forgive me for what I'm about to do.." David muttered as Jack ran far enough away to not be killed, and stepped off of the land mine. The explosion was bad enough to throw Jack to the ground, and the flames scarred his face. David was dead, the one that Jack was the closest with, gone in a heartbeat.
Jack snapped out of the flash back and saw he was crying ,as he finished the memory of the last time David pulled him out of a bind.
Jack got up and left the cemetery, letting his eyes dry before coming back to the house
" Mom, I'm home!" Jack smiled as he looked at the time, It was one.
" Damn it I'm late."