Too Late
The day Byron died his sister sat at his bedside. Byron was unable to talk because he had cancer of the esophagus. It had taken him quickly and when his sister found out she was shocked. He had been in intensive care and they told the family his time was short. Jana was trying to make peace and say goodbye to her brother in his final hours. Jana didn't want to face the fact that her greed and selfishness was one of the big reasons Byron had developed cancer. She had been the source of much stress in his life. He hadn't told anyone about the cancer. He didn't want to burden anyone with his problems so no one knew about it. Why is death the only thing that wakes people up sometimes?
The family had been arguing over the estate for three or four years. Jana had become twisted about what was truly important and greed had taken over her life. She was bound and determined to bleed anything she could from what was left of her father and mother's estate. She had already borrowed her share of the estate when her parents were both alive. Unbeknownst to her parents she had forged their signature and taken out second mortgages on the house. Her husband a retired navy aviator had started a business and it had gone bankrupt so without telling her parents she borrowed off the house. She was one of those that felt entitled. She was the youngest and the only girl. At a young age she had decided the world revolved around her. Her parents spoiled her and gave her everything she wanted as she was growing up. Now as an adult she thought the world still revolved around her.
The younger of her two older brothers, Byron, was living in the home place and Jana thought she should have it. It was left to Byron and his older Brother Jim because Jana had already gotten her share of the estate but she wasn't satisfied. Everything she saw she wanted and had racked up a lot of debt buying things she didn't need on the shopping networks on T.V. When their father died it all came out what she had done. Her brothers argued with her trying to get her to see she had already received her share of the estate but to no avail..
"You already spent your share of the estate, " Byron told her on the phone.
"No, I still get my one third."
"How do you figure that?"
"It said so in the will."
"That's before we found out you took out mortgages on the estate without dad's knowledge."
"He knew."
"Then why didn't he tell us?'
"I'll take you to court if I have to."
"Come on Jana be reasonable." But there was no reasoning with her. It really hurt Byron that she seemed to care so little for him and his brother. Their relationship had nothing to do with love. It all boiled down to money.
Though they were from the Maryland on the east coast and Byron had a tough exterior, he was the most sensitive of the family and had a big and tender heart. He was having a hard time believing his sister could be so selfish and greedy. He called his best friend Tim out west in Denver sometimes to vent his frustration and help him figure out the best way to handle his sister.
Tim and Byron had been friends for a long time, over thirty years. They had met through business in the equipment industry and had gotten to know each other through business as well as after hours when they would be staying at the same hotel. They had shared a fair share of pranks through the years. When Byron would call they would laugh and think about the funny experiences they had had. One time they were staying at a hotel where a wedding was going on and decided to crash the wedding. Tim would always joke.
"And I even got a kiss from the bride."
They would always crack up remembering the experience. Byron had developed a drinking problem through his business travels. The "Happy Hour" after work had caught up to him. The truth was that Byron was terribly lonely on the road and when he felt blue or lonely, would numb his pain through booze. Tim was always having to watch out for Byron on business trips because he always drank too much. Tim unfortunately went along with the drinking too much too sometimes.
Byron would call Tim or Tim would call Byron on a regular basis. They would talk politics and how messed up the government was, or about business or just catch up on what was going on in life. They had been friends for over thirty years, yet Byron had not told Tim anything about the cancer. The economy collapse in 2008 had hit Maryland hard and Byron was having a tough time finding good and consistent work. He would call Tim and bounce off ideas for employment or ask Tim for pointers on an interview he was going on or to get encouragement or a pep talk from him.
Byron had never married. Recently he had been talking to his high school sweetheart. She was single now and wanted to reconnect with Byron. She had been trying to talk him into moving to Oregon. Byron resisted. He would tell her he didn't feel good about not having a job and didn't feel like he could offer her anything. No one knew that he had never gotten over her and that was a big reason he never married. He still loved her but didn't have enough confidence in himself to reconnect. She was heartbroken when she found out that he had passed away.
Tim was devastated as well. He had no idea that Byron even had cancer. For the last thirty days he hadn't really connected with Byron except for a few texts but when his brother called to say he had passed away, Tim had a hard time believing it and really took it hard. He had really loved Byron.
to be continued...................................................................
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