One Wild Night



The moment their flight touched down at the airport some hours later, two cars were already waiting to take them home.

Tom and Lucy got into one, while Bryan, Sonia, and Jade got into the other.

It had been a very silent trip since neither of them had been in the mood to talk. While Tom, Bryan, and Jade were still in a daze at the sudden loss of their grandfather, Lucy was still busy blaming herself for being responsible for the old man's death, while Sonia was doing her best not to get sick since the motion was making her nausea worse.

Inside the car, Lucy shifted closer to Tom and rested her head on his shoulder as she took his hand in hers.

"How are you feeling?" She asked quietly, and Tom sighed.

"I don't know yet. The only person I'm thinking about right now is my dad. You know, I just finished speaking with him about reconciling and fixing things with my grandfather before I got the news," Tom said and Lucy looked up at him.

"He would be devastated."

"I wish I had thought of convincing him earlier to makeup with his father rather than doing it only when it was too late," Tom said and Lucy sighed.

"No one could have guessed that something like this would happen now," Lucy said as she squeezed his hands softly.

"Even at that. All these years we let them be at loggerheads with one another when we could have stepped in and made things right…"

"There is a limit to what you could have done. They are both adults and would not have resolved things unless they wanted to," Lucy cut in.

"My grandfather was sorry. He didn't like the state of things between them," Tom said and Lucy shrugged.

"Then he should have told Desmond so and pushed for a reconciliation. This isn't your fault," Lucy assured him and Tom sighed as he looked out of the window while she rested her head against him again.

"Kimberly was calling earlier. I guess she wanted to tell me the news," Tom murmured more to himself than to Lucy when he remembered.

"Did you return her call?" Lucy asked without raising her head.

"I was going to do so before Harry broke the news to me. After that I didn't think there was any need to return the call," Tom said and Lucy sighed.

"I guess this will be hard on her as well seeing how they were close," Lucy said thoughtfully.

It was past nine in the evening by the time they arrived at the Hank family mansion, and Evelyn was waiting outside to receive them all.

Her usual pleasant face was pale and her red nose and swollen eyes stood out on her face as she tried to force a welcoming smile.

The moment they stepped out of the cars, the smile collapsed on her office and she pressed a hand to her lips to keep herself from sobbing.

Seeing how she stood there, Tom embraced her and held her closely to himself, and just like that she broke into a sob.

Jade joined in her tears as she also went to embrace Tom and their mother while Bryan remained where he stood with Sonia and Lucy as he watched them with a heavy heart.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't be crying this way," Evelyn said as she brushed her tears away and pulled away from Tom and embraced Jade who was still weeping softly.

"You should cry if you need to. There's no reason to hold back your tears," Tom said and her lips wobbled, but she forced a smile as she turned to Lucy.

"You're welcome, Lucy. I wish your first visit to our home wasn't on such circumstances," Evelyn told Lucy before glancing at Sonia.

"You don't look well. What's wrong?" Evelyn asked as she observed Sonia.

"Nothing serious. I'm just feeling nauseous," Sonia said with a forced smile not wanting to add to Evelyn's worry.

"Where is dad?" Tom asked before Evelyn could respond to what Sonia had said.

"He is in his study," Evelyn said, and Tom gave her a nod as he made his way past her into the house, and both Bryan and Jade followed him as they went to find their father, leaving Sonia and Lucy to their mother.

"Come in, I will show Lucy to Tom's bedroom and while you both freshen up I will prepare some tea to calm your stomach," Evelyn said as she led them into the house.

Inside the house, Tom did not bother to knock as he walked into his father's study, and when he did he wasn't surprised to see Desmond sitting behind the desk and drinking whiskey.

"Dad," Jade called in a shaky voice as she walked through the door and walked past Tom to go meet him.

Desmond didn't say a word as Jade walked around the desk and embraced him.

She held on to him very tightly as tears dropped from her eyes, while Tom and Bryan went to take the seats opposite their father.

Tom didn't say a word as he poured some brandy into two snifters and passed one to Bryan who received it appreciately.

Neither of them said a word for a long time, until Jade finally broke the hug, "I'm sorry, dad," Jade murmured, and Desmond gave her a nod.

"How are you feeling?" Bryan asked and Desmond shrugged as he drew in a deep breath.

"Any word from his assistant yet on what happened to him?" Tom asked and Desmond raised a brow.

"What happened other than he was a selfish bastard who chose to die at a time like this?" Desmond asked unable to hide the bitterness and anger in his tone.

"I get that you're mad at him for a lot of reasons, but can you set your anger aside and let's all figure out the way forward?" Tom suggested and Desmond sighed as he rose from his seat and moved away from the desk.

"Give us a moment alone. I need to speak with him," Tom told Bryan and Jade, and they exchanged a look before walking out of the office.

"How do you really feel, dad?" Tom asked calmly after the door closed behind Jade and Bryan.

"I was going to call him as you suggested. After all you said, I was going to give him a call just after speaking with your mother. So, can you tell me why he decided to die now? Why he chose today of all days to leave?" Desmond asked, and this time Tom heard the grief in his father's voice.

"He didn't choose to. I'm sure if he had a choice he wouldn't have wanted to leave just yet," Tom said quietly.

"All my life he was never really there for me. The older I grew I thought I had adjusted to his absence. I thought I was even okay with it. So, why does it hurt that he is gone?" Desmond asked as a tear dropped from his eyes.

He always had answers for everyone else and had wisdom to share with anyone who needed it. But now that he needed answers for himself, he couldn't be of help to himself.

"It hurts because he is your father. And whether or not he is here now, you need to forgive him and make your peace with him, dad. Right now it's more important for you to do so for your sake," Tom advised as he went to where his father stood and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Desmond took a deep breath as he faced Tom and placed a hand on Tom's shoulder, "Thanks for coming over. And yeah. I know you're right concerning all you've said. I know that in my head. It's my heart I'm still trying to reconcile with my head," Desmond said as he returned to his seat behind the desk.

"I should give Henry a call now. He has been trying to reach for all day," Desmond said as he picked up his phone and dialed the line of Lawrence's assistant.

"Desmond, I've been trying to reach you all day. I suppose you saw the news by now. Accept my condolences," Henry said sympathetically.

"What happened to him, Henry?" Desmond asked calmly and listened quietly as Henry told him all about his late father's health struggles and how he had visited the family to inform them about it last week but had changed his mind at the last minute.

"You mean he has been ill and has had a couple of surgeries over the years? Why am I just hearing about this now?" Desmond asked in disbelief.

"He didn't want you to know about it. He said it wouldn't make any difference to you whether he was alive or dead, so there was no need sharing such information with you. He made me promise not to say a word of it to you or Evelyn," Henry said and Desmond tried not to feel hurt.

Typical of his father not to care about sharing anything personal with him.

"I see. What is the plan for his funeral? Did he discuss that with you at any point?" Desmond asked, and Tom raised a brow.

"He said you were to decide how to bury him. Although as an ex-president he will be given a ceremonial state burial. So whatever you decide you have to relay to me so I can communicate to the state house. There is something else I wanted to discuss with you," Henry said and Desmond raised a brow.

"What is it? Is there a problem?" Desmond asked, wondering why Henry sounded like he wasn't going to like whatever he was about to hear.

"I'm not sure how you're going to take this. It's about your father," Henry cautiously.

"What about him?" Desmond asked with a frown.

"He found out yesterday that he has another kid," Henry said Desmond's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"What?" Desmond asked, making Tom frown as he wondered what was happening.

"He was quite upset yesterday. I'm guessing the shock of that and everything else that transpired between you all contributed to…"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?" Desmond asked in confusion, not caring about anything else Henry was saying.

His father had another child somewhere? How? That did not make any iota of sense. And why was he only just finding out about it?

"It's complicated. I can't explain the details to you, but she will when she gets there," Henry said making Desmond's frown deepen.

"When who gets here? His other child is a lady? Is she coming here? What for? And why is she showing up after all this time?" Desmond asked, making Tom frown in confusion as he wondered what his father was talking about.

"As I said, I can't explain the details. I'm shocked myself. I wanted to give you a heads up before they arrive. I'm sure you will understand better when she gets there. I'm sorry you're finding out about it this way. But you should know that your father didn't plan for that to happen," Henry said quietly and hung up before Desmond could ask him any more question.

Desmond stared at his phone with a frown as he tried to understand what was going on.

"Whose other child? What did he say?" Tom asked his father, and Desmond raised his gaze to Tom.

"Your grandfather has another child and according to Henry she is coming over," Desmond said and Tom frowned.

"Grandfather has another child? How? Since when?" Tom asked, and just then a knock sounded on the door of the study.

"You both need to come out. We have some guests," Bryan said with a frown, and both Tom and his father exchanged a look before standing up and walking out of the library with Bryan.

Tom's steps faltered when he saw Kimberly and Dawn standing in the middle of the living room with Evelyn and Jade.