A kind of depressing fic... Sorry bout that...
Ok, this may be a bit depressing, but I had to write it. It's obviously based on recent events in my life. It felt good to get this out of me, though. I couldn't bring myself to write more than this, it's just too raw at the moment... Anyway, here we go...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday night, in the locker room, John’s cell phone rang, not an unusual occurrence, but he became worried when he saw it was his mother calling. “Hello,” he said cautiously.
“John?” his mother asked. He could hear the tears in her voice.
“Yeah.”
“It’s Uncle Robert.”
John sat down on a bench hard, head bowed, “Oh, God. When…”
“This morning. He was at home, surrounded by his family; it was just what he wanted.”
John blinked back tears. “Do you know when the wake and funeral will be?”
“No wake, he didn’t want one. The funeral is this Thursday at 1, but there’s family only at 12 at the funeral home. I would love if you and Randy could come,” his mother said.
“You want Randy to come?” At that moment, Randy walked through the door following his match and saw John sitting down with his head in his hand. John looked up, and Randy could see the tears in his eyes, ready to fall. He walked over to John, took one of John’s hands in his and started rubbing small circles on his back in comfort.
“Of course. You know your uncle was a family man; he’d want the whole family there. And Randy is our family.”
“I’ll talk to him. Thanks, Mom, but I have to go. I’ll get the earliest flight I can; hopefully I can be there tomorrow.”
“Ok, sweetie. I love you, take care.”
“Love you, too.” John hung up his phone, and immediately collapsed into Randy’s arms.
“What happened?” Randy asked, worried.
“My Uncle Robert died this morning.”
“Oh, John, I’m so sorry,” he said, pulling John even closer to him.
“Me, too. My mom wants you to come to the funeral on Thursday. Please, Randy, it would mean so much to me. You know that family came first, and you’re my family, Randy. Please.”
“Of course I’ll come. When are we leaving?”
“As soon as I can get a flight out of here. Let’s get to the hotel, I’ll arrange a flight, and then we can pack, ok?” John asked, pulling back to look Randy in the eyes.
Randy stood up, “Ok, I’ll call Vince in the car. Let’s get going.”
Randy called Vince to tell him that he and John had a death in the family and couldn’t make it to the next few shows. Vince sent his condolences to the two of them, and wished them well on their trip. Once they arrived back at their hotel, Randy packed them each a suit, along with some other not so formal clothes. John arranged their flight, and soon they were heading to the airport with a direct flight to Boston.
In the air, Randy turned to John and said, “Tell me about him, the good things you remember about him.”
John smiled, “Well, he was my great-uncle, but he was always just Uncle Robert to everyone. He lived to be 88, he had his own very successful construction business, but first and foremost, it was all about family. He was the sweetest guy you could ever know. My mom once said that if there were more people like him, the world would be a better place.”
Randy couldn’t help but smile at John’s memories of this man. A man he had only met once, but who welcomed him with open arms. “He sounds like an amazing guy. You’re lucky to have had him as an uncle.”
“I know. He had a purple heart, got it serving in World War II. Another member of the Greatest Generation is gone.”
“Oh, John,” Randy sighed, putting his arm around John’s shoulder. John snuggled up to him and fell asleep, obviously tired out from the whirlwind of events that took place in a matter of hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once they landed, they collected their bags then set off to find the car John arranged to pick them up. Before they knew it, they were at John’s family’s house in West Newbury.
Before John and Randy were all the way up the driveway, John’s mum was in the door, waiting for them, his dad standing right behind her. John dropped his bag on the floor right inside the door and gave each of his parents a hug. Randy followed and greeted them, “Hey Mr. and Mrs. Cena.”
Pulling him into a hug, John’s mum said, “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s Carol.”
“Sorry. Hi, Carol. I’m sorry we have to see each other like this. It’s not the best of circumstances.”
“No, no it’s not, but it’s always good to see you.” Letting Randy go, she looked at her son and his partner and smiled at the two of them. “Now, come in, I’ll fill you in on the details I found out about tomorrow.”
The four moved into the living room where they sat down on the couch, with John Sr. taking a La-Z-Boy chair. “I think I told you that it was family only at the funeral home from 12 to 1, right?” John and Randy shook their heads yes. “After that, there’s a service at church, then over to the cemetery. After that, your aunt is having a get together at her house. Ok, that’s all about that. How are you two doing?”
“Same-ol, same-ol,” John told his mum. “Traveling from city to city, putting on shows for the masses, you know, the usual.”
“And you two are still happy together?” she asked, though she knew the answer.
“Never been happier,” Randy told her earnestly, his hand resting on John’s knee.
John’s hand moved to cover Randy’s. “Thank you for being here with me, it really means a lot.”
John Sr. looked back and forth from his boy to Randy, knowing that John was being totally honest. He glanced at his wife, who met his eyes, and they both smiled. “Why don’t you boys bring your bags upstairs to John’s old room? Get yourselves settled in.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That next morning was spent by John running around, trying to help his aunt out with anything she needed to get prepared for later on. By 11:30, everyone was dressed, and ready to head to the funeral home. They piled in, and 15 minutes later, they were there. Everyone was showing up at the same time, and slowly, they made their way inside. They walked up the ramp into Parlour A, where John saw a lot of his family, talking, tissues up to their eyes. He looked to the front, where he saw his uncle at peace in his casket. He saw tears in his mother’s eyes, and pulled her into a hug. His father stood there, his chin quivering, before, finally, a tear rolled down his cheek. John let his mother go to bring his hand to his eyes to try and prevent himself from crying. Randy came up next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Let it go, John. It’s ok to cry. There’s no need to play the tough guy, he’s your uncle. It’s ok, it’s ok.”
That’s all it took. The tears came freely now, streaming down his cheek, onto his shirt. He pulled Randy to him and cried into his shoulder, feeling Randy’s own tears fall onto his neck. John looked up at Randy, both still crying, and took him by the hand to line up to pay their respects. “Thank you, Randy. I love you.”
“I love you, too, John.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday night, in the locker room, John’s cell phone rang, not an unusual occurrence, but he became worried when he saw it was his mother calling. “Hello,” he said cautiously.
“John?” his mother asked. He could hear the tears in her voice.
“Yeah.”
“It’s Uncle Robert.”
John sat down on a bench hard, head bowed, “Oh, God. When…”
“This morning. He was at home, surrounded by his family; it was just what he wanted.”
John blinked back tears. “Do you know when the wake and funeral will be?”
“No wake, he didn’t want one. The funeral is this Thursday at 1, but there’s family only at 12 at the funeral home. I would love if you and Randy could come,” his mother said.
“You want Randy to come?” At that moment, Randy walked through the door following his match and saw John sitting down with his head in his hand. John looked up, and Randy could see the tears in his eyes, ready to fall. He walked over to John, took one of John’s hands in his and started rubbing small circles on his back in comfort.
“Of course. You know your uncle was a family man; he’d want the whole family there. And Randy is our family.”
“I’ll talk to him. Thanks, Mom, but I have to go. I’ll get the earliest flight I can; hopefully I can be there tomorrow.”
“Ok, sweetie. I love you, take care.”
“Love you, too.” John hung up his phone, and immediately collapsed into Randy’s arms.
“What happened?” Randy asked, worried.
“My Uncle Robert died this morning.”
“Oh, John, I’m so sorry,” he said, pulling John even closer to him.
“Me, too. My mom wants you to come to the funeral on Thursday. Please, Randy, it would mean so much to me. You know that family came first, and you’re my family, Randy. Please.”
“Of course I’ll come. When are we leaving?”
“As soon as I can get a flight out of here. Let’s get to the hotel, I’ll arrange a flight, and then we can pack, ok?” John asked, pulling back to look Randy in the eyes.
Randy stood up, “Ok, I’ll call Vince in the car. Let’s get going.”
Randy called Vince to tell him that he and John had a death in the family and couldn’t make it to the next few shows. Vince sent his condolences to the two of them, and wished them well on their trip. Once they arrived back at their hotel, Randy packed them each a suit, along with some other not so formal clothes. John arranged their flight, and soon they were heading to the airport with a direct flight to Boston.
In the air, Randy turned to John and said, “Tell me about him, the good things you remember about him.”
John smiled, “Well, he was my great-uncle, but he was always just Uncle Robert to everyone. He lived to be 88, he had his own very successful construction business, but first and foremost, it was all about family. He was the sweetest guy you could ever know. My mom once said that if there were more people like him, the world would be a better place.”
Randy couldn’t help but smile at John’s memories of this man. A man he had only met once, but who welcomed him with open arms. “He sounds like an amazing guy. You’re lucky to have had him as an uncle.”
“I know. He had a purple heart, got it serving in World War II. Another member of the Greatest Generation is gone.”
“Oh, John,” Randy sighed, putting his arm around John’s shoulder. John snuggled up to him and fell asleep, obviously tired out from the whirlwind of events that took place in a matter of hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once they landed, they collected their bags then set off to find the car John arranged to pick them up. Before they knew it, they were at John’s family’s house in West Newbury.
Before John and Randy were all the way up the driveway, John’s mum was in the door, waiting for them, his dad standing right behind her. John dropped his bag on the floor right inside the door and gave each of his parents a hug. Randy followed and greeted them, “Hey Mr. and Mrs. Cena.”
Pulling him into a hug, John’s mum said, “How many times do I have to tell you, it’s Carol.”
“Sorry. Hi, Carol. I’m sorry we have to see each other like this. It’s not the best of circumstances.”
“No, no it’s not, but it’s always good to see you.” Letting Randy go, she looked at her son and his partner and smiled at the two of them. “Now, come in, I’ll fill you in on the details I found out about tomorrow.”
The four moved into the living room where they sat down on the couch, with John Sr. taking a La-Z-Boy chair. “I think I told you that it was family only at the funeral home from 12 to 1, right?” John and Randy shook their heads yes. “After that, there’s a service at church, then over to the cemetery. After that, your aunt is having a get together at her house. Ok, that’s all about that. How are you two doing?”
“Same-ol, same-ol,” John told his mum. “Traveling from city to city, putting on shows for the masses, you know, the usual.”
“And you two are still happy together?” she asked, though she knew the answer.
“Never been happier,” Randy told her earnestly, his hand resting on John’s knee.
John’s hand moved to cover Randy’s. “Thank you for being here with me, it really means a lot.”
John Sr. looked back and forth from his boy to Randy, knowing that John was being totally honest. He glanced at his wife, who met his eyes, and they both smiled. “Why don’t you boys bring your bags upstairs to John’s old room? Get yourselves settled in.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That next morning was spent by John running around, trying to help his aunt out with anything she needed to get prepared for later on. By 11:30, everyone was dressed, and ready to head to the funeral home. They piled in, and 15 minutes later, they were there. Everyone was showing up at the same time, and slowly, they made their way inside. They walked up the ramp into Parlour A, where John saw a lot of his family, talking, tissues up to their eyes. He looked to the front, where he saw his uncle at peace in his casket. He saw tears in his mother’s eyes, and pulled her into a hug. His father stood there, his chin quivering, before, finally, a tear rolled down his cheek. John let his mother go to bring his hand to his eyes to try and prevent himself from crying. Randy came up next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Let it go, John. It’s ok to cry. There’s no need to play the tough guy, he’s your uncle. It’s ok, it’s ok.”
That’s all it took. The tears came freely now, streaming down his cheek, onto his shirt. He pulled Randy to him and cried into his shoulder, feeling Randy’s own tears fall onto his neck. John looked up at Randy, both still crying, and took him by the hand to line up to pay their respects. “Thank you, Randy. I love you.”
“I love you, too, John.”