Page 13 of Kyle
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"Smoking is bad for you." Jack McCreary commented mildly as he crossed the den to pour himself a finger of scotch.
His friend chuckled and inhaled smoke straight into his lungs. "What's it gonna do to me? I'm already dying."
Taking the drink with him, Jack sat on a comfortable chair and stretched his legs out. "I think it's time we let the rest of the family know what the hell is going on."
William shook his head. "Not a chance in hell. We accomplished what we set out to do. Our grandchildren are married to each other."
"They hate each other."
William shrugged. Taking out the cigar, he studied the tip for a second. "That's beside the point. They will learn to care for each other." He looked over at his friend. "We took this bloody company out from the brink of bankruptcy and into the twenty-first century. We worked our asses off to make that happen and to give our children a legacy." He shrugged restlessly.
"My son is a constant disappointment, while yours. Let's just say that Jason is not quite here, is he? My grandson is not quite a man. Thank God for Ingrid." A smile touched his lips. "That girl is the spitting image of me when it comes to grit and determination. And your Kyle, well, he shows promise." Leaning back, he closed his eyes briefly and felt the weight of responsibility coating over exhaustion.
"It's a wonder that girl turned out the way she has, considering the stock she came from." He said, referring to his granddaughter. "The mother is a worthless and vain tramp, and my son is constantly inhaling chemicals and determined to screw anything in skirts." His anger was dangerously near to the surface. "It's left up to Kyle and Ingrid to carry on the rich legacy, and I'll be damned if I allow anything to stand in the way of that happening."
Jack sipped, considered and nodded. "Things changed."
William grinned at his friend. "Very profound."
Instead of smiling, Jack looked sober. He and William had been friends from the cradle. That friendship had endured a hell of a lot of adversity. Most of all, the wide chasm of differences in their colors. They were friends when it was not legal for them to be. But from the very beginning, his family had been wealthy and could do whatever the hell they wanted.
The McCreary's and Ryder's had been in partnership for more than a hundred years, but the two men were much more than that. Always.
"We went through a hell of a lot."
William saw where his friend was going and nodded. "Our kids and grandkids have it easy. They do not have to go off fighting in the various wars." He absently rubbed a hand over his left shoulder where a bullet had smashed through flesh and bone and almost cost his life. He had come back from fighting the Germans with a new perspective and a greater respect for life. His friend had faced something similar.
"They have it easy." His mouth was grim. "I spoke to that son of mine again, laid down the damn law. Ease up on the chemicals, get some goddamned help or risk losing the fancy apartment and the allowance." His lips curled. "He started blubbering and making excuses." He lifted a hand. "I keep asking myself where the hell did I go wrong."
Taking another sip, Jack thought of his own son. Jason had been good and reliable, maybe not the most ambitious, but losing his wife had driven him over the edge. The man was barely functioning.
"Perhaps in our efforts to make a life for them, we enabled them. They never had to fight for a bloody thing."
His friend's sigh was long and serrated. The ceremony with its tension and strain was finally over. The cake had been cut, the moment caught on camera with lots of pictures by a professional that had been hired, and their family had left for the day. He had persuaded his friend to stay the night.
The newlyweds would now be settling in the fancy six-suite apartment on Bowery Street that was his and William's gift to them. And both of them had chosen to ignore the animosity between the two young people.
They did what needed to be done. Stretching his legs out, he felt his own mortality in the creaking of old bones and the fact that his prostate was so enlarged, he had to be taking a piss it seemed like every two minutes. He was ready to let go of the reins but was not certain the young people were ready to take it up.
The legacy, their legacy would be left in the hands of two people who emanated animosity for each other in waves and hoped to God, they had not made an awful blunder. He trusted they hadn't.
"Jessica's unraveling." He murmured.
"She needs a therapist."
"She has been to several." Jack drank to try and get rid of the worry. He had watched his granddaughter and that worthless piece of shit she married and knew without a doubt that the marriage was dead. "He will have to be forced out. I had the presence of mind to make the bastard sign a prenup. Which means if he leaves the marriage, he gets nothing." He took another sip and felt the warm alcohol chasing away the shadows.
"I never should have allowed the marriage in the first place, but Jessica was starry eyed, and he presented a suitable picture of a man in love. Jason as usual distanced himself. It was left up to me, and I just said to hell with it. Now we're saddled by the spineless bastard."
"Cut him loose." There was no equivocation in the other man's voice and had Jack laughing. William Ryder did not suffer fools gladly.
"I'm going to be calling the lawyers first thing on Monday after the holidays and start the ball rolling." He rolled the glass in his palm. "We're hinging a lot on those two."
"With good reasons." William nodded with certainty. "They'll come through."
*****
