Chapter 30
There weren't many people here but that was ok. There was a man probably in his early thirties, holding the hand of a ten year old boy who looked upset. He wondered if they were cousins or something.
"Is that Uncle Chester daddy?" the boy asked. The man nodded but didn't say anything. He was Chester's older brother. Mike sat there holding Chester's book in his hand and a sheet of paper in the other. Dave, Brad, and Rob were sitting a few rows back. Eventually everyone was seated. Mike took a deep breath and walked up to the podium. He looked at Chester's peaceful face and shook his head before beginning.
"I knew Chester for a really short time. Only about seven months or so. But he made my life so much brighter. Everything he did was just so perfect. He left my life to fast. All of our lives too fast. I was with him at the hospital when he died and he told me that he had written something in this book for me. I read it yesterday and I realized that part of it isn't just for me. It's for all of us here. So I'd like to read that now," Mike said softly as he flipped open the book to the back. It was quiet. He saw the little boy was crying quietly. He started to read.
"I've always been a little self-absorbed in my own well-being. I always worried about myself before anyone else. That's why I hurt myself and that's why I tried to kill myself. I always thought I needed to do things on my own. I didn't need anyone else. I barely talk to Tyler, my older brother, anymore. I don't know how he's doing or his wife. Or that little boy that he's got. Hell, I don't even know his name. I don't want him to meet me though. I don't want him to see what I am. I don't want him to see that all I've done is screwed my life into the darkest hole imaginable and now I can't get out."
He glanced at Tyler. The man was holding the little boy in his arms but he could tell he was crying. Mike took a deep breath to finish it.
"I found a light though. There's some way out of all of this. It's all of them. All the people in my life that I've met or been with. Tyler, Rob, Mike, Dave, Brad, they all mean so much to me. They're making me want to turn my life around. I don't want to worry about what I've done in the past. I want to stop dwelling on that and make it right. I want to be able to hold my nephew one day and tell him I'm proud of him. I want him to see someone he can look up to. Not some guy who doesn't even know his name some nights. I wish I could thank them all. I thank Mike all the time but I don't think he knows why. I talk to my friends but I just feel like it would be awkward in front of them. And Ty....God...I'd feel like I'd let him down. He was looking for so much in me. I let him down. I wish I could work up the nerve to call him and tell him that I love him. Cause I do. All of them. I love them all so much. They've done so much for me."
Mike cut off there and glanced around again. Everyone was in tears. Even the people he didn't know. He slowly turned back to his speech and then nodded slightly.
"I wish he was here right now. I wish he could be here to talk to each and every one of you. He'd be so happy that you'd all showed up here. I can't tell you what this means to me or to him. Thank you," Mike said quietly as he got down and sat down. A few more people got up and talked about Chester. And then Tyler got up. He set the boy down and told him to stay there and then he walked up.
"Me and Ches.....we didn't always get along that well. He was a lot younger than I was so I was always a lot bigger than him. He got mad if I told him to behave or something because he was always getting into trouble. I always loved him though. I still remember.....the one night...he was only four or so. He came running into my room crying because he said he'd had a nightmare where I had died. He climbed into my bed and shook me until I woke up to make sure I was alive. And I got angry at him. I told him he needed to go back to his room because he was going to wake up everyone in the house with his crying and I needed sleep. So he did."
Mike saw Tyler sigh and then shift on the stand before continuing, "I left home as soon as I had enough money. I married a beautiful girl and we had a baby boy a year later. I called Chester, he was eight and said that he was going to be an uncle. He was so excited. Said he couldn't believe it. And...that was when he told me that mom had divorced dad and he was scared. I was confused at first until he called me again later on that year telling me that dad was hitting him. I left home and went to pick him up but my wife didn't like the fact that I'd picked up my eight year old brother when we already had one kid to take care of. I let Chester go back to our old house. I let him go back to that hell where he was being hurt. About four years later, I got a divorce and got custody of my son. I called Chester but he didn't answer. I drove down to our house and found it occupied by someone else. I didn't know where to go to find him. So I didn't go."
Mike felt bad for Tyler. The guy was blaming himself for letting Chester get hurt. He looked back at Chester's face and he wanted to cry again. For probably the billionth time.
"And to come here today and find out that he thinks he let me down....that's unbelievable. He could never let me down. He was just a scared little kid. He didn't know what he was doing. He was the strongest little boy I'd ever met. And I'd never hate him. If I had one last chance to talk to him.....I'd tell him I was proud of him. And that I loved him. So much. He had no idea," Tyler whispered before walking off and giving the boy a hug.
Later on, after they'd all said their final goodbyes to Chester and his body had been lowered into the ground and Mike had cried for probably the twenty billionth time, Mike saw Tyler and the little boy walking together. He excused himself from Dave, Brad, and Rob and headed over to where they were.
"Hey...um...Tyler?" Mike called. Tyler turned around and gave Mike a small smile. He looked so much like Chester.
"Mike right? What do you need?"
"I....well....Chester never mentioned he had a brother," Mike said, "I kind of felt bad I didn't know."
"Nah. Hell, we'd been apart for so long, I'm surprised he even wrote about me."
"Who's this?" Mike asked with a smile at the boy. Tyler took a deep breath before lifting the boy into his arms.
"This.......is Chester," Tyler said quietly, "I named him after my brother because I thought I'd never see him again. And he reminds me of him a lot."
Mike looked at the boy who smiled at Mike and gave him a wave, "Dad says that you made Uncle Chester happy!"
Mike smiled as he felt tears in his eyes, "If that's what he said, you better listen to him."
The boy giggled, "Was he really nice?"
"The nicest person I've ever met," Mike said. Tyler smiled at him again.
"Well Mike, it was a pleasure meeting you. But I really must be going. Thank you for giving my brother something to live for....even if it was for such a short time."
"Bye."
He sat in his room later on that night with the book in his hands. He'd been reading Chester's songs and notes over and over to him. The songs were so good. He smiled as he heard the songs playing in his head even though they had no music.
Mike,
You made me the happiest person on Earth. I can't thank you enough for that. For what you've done. I love you so much. Don't ever forget that.
-Chester
There had been to the note but he didn't want to continue to read it over and over. He slowly pulled out his phone and dialed Dave's number.
"Mike. I'm sorry man, but you need to call Brad if you want to cry today. I'm exhausted."
"No Dave," Mike said as he found a smile creeping onto his face, "I don't think I could cry any more if I tried."
"What is it then?"
"You said you played bass right?"
"Yea."
"And Brad plays guitar."
"Yes."
"How would you feel about......"
A/N: Its funny cause the pic is Chester with his son Tyler. And in the story it's Tyler and his son Chester.......whoa. I don't know. What the fuck am I talking about?