A/N: Hewo! Have something I wrote during calculus (yet again!). This story features the lovely dead gay dads (Marvin & Whizzer are both dead in my stories that take place after Falsettos - accept it) and includes both Mendel and Trina! Woah! Idk why but someone is always crying at one point in my stories, so prepare. Anywayyyyys, hope you enjoy! ~ Cassie
Mendel's POV
Though it is only 4 PM, I am exhausted. It had been a long day of waiting around in my office since fewer and fewer clients had been coming. I ended up leaving early to take Jason to baseball practice, but he is still just as horrible as he had been before. Not that I'd ever tell him that. I personally think that he has been using baseball as a way to cope with the deaths of two of the people he considered to be his parents. It has been a year since Whizzer and Marvin had passed, but Jason is still just as affected as he had been when the deaths occurred.
I unlock the door and allow Jason to step past me into the house. He instantly rushes up to his room, probably to listen to music or something of the sort. I haven't really been up to date with what teenagers like, but it doesn't really matter so long as Jason is happy.
I see a pile of letters resting on a chair and see my name written on all of them. I grab the first one off the pile and tear it open, shocked as I recognize the handwriting. It reads: "Mendel, hope you're doing well. I just wanted to let you know that you were never really that great of a psychiatrist. I would recommend listening to patients a bit better before trying to help them. I'm surprised that Marvin stuck with you as long as he did. Anyways, I actually miss your company. Sincerely, Whizzer."
I frown, tossing the note aside. I don't know how I've received a letter from my deceased friend, but I reason that this must be some sort of sick joke. I know that none of my current patients know where I live... wait, all of them do. At this point Trina is the only patient I have left. I really do need to do more advertising. Anyways, I doubt that Trina would actually do something like this, especially since it is incredibly difficult to forge Whizzer's neat cursive. It would be harder for Trina since she's always-
"Mendel!" I hear my wife slur from another room. Drunk. She's always drunk. While Jason has a healthy coping mechanism of continuing a sport, Trina simply drinks her problems away. No matter how many times I get her to stop, she never listens to me. Needless to say, she always wakes up with a killer hangover, and I'm surprised that she even manages to cook without ending up severely injured. Wincing, I rush towards Jason's room to seek refuge, hoping that maybe he can explain the letter in the process. I quietly slip into the room and spot my son dancing around to music playing. When he notices me, he pauses it, looking sympathetic.
"Mom's drinking again, isn't she," Jason states, patting the bed next to him. For a thirteen year old he's incredibly good at handling situations like this. Much better than I am. Maybe he should be the psychiatrist. He'd probably do a better job.
"When is she not?" I reply, sighing and sitting down next to him. "I don't need to deal with this right now. Especially not with the influx of hate mail and other cruel letters."
"Hate mail?" Jason asks, confused. I hand the letter over to him, and after reading through it, he frowns, glaring at a spot across the room. "Whizzer! You can't do this... No it's not. Don't give me that look... Ugh, I can't believe you!"
I stare at Jason, worried. Does he seriously believe that Whizzer is in the room with us? I place my hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention to me. "Jason, Whizzer's dead."
"Yeah, I know. He's also being very mean right now. He thinks that his letter was funny and he's refusing to apologize."
"I'm gonna go..." I mutter, vowing to help Jason out some other time. Maybe he can have more sessions with me. It's a shame that I'd just be paying myself though. I should probably get another job soon if I don't get any other clients. Right when I close the door behind myself, I turn to see Trina standing less than a foot away, smiling at me manically.
"Gah! Don't do that!" I shout, causing Trina to frown. I grab her arm and all but drag her to our room, determined to keep her away from Jason. God, my family's going mad.
"What're you doin, honey?" Trina mumbles, laughing. I shove her onto the bed and stand next to her.
"We're gonna talk about our problems today. No more alcohol," I say assertively, yanking the bottle that I just noticed out of her hand. She halfheartedly attempts to grab it back, but I put a hand on her face, effectively pinning her down, and hold the bottle as far away as possible. Our situation is slightly comedic, but frankly it's sad how our family has fallen apart. Once she calms down, I let go of her and place the bottle on a dresser that is slightly too tall for her to reach when drunk.
"So what're we gonna talk 'bout?" she asks me, dramatically turning her head to look at me.
"Why exactly are you drinking? You know how horrible it makes you feel afterward," I question calmly, grabbing a notepad and pen from the table. You never know when you'll need them, so it's good to be prepared.
"My life... sucks." I try not to take offense to that comment.
"What about it is so bad?"
"Well for one, Jason."
"Jason sucks?" I say incredulously, looking at her with a mixture of a grimace and worry plastered on my face.
"No, not Jason. He's just so sad, and I don't get him," she concludes, closing her eyes.
"Oh, well that makes sense. Even though it's been a while, he still hasn't gotten past the loss of two of his parental figures. I don't blame him, though. They were two of the most important people in his life, and suddenly they were gone. I'd be sad too. Not that I'm not. I do miss them, but I didn't have the same relationship with them that Jason had. What I don't get is why you decided that that was a good reason to become a... there's no way to put this lightly. You've become an alcoholic."
"You're so smart. Stop it."
"Will you at least try to stop drinking as much?"
"Mm... okay. Can I go to sleep then?"
"Yeah. You need time to get ready for tomorrow's hangover."
Soon enough, Trina falls asleep in the exact position she had been in during our conversation. I doubt that she'll actually listen to my advice, but I tried. I kiss her head and exit the room, heading back to read the rest of the mail I had received. One letter is from Caroline, whose name is engraved in my mind since the instance of me forgetting it. It claims that I've "been absolutely no help" and that she will get a new psychiatrist. Well... that's fair.
The other is from Marvin, to my surprise. It reads: "Hi, Mendel. Sorry, but Whizzer thought that it would be funny to write you a letter 'from beyond the grave.' Though he's right in saying that you're not the best psychiatrist, you are a good person. I know things are rough with all that's been going on, but stay strong. I'm sorry about how I acted before this all went down. Take care of the kid for me, will you? - Marvin."
I hardly notice that I'm crying. Though this is likely fake, it really touches me to think that Marvin has grown so much as a person. I place the letters on my desk and sigh. Maybe this isn't so bad after all.
Whizzer's POV:
"Whizzer! You can't do this," Jason says, glaring at me. I roll my eyes and let out a huff of laughter, looking to Marvin to back me up. He just shakes his head, remaining silent.
"Okay, you have to admit it's funny!" I reply, gesturing to Mendel with a smirk.
"No it's not. Don't give me that look."
"What look? I'm just stating facts. And the fact is that the look on his face is hilarious."
"Ugh, I can't believe you!"
Mendel looks at Jason, appearing slightly horrified and possibly a bit nauseous. He reaches over and shakes Jason a little, causing him to look over.
"Jason, Whizzer's dead," he says, concerned. I laugh, nudging Marvin. Marvin punches my shoulder lightly, causing me to gasp and rub my arm.
"He thinks that Jason has gone crazy. Good job," Marvin tells me, only slightly condescendingly.
"Yeah, I know. He's also being very mean right now. He thinks that his letter was funny and he's refusing to apologize," Jason states, looking at me angrily. I have never seen that much rage on the kid's face in my entire existence. Huh. I honestly didn't know that he was capable of it.
"I'm gonna go..." Mendel whispers, backing away slowly. He rushes out of the room with a look of pure terror and exhaustion, and I actually feel kind of bad. Jason and Marvin both glare at me, and I rub my arm sheepishly.
"Okay, I may have taken this a little too far. Could you tell him I'm sorry?" I say quietly, yet earnestly. Jason nods and rushes to hug me. Though he can't actually touch me, I appreciate the gesture. Marvin and I are technically ghosts, but if we put enough effort into it, we can move things, thus our letters to Mendel. If I just-there we go! I ruffle Jason's hair slightly, and his eyes light up as he notices how hard I'm trying to show my love for him. Marvin sees this too, smiling and hugging me from behind. We stay like this for a while, before we hear Mendel walking outside Jason's room again.
"We should go check on him," I say, grabbing Marvin's hand and dragging me to the door. "Get some rest, Jason. You did good today." I'm referring to the baseball practice, since although he hasn't improved much, it makes him happy when I acknowledge the effort he is putting into listening to my advice.
Marvin and I walk through the door, following the sound of Mendel's footsteps. We stop when we see him reading a letter. Marvin's letter. Shortly we notice that he is crying. Marvin looks concerned until he notices that Mendel is smiling.
"I know that this may not be real, but if this really is from you, then thank you," Mendel says after a while, wiping away his tears. He proceeds to walk over to his desk and place the letters on it neatly. Marvin is tearing up as well, causing me to also feel the effects.
"I know you can't hear me, but you're welcome," Marvin replies. He turns around and hugs me tightly. "Maybe this wasn't as bad of an idea as I thought."
Though our family is very much broken, it has become stronger. I think that everyone will make it out of this state that they're in, and we'll all be just fine. It might take some time, but I have faith that it will work out in the end.