J.P. Bowie - Portrait 4 - A Self-Portrait by J.P. Bowie

Author:J.P. Bowie [Bowie, A Novel by J.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

chapter 9 s

In the months that followed, Brian’s health went on a roller coaster ride. He was admitted to hospital three times in one month. He grew thin and pale, and nothing the doctors did, nor the medication he took, made any difference. He was dying—and nothing was going to change that.

I spent a lot of time with him, and I have to admit I was impressed with the way Bruce had stepped up to the plate. It was almost as if he’d become another Bruce—an unselfish, caring, totally dedicated provider. Seeing him taking care of Brian’s every need made me feel bad about my prior impression of him. If I’d thought about it more rationally of course, I would have guessed there had to have been an ulterior motive.

I was just so happy to see Brian so well taken care of, that it never occurred to me at the time that Bruce was just being Bruce after all. He knew Brian was going to die and he was making darned sure he had a roof over his head when that happened. Not only that, but that he would have enough money in the bank to live comfortably for the rest of his life. So what was a few months hard labor when the pay-off was going to be so very handsome? In order to prevent Brian’s parents claiming his estate when their son died, Bruce had a lawyer draw up a will specifically excluding them from any right to Brian’s property.

In a way, of course, one could say Bruce was just protecting himself, but it was the way he did it that infuriated Phillip and me. It was so sneaky, and Brian was so weak and out of it by the time he signed the

- 121 will, that he probably never even read it. Brian’s parents were hurt by the language in the document, and later his dad told me it had never crossed their minds to take anything away from Bruce.

“He’s not our favorite person by any means,” he told me.”But Brian thought the world of him and he did look after our son in his last months. So why would we be mean to him?”

The day Brian died, Phillip and I were over at his house sitting with him while Bruce took a nap. For Brian’s sake neither one of us had mentioned that we knew anything about the will, and I resisted making any comment to Bruce, hard as that was. I wanted to think that Bruce really did care for Brian, even if it was just in his own way. I hated to think it was just the money that attracted him, and the fact that Brian loved him so much, hinted at perhaps there was more to Bruce than either Phillip or myself could see. It would be several more years before I realized I had been wrong again.

Brian’s death hit me hard. A part of my life was suddenly gone. My buddy—the one I’d shared so much with was no longer around.

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