“When he and Cara came back from Manhattan, he dropped off the outfit he wore at the dry cleaners. I just picked it up last week.” Deb said, walking over to the coat closet and on the back of the door hung Jake’s dry cleaning. It was a pair of slacks, a button down dress shirt, and a vest that matched his slacks. She stared at the clothes for a moment, and then turned to her husband. “He told me that was the best weekend he ever had.” She smiled as her eyes filled again with fresh tears.
Joe nodded and closed the distance between them. He took the outfit from her hand and gently placed it into the garment bag. He zipped it closed and draped it over his arm before turning back to his wife. He took her hand in his and kissed it softly. “Is there anything else I should give the undertaker?”
“We’re not finished with the display boards of pictures. Can we drop those off later?” Sam asked behind them. Joe turned and faced his daughter.
“I don’t see why not. They just want everything they need for him.” Joe said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a gold pocket watch that was his father’s. “I want this to be with him.” He said as he offered the heirloom to his wife. She smiled at her husband closing her hand over his.
“He always joked that he wanted you to leave that to him in your will.” She remembered sadly. She brought her free hand to her mouth, to muffle her cry. Joe leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Where’s Luke, I thought he was coming with me?” Joe said, noticing for the first time his eldest son was missing.
Nick cleared his throat, and all eyes turned to him. “He’s actually trying to find Cara. I’m going to take you if that’s okay?”
Joe looked at Nick and nodded. “Thank you.” He murmured.
“Not a problem.” Nick said and for the first time since he abruptly dismissed her, he turned his eyes towards her and dared her to throw a fit.
She met his dangerous stare with one of her own. The tension between them so thick you could slice it with a knife.
“We should be on our way, then…” Joe said, pressing a kiss to his wife’s cheek.
“Make sure we send our boy off right.” She whispered, holding his cheek to hers. Joe took her hand and stared into her eyes, and simply nodded, assuring her he would do his best.
Luke had been searching Riverdale for over two hours for Cara. He had gone by Rudy’s, her old apartment, even the tattoo parlor. When he came up empty handed, he found himself at the cemetery where her mother was buried. It was the last place he wanted to look, knowing very well tomorrow he would be spending part of his day there. It didn’t matter though, because he wasn’t there long, because Cara wasn’t there either.
There was only one other place he could think of, Jake’s apartment. When he first began his chemotherapy, he and Cara had moved in with his parents so they could all take turns caring for him. Jake wouldn’t give up his apartment, waiting for the day he and Cara could move into it together. He hoped she was there because he was out of ideas at this point and fearing the worse. Jake was gone a day and he had already failed to abide by his promise to take care of Cara.
He walked up the stairs to the second floor apartment and instantly heard glass shattering. He paused, not climbing another step, he just listened. He could hear things smashing. A door opened and another tenant stepped out of their apartment. Luke watched the man rap loudly on Jake’s apartment door.
“I told you to keep it down! Now I’m calling the cops.” The old man roared causing Luke to hurry up the remaining steps.
“Sir, please don’t!” Luke pleaded and the old man turned around and faced him. His bushy gray eyebrows furrowed as he studied him.
“Who the hell are you?” he asked.
“I’m Luke Lanza. My brother Jake used to rent this apartment.” Luke said patiently. The old man crossed his arms on his chest.
“You look alike.” He said, acknowledging the resemblance between the brothers. It wasn’t a strong one, but you could definitely tell they were brothers. “He hasn’t been here in some time. Is he in trouble or something?” The man asked as he glanced towards the door. Another loud crash sounded and the old man grunted. “This is been going on since early this morning. Scared the hell out of whatever little life is left in me.”
Luke took a deep breath. “My brother passed away yesterday.” He nodded towards the door. “The one making all that noise is his fiancée. She’s not handling it very well. I’d appreciate it if you let me take care of her and refrain from calling the police.”
Jake’s neighbor stared at him shock crossing in his aging eyes. “I’m sorry.” He stammered before moving away from the door. “I hope you get through to her.”