(AYEP1) I HAVE AN ETERNITY AHEAD OF ME: AUNTIE YONNY Episode 1

I HAVE AN ETERNITY AHEAD OF ME 

(Intermittent Waves Recorded From the Transformed Heart of a Woman) 

Auntie Yonny Episode 1

As Hal approached the front of the hospital, the first thing he noticed, were the shiny brass revolving doors on each side of the building. They were uncommon in other hospitals throughout the city, as were the limousines and chauffeurs dropping off and picking up the visitors and patients. As a reporter, he'd been in every hospital in the city, but this was a private hospital catering mainly to the very wealthy and elite.

"I bet they don't serve bad food here," he thought, laughing to himself. "They probably have private chefs and waiters and the whole bit."

When he entered the door, it didn't take Hal long to get noticed. Carrying a backpack, wearing a baseball cap, camouflage pants and a scruffy looking jacket, that he was afraid to wash because it might fall apart, it was clear that he didn't share the same taste in clothing as the usual clientele, who were sporting Italian suits and carrying brief cases. He heard a woman's voice offering to help him. After taking a panoramic view of the massive lobby, his eyes focused upon the information desk and pointed his feet in the direction of a classy-looking receptionist whose eyes scanned him from top to bottom and then settled upon his jacket, which Hal proudly viewed as his “statement” piece of clothing. What statement it made depended upon the mood he was in that day.

Fixing her eyes upon the jacket with a distasteful look, she asked, "Sir, can I help you in some way? We don't admit regular patients here."

Hal wasn't quite sure what she was implying by her question or insinuating by her remark; or if she expected the jacket she was staring at to reply, but, he decided to play it straight and not waste time and effort dwelling upon it.

"Yes, thank you. I've come to see Mrs. Yanovich, at her request. I'm a reporter with the Daily."

The young woman looked at him with skepticism, so, he forced a smile and showed her his press identification.

After typing information into her computer, she looked at him suspiciously and then studied the computer monitor again. "We have to be careful about reporters bothering our clients and trying to find out if someone famous is being treated here. I don't see your name listed as a visitor on Mrs. Yanovich's record.  I'll have to call up to the room to verify your appointment,” she informed him, rather dryly.

She pressed a few buttons on her phone and waited for an answer. Hal decided to go look at some of the artwork and sculptures, which apparently made the receptionist very nervous. Out of the corner of his eye, he would catch her head following him as she tried to talk on the phone. She hung up the phone and stood up, nervously calling him.

"Mr. Siegfried! Mr. Siegfried!"

Hal strolled over to the reception desk and she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Siegfried, Mrs. Yanovich's Secretary verified your appointment. Her niece is with her now. She is sending a body guard to escort you to her suite. Please have a seat and wait for him right here."

Hal felt like a misbehaving student who had his desk moved next to the teacher. He smiled inwardly thinking that it was funny he remembered that. He guessed he had spent a lot of time in elementary school sitting next to the teacher for having distracted the whole class with some prank or clowning around. Obediently, he took a seat in a lobby chair across from the receptionist.

A few minutes went by and he looked at his watch.

"This is a huge hospital. Everybody has to have their own suite," he thought, "probably why it's taking him so long. Glad I cleared the whole morning. This might be the biggest story of my LIFE! Who knows what it might lead to; more money; a job at a bigger newspaper; books and book signings; hey, maybe even a Pulitzer Prize! “He shook his head refuting the idea and then decided, "Why not?"

He was here and he was going to make this the best story he ever covered, but there was one thought that kept popping up in his mind, "Why did she ask for me, a reporter on the low level of the totem pole?"

From his dark suit, build and serious face, Hal could tell that the man coming down the hall was a man serious about his job and people probably didn't get in his way to prevent him from doing it very often. It had to be the body guard.

Depriving the receptionist of making an introduction, the body guard bypassed the receptionist and headed straight toward him. No doubt he always did his homework, too. Hal looked at his perfectly shined shoes and at that moment thought of several jokes he would have made in school about him being a goody two shoes.

He was about to offer his hand to shake, but, as soon as the man came within ten feet of Hal, he said, "Follow me Mr. Siegfried," then, snapped around into an about face.

"Clearly military," Hal surmised, “and probably a jarhead, leatherneck, devil dog, marine. You can always tell a marine, but you can't tell him much," he jokingly said to himself, remembering an old marine joke. Hal often laughed at his own corny jokes. He always took pleasure in his ability to amuse himself and find something to laugh about, to make life easier and the day more interesting. However, he knew not to put too much stock into his comedic talents, if you could call them that. Experience had taught him and friends had advised him to keep his day job, because, he’d make a lousy comedian.

Hal decided that following the tall, muscle-bound, thick-necked figure ahead of him, who cast a huge shadow over him, dwarfing his somewhat ordinary and small stature, was definitely something to laugh about. Yet, he made sure not to let the jarhead marine know that he was the object of his amusement. There would be nothing amusing in being on the receiving end of a punch from huge, sledge-hammer fists.

They took a mirror-paneled elevator in the west wing of the hospital. Hal, made sure he kept a straight face.

"The West Wing, how appropriate”, Hal mumbled under his breath. Then, he began to wonder if the location was a deliberate arrangement or just coincidental. Hal made a mental note to ask someone. It would definitely add a bit of irony and intrigue to his story.

The elevator stopped on the top floor. He had no idea that there was a hospital in the city that had a penthouse, but evidently, this one did and this family had the money to pay for staying in it.

The elevator opened up to an ornate foyer, where he was greeted by a middle-aged woman holding a laptop, whom he took to be the secretary. Without even a howdy-doo, nice to meet you, the body guard took his station in front of a monitor, relieving another man who began to surveil the premises.

"Good morning, Mr. Siegfried! I'm Darla, Mrs. Yanovich's secretary."

"Please, call me, Hal."

They shook hands and Darla offered with some reluctance to take Hal's jacket and hang it up. Feeling a little embarrassed, but at the same time possessive of his favorite article of clothing, Hal politely declined.

"Please come with me, Hal. But, before we go into see Mrs. Yanovich, please understand that she is very weak and barely hanging on. She's been advised not to over exert herself, but, she insisted upon this interview. Please, please don't strain her or cause her any duress. I don't think you should stay any longer than half an hour, but, Mrs. Yanovich is determined to go on for as long as she can.

However, I think that if she holds out for the next few days, perhaps you can come back for a short time."

Hal hadn't expected to be asked to come back or to have access to Mrs. Yanovich for any great length of time. He had heard she was on her last leg and could go any minute, but he guessed that her money had bought her some extra time. She had outlived two of her brothers and two of her children.

However, she had become a woman of great faith, doing a tremendous amount of charity work around the globe, as if trying to right her family's wrongs.

Hal remembered reading an article in a magazine where she had attributed her age and her longevity to her healthy lifestyle, her undying faith in God and His Grace and Mercy. But, here she was, like everyone else, now. Her time had run out and not even her money could change that.

He wondered how much about her life and her family she would reveal to him. Would he dare to ask her the hard questions in her present state? He better save them for last to prevent getting kicked out of the room too early in the interview.

Hal wished he had had more time to talk to her, before her decline; the stories she must have to tell, buried deep inside of her. Hal hoped she was still able to remember things. There were so many unanswered questions the world still wanted to know.

Darla led Hal to a sitting room with a television that was turned to an old movie.

"Please have a seat in here, Hal, while I check with Mrs. Barrett, Mrs. Yanovich's niece to see if she's ready to start. Thank you. It will only be a moment."

Darla disappeared down a hallway and Hal decided to check the sports channel for the results of last night's soccer game. When he saw that his team had lost and the wide margin of defeat, he had to remind himself that he was in a hospital room with a dying woman. Losing his bet with the guys in the press room seemed unimportant to him now. He couldn't help relishing the moment and the height of his current status in his mind.

"Oh, well, so, I lost a few bucks, I've got bigger fish to fry today, a reporter's dream! I’m the winner today!"

As soon as Hal switched the television back to the old classic movie channel, Darla walked in with Mrs. Yanovich's niece. He barely recognized her from photos she'd taken with her famous family. She too, was aging, but, recalling recent television interviews concerning the status of her aunt's health, he was able to place the face with a name.

"Hello, Mrs. Barrett, I'm Hal Siegfried." Hal offered his hand. Shaking his hand vigorously, and then, gripping it very tightly, in her cold and wrinkly flesh, Mrs. Barrett showed that she was certainly enthusiastic about their meeting.

"Yes, I know, I keep up with your article in the paper. I'm so pleased to meet you. Just call me Miriam. We’ll be working together. Come, we have to get started while Auntie Yonny's awake. Oh! That's my pet name for her. Nobody calls her that but me. I couldn't say Aunt Tanya when I was a toddler, so Auntie Yonny sort of stuck with her. She always loved it and still does. Most people think I took it from her last name, but, she was Auntie Yonny to me, long before she met Ilya Yanovich and remarried.

Come, she can't wait to meet you."

Hal was somewhat shocked. It was news to him that anyone would be eager to meet him. He really wasn’t an important journalist, but, he wasn't going to keep anyone waiting who was eager, certainly, not someone as important as Mrs. Yanovich.

The trio passed through a wide corridor with adjacent rooms. Hal read the door signs, "Surgery, Therapy, Sauna, Kitchen, and Chapel." He wondered what rooms were down the other hallways, which added to the more than adequate healthcare Tanya Graves-Weinberg-Yanovich had had at her disposal to meet all of her healthcare needs and prolong her life. It was a vast and appalling contrast to the inadequate and absent healthcare her father had imposed upon the people, depriving millions of benefits that could have prolonged their lives, improved their lifestyles, and eased their suffering. In the years that followed, he and his party’s heartless and selfish acts had seen an increase in deaths, many needless and preventable. History had recorded it as a type of legislative genocide on the poor and sick.

No doubt her father had enjoyed the same medical treatment she was receiving, even after he was proven to be a traitor to his country, profiting from deals he and his family made in office with foreign governments and a multitude of illegal business transactions conducted prior to rigging the election. Of course, the latter continues to be disputed.

He was hoping Tanya Yanovich would fill in the blanks and write the final chapter in the history books using him to pen the story.

They entered the private hospital room, which looked more like a grand ballroom or throne room. It was dimly lit, but decorated in bright and cheerful colors. Tanya Yanovich was elevated in her stately hospital bed, as if she was ready to hold court.

From the pictures Hal had seen, taken in her younger days, she had been a gorgeous young woman, a vision to behold, but now, her shrunken form was swallowed up within the enormous mechanical bed, surrounded by machines monitoring the final days of her vital signs. Her flowing golden hair turned to dry thin, white strings, dangling from her balding head. No matter how much they had tried to make her look vibrant and alive with make-up, lipstick and rouge, she looked like a lifeless mannequin or a misplaced mop, displayed in an over-sized casket.

Hal quickly erased the image from his mind. It wasn't a nice image or kindly thought, but what they had attempted to do to this woman was nothing far from utterly disturbing. He smiled at her and lowered his glance.

"Auntie Yonny, Mr. Siegfried is here, the man I told you about, the newspaper reporter you wanted to talk to. His name is Hal.

Come, come close Hal. She's almost blind and she can't hear well."

Hal made his way closer to the bed. He had covered stories here and there involving dead bodies murdered or found in various ways, but, this was the closest he had come to what appeared to be a living corpse.

"Hello Mrs. Yanovich. It is a pleasure to meet you. I've read so much about you and your family."

Tanya raised her hand and he leaned over to shake it gently. It felt lifeless and skeletal, sending chills up his arm and down his spine. He couldn’t help but notice the enormous diamond glistening from the dangling ring on her other hand. Hal speculated that it was probably placed upon her finger in an effort to enhance her regal and wealthy appearance. He doubted that it was normally worn; otherwise, it would fall off every time she used her hand and be a target for thieves. Hal knew he would probably never see that kind of money in a year’s salary.

Looking at this frail and lifeless old woman, suddenly, it hit him that he was not only right, but, this interview was going to be harder than he thought. So far, everything, had a gruesome feeling about it. Hal wondered if a body could be artificially preserved for too long, distorting one's appearance into a macabre like mannequin. He couldn't help but feel uneasy talking to a woman who reminded him of a ghostly and ghoulish specter.

Mrs. Yanovich had to stretch her forehead up to keep her eyes open. Her mouth hung open most of the time, drooling.

Darla broke the silence. "Mrs. Yanovich, I'm going to go get started on our little project. Please don't tire yourself out." She patted Tanya's hand and left the room.

Tanya spoke for the first time in a very low, barely audible voice. She motioned for Hal to come closer to hear. As Hal moved closer, her breath had the smell of death upon it. Death was already claiming her body, starting with the inside.

"Did you bring a tape recorder, Hal?" She spoke in short breaths, but it was understandable."

"Why, yes ma'am. May I record you?"

Tanya nodded her head and motioned again for Hal to come closer. Hal decided to pull up a chair right next to the bed, prop the voice recorder upon her chest, listen intently and write as much as he could.

Tanya started to talk about her childhood and Hal almost interrupted because he wanted to get to her later years working with her father, but he decided to let her tell her story like she wanted to tell it, because there were probably things that were very relevant to what happened later.

Tanya kept talking at a steady pace, despite breathing problems and protest from her niece and personal nurse, who would come in to administer medication and check the machines and vital signs. Every once in a while, Tanya would stop and motion to the water container. Then, having quenched her thirst, she would return to her oration.

By noon, it had been several hours and time for Tanya to take her medication again and rest. She had a remarkable memory for her age. She ended talking about her and her brother’s teenage years and her father's business deals and romantic capers.

Hal couldn't believe she was entrusting this in-depth information to him. As far as he knew, no one in the family had dared be so open about their family and business dealings.

She saw herself as the faithful daughter, always trying to please daddy and get his attention the only way she knew how, by being successful in business. She repeatedly came to his rescue and defended him, even when she knew he was wrong.

She tried so hard to get him to do the right things, but he thrived on greed and corruption, because it made him feel powerful and intelligent. He wasn’t happy unless he was proving himself richer, smarter, better looking, more virile and powerful than others.

As a result of trying to please him, she fell into the trap of aiding and abetting his illegal schemes to keep things going amid his many failed financial ventures. Hoping to separate herself from the corruption, she embarked upon her own enterprise within the world of fashion. However, her father had raised her brothers to be as shallow, vain, arrogant, prejudiced, dishonest and corrupt as he was. The only way they knew how to do business was by lying, cheating, breaking laws and taking advantage of other people. Even, her father knew they couldn’t be trusted to run the business by themselves. He depended on Tanya to step in and give sane, temperate and sound advice.

She talked about his dominating personality and how he even manipulated and corrupted her husband to be part of his schemes. With this, Tanya seemed to hint at some resentment and remorse, as if she held herself responsible for what happened to her husband.

Hal couldn't imagine growing up within the wealth and corruption in which she had. He almost felt sorry for Tanya, seeing she had little choice in the beginning. However, at some point one becomes consciously aware of it not being a healthy environment and a normal and honest way to live. One realizes that open and honest business procedures are not being followed as standard operating procedures. At some point, one is making a conscious decision and choosing darkness, evil, lying, corruption and cover-up to conceal evidence and protect criminal behavior to their advantage. Hal knew he was no Saint, but, honesty and integrity was something he truly valued and stressed in writing his column.

Tanya had chosen now, upon her deathbed to come clean and perhaps for some reason, she felt this was the right time to act. Hal by no means felt it was a valiant or charitable act so late in the game, while she still reaped the benefits from dishonest actions that so many people had severely suffered and died from.

It was nice that she tried to steer her father in the right direction, but, as she said, he was unstable, a very sick and corrupt man, who couldn't be controlled, and later, having taken on the biggest responsibility of his or anybody’s life, continued to make decisions while he was clearly in a state of early dementia, slipping in and out of clarity. Everyone around him knew he was mentally unstable, but, they used it to their advantage, catering to his whims and his delusions in order to advance their own agendas.

They were all guilty of betraying their country and allowing a sick and incompetent man to dangerously hold such power that could kill millions of people and bring instability to the entire world. However, that's what many of them were hoping for in their own sick and power hungry minds, along with the enemy whom they had befriended.

They spent their time infighting amongst each other for power and the ear of an old man whose mind was going. At the end, it didn't take much for them to turn on one another to try and buy their freedom.

No, Hal didn't have much pity for Tanya. Like the rest of her family, she was greedy and selfish, holding on to her assets and prospering off of her station entrusted to her by the people. Her eyes were wide open, she knew the risks and the consequences, but like a few others, she managed to get off with minor infractions.  

Tanya was never going to betray her father, husband and brothers, no matter how disgusted she was with their behavior. Yet, with all she knew, Tanya could have saved millions of innocent people from the harm their selfishness cost in the nation and the world. She could have saved the taxpayers millions of dollars. Tanya was smarter than the rest of them, so, in many ways, it made her even more guilty and responsible for what happened.

Tanya took a deep breath and stopped talking. Hal's heart jumped and in his mind he gave a shriek, thinking, "Don't die on me now!” He looked at the monitors and saw that they were functioning normally. Tanya had peacefully fallen asleep.