My Best Friend's Brother

by Chrissy Fanslau

  He shrugged, looking back into the television. “Life sucks when you’re a thirteen-year-old loner. And Megan’s grounded.”

  “I know how that feels.” I wish I could meet his girlfriend, just to make sure she’s real.

  He ignored me and kept playing, though he didn’t look like he was at his best; he lost three lives in two minutes.

  My hands rose to my mouth—it was his birthday! “Happy Birthday!” I sat beside him and hoped he didn’t notice I’d just remembered. Up close, I saw that his face was tear-stained. He’d been crying. “Where is everyone?”

  He sighed. “They went to a marriage counselor,” he said, “because they have to for the divorce. Or something like that.” He hit the pause button and looked at me. “They didn’t even remember my birthday.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose. They’re going through some tough times now.”

  “Mom quit her job,” he uttered.

  My mouth dropped. “What!”

  “She quit, without notice. I think she’s professionally screwed.” He hugged his knees, still focused on me. “She cried for a very long time.”

  I stared into oblivion. I was in shock. “Did you even go to school today?”

  He shook his head no. “I’ve been up here since noon, when they both left. I’m missing school a lot lately.”

  I wondered why they were seeing a counselor for that many hours. I thought maybe they were completing the divorce, but doesn’t that take time? Like months or years?

  I rubbed his hair, making it static. “I’ll cook you something,” I offered.

  “Lasagna?”

  I smiled. “Lasagna.” He’s hopeless.

  Who wants lasagna on their birthday, anyway? Aside from Garfield…

  XIX

  At ten-to-noon, I got out of bed, put on my bathrobe, and headed downstairs. I smelled an omelet. I was thrilled Dad decided to make some so late in the morning for lazy little me. But when I stepped into the kitchen, Dad wasn’t there—just Mom—in a white bathrobe herself, chewing on the pencil eraser, staring into a huge pile of papers spread out over half the table. More were scattered all over the floor. She looked at me awkwardly. “Hi,” she breathed. She got up and put my omelet and home fries on a plate, the plate on the table.

  “Thanks,” I practically whispered. I sat and ate. After a while she seemed to forget I was there, so I asked, “What is that?”

  She looked up. “I’m working on a genealogy chart. I have to complete this to get paid. How are you? I didn’t see you yesterday.”

  “Did you quit your job?”

  She took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. Her hair looked stringy. “Yes, I did. I put in a resume at the museum this morning.”

  “Where’s Dad?” I asked.

  She pointed to the ceiling. “He’ll be down soon.”

  I’d finished my omelet by the time he came down. He was smiling, dressed in gray jeans and a black shirt, manuscript in hand. To my shock, he bent down and kissed the top of her head. Then he grabbed himself some coffee. “So, no more divorce?”

  Mom and Dad exchanged looks. “We’re going to give it another shot, with me around a bit more. That’s what the marriage counselor recommended. The sole reason for the divorce is my job, which I no longer have.” Mom smiled and shrugged. “Is that all right with you?”

  I nodded, kind of happy, though I was still upset about the Jeep. So, counselors actually do things to help people? I’m impressed! “That’s great,” I said, pushing my empty plate aside.

  Dad sat next to me. “Did you decide if you’re going to college?”

  What, I had a choice? “Not sure yet.” I felt a bit intimidated.

  Dad sighed. “Well, just make sure you make the right decision.” He raised his eyebrows and sipped his coffee, digging through his manuscript, spreading his work out over Mom’s. “If you want to be a writer, you should get a degree in something.”

  “It’d be nice if you went to the same school as Luke, wouldn’t it? If he decides to go, that is.” Mom suggested, taking off her glasses. Dad gave her a look, picked up his coffee, kissed the top of my head and said,

  “I have a date with my publisher in an hour. Have a good day, sweetie.”

  “There’s a Halloween dance that starts at seven tonight. Can I stay out after eight?” I asked, just in case.

  Dad stopped in his tracks and glanced at Mom. He looked at me briefly. “Be home by eleven.” Then he walked out.

  I squealed merrily, but when my eyes met Mom’s, I grew serious.

  “So what’s with you and Luke?” she asked, sipping her coffee. “Still together?”

  “Yeah,” I said awkwardly. I thought I had an idea of how to patch things up.

  She nodded and put her glasses back on.

  My next topic made me a bit hesitant, but I wanted to see her reaction. “He asked me to move in with him after we graduate.”

  She looked surprised. “Oh?”

  I cleared my throat and looked at her. “What do you think?”

  She glanced at me, then back down at her work. “It’s your call.” She shrugged. “You’re eighteen in February.”

  I smiled. “Dad wouldn’t mind?”

  She waved that thought off. “Your dad is just being a dad. It’s your life. Besides, your dad and I moved in together before we were married.”

  I chuckled at Dad’s hypocrisy. And I was surprised that my mom was so cool with me and Luke.

  Mom smiled. “Listen, I’m sorry about being so nasty over the phone…”

  I realized just then it wasn’t her talking over the phone, but the stress. “It’s okay, Mom. I know you were just upset and stressed.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  Now if only Luke was still my boyfriend…

  I sighed hopelessly, just as my cell phone vibrated. I answered it.

  “It’s me,” Lilly said. “Can I come over?”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Are you going?” Lilly whined. It was three o’clock, and we were sitting on my bedroom carpet, doing each other’s nails. She wore a hot pink sweater, bellbottom jeans, and was stretched out over my floor, barefoot. I wore my jeans and a dark gray shirt with a built in bra and plenty of padding.

  “Probably not,” I muttered, squinting at her tiny toenails. “Why do you need pink toenails?” I asked. “It’s zero degrees out. It’s not like anyone will see them!”

  She giggled. “You never know…”

  I rolled my eyes. All she ever thought about was Gino. “Well, thanks for doing my nails,” I mumbled. I blew at her toenail to help the paint dry. “I don’t usually wear nail polish because I don’t want chemicals near my contacts.”

  “You’re paranoid!”

  “Perhaps.” I tightened the top on the nail polish bottle and looked at my fingernails. “It’s so cool that you had turquoise!”

  After a few seconds she said, “Do you like Gino?”

  I grinned bashfully. “He’s not my type,” I lied. Translated that means, “He’s not a Greek god.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Is anyone other than my brother your type?” She giggled and added, “I thought not.”

  “Your brother’s smoking hot,” I blurted with an even bigger grin. “Too bad he’s your brother, huh?”

  She stuck her fingers in her ears and closed her eyes. “Gah! I can’t hear you!”

  I pulled her hands away from her head. She opened her eyes and looked at me. “I’m serious, Lilly! Do you notice how every girl in school looks at him? He’s a Greek god!”

  She laughed. “I can assure you, Lukasz is not Greek!”

  I giggled and cleared my throat. “So where is he?”

  She shrugged. “No idea. He wasn’t home when I woke up this morning. Even asked Mom about him. He’s gone! But that’s not all that unusual, with him practicing like a mad man to be an Olympic champion and all.” She looked up from her toenails. “We all think he’s nuts, by the way.”

  I chuckled.
/>   “Dad got him a personal trainer, you know. He meets with him twice a week now. Lukasz won’t let me meet him, though. I’m thinking it’s because the guy’s hot! My mom saw him, but she won’t say.”

  I wiggled my nose at the nail polish scent in the air. “Does your mom hate me?”

  “Why?”

  “Because she walked in on us when we were all fighting and she overheard… you know!”

  Lilly waved her hand at me. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Like that made me feel any better! I love her mother. And I don’t care what Luke says, what woman would like a girl who did it with her son?

  “I’m telling you, if I don’t care, she won’t care. This isn’t the Middle Ages. And just think, when you guys get married, we’ll be related!”

  “Married?”

  She nodded, blowing at her fingernails. “That’s what I said. Married. You and that ‘hot’ brother of mine! You know, tie the knot? Get hitched? Walk down the aisle?” She rolled her eyes.

  “Like that’s gonna happen… especially now!”

  “Hey, if you told me a month ago that you’d lose it to my brother, I would’ve said the same thing! So you never know!” She shrugged and moved her nails into the light. “Wow, they glitter!” Brief silence. “You’re going to make it, then?”

  “I don’t know,” I whined.

  “Well, if you do make it, I will be the Bride of Frankenstein, and you know who my groom will be!”

  Gino was certainly big enough to be Frankenstein. He had a long forehead, too. And here I thought she’d be going as a pink princess!

  “It’s gonna be so much fun, before, and maybe even after!” She laughed wickedly. “I’m kind of nervous about it, but I definitely think he’s the one!” She got to her feet. “Okay, so I better get out of here and buy my costume, and my groom’s costume, too! We put them on layaway the other night.” I got to my feet and she gave me a hug. “Try to come, okay?”

  I nodded. That meant I too had to buy a costume. Of course, I like the idea of buying more than one!

  “Maybe we could have a slumber party tonight at my house!” She grinned. “Like we could double date and watch a movie. Then we could make the boys sleep in the doghouse!”

  “You don’t have a dog,” I mentioned.

  She sighed wistfully. “Yeah, I should get one someday, so I can get a doghouse. I think I’ll paint it hot pink! Anyway, ask your mom! It’ll kick butt if you can sleep over.”

  “I’ll ask,” I said doubtfully.

  She stepped back. “And tell that brother of mine he can’t hide his fixation with you any longer!” She winked—it was so familiar!

  I broke into a grin. “Sure, Lilly,” I said as she walked out the door, “say what you may.”

  Then I got a costume idea!

  “It’s true!” she hollered as I followed her down the stairs. “I’m telling you, all he does is mope. It’s worse than when he first arrived home from the airport, single and bored. It’s worse by, like, one thousand percent! He’s absolutely worthless, I tell you!”

  ~ ~ ~

  Luckily Dad got home at 4:45. The second he came in, I practically jumped on him. “Dad, can I have the keys, please?” I couldn’t ask Mom for her keys, because she left at around 3:30 to drop her paperwork off at the office. I doubted she’d let me drive anyway.

  So I gave Dad a puppy dog look, put my hands together and pleaded. He stood in the doorway, his hair spiked up, his eyes focused on me.

  “I’ll be very careful,” I promised, “if you let me drive your car.”

  He laughed, took his shoes off, and walked over to the couch. “I don’t know about that, sweetie.”

  “I do,” I said. “Please?”

  “Why doesn’t Lilly pick you up?”

  “Because her boyfriend’s the one picking her up…” Well, that could be true!

  He raised his eyebrows and opened his new issue of Writer’s Digest. “She’s got a boyfriend?”

  “Dad, she’s almost eighteen, of course she’s got a boyfriend!”

  “And why can’t Luke come pick you up?”

  “Well, he’s with Lilly.”

  Dad looked perplexed. “Wait! He’s your boyfriend, why is he with Lilly?”

  “Because they’re twins, Dad!”

  “Twins! With your best friend? That could get very awkward when you’re older!”

  I rolled my eyes. I wanted to say, “It’s awkward now,” but that would get me grounded for life, and my sole purpose in life just then was to get the keys.

  “Well!” Dad said thoughtfully, “That explains why he had me drop him off at the corner of Sunny Dale Road that night I drove him home!” He shook his head. “I didn’t even suspect.”

  It would have been so helpful if he gave me this information sooner!

  “Dad?” I begged. “Please?”

  He sighed and dug into his briefcase. “By the way, you got a letter from one of those Canadian schools.”

  I cut him off in a hurry. “I’ll read it later,” I barked, holding my hands out, giddy for the keys.

  He threw them to me. “If it gets icy out there, you pull over wherever you are and you call me, do you understand? Mom or I will come and get you.”

  I nodded and put on my boots, my coat, my hat and gloves. “Dad, can I sleep over at Lilly’s?”

  “What? Luke’s her twin! He lives there!”

  “Their parents will be there, Dad, you can call and check anytime. Pretty please?”

  I secretly hoped Luke’s mom didn’t have anything she wanted to discuss with my dad.

  Dad sighed and looked through his magazine. Lilly‘s always the one sleeping over; I wanted to sleep over at hers for once.

  “It’s about ten below. Dress warmly,” Dad warned as if I never asked.

  I waited, biting my lip. “So, can I?”

  “Can you what?”

  I gave him a look.

  He scratched the back of his head. “I’m calling her house throughout the night, and her mother better be there, understand? If she’s not, I am coming to pick you up, and I guarantee you, I won’t be happy doing it. Don’t let me find out there won’t be any parental supervision.” He looked stern. “Does Mom know the number?”

  I nodded.

  “Okay then, see you before noon tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Dad!” Like a flash I ran out, unplugged the car, jumped in, started it, and backed out of the garage. I didn’t bother closing the garage door. Surely someone else would if they had a problem with it.

  The first stop was at the mall for costumes. I saw the ones I wanted the last time I went. Luckily they were still in stock. But this time the store was packed, and the line was long. I picked the sizes I thought we needed and spent the final hundred dollars left over from my summer job.

  At 5:52 I turned into the Grizzly Mountain ski resort. My skis were rented by 5:58, and I headed for the expert trail.

  In a way I felt silly, meeting him in a place and time he wrote about in a story. I hoped so bad he’d be there.

  At the top it was windier than usual. The sun was sinking behind the silhouette of the Alaska Range. The sky was clear—cloudless—with an explosion of color, mostly dark and pale purple, pink, and orange on the horizon. Overhead, the sky was filled with stars that shined brighter by the minute.

  Pulling the scarf from my face, I looked around. I squinted and wiped frost off my face. The wind howled. It was so cold I shivered, even under all those clothes.

  I skied slowly toward the warning sign I dreaded so much less than a month ago. Someone stood by it. Someone who didn’t wear goggles. It was Luke, with his eyes narrowed from the smile his scarf covered. He pulled it away from his face and waved a pole at me.

  “Hi, Amanda!”

  I giggled. “Hi, Lyle!”

  We met halfway and pulled each other’s hats off. Our hair danced wildly in the wind. He pulled me close and kissed me. It was warm enough to thaw my frozen… everything. My finge
rs laced in his hair, and his in mine.

  I so didn’t want him to let me go. It felt like I’d been waiting for this forever. I thought I’d lost him, and it would never happen again. And now it did. And I didn’t want it to end. Ever.

  When we parted, he put my hat back on, kissed my forehead, and said, “I like my story better than yours.”

  I laughed and hugged him. “I do, too.”

  “I’ve missed you,” he breathed in my ear, making my spine tingle. He kissed me again. That breath-stealing kiss that made time stand still, and my heart flutter. We pulled apart just in time to see the sun dip below the horizon.

  “That’s almost as beautiful as you are,” he breathed.

  My cheeks felt warm, even through the frost. I kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Lyle.”

  He laughed and squeezed my hand. “Well, I’m freezing my ass off! Wanna go to that dance with me?”

  “I don’t think I have a choice,” I said. “Your sister’s been bugging me all afternoon!”

  “Oh, yeah?” he said in surprise.

  “Yeah!”

  He moved some stray hairs out of my eyes. “What else has she been bugging you about?”

  I touched his frigid cheek. “Calling you.”

  “Wow. So she does listen to me!”

  “Why, did you bug her to bug me?”

  He shrugged with a smirk. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

  “Well, she also bugged me about sleeping over at your house tonight.”

  “And?” he asked with a wolfish grin.

  I wrapped my arms around him. “And I just might.”

  He pecked my cheek and trailed his mouth to my ear. “You’re getting me all excited.”

  I blushed and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Do you have a costume for tonight?”

  He gasped and slapped his forehead. “No! I thought I’d go as a handsome stud!” He winked.

  “Well, I’ve got something better!”

  “No way! What am I going as?”

  “You’ll see,” I said, pulling him toward the beginning of the trail.

  “If this trail doesn’t kill me, the suspense will!”

  “Don’t worry,” I laughed, “it’s perfect for you!” I picked up speed. I pulled my scarf over my nose and narrowed my eyes.

  “Watch for moose!”