Jaimie groaned. “Why do you have ruin all the fun baby?”
“We simply can’t afford to get distracted. Rent’s due next week, remember?”
Jaimie sighed before kissing my neck again. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re being responsible this morning because I have something to tell you and it might put you off a bit.”
I raised my eyebrow in question. His voice took on a serious tone, making me worry. “Is everything okay?”
Jaimie shrugged. “I guess.” But I could tell that something was bothering him. It was obvious by the way his green eyes avoided mine. I bit my lip and held my tongue for the moment as I carried over the plates, setting them on the table. I sat down and looked over at Jaimie who slumped down beside me, carefully picking up his fork and toying with his egg white.
“Come on, just tell me. It’ll make you feel better.”
Jaimie sighed again, putting his fork down. “It’s just that… my brother, Leo – your ex – is coming back to town.”
I could nearly feel my jaw hanging agape. I stared at him, in shock, my fingers picking at the plastic peeling from the edge of the placemat. I sat there quietly for a minute, listening to the clink, clink, clink of Jaimie’s fork scraping against his plate. He shoveled food in his mouth in an attempt to avoid the conversation.
I continued picking at the placement, thinking about the news. Leo was coming back. I thought about Leo sometimes, but he was nothing more than a distant memory at this point. Someone I used to love a long time ago. But, he had been in the army for so long that I had almost forgotten why he left. It’s not like it was my fault. He never came back for any of the holidays, never called Jaimie, or wrote me a letter. The few times he had gotten in touch with his parents, he never once thought to ask about me. Then again, he never thought to ask me for my opinion before he left. Just one day – poof – and he was gone. The next I heard of him, he was overseas in Afghanistan. He didn’t even bother to say goodbye. Maybe that’s what hurt the most. Maybe if he had given me a reason, I wouldn’t have cried myself to sleep for so many nights, worrying that I had done something to drive him away.
“I… I never thought he would come back. I know that’s silly of me, but…” I thought aloud.
“I know what you mean. Since his departure, he’s been more of a ghost than an actual person.”
“It’s as if he doesn’t want anything to do with us anymore.” I finally picked up a piece of bacon and tore it in half, chewing angrily.
“I don’t think he does.” Jaimie agreed. He had finished his breakfast and now he was tearing off a piece of banana bread I had made last night.
“You know, you could really use a knife. There are crumbs all over the table now.”
“Don’t worry. Buster will clean it up.” At the sound of his name, our dog, a powerful Pitbull, came running into the kitchen, barking like there was an intruder. “Whoa there, killer. It’s just me.” The dog lumbered over, laying his head on Jaimie’s thigh. Carefully, Jaimie swept the crumbs into the palm of his hand and fed them to the dog who scooped it up with his long, slobbery tongue. “See, problem solved.”
“When’s he coming back?” I asked, my eyes narrowing.
“This weekend. My parents are having a big dinner party for him. They invited me last night.”
“Why are you telling me this now then?” I questioned.
“You bought strawberries and whipped cream yesterday. You wanted me to spoil that by telling you that your ex, and the brother I haven’t gotten along with in years, is coming back to town?”
“You don’t sound too happy.”
“I’m not. I know it’s horrible of me, but a part of me wished he had just stayed overseas.” Jaimie frowned and stuffed his mouth with bread. His fingers scratched Buster behind the ears, the dog’s leg shaking with pleasure, tapping against the floor. He swallowed his bread with some difficulty before he looked up at me, holding my gaze. “But if you don’t want to go to the dinner, we can always say no.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll go.” Maybe it was finally time for a reunion. Or maybe after three years, it was about time I got some answers.
Chapter 2
As the weekend arrived, I was extremely nervous. I stood in front of my mirror, turning this way and that, wondering if the electric blue of the dress clashed with my caramel-colored skin. Then I started to tug on my nappy blonde hair. Maybe I should finally straighten it and give Leo a heart attack. Doing that, however, would take ages and I had no idea whether it would look good or not. Who was I kidding? With this afro, I would need to go to a salon to tame it. Besides, this was my ex, why was I trying to impress him in the first place?
I stepped away from the mirror, pulling the form-fitting dress over my wide hips. “Babe?” Jaimie peeked his head out of the bathroom, a toothbrush in his mouth. “Do you think this dress is too revealing. I saw his eyes shooting down, settling on my sizeable breasts. They were barely contained by the padded cups built into the dress. The sharp v-cut didn’t help.
Quickly, he rushed back into the bathroom. I heard him gargle and throw his toothbrush back into the medicine cabinet. Seconds later, he was running right toward me, tackling me to the bed. I fell back with a gasp, my eyes widening. “You look amazing…” He leaned down and kissed my collarbone, letting his lips slowly travel down as his hands ran along my body. “How did I ever get lucky enough to call you mine?”
I blushed, my cheeks turning a shade darker, transforming from caramel to a light brown. “You’re just saying that…”
“Honestly, I mean it. You’re smoking, babe.” My cheeks darkened even more before I pushed him away, giggling. I couldn’t help but take another peek at the mirror, silently hoping that Leo would regret ever leaving me.
***
When we reached Jaimie’s parent’s house, I felt my stomach tangled into knots. If I was nervous at home, now I was jittering with anxiety. I hadn’t seen Leo since he had left. I never even saw a picture of him. Then again, maybe I was partly to blame. I did end up dating his brother after all… Still, a part of me hoped that we could bury the hatchet. It was the holiday season anyway.
Jaimie and I got out of the car, both of us dressed quite nicely. We waited under the patio for someone to answer the door. There were light footsteps and moments later, Jaimie’s mother smiled at us. “Hello. It’s so nice to see you both. You look cute with your matching outfits.” Her tone was light and airy as if she didn’t really mean what she said. But, Gene Gold always knew how to play Mrs. Polite. She hugged us both.
Once inside, Jamie’s step-father, Steve Gold, simply nodded at us. His eyes narrowed as we walked hand in hand toward the kitchen. He had never approved of our relationship. I always tried to ignore him, for the most part.
As we passed the living room, I saw that Leo was in there. He was holding a cup of tea in his hands. He took a sip and glanced at us over the rim of his mug. Jaimie’s hand sneakily moved around my waist, pulling me closer. Was he being protective or possessive? I nibbled the inside of my lip, worrying that Leo was going to get angry. Instead, he calmly set his mug on the coffee table and stood up. “It’s been a while.” He said dryly before he came over and hugged me. Jaimie was forced to step aside. Leo’s strong, muscular arms wrapped around me tight, his hands roaming the small of my back. “I’m happy to see you, it’s been so long…” He dragged out his words, just like he dragged out the hug. I was surprised by his response, but I found myself hugging him back.
“I’m glad to see you too. Did you have fun in the army?”
“So much fun.” He said sarcastically before pulling away. “Crawling through trenches, getting shot at, sleeping on the ground… It’s all just a walk in the park, really.”
I frowned slightly, but he didn’t say anything else. Instead, he turned, and faced his brother, offering his hand. Stiffly, Jaimie shook it, the two of them staring each other down. When Jaimie pulled away and moved to my side, he once again dr
aped his arm over my body as he smirked at his brother. I groaned inwardly, knowing there might be trouble during dinner. There was already tension building up in the air.
“Dinner’s ready,” Gene called out. I nearly sighed in relief. If the two of them continued to give each other the death stare, I was sure that one of them would have keeled over soon enough.
Together with Jaimie, I walked into the kitchen and sat down beside him. The tension from the living room seemed to follow us into the kitchen, but somehow, we managed to maintain a conversation for the most part. If you could consider Leo talking about his life in the military a conversation.
“What did they have you doing in Afghanistan?” His father asked. “I wonder if it’s anything like Nam. Were any of the locals giving you trouble?”
“There was a group of radicals who were problematic at times, but for the most part, we tried to help the locals. We protected children going to school. Hell, I even carried a pair of twins to safety who found themselves caught in a civilian attack. They lived to see another day at least.”
“Wow… that’s pretty amazing.” I found myself whispering. Leo had always had a bit of a hero-complex, but now that he was in the military, he was actually saving lives. “Have you done anything else?”
His eyes sparkled at my question. Like his brother, he had green eyes, only his were deep and pure, like a pair of emeralds embedded in his skull. He grinned at me. “You want to hear the chilling stories, don’t you?” I didn’t nod, but he seemed to know that I wanted him to continue. “Well, one time while one of my comrades was going out to take a leak, he accidently stepped on a landmine. You see, these things only explode when you take your foot of the trigger. He was smart enough to stay still, but any movement no matter how slight could generate the explosion.”
I found myself on the edge of my seat as he recounted the story. “What happened…?” I breathed.
“Well, I got down on the ground, my face mere inches away from the bomb and well, to make a long story short, I defused it.”
“Just like that?” I gawked.
“Well it took a lot of sweat and my comrade nearly pissed himself during the whole thing, but we’re still alive to tell the story.” He grinned. Steve patted his step-son on the shoulder and smiled proudly. “But I think my army days are over. I might try to settle down and find a regular job, you know?”
“Do you have anything in mind?” His mother asked.
“Well, obviously, something in my area of expertise. Possibly in the tech industry. I’ll have to look around.”
“Whatever you decide on, I’m proud of you.” His step-father announced.
Jaimie laughed but it was actually more of a scoff. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard those words come out of your mouth.”
Steve narrowed his eyes, placing his knife down. “Well maybe if you did anything I could be proud of, I would say it more often.”
“Oh, don’t give me this crap again.” Jaimie groaned. “Leo’s always been the favorite and you know it. I don’t need to be belittled when I’m twenty-eight fucking years old.”
“There’ll be no cussing under my roof.” Mr. Gold raised his voice, his usually pale face now turning red and ruddy. “This is a respectable household.”
“Sure, sure. Is that why you used to pound mom every night–”
“Jaimie.” Mrs. Gold scolded, her cheeks just as red as the cherries decorating the turkey dinner.
“Jaimie, lay off. Leave mom out of this.” Leo interjected.
“I don’t need to hear shit from you either. You’ve all been against me my entire life. I don’t have to hear it.”
“Maybe you deserve to.” Leo’s voice was stone-cold. “If you didn’t do shit like steal other people’s girlfriends, maybe I would have more respect for you.” Jaimie slammed his palms against the table and got up so fast his chair nearly toppled over. “I don’t even know why I’m so surprised. I should’ve seen expected it the moment you laid eyes on her. You’ve always been jealous of me, Jaimie.”
“Ha.” Jaimie snorted. “You wish I was jealous of you. You’re just mad because your girlfriend picked me over you. Face it, you never stood a chance with her. That’s why you fucking ran away to the army in the first place.”
Leo ground his teeth, his sharp jawline tightening. A vein in his temple throbbed angrily before he suddenly stormed away, his combat boots pounding against the ground.
“C’mon Lola, let’s go. It’s obvious we aren’t wanted here.” Seeing the Golds’ harsh stares, I quickly got up, excusing myself. Jaimie yanked my hand and together, we marched out the front door, letting it slam behind us.
Chapter 3
The next day, I felt so guilty, I couldn’t work. I kept staring at the blank document on my screen, but the words never came. My notes, usually so neat and organized, scrambled before my eyes. There was no way I could write an article like this. I sighed and reclined in my chair, staring at the ceiling. In the corner of my home office, Buster was snoring. Occasionally, his body would twitch with a dream. I watched him for a moment, knowing he would be my shadow for the day, at least until Jaimie came back from the bike shop.
If I wanted to make amends, now would be the time. Doing it while Jaimie was home would just complicate things. Grabbing my phone, I dialed the Gold’s home phone. It ringed a few times before Leo’s mom finally picked up.
“Hello?” She always sounded so unsure on the phone. They really needed to get Caller ID or something.
“Hello Mrs. Gold, it’s me, Lola.”
“Oh.” Her voice dropped at the sound of my name. I frowned, knowing deep down she had never been very fond of me.
“Do you mind if I come over and talk to Leo?”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line before she breathed out, a small hissing sound ringing through my ears. “Sure. Of course, you can.” For some reason, I didn’t quite believe her, but I had her permission and that’s all that mattered.
***
It took me longer than expected to arrive at the house. It had started to snow and the roads were slippery, especially for my tiny blue Buick. I parked in the driveway, sitting there for a moment. I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel, enjoying the heat of the car before I finally mustered the courage to get out.
I rang the doorbell with a shaky finger and waited patiently. As usual, Gene opened the door. “Ah, Lola.” She said as if she hadn’t been expecting me. I offered her a polite smile. “It’s snowing, is it?”
“Just started,” I responded. “Where’s Leo?”
“In his room. You know where it is, right?”
I nodded and walked toward the stairs. Holding the railing, I climbed the steps two at a time. My heart started to race as I remembered all the times I had snuck down these stairs in the early hours of the morning during our high school years. Leo and I had been so mischievous back then. Two high school sweethearts, always looking for trouble.
I reached his room with these thoughts swirling around in my mind. In my purse, I had tucked away one of his favorite treats. A homemade cherry tart I made right before leaving the apartment. I used to make them all the time when we were still together. Sometimes, he would even join me and we’d made a mess, only to kiss it off each other’s faces as the oven ticked away.
I softly knocked on his door. “Come in!” He called and I pushed the door open. He was lying on his bed, wearing his army pants and a plain white t-shirt. “Lola?” He asked in question, raising an eyebrow. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I thought as much. I didn’t think your mom would tell you. She probably didn’t want me to come at all, but she’s way too polite to say no.”
Leo chuckled in agreement. “So, why’d you drop by?”
“I made you something.” I fished the tarts out of my bag and presented them to him. His eyes widened in surprise as he grabbed them, his hands shaking slightly.
“Thank you.” His voice was strained as he t
ried to avoid looking at me.
“Look. I’m really sorry about what happened yesterday.” I apologized. “I didn’t intend for you and Jaimie to be at odds.”
Leo shrugged. “It was bound to happen. Like I said yesterday, I should’ve seen it coming.” He ran his fingers through his sandy, military-cut hair. “But I don’t really want to talk about all that.” He placed the tarts on his bed before taking my hand, holding it gently in a mostly platonic way. I looked down at his calloused fingers and wondered what he had actually gone through during his time at war. “What have you been up to lately?”
“Well, I got a job at a local magazine. I write a few articles every month. Nothing too special.”
“That’s awesome!” He smiled brightly. “I always knew you had it in you.” He squeezed my hand tightly in his and offered me a gentle smile. “You’re bound to go places, I know it.”
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