“Yep, don’t be late,” he says with a chuckle as he hangs up. Asher is my twin brother. My baby brother as I like to call him. I did arrive ten minutes earlier than he did. Our father is the fire chief. Asher and I have followed in his footsteps to some degree. We both volunteer for the department, but our first love is our tattoo shop. We rotate hours at the shop to blend with our volunteer hours with the department. It works for us.
I throw my phone on the bed, grab some clothes, and head to the shower. Sunday dinner at my parents has become a tradition. Asher and I moved out when we were twenty-one, and recently our little sister Ember, well she’s twenty-two, but still little to me, has moved out as well. I worry about her living on her own. Living alone doesn’t seem to faze her, except she complains of boredom. Ember is a social butterfly; that’s what my mom calls her. Asher and I were four when she was born, and we have always gone out of our way to protect her. Hell, Dad beat that into our heads from the time she was born. Not just for Ember, for women in general. Always treat them with respect and never lay a mean hand on them. That philosophy was born and bred into us.
My mom is the administrative assistant to the mayor of Murfreesboro. She and my father have been married for twenty-eight years. She, and I quote, “Just wants her babies to be as happy as she is.” In Mom terms, that means get hitched and have me some grandbabies. Of course, Asher and I are first on the hit list, with Ember just graduating from college. She graduates in a few weeks with her degree in elementary education. She wants to teach kindergarten. Ember has always loved kids.
At one time, I thought I would be the first to make my parents grandparents. My ex, Beth, and I dated for two years. I was ready to ask her to marry me. The day I had planned to ask her, she showed up on my doorstep. She had news for me. Apparently, she had been sleeping around behind my back. She was six weeks pregnant and the baby wasn’t mine. It had been longer than that since we had slept together. The department was short-staffed due to an injured man. With the hours I picked up there as well as my time at the shop, there was not much time for anything else. I was trying to make the shop a success so I could buy a house. Asher and I were living in an apartment at the time. It didn’t seem to bother Beth; I guess that should have tipped me off. I was blinded by…well, a lot of things. I was preoccupied with the shop, picking up at the department whenever I could, and things between us were…fine. I assumed that proposing was the next step. She talked about it often and I was willing to give that to her. That day on my doorstep, she came clean. She had been seeing this guy for over a year behind my back. That was three years ago, and I haven’t been in a relationship since. Sure, I date, hook up here and there. I’m selective though. I don’t like the thought of using women for sex and, well, Beth pretty much ruined me ever being in another relationship. Why chance the heartache? I put all of my focus into the shop and volunteering for the department.
As I pull up to my parents’ house, I spot Asher and his girlfriend Grace. He informed me earlier in the week that he was going to propose, and that if things went well, he and Grace would be finding a place of their own. I’m happy for them. Maybe someday, I might have a change of heart and be where he is. I wanted that life with Beth: marriage, kids, all of it. Hell, if I’m honest, I want it now. I just haven’t found anyone who I’m willing to risk my heart for.
I climb the steps to the front porch and reach for Grace. I throw my arm over her shoulder and kiss her cheek. “Hey, beautiful, thanks for meeting me here,” I say with a wink.
Grace giggles.
Asher growls, “Hands off my woman!”
I throw my head back in laughter. F*cking with him never gets old. Grace is the one and only girl I’ve seen him this way with. He loves her; even a blind man can see it. I give Grace another squeeze and then release her. Asher pulls her into his chest and kisses her temple.
As soon as I’m through the door, I smell Mom’s cooking and my stomach growls. I can hear Mom and Ember talking as they finish lunch. Asher and Grace are still out on the front porch and Dad is sitting in his recliner watching ESPN. I hand out my fist for him to bump and he shakes his head with a smile as we bump fists. “Smells good,” I say.
“Yep, your mother is one of the best cooks around. One of the reasons I married her,” he chuckles.
I laugh. My parents are so in love with each other, my mom could burn every meal and Dad would still look at her like she hung the f*cking moon. She looks at him the same way. I look up to see Asher and Grace walk into the room; they both have that look.
“Come and get it!” Ember yells from the kitchen. Dad and I usher in like a herd of cattle while Asher and Grace follow behind. Lunch is amazing. Mom made fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and macaroni and cheese, with apple pie for desert. Yum!
“So how was last night?” my dad asks. Being fire chief, he already knows, but he likes to get our side every time. This leads Dad, Asher, and I into talks of the department and staffing issues. Mom and the girls are planning a trip to go shopping to get some items for Ember’s new condo.
“You sure you are okay there all by yourself?” Asher asks her.
“Yeah, you know you can always stay in our spare room,” I chime in.
Ember rolls her eyes. “Guys, come on. I lived at home all through college. It’s time for me to spread my wings. Speaking of which, I really want my tattoo. When can you work me in?” she asks.
Ember doesn’t have any ink. She is going to be a kindergarten teacher so she has to remain professional. However, she is the first out of our family to go to college and finish, even out of all of our cousins. This is a huge accomplishment. She wants Asher and I to both give her a tattoo. She says she would never be able to choose either one of us. So we agreed that once she graduated we would do it.
I glance over at Asher; he shrugs his shoulders. “We’ll have to find a time when we can both be in the shop. We’ll work it out for after graduation.” I’m so f*cking proud of her. I would hate the tat to jinx her before she holds that piece of paper in her hands.
Ember smiles so big I’m afraid her face might crack. “You guys are the best brothers ever!”
“Oh, go on,” Asher and I say at the same time. This causes the entire table to bust out in laughter. We do that a lot; it’s a freaky twin thing.
I take in my family and Grace, well she’ll be family soon enough. Asher already said when she says yes, that he’s going to push for a short engagement. He’s confident, and by the looks of them together, he has a right to be. It’s a great feeling to know that you have so many people in your corner. As involved as our family is with the department, we know all too well that life is short and you have to live each day to its fullest. However, even for us, we sometimes take our family, each other, for granted.
I watch as Leah shows the last guest to the door. Once I hear the sound of the lock click into place, I drop down on the couch and curl up in the corner. I feel empty, a hollow version of myself. Within the blink of an eye, my life was in flames. How do I come back from this? How do I move on without them?
Josh continued to call my cell relentlessly. Brent called and had my number changed. He stopped by a few times, but Brent and Leah threatened to call the cops. I’m done with him. I can’t deal with his shit. I don’t want to. He no longer exists in my world. I needed him; he was f*cking someone else. That is the end of our story.