Page 86 of Movers and Shakers

“How did you get into the bar anyway?”

“You keep a key under your mat,” she said. “The same way I do even to this day.”

“I tried to tell her it was still breaking and entering.” Tom sighed. “But she wanted to check on you.”

“And you?”

“I did too. This couldn’t have been easy news to hear.”

I wasn’t sure they even cared. I was their half-brother, which meant they only had tohalfcare.

“And we do have information on your actual father,” Ruth said, and any thoughts I had disappeared in the weight of that revelation. “His name is Wilfred.”

“Where is he?”

“Mom’s town in West Tennessee.”

“I . . . can’t remember where that is.” I never thought I would need to. She’d buried that part of herself.

“Lyles,” Ruth said. “It’s tiny, but she’s living next to him.”

“Do you know anything else?”

“No, but we can reach out to her and get more information,” Ruth offered. “We get it if you don’t want to talk to her considering . . . everything.”

“It’s the last thing I want to do, but yes, thank you.”

“Are you okay?” Tom asked. “You can tell us anything.”

“I’m giving this one chance,” I said. “But if it goes south, then I’ll stay exactly where I’m at. I don’tneedanyone.”

But even I didn’t believe that. And judging by the way Ruth and Tom looked at each other, I didn’t think they believed it, either.

“Okay,” Ruth said. “Now, get your keys.”

“Why?”

“Because we should have a nice family lunch, if you’re free.”

All I’d been doing was sitting with my thoughts.

“What do you want to have?” I asked.

“There’s a brunch spot not too far from here,” Tom suggested. “It’s pretty good.”

I almost didn’t know who the fuck these people were.

“Come on,” Ruth said. “We won’t talk about work.”

“And what would we talk about?”

“How I had to put out an oven fire last week, maybe?”

“What?” Both Tom and I said at the same time.

“See? I’m basically a hero.”

“Idowant to hear this story,” I said, and I went to grab my keys. “Let’s go.”

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