Page 5 of To Save Him

 

 

 

Chapter Two

 

“I THINK THE last time I had garlic bread this good, I was a kid.”

“Mom’s is awesome, huh?” JR asked, but it was more a statement of agreement than a question.  And I tried not to blush.  I might have been a decent cook, but doing it well had never been one of my priorities.

“Yeah.”  Brandon hadn’t said much during the meal thus far, instead letting JR dominate the conversation, but after he seemed to fill his belly—having put nourishment first—he seemed ready to focus more on talking.  “JR and I have gotten to know each other, but what about you, Annabel?”

My daughter shrugged, acting like she’d rather not talk about herself, but her mother knew better.  “I’m a junior.  A cheerleader.  And in choir.”

“You sound busy.”

“Yep, just the way I like it.  I also work part-time at the grocery store—usually just a couple days a week.”

JR said, “She also has a boyfriend she wastes time with.”

Annabel stuck out her tongue at her younger brother; she was so close to adulthood yet still childish when it came to her sibling.  “Shut up, you little wiener.”

JR puffed out his chest.  “I’ll have you know it’s not a mere wiener.  Trykielbasa.”

My daughter snorted.  “Oh, please.”

“Oh, pleaseis right.  Listen, you two, we have a guest who I’m sure doesn’t want to hear you bicker.”

“It’s okay.  It’s actually kind of nice to be around a family.  It’s clear you guys love each other.”

Huhcame out of JR’s mouth, but we all knew it was an act.

“Tell us aboutyourfamily, Brandon.”

“Not much to tell.”

JR said, “I bet your mom used to let you stay up later than my mom does.”

Brandon was quiet for a moment, twirling a few strands of pasta around his fork before talking.  “Actually, bud, I mostly lived with my grandma—and she was too old to control me.  But she loved me.”

“Why?  What happened?”

“JR,” I said, “that’s none of our business.”

“That’s okay,” Brandon said.  “I don’t mind.”  He put his fork down on the plate and looked my son in the eye.  JR was a captive audience.  “You know about meth, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, my mother loved the stuff.  She couldn’t get enough.  And one day, it killed her.  But long before that, my grandmother got custody of me.  She was good to me—none of the crap I had to deal with like I had with my mom—but she still didn’t have the energy to deal with me.  I was kind of a rowdy kid.  I got in trouble a lot.”

JR’s eyes grew wide, as if he felt like he’d found an acceptable substitute for his brother.  “What’d you do?”

Brandon shook his head.  “A lot of not-so-good stuff.  But the last thing I did…I was seventeen, stole a teacher’s car, and the judge said he could find a way to make my life a living hell.  But I was at a crossroads, he said, and if I made the choice to change, he’d spare me.  He told me to sign up for the military the day after I graduated high school, and if I started, he’d wipe my slate clean.  Justtalkingabout doing something with my life actually made me think about my future, so I tracked down a recruiter the next month—right after graduation.  I don’t think my grandma could decide if she wanted me to do it or not, but she died the week before I left…so it was kind of easy for me to go all in.  I’d thought at the time that I would make it a career.”

JR asked, “So you’re not in the Marines anymore?”

---