Page 52 of Comforting the Grump

That, too, was Auden. Always man enough to own his mistakes and apologize. “Yeah, whatever. It’s okay.”

“No, Marnin, it’s not okay. I should’ve been there for you, and I wasn’t.”

I shuffled my feet, looking at the floor. “No need to make it bigger than it is. You said sorry, so we’re good now.”

Before I knew it, he was hugging me again, this silly, affectionate man. His mom had been the same, always hugging and kissing us. Jesus, I missed her. It had been nearly forty years, but I still grieved her. I leaned into Auden’s embrace and unwanted tears burned in my eyes.

“You must’ve been scared,” Auden said softly, refusing to let me go. Almost as if he knew that once he did, I’d create distance between us again—physical and emotional.

“I was terrified…and Ennio was there for me. He didn’t ask for permission. He simply showed up.”

Finally, Auden let go. “He’s got a big heart…”

“I know.”

“…but so do you.”

“Me?” I snorted. “Don’t try to bullshit me.”

“You do, Marnin. You hide it behind sarcasm and a prickly exterior, but you have a wonderfully soft heart. Except you hate it when people point it out to you.”

“Because it’s not true. There’s nothing soft about me… Well, other than my cock, unfortunately.”

Auden rolled his eyes. “Always so uncomfortable with praise, with anyone seeing the good in you. Marnin, you gave me and Tricia the most precious gift anyone could ever receive. You gave us our daughters. How is that not generous?”

“All I did was jack off into a cup. Zero effort.”

“We both know that’s a load of crap. But even aside from that, there are a million other things. Your outrageously generous birthday gifts, for example. Your yearly donations to charity, which I know far surpass what’s standard to be deductible from your taxes. The fact that you’re the best friend a man could have, as evidenced by my brother confiding in you with something very few people know.”

“He’s going to tell your parents tonight.”

“Because he has to, would be my guess, not because he wants to. Once the news about The Lodge closing spreads, he’ll have no choice since they’re bound to discover he’s broke. But he chose to tell you. Aside from me, you’re the only other person who knows.”

I dragged a hand through my hair. “I’m a safe space for him for reasons I don’t quite understand myself.”

“You don’t judge. You said it yourself.”

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Nothing maybe about it. Ennio was embarrassed as fuck to tell me because he feared I’d judge him and think him stupid.”

He wasn’t wrong, so I stayed quiet.

Auden let out a frustrated sigh. “Doesn’t he realize I don’t think of him that way?”

Should I keep my mouth shut?

I probably should keep my mouth shut.

Fuck that. I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

“Yet you keep calling him your little brother, and even though he’s thirty-six, you still feel you need to protect him from me, that you know better than him. You don’t trust him to make his own decisions.”

“I don’t…” Auden closed his mouth again as a deep-thinking frown appeared. Finally, he let out another sigh as his shoulders dropped. “Fuck, I hate it when you’re right.”

“’Cause it’s such a rare occurrence.”

“No, it’s not, and that’s probably why it pisses me off so much. You’re so analytical, always noticing patterns and evictions from said patterns. You miss little, but people—including me—always forget about it because you’re so asocial.”

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