Page 123 of Still Bruised
“See, if it was me, I’d give your kid brain damage,” Anton said. “Butyou’vegot nothing to worry about.”
“Stop,”Jude said, chuckling and trying to hide a smile. “He’s anxious enough as it is.”
“There he is,” Anton said. “I was wondering if you were going to pout all day.”
“I’m tired of losing.” Jude looked at Roan. “If the doc said go for it, go for it.” He hooked a thumb toward Anton. “Ignore his stupid ass.”
“Stupid ass?” Anton asked, while dramatically sighing. “And I thought you loved me?”
Roan chuckled.
“I can both love your dumb assandtell you to lay up on Roan at the same time. I contain multitudes.”
“What’s that mean?” Roan asked, lifting a brow.
“We can have contradictory beliefs, ideas, and emotions,” Anton answered. “Or in the case of Jude, he’s just a cranky asshole who likes to pretend it’s because he’s complicated when we both know he’s not.”
“I’mnot complicated,” Jude corrected. “Life is.”
“True that,” Roan said.
Jude drained his water bottle and stood, backpack in hand. “We still on for next Sunday or no?”
The holiday was around the corner and Anton was leaving with his family to visit his sister way out in the middle of the country. He couldn’t remember all the particulars of when they were headed out.
“We’re not flying out until next Monday evening,” Anton said. “I’ll be up for this Sunday but maybe not the next. That’ll depend on the procrastination level involved in my packing process.”
“I can’t say for certain. It depends on the baby, but I have every intention of playing,” Roan said before he eyed Anton. “Wisconsin again this year?”
“Alena always gets her way,” Anton grumbled, chucking his towel into his duffel.
Alena was a couple of years older than Anton, but the baby of all five sisters. Mothers weren’t supposed to have favorites, but Anton’s mother sure had one. Alena could donothingwrong. The ultimate city girl had shocked everyone and gotten married to a dairy farmer. She’d moved out to the middle of nowhere to play trad wife. Last Jude knew, she was trying to be a social media influencer using the ‘duck out of water’ bit, sharing all of the things she was learning how to do on the farm. Jude had followed her for a while, but it had gotten a bittootraditional for his taste.
She’d started to get that Stepford Wife vibe.
Anton rolled his eyes. “Tell me how it makes sense that fifteen people fly to Wisconsin instead of a family of two and a half flying here.”
“It doesn’t,” Roan said.
Anton waved a hand at Roan, signaling agreement.
“You aren’t beingforcedto go,” Jude said.
“Last year, they’d almost convinced Mom to move out there with them,” Anton said. “We all know Alena wants a built-in babysitter so she can do more of her Instagram bullshit and Mom won’t make it two months outside of the city.”
“Well, I can kind of see why they want you to go there. It’s not like Alena’s husband can leave the farm that easily,” Roan said. “He’s got all of those animals to take care of.”
“Jeff’s younger brother offered to watch over the farm so they could get away for a while,” Anton said. “Alena’s the one who said no. She doesn’t want to expose her baby girl to the toxic air here.Toxic air?I remember when she’d pop someone for talking shit about Jersey,but now that she’s gone, you’d think she’d once lived in a radioactive garbage dump.”
“Thereareplaces in this state that could be labeled a radioactive garbage dump,” Jude said, grinning.
“Speaking of toxic air,” Roan said, sliding his duffel over one shoulder. “I forgot to tell you that I signed us up next Sunday at the community center. I’m freezing my balls off out here.”
“And we’ll have to play the old dudes,” Anton grumbled, frowning.
“At least we have a chance of winning against them,” Jude said.
“Exactly,”Roan said.
