Page 42 of Nanny for the SEALs

I crossed my fingers.

* * *

It had been a long day,and I didn’t realize there’d been a missed call from Pete. I longed to hear his voice, just so I didn’t have to think about whether today worked out or not. I would get a letter in the mail, but as I hopped in my car, I decided to return his call.

“Pete!”

“Hey, little bro, I thought you didn’t love me anymore!” He laughed as he did every time he said something like this. I knew he was feeling nervous about something, and I wondered if it was really about me not picking up his call.

“What’s happened?”

He shot back, “No. It’s just that I want to make sure you’re coming for Thanksgiving. It’s just that you still haven’t called Rick and I feel shit about it. Sorry for being direct, but we’re brothers, we’re supposed to be there for each other.”

I nodded, knowing he was right.

“I needed to find myself. Just me. Not the shadow of Rick nor Pete, just find out what I was really about and I think I’ve done that. I feel shit for the way I left, but I’m good, Pete. Believe me. You have nothing to worry about.”

“You sound good. I haven’t heard you talk like this in a long time.”

“Pete, I need to get going, but I’ll be there in three weeks. You’ll be back from San Fran then, right?”

He laughed once again, this time it didn’t sound nervous. He sounded as if I reassured him.

“Sure. I’ll be there. See you soon, little bro.”

“Yeah, you take care, old man!”

As I hung up, I could hear him still laughing. Before I would be annoyed thinking he was laughing at me, but I didn’t feel that way anymore. The time we’d spent apart had been good for us, it had made me feel like they were my brothers and they cared for me and were not my arch enemies.

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