“We’re almost done. We’ll meet you there.” The dull tone of Shane’s words suggested that the anger I heard from their father when I knocked on the door hadn’t been directed solely at Mrs. Connely.
“What could possibly be more important than baseball, especially since camp starts next week?” I leaned up against the shed door as Shane and Reid worked inside, sweeping up the shards of glass from the window I had only just realized was broken.
“How’d you two manage that one?” I asked, tipping my chin down to the broken glass. I chuckled at Shane who was trying to coordinate using a broom and dustpan at the same time.
“Skills over there,” Shane angled his head over to Reid who was currently dropping another pile of broken glass into the garbage pail, “wasn’t paying attention and he tossed the ball straight through the window.”
“Shut up, ass. I was paying attention. You’re the one who took your eye off the ball,” Reid defended pointlessly as he picked up another pile.
“Whatever. Let’s just get this cleaned up before Dad gets even more pissed. Go ahead, Dylan. We’ll catch up with you in a bit.” As Shane busied himself with the last pile of glass on the floor, I recalled the harsh tones of their father’s yelled words when I first walked up to the door. So, rather than racing off to the ballpark to meet up with my waiting friends, I dropped my equipment outside of the shed and grabbed another broom to help them finish cleaning up.
In less than five minutes, we were done. At the same time, the gate to the backyard clicked closed after we raced through it to meet the rest of the guys, the back door opened in a rush as Mr. Connely stepped out onto the back deck, scanning the yard for his sons.
The field was only about a five-minute walk down the block, most of which was spent in silence. It was obvious that something had happened back at home, but neither Reid nor Shane wanted to talk about it. After catching sight of his friends, Reid sprinted the last few hundred feet, leaving Shane and me behind in his dust.
“I heard your dad yelling,” I said, aiming for the cool distance that any conversation between teenage boys required, but the concern was evident.
Shane lamely shrugged – the typical teenage boy form of dismissal. “Yeah, he gets like that.”
Maybe it was because nothing more needed to be said, or maybe it was becausesomuch more had to be said – neither of us said anything else.
Since I had come from a very warm and loving home, I knew there was so much more to say to Shane. Knowing Shane had come from a home that was anythingbutwarm and loving, he just kept his mouth shut.
Therefore, instead of talking about angry parents, we all enjoyed a Saturday afternoon baseball game. It was difficult not to notice Shane hit the ball with a bit more force than usual, that his throw had a bit more power behind it. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was Shane’s way of dealing with whatever was going on at home.
After sailing yet another ball out of the small park, Shane rounded the bases, touching every last one of them, pumping his arms in the air and being a general goofball.
“A little girl could hit the ball outta this park,” Reid jibbed at his older brother and tossed him a bottle of water.
“Yeah?” Shane chugged back half of the bottle in one gulp and then tipped his chin at his big-mouthed younger brother. “Then how come you haven’t? Pussy weighing you down, girl?” Shane jokingly poked a finger into Reid’s chest, laughing playfully as he did so.
All of us lost it in an uproar of laughter. The chuckling quickly ceased as Reid barreled into Shane, dropping him to the ground in one hard shove. Even though Shane was older, Reid was fairly well matched when it came to size.
“What the—” Shane’s curse was cut off as Reid shoved his knee into Shane’s ribs. Me and a few of the other boys tried to get in between the fighting brothers, but there was no use. By the time everyone else’s attention was brought back to what was going on, Reid was already landing punch after punch to Shane’s arm.
“Reid!” I called out, trying to shove my way in between him and Shane. “Leave ‘im alone. Stop punching him!” I yelled, louder this time, the volume of my voice finally getting Reid’s attention.
Grabbing him by the sweat-and-dirt-stained collar of his T-shirt, I tossed Reid back as Shane stood from the ground, brushing the dust from his mesh athletic shorts. Glaring at Reid, Shane just stared him down, not saying a word.
“I don’t like being called a girl, asshole.” Reid glowered and Shane backed off. A moment of understanding passed between them and I could only assume that it had something to do with their father.
In all the years I had known him, Thomas Connely had never struck me as a nice man. Fatherly, kind, and happy were not words I would have used to describe him. Rather, he was always snarling with contempt, anger radiating from him in a seemingly permanent fashion. Because I was always an intuitive kid, sensitive to other people’s feelings and always willing to listen to a problem, I told the other guys to head home. As I pulled Reid and Shane over to the beat-up old bleachers to the side of the field, I was determined to get to the bottom of this.
“Look, I know you two don’t want to talk about it and I’m not trying to get all touchy-feely, but one of you better tell me what the fuck is going on.” I tried my best to keep my voice stern and even, but the concern there was evident. In that one sentence, I felt years older and wiser than I actually was.
Both Shane and Reid simply sat there, wallowing in their silence, seething with something that was threatening to boil over at any second.
After a few more minutes of stilted silence, Shane finally spoke up. “He’s right. I shouldn’t have called him a girl.” The apology was sincere and hung heavily between the boys.
“Yeah, I shouldn’t have tackled you to the ground. Sorry ‘bout that.” Neither brother made eye contact with the other. Since I was an only child, I had to choke back a laugh at the ridiculous antics the two brothers shared.
“See, now was that so difficult?” I crossed my arms over my just-starting-to-get-muscular chest, a proud smile curling at my lips.
Both Shane and Reid rolled their eyes and shrugged, huffing a sarcastic “whatever” at me almost simultaneously.
“But seriously, guys, whatisgoing on? It’s not like your dad was ever all that warm and fuzzy, but he seems…” I paused for a moment, searching for the right word without being too offensive.
“Like a gigantic douche?” Reid found the words for me.
