Billy’sandCarson’slaughter cut through the hum of conversations asIapproached, their easy smiles a testament to the bonds of brotherhood we shared.Thebooth they occupied was etched with the history of countless evenings like this, the wood polished by years of use.Iwas surprisedMichaelwasn’t there but figured he’d stayed home with his andBilly’sboys.
“Anson, over here!Whattook you so long?”Billycalled out.Whilewe used to get together frequently, he’d been a total homebody since he andMichaelhad started dating.Ofcourse that tended to happen when you went from just friends to living together and co-parenting in a matter of months.Theirstory was almost unbelievably bizarre, but they were happy.Inever thoughtI’dsee the day whenBillysettled down, living every day for two boys who adored him.
Islid into the booth, the leather seat cool against my back. “Sorry,Igot held up.Bartdecided to go on an adventure again,”Isaid.Theimage of my mischievous dog escaping once more drew a chuckle from my lips despite my earlier frustration.
Thatdamn fence couldn’t get fixed fast enough.Itshould have been quick to runBarthome, let him do his thing, and come inside for food.Butno, he just had to get one last romp throughKevin’syard in, as if he realized what was about to happen.
“Andhow is our four-leggedHoudini?”Carsonwas the one who’d talked me into getting a dog soIwasn’t completely alone, and he took great joy in hearing all aboutBart’santics.
Iaccepted the pintBillyslid toward me, the foam dripping onto the back of my hand. “He’sfine.Toosmart for his own good, but fine.Endedup inKevin’syard again.”
Themention ofKevin’sname sparked a particular interest in my brothers.Billyleaned in, his eyes twinkling with curiosity and mischief. “I’msurprised he wasn’t over there as soon as the fence broke to fix it.Heseems the neighborly sort.”
Takinga long drink,Inodded. “Funnyyou say that.Wewound up chatting a bit whenBartwas over there yesterday, and he offered to help me fix it.We’regoing to get everything set to rights tomorrow so that damn dog stays where he belongs.”
Thebeer was rich and smooth.Itfelt good to relax, to be among family after what felt like endless days of solitude and legal jargon.Whenthe waitress came by,Itreated myself to a bacon cheeseburger with fries.Iusually ordered the salmon whenIcame here, butIfelt out of sorts and needed comfort food tonight.
Carson’seyebrow arched, an impish grin playing at the corners of his mouth. “YouandKevin, huh?Spendingthe day together…fixing fences, is it?”HenudgedBillywith his elbow, a silent conspirator in the gentle teasing about to unfold.
Isighed, rolling my eyes at their insinuations. “Yes,Kevinand me,”Iemphasized, a bit more sharply than intended. “He’shandy with tools, andIcouldn’t figure out how to let him down without him taking it personally.”
Billy’schuckle was warm, affectionate. “We’rejust giving you shit.Butit’s good to see you getting out of that cave you call a house, even if it’s just for someDIYhome improvement.”
Asthe evening wound down and the bar’s lights brightened slightly as a gentle reminder it was time to head out,Ifound myself reluctant to leave.Ihadn’t realized how badlyIneeded a night out with my brothers.Beingalone wasn’t allI’dmade myself believe it to be.
2
KEVIN
WhenIofferedto helpAnsonfix his fence,Iexpected him to refuse.Ansonwas a grumpy old man stuck in the very attractive body of a forty-something.Allhe was missing was a rickety rocking chair for the front porch so he could shake a fist at the kids who dared to cut across his lawn instead of staying on the sidewalks.Itwas a shame, really, because whenIfirst moved in,I’dhoped to make friends with my neighbors.Iimagined grilling on my nights off, maybe inviting people over to watch a ball game.Instead,Ifound myself nestled between the grump and a workaholic single mom with two teenagers.
Evenafter he agreed to fix the fence together,Ianticipated him going back on his acceptance, telling me he could do it himself.Buthe’d shown up yesterday morning, bright and early, which was strange.Mostweekends, there was no sign of life from his house until after noon, except for lettingBartout to relieve himself.
NotthatIkept tabs on him or anything.Okay, soItotally did, butIconvinced myself it was simply a hazard of the job.Iwas always aware of my surroundings, and that wasn’t somethingIcould turn off as soon asIwalked out the doors of the police department.
Ipoured two travel mugs and swiped the bag of donuts off the counter on my way out the doorSundaymorning.Wherehe had to take care ofBart,Ifigured it would be nice to bring him breakfast as a peace offering of sorts.Heseemed less than thrilled whenIagain brought up the idea of a gate in the fence.Itwas stupid of me, butIwas holding on to hope thatI’dmanage to crack his defenses and we could at least be friendly, if not friends.Itirritated him whenBartescaped to my yard, butI’dbeen sincere whenItold himIdidn’t mind.
Withmy hours being unpredictable at the best of times,Ididn’t feel it was fair for me to get a pet of my own.Iworked twelve-hour shifts, and it wouldn’t be fair to have a pet who was alone most of the time.That’swhyIactually liked watchingBartzoom around my raised garden beds.Hewas agood boy with way too much energy.Thegate would have been more for me than either of them.
AsIopened the storm door with my elbow, careful to not drop anything,IspottedAnsonwalking through the grass between our houses.Whenhe noticed me, he jogged over, holding the door open for me.Ihanded him one of the mugs. “Thanks.Thisis for you.”
“Youdidn’t have to do that.”Icould tell he wanted to say something else, but he pressed his lips into a thin line.Afurrow creased the center of his forehead. “Iwas just coming over to see what time you wanted to head to the store, but it looks like you’re ready now, huh?”
“Yeah.”IfollowedAnsonto his truck.Heopened the door and took the mug out of my hand soIcould climb into the beast.Inever understood why anyone put big tires on their trucks when they weren’t using them for farm work or some other meaningful purpose, but somehow, the lifted truck worked forAnson.Evenif it was a bizarre contrast to his carefully starched personality.Theinside of the truck was spotless.Thedashboard looked freshly polished, and there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. “Nicetruck.”
“Thanks.Notreally my style, but the price was right.”Ansondidn’t say anything else on the drive to the hardware store on the other side of town.Myleg bounced asIstared out the window, trying to come up with something to break the awkward silence.Icouldn’t help but wonder if he really wanted me here with him.Iwas startled whenAnson’shand pressed down on my knee. “I’mnot keeping you from something important, amI?”
Itlooked as though several others had the same idea we did, hoping to get some final projects completed outside before the threat of snow became real.Therewere several families along the way raking leaves, laying mulch over flower beds for the winter, and even doing some painting.Agroup from one of the churches was working on cleaning upMr.Barnes’shouse, dragging overflowing garbage cans to pickup trucks lined along the curb.
Itwouldn’t be long before his family was forced to come back to town and pay attention to their patriarch.Itwas sad how often he wound up calling the non-emergency number to the police station, knowing his requests weren’t emergencies but feeling he had no one else to call.Today’sefforts were the result of him feeling overwhelmed and finally reaching out for help.
“No, why do you ask?”WhenAnsonremoved his hand,Imissed the contact.Whichwas ridiculous because we weren’t even friends.Ineeded to call my friends and see if they were up for getting together the next timeIhad a couple of days off in a row.
“You’rebouncing the whole damn truck.”Ansonslowed as we approached the center of town.Theteens raking leaves in front ofHarmonyHousewaved as we passed.Thatmight have been the first timeI’dever seenAnsongenuinely smile.
“That’scool of them to help out,”Icommented.Nowthat we were talking,Iwanted to keep him from shutting down again.Therewere men of few words, and then there wasAnson, who used the fewest words possible from whatIcould see.
“They’regood kids.Billytries to open onSundaysfor the ones who need a place to go,” he explained.Therewas so much meaning in what he wasn’t sharing, butIwas pretty sureIknew why it was so important to be there for the teens whose families weren’t supportive. “Thewhole reason we bought the property and invested in the center was because we knew how lucky we were growing up with unconditional love.Truth&Lightwas starting to grow their congregation at the time, and it wasn’t easy for kids who didn’t fit the mold.”
