“Listen,” he said, taking a step closer, his voice lowering. “I’m the first to admit my brother was an alphahole. He thought he was better than everyone. He thought omegas were playthings, and he often made impulsive decisions, not thinking about the consequences and who they might hurt. But he was my brother, and I loved him.”
I nodded. That was when it hit me; just like me, he lost a brother. He had that same ache in his heart. And for the first time since I started cutting the onions, my eyes filled with tears. It had nothing to do with my food prep and everything to do with the man standing before me. At least he didn’t know why I was crying. It was the onions, after all.
“I can’t fix what my brother did,” he said. “But maybe, since we work together, can you not judge me based on who he was?”
“Yeah, I can do that.” It would be a challenge seeing him and not feeling that disgust for his brother, but I promised him I would, and I’d try my darndest to make that happen. He was right. He wasn’t his brother, and he didn’t deserve my wrath or the bucket of other emotions he stirred up every time we were close together.
“I know this isn’t an excuse, and I’m not asking for details, but he was still a kid back then. We all were.”
“Yeah, I suppose so,” I said. And it was true, but unlike the two of us in this room, my brother had to grow up real fast and lost those youthful years. He wouldn’t have traded them for anything. He loved being a dad, but that doesn’t change the facts.
Raff turned to leave and then turned right back. “I lied before when I said I’m not going to ask for details. I need the details. What did my brother do? Maybe I can make it right.”
It was too much to ask for. All of this had already been a lot.
“Can I think about that? I promise it’s not a no. It’s just… if I do share, now is not the time and this isn’t the place.” I picked up my knife again, this time meaning it. “I’ve still got all these onions to do, and then I’ve got that whole sack of potatoes to peel, and the carrots to julienne, and the green peppers to clean out for stuffed peppers for tomorrow. There’s a ton to do.”
“Okay, you can have time. And if you want, I can peel the potatoes. I’m shit at cutting fancy shapes in veggies, but I can peel like a boss.”
He didn’t wait for me to say yes. He went straight to it. The first few minutes were rough. I kept waiting for him to ask more questions I wasn’t ready to answer, but he accepted my boundary, and the two of us went about the work in silence. It was kind of nice.
