A Family Affair

by Rob Loveless

  “Your father has a bunch of extra sneakers,” Mrs. Adams laughed as she flipped the eggs. “He buys a new pair every spring, convinced that he’s going to run the community half marathon in the summer. You can borrow a pair of his, Andrew.”

  “And I’m sure Cal has an extra pair of shorts, right?” Claire wondered.

  “I’m not sure,” Andrew began.

  “Oh come on, it’ll be fun. It’s good exercise,” she insisted.

  “I’ll grab you a pair of shorts,” Cal said flatly since he knew it was no use arguing with his persistent sister. “It’ll be so much fun.”

  “Come on, Andrew,” their mother said as she swept him out of the kitchen. “Let’s find you a pair of shoes that fit.”

  “Does he even run?” Cal questioned his sister, once they were alone in the kitchen.

  “Sometimes he runs with me. He’s been trying to get into it,” Claire explained before lowering her voice. “I want you guys to hang out and get to know each other.”

  Oh believe me, we know each other plenty well. Still, he wanted to respect his sister’s wishes and happiness. Besides, this was a new start for Cal. He was happy getting to know Jacob, and Claire was happy with Andrew. Everything would be fine. Everybody was happy. “Fine, I’ll grab him a pair of shorts.”

  Cal went to his room and retrieved a spare, looser-fitting pair of basketball shorts since there was a size difference between the two men. Once everyone had changed into their running attire and Andrew had found a pair of shoes that fit, the trio stepped outside. Despite the sunny, clear sky, it was still rather chilly out, and Cal zipped his hoodie up to protect himself from the wind.

  “Let’s stretch real quick,” he instructed.

  “Careful, don’t rip your pants,” Claire teased Andrew as he bent over to stretch his calves. Despite being a looser fit on Cal, the basketball shorts were still a smidge too small on Andrew—particularly around his buttocks. Cal couldn’t help but stare for a moment and broke his gaze before Claire or Andrew noticed.

  “Shut up,” he laughed as he stood up. “I told you I’m working on getting back into shape.”

  After they had all stretched, the group took off on an easy jog through the snow-covered neighborhood. The three ran side by side for the first few minutes until Andrew fell a bit behind. Cal and Claire continued in stride together and chatted with ease, despite their slight panting. After about a mile or so, Claire glanced back behind her to assess how far ahead of Andrew they were.

  “So much for you guys getting to know each other,” she chuckled. “Go on ahead. I’ll wait for Andrew.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I know I’m slowing you down anyway,” Claire laughed.

  With his sister’s permission, Cal took off at his usual pace. He breathed the crisp air in deeply and exhaled as he extended his legs and sprinted several yards ahead of Claire and Andrew. The bitter gusts slapped his face mercilessly and his leg muscled burnt hot with exertion, but Cal was invigorated. With each step, he was eliminating all the stress, anxiety, and worry from his body.

  “Cal!” his sister’s voice echoed throughout the tranquil, winter morning. He glanced behind him and saw Andrew seated at the curb with Claire standing over him. Cal spun around and jogged over to them.

  “What’s wrong?” he questioned; as he approached he could see that Claire appeared concerned.

  “It’s his leg,” she informed with a tinge of worry in her voice.

  “I probably just pulled a muscle,” Andrew shrugged with a slight wince as he rubbed his aching thigh.

  “What do you think?” Claire asked her brother.

  “What do you mean?” Cal wondered.

  “Is his leg okay?”

  “I’m not a doctor,” he exclaimed.

  “But you work at a gym.”

  “Yeah, but I went to school for business management.”

  “But you’re taking those personal training courses,” Claire countered. “Don’t they teach you about treating basic sport-related injuries?”

  “Yeah, but I haven’t gotten certified yet,” Cal retorted.

  “Would you please take a look at his leg?”

  “Fine,” he replied grudgingly before turning toward Andrew. “Where, specifically, does it hurt?”

  “A little above my knee,” he answered. Cal knelt next to him and placed a hand on Andrew’s meaty thigh.

  “All right,” he began, without making eye contact with his ex. “I’m gonna place pressure on it. Tell me when it hurts.”

  “Okay,” Andrew said. Cal squeezed various spots on his thigh until Andrew winced. “Ow, right there.”

  “Yeah,” he said as he detected a firm lump. “I can feel a knot there. Your muscles were probably tight from the cold.”

  Cal began to massage Andrew’s thigh to work it out. Bittersweet memories of driving around with his hand on Andrew’s leg began replaying in his mind. Cal’s face flushed as he peered up at his ex. Damn, something about his dark-brown eyes was so inviting. For a moment, the two gazed at each other while Cal continued to massage the muscle.

  “How does it feel?” Claire asked sounding concerned.

  “It feels good,” Cal blurted out in a low voice. When he realized what he had said, he broke eye contact and stood. “I mean, it feels like the muscle is relaxed. Can you walk?”

  “Yeah,” Andrew responded as he got to his feet. “Um, thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Andrew stretched out his leg, and then the group walked back home. Claire chattered away, oblivious to the awkwardness of Cal’s thigh massage. He and Andrew, however, remained silent and gazed ahead to avoid eye contact for the remainder of their way home. Now that they were walking and not exerting themselves as much, the frigid air was beginning to set in and the powerful gusts of wind only increased their chills.

  Once the trio arrived home, Cal retreated to the guest bedroom and stretched out his fatigued muscles in solitude, eager to escape from Andrew’s presence. He had forced himself to admit that his feelings for his ex were wrong last night, but having touched Andrew today like he had done so many years ago…

  No, Cal scolded himself. Don’t think like that.

  After he finished stretching, Cal decided to shower off the dried sweat that had seemingly frozen to his skin. As the hot stream of water poured over his worn body, the wind continued to howl like an angry spirit against the siding of house. Cal could’ve sworn the floor rattled as a powerful gust surged outside, which was followed by a dull thud and scratching sounds. Several moments later, Cal heard the front door slam followed by Mr. Adams’s muffled cussing. He finished washing himself and hurried out of the shower to see what the commotion was about.

  “What’s going on?” Cal inquired from the top of the stairs, wrapped in a towel and still dripping.

  “Son of a bitch!” his father swore.

  “What?” Cal repeated.

  “The wind knocked a bunch of the Christmas lights off the roof,” his mother called back from the kitchen while Mr. Adams continued to huff and puff.

  “I spent a whole goddamn weekend putting them up.”

  “Todd, language,” Mrs. Adams scolded her husband.

  “I can fix them for you,” Andrew offered.

  “Andrew, your leg,” Claire objected.

  “It’s fine now,” he dismissed her concern.

  “Cal, why don’t you help him?” Mrs. Adams suggested.

  “The roof isn’t that big, Mom. I don’t want to get in his way,” Cal declined, and then grimaced at his pathetic excuse. “I’m sure he’s got it.”

  “Cal,” his mother repeated before she appeared at the bottom of the staircase. “Why don’t you help him? It’s really a two-man job.”

  “But Dad put them up by himself.”

  “Yes, which he shouldn’t have done. He’s not as young as he thinks he is.”

  “But—”

  “Calvin James,” his mother chided. “I don’t k
now what has gotten into you, but you haven’t been yourself the past couple of weeks. What’s the deal?”

  “Well, I don’t want to alarm you, but the doctor recently diagnosed me with early-onset cynicism,” Cal replied. Normally, he would not have copped an attitude with his mother, but her constant badgering over the past month—along with his continuous aggravation over the Andrew situation—was too much.

  “Hey,” she snapped.

  “Yeah,” he retorted and cocked an eyebrow.

  “Cut the shit,” she warned. “Are you trying to ruin Christmas?”

  “Yes, Mom. I’m trying to ruin Christmas. I’m planning on burning the tree tonight while debating the scientific possibility of reindeer flying.”

  “I mean it, Scrooge, lose the attitude,” his mother hissed as Cal walked away.

  “Bah-fucking-humbug,” he muttered under his breath.

  “I heard that!” she called after him. “Watch the language, smartass.”

  Cal shuffled to his bedroom, with a complete lack of enthusiasm, and dried himself off before getting dressed. Despite trying to lie low and evade Andrew, everyone seemed to be pushing the two of them together, which did little to help Cal move on.

  “I went to college. I work full time and pay taxes. I try to be a good person. I go to church every Sunday, for Christ’s sake,” he rambled aloud as he pulled on a navy turtleneck sweater. “Why are you doing this to me, God? What did I do to deserve this bad karma?”

  After he dressed, Cal took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself before going to assist Andrew with the Christmas lights. He was careful to avoid his parents as he headed downstairs and slipped outside while pulling on his coat. As he stepped out into the bitter morning, Cal was surprised to see Andrew was already working on the roof. He climbed up the ladder and joined his ex.

  “You know, they say you shouldn’t climb onto the roof by yourself in case something happens with the ladder,” Cal stated in a flat tone when he reached the top.

  “Well, I thought I was gonna be the only one up here. You know, since the roof isn’t that big,” Andrew retorted, but with a hint of defensiveness.

  “Oh,” he said, feeling slightly embarrassed that Andrew had heard the bickering between him and his mother. The two men kept their distance and refused to glance in the other’s direction while Cal turned his gaze over to the jumbled mess of Christmas lights that had been twisted up in the wind.

  “When I asked Claire out, I didn’t know she was your sister,” Andrew said after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

  “I know,” Cal replied, without diverting his attention from untangling the lights.

  “I mean, the last name ‘Adams’ is pretty common. She said she had a brother named Calvin, but—”

  “I said I know. I believe you,” he said with a slight edge to his voice. Andrew tossed down the strand of lights in his hand and stared at Cal.

  “Then what gives?” he questioned. “Why have you been so indifferent to me?”

  “Are you really asking me that?” Cal snapped. “How do you want me to act in a situation like this?”

  “Well for starters, maybe you can act like you’re actually giving me a chance,” Andrew fired back. “Like first impressions with someone’s family isn’t hard enough? This is kind of awkward for me.”

  “Jesus Christ, here we go! Back to you as usual. Let me tell you, having you walk right back into my life has been just peachy for me. I’m so sorry if this is awkward for you.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “You’re right, I should act like I’m actually giving you a chance so you don’t feel awkward ’cause, you know, how I feel doesn’t matter,” he retorted. “You know what, let’s go back into the kitchen right now, and I can act like I’m giving you a chance.”

  “Cal—”

  “Hey everyone, have you met Andrew? He’s a really great guy. We fucked; he ghosted me, and now he’s sleeping with my sister. But no hard feelings! Isn’t it great that we can keep it all in the family?”

  “You’re so fucking immature,” Andrew shouted.

  “Look who’s calling the kettle black.”

  “You’re twenty-five, and you’re carrying on like a child.”

  “Yeah well, I’m still young, but my parents have high hopes for my maturity improving since, apparently, I’ve mastered the sharing thing.”

  “Clearly you’re pissed, but is this you being pissed at me as an ex or you being pissed at me as an overprotective brother?” he inquired.

  “Oh, so I’m your ex now?” Cal exclaimed. “Good, glad to finally know after constantly wondering what the fuck went on between us!”

  “That was over three years ago!” Andrew roared. “We were twenty and twenty-one.”

  The wind blew steadily as his words echoed through the air until they faded into eventual silence. Both men leered at each other, unsure of what to say next. Cal knew his ex was right; they had been young. Over the past three years, he had seen himself mature and grow up, and wasn’t the same person he was at twenty-one. Though he had been scorned by Andrew, was it fair for Cal to hold a grudge? Andrew had grown up and was no longer the same person he had been three years prior. Considering this and the fact that Cal had vowed to move on from this situation the night before, he felt foolish.

  “I know I acted like a little shit when we hung out,” Andrew began, “but I was only twenty. I was figuring myself out, but I realize I was selfish. So I am sorry for that.”

  “I get it—being selfish while figuring yourself out,” Cal replied in an effort to accept Andrew’s apology, and he meant what he said. Though, for some reason, he couldn’t form the words “it’s okay.”

  “I know this situation isn’t ideal—for either of us,” he continued. “But can we try to let go of the past and move on? I mean, we don’t have to be best friends or anything, but…”

  “I guess we’ll have to—for Claire’s sake,” Cal reasoned. “But it depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Do you love her?”

  “Yeah. I really do,” Andrew answered without hesitation.

  “Good. Then yes, we can move on,” he stated.

  “Thank you. I…I appreciate that. I mean it.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said before turning his attention back to the Christmas lights.

  “Hey, Cal,” Andrew began. “I don’t know if this means anything, or if I should even say this, but if you ever want to talk about us—”

  “Us?”

  “Yeah, like about what happened between us—”

  “No, Andrew, I don’t ever want to talk about us,” Cal dismissed him without taking his eyes off the mangled decorations. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t think it will help anything.”

  “Okay.”

  “You know what? That’s a lie,” he said as he set down the lights he had been working to repair. “I have a lot I want to talk about, but I’m not going to. I just want to ask you one question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Did you—?” Cal began and chuckled under his breath, disbelieving he was about to ask this question. “Do you think if circumstances were different back then, you could’ve lo— You know what? Forget it.”

  “What were you gonna say?”

  “Never mind.”

  “Do I think if circumstances were different back then, I could’ve loved you?” Andrew inquired. Hearing the words aloud struck a chord with Cal, and he wished he had never opened up this conversation since he was trying to make amends with Andrew.

  “I don’t want to know,” he said curtly. “It’s freezing out here. Let’s hurry up and finish with these lights.”

  Andrew obliged and the two worked in silence on the roof. After a solid hour, Mr. Adams’s Christmas lights were repaired, and Andrew and Cal retreated back into the warmth of the house, going their separate ways.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next couple of days were rather uneventful
, and any tension in the Adams’s household seemed to have dispersed. Cal and Andrew continued to honor their truce, and Cal had been making a conscious effort to appear more amicable toward his ex while in Claire’s presence, per her request. The entire situation was still uncomfortable for him, but he trudged along and put his best foot forward to leave the past behind them. Despite this, Cal still made every attempt to avoid being alone with Andrew. And, of course, he had updated Sophie on the recent happenings and spoke with her frequently to stay sane.

  On Tuesday evening, Cal and Claire’s parents left to go to their father’s company’s holiday party. He had planned on spending the night alone in his room and catch up on some recreational reading. However, his plans were soon interrupted by a sudden rap on his bedroom door.

  “Hey, you,” Claire giggled as she entered with a flushed face.

  “It’s only nine, Claire,” Cal observed. “Isn’t it a little early to be drunk?”

  “Oh, relax. Andrew and I are pregaming,” she explained.

  “Fun, fun, fun,” Cal replied.

  “What are you up to?”

  “Just reading.

  “Well, we’re going to go out to the bars in a bit. You should come with us.”

  “Thanks for the invite, but I think I’m gonna stay in for the night.”

  “Yawn. You’re too uptight,” Claire teased. “Come out and have some fun with us.”

  “I’m already in sweatpants,” Cal reasoned.

  “Then change,” his sister countered.

  “Claire, really. I think I’m just going to stay in and—”

  “Boo! Don’t be a boring whore, Cal. Come out with us,” Claire persisted. “Who knows? You might even get lucky and find yourself a fella.”

  “Fella? Did you actually just use the word fella?” Cal questioned with a laugh. “You are drunk.”

  “And you should be too! We’re calling a car to pick us up in fifteen. See you then,” she informed him before she headed back downstairs.

  Cal rolled his eyes at his sister’s tipsy, easygoing self. Still, he couldn’t help admitting he had been growing a bit stir crazy from staying at his parents’ house the past few days. While an evening out with Claire and Andrew might be awkward, it would still be a much-needed escape from his boredom.