Between Brothers

by C. Kelly Robinson

  “Well, you know we’ll have bells on in anticipation of your arrival. This is gonna be too sweet, Larry, you’ll see. Everyone at the corporate headquarters has been asking about you, ever since your days working here when you were in high school. And every year I’ve had to hide my embarrassment when they ask if you’ll be returning to us. Every summer, it’s been ‘No, he’s interning at Merrill Lynch, Bankers Trust, General Electric.’ Anyplace but your old man’s company.”

  “Pop, you always said you wanted me to expand my horizons first.”

  “And I did, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt to see you put off Whitaker Holdings like some stepchild. But hey, no hard feelings, son. I’m excited about your summer. You can live it up! The renovations of the guest house were completed last month, so you can have that all to yourself, or stay in the room we designed for you when the house was built. Your sister can take the leftovers when she gets back from behind that godforsaken Iron Curtain.”

  “All right, Pop, sounds good. Look, I gotta go. We can talk about my work assignments when I get home. I’m gonna stick around to see Brandon and O. J. graduate tomorrow, then I’m gonna help the guy who’s subleasing my room get settled. I’ll plan to drive home Monday, after I meet with Winston Hughes about forming the HSA cabinet for next year.”

  “My son, the vice president of the Highland Student Association! Didn’t have the juice to follow your old man’s legacy and make president, huh?”

  Larry chuckled. His father was so predictable. “Pop, when I explain everything that went down here lately, you’ll understand why I withdrew from the race. I was hoping that Winston would pull out a victory like he did, but I never expected him to select me as his vice president! I almost said no, but when I thought it through, I realized I had made time to be president next year, so why couldn’t I be vice? Besides, a socially impaired brother like Winston needs a smooth operator as his right hand. Who better to fill that role than moi?” Larry’s eyes locked with Sheila’s again. “Hey, look, Pop, I really gotta be out this time.”

  Larry senior wasn’t too happy to let Larry escape that quickly. “Okay, okay, look. I’m really proud of you, son. The fact that you and your boys were able to help get Ellis Center stabilized speaks volumes about your abilities. I know Brent is just as proud of Brandon as I am of you. Now it’s time for you to bring those skills to the family business. I’ve got some of everything lined up for you—acquisition analysis, troubleshooting in our PR and operations departments, and some financial projections for the new branches. When you’re done, those snobby bankers won’t be able to so much as turn your head.”

  “Well, we’ll see, Pop, we’ll see. I gotta go.”

  “Hey, son, by the way, will that fine thang Ashley be coming to see you this summer?”

  Pretending not to hear the question, Larry clicked off his phone and let it rest gently at his side. Across his partially packed room, amid growing piles of cardboard boxes and packing tape, Sheila sat atop the silvery black comforter of his bed. It was early Friday evening, and they had agreed to go out and have a private celebration of the end of the Ellis affair, despite the fact that they had gone drinking and grubbing with the guys after the rededication ceremony. Sheila was once again more spruced up than usual, her business casual attire almost matching Larry’s. They had reservations at Houston’s in an hour, so they needed to leave shortly. Romancing a target of his affections with an expensive evening on the town was old hat to a man of his experience, but tonight he had decided to let the pomp and circumstance follow the substance. He had both craved and feared this moment, this facing up to the powerful emotions this sister induced in him. But the time for games had passed. Her parents and Andre were already in town for graduation; her parents were going to stay an extra week to give Sheila time to get accustomed to full-time motherhood before starting her position at the Post. This woman now had too many responsibilities on her to deal with some flaky player. Larry playfully kicked aside a couple of boxes and took a seat on the bed, which he slapped loudly. “So, Sheila Evans, what exactly are we?”

  Her dark brown eyes drinking him in like some divine milk shake, she put a hand to her chin in mock thought. “Now, Mr. Whitaker, what ever are you talking about?”

  He repressed the urge to scoot closer, an urge intensified by the magnetic pull between their bodies. “Geez, now I know how nice guys like Choirboy feel.” He wiped his brow of the moisture that had sprung up without warning. “Sheila, you gotta understand. I’ve never had to do this before.”

  “Do what?”

  “I don’t know, tell a girl how I feel about her before anything else has taken place. See, normally, I take a girl out, show her a good time, get physical, then we worry over the semantics of how we feel about each other.”

  “And what does this have to do with me?” Sheila was enjoying this a little more than Larry preferred.

  “Sheila, the old way got me nothing but one-night stands and empty relationships, like Ashley. I’ll be straight up with you. I have no clue as to how to build a real, solid relationship. That’s never been a concern for me. Until you.”

  “Larry, what are you saying?” No longer looking coy, Sheila rose from the bed, one hand to her chest.

  Fastening his eyes to hers without leaving his bedside perch, he spoke slowly, hoping his words made sense. “I think I could fall in love with you, Sheila, that’s what I’m trying, ineptly, to say. I’ll admit, this is just based on a few weeks of close friendship, and maybe things will be different now that we no longer have the Ellis drama to juice things up. But . . . I don’t know what I’m saying, okay? I look at you, and I see a woman with intelligence, beauty, heart, and selflessness, someone who I could wake up every day excited to be with, today and fifty years from now. I want us to have a chance to see if that feeling is mutual, if we could actually be a couple. This ain’t no marriage proposal, understand. This is just an honest declaration of feelings. Am I making any sense?”

  The room seemed to be void of sound for several seconds as Sheila leaned against Larry’s closed door, chewing her lower lip softly and crossing her arms deliberately. “It all sounds good, Larry. And I’d be lying if I told you that my feelings don’t mirror yours. There’s not a sister at Highland who hasn’t considered what it would be like to be your lady. But I never gave you much thought before these past few weeks, when I came to see your wit, perseverance, and loyalty to others up close. God, that sounds corny. My girlfriends would kill me if they heard me right now. But I may as well be real. I’d like nothing better than to give us a chance. But I have to tell you a story first.”

  Intrigued, Larry rose and dragged a chair over to where she stood. “Have a seat and tell me about it.”

  “You may want to sit down for this one.”

  “I’m straight. What’s the story, Sheila?”

  Her back erect as she took a seat in the desk chair, Sheila gazed into Larry’s eyes, the look on her face more distant than he was accustomed to. “Larry, on the surface, and I stress the surface, you have always reminded me of someone. When I was in high school in Detroit, there was a guy who was Big Man on Campus, a senior when I was a sophomore. His name was Byron Wiggs and he was Mr. It. Tall, dark, handsome, and hung like a bull moose if the girls’ locker-room talk was to be believed. Yes, girls can talk just as foul as you boys, and unlike you guys, most of girls’ high school sex talk is based on fact. Well, from sophomore year on, I heard how hot Byron was. Every girl wanted to be on his arm, in his pants, you name it. Personally, I always claimed to have no interest in him. I never cared for the jock type. I had always been a track star myself, but I wasn’t drawn to the big, brawny buffoons who populated men’s sports. I would normally date the more gentlemanly of the guys who asked me out, who were usually the plainer, nerdy guys. I didn’t really have the type of assets that horny teenagers ran after, so I made do and told myself I was content.

  “Then the summer before my senior year, I’m out at a party wh
en who do I run into but Byron Wiggs, along with a crew of his underachieving partners from his high school class. He kept bad company, but he was still doing okay for himself. Top running back in University of Detroit’s history, and he was on the cover of every local sports mag and paper. Personally, I had started to blossom a little bit, but I was still no Jayne Kennedy. Regardless, I guess I still had enough to draw Byron’s interest. To make a long story short, he coaxed me onto the dance floor at that party and before I knew it, I had given him my virginity, my car keys, and my self-respect. He never pretended to be faithful to me, but I rationalized that I could deal with that in return for the excitement, pleasure, and attention being with him brought. Girls who used to think they could ignore me started paying me props, and brothers who had treated me like I was invisible suddenly wanted to mack me so they could say they stole Byron’s woman. Well, I just knew I was Miss It.

  “In the fall of my senior year I was editor of the school paper, vice president of my class, and the number-three student in academic rank. Highland sought me out for a full ride early on, and I was on cloud nine. Life couldn’t be any better. Then my luck train ran out of steam. I had been too embarrassed to tell my parents I was gettin’ busy, so I’d relied on Byron’s Trojans to keep me from getting knocked up. I’m sure you’ve been around enough to know that was just courting disaster, and it was early October when I found out I was pregnant.”

  “Oh, Sheila.” Larry was not so surprised to find that this Wiggs was Andre’s father, but the simple fact that Sheila was sharing such personal info threw him off balance.

  Although it had been four years ago, Sheila’s voice still sounded ready to crack as she continued her story. “So I figured, it’s not the absolute end of the world, right? Pregnant teens weren’t exactly an anomaly at the time, so I figured if I had to be one, at least my baby had the most famous father in the Detroit area. I never even questioned whether or not Byron would take responsibility, Larry. Never. The men in my family, they’ve always taken care of their responsibilities. I knew Byron was no saint, but I expected him to take care of his child and respect me in the process.

  “One thing is sure, he was smooth. I called him the day after I got the news, and he treated me the way he probably treated the other girls he’d knocked up. Talked a big game about how ‘we’ would get through this, how he was there for me, loved me. He said he would call me the next day so we could figure out how to tell my parents. He also said he’d look into getting a part-time job to kick in child support. I decided to believe him. I had to. Two weeks later, after he still hadn’t called, I called his house. His mother answered and read me out, saying I was like all the other whores who tried to land her son with pregnancy stories. Larry, I was too shocked to respond. I hung up the phone and cried harder than I ever have. I haven’t talked to Byron since. Larry, I never want to feel pain like that again.”

  Moving to her, Larry buried Sheila’s head in his shoulder, feeling her warm tears bleed into his rugby shirt. “As long as I have anything to say about it, Sheila, you never will.” Wiping the tears from her eyes, he took her trembling face into his hands. “I want to take this slow, as slow as you need it. And I’ll do whatever you want regarding Andre, whether you want me to be his best buddy right away or keep my distance until we decide we have a viable relationship. But I want to be there for you, starting today.” Hugging her tightly, Larry wiped any concerns about smoothness or style from his mind and planted an earnest kiss on Sheila’s quivering lips. As he tasted the warmth of her welcoming mouth, he made a promise: no more “profiles,” no more choosing a woman to satisfy anyone other than himself. It was time to step up to the plate and learn how to love like a real man.

  Terence had been too dog-tired to let Lisa drag him out into the streets tonight. She’d tried to get him to go out with Larry and Sheila to Houston’s, but he had killed that notion instantly. He’d been running on empty for the last month, and this past week’s events would have drained Arnold Schwarzenegger of his strength. He was determined to do nothing but sit on his butt tonight. That hadn’t stopped Lisa from coming over, though. She was in the kitchen, preparing him a late supper of spaghetti and meatballs while he sprawled across the couch, tripping off some episodes of Martin and Living Single he had taped. This was always one of his favorite ways to unwind on weekends, but he’d had no time for this guilty pleasure for weeks. He would chill tonight, check out his boys and Lisa at their graduation tomorrow, and then get down to business for the summer. A brother had things to do.

  “Dinner is served, Boo.” Lisa emerged from the kitchen, a steaming plate of spaghetti balanced in her right hand. Her hair was pulled back into a slick ponytail. Seeing the simplicity of her appearance, Terence was transported back to their days in high school at Cardozo. Life had seemed so simple then; she had made his senses soar like no other girl had, and he had believed the feeling was mutual. Now, four years later, his heart still ached and longed for those days. Sure, she was here for him now, and had proven herself in ways he never expected throughout this Ellis crisis. His heart told him that should be enough, that he could consider their “here today, gone tomorrow” days a thing of the past. They were now ready to be a fully committed, stable couple, right?

  As he reached for the plate of spaghetti and placed it on the coffee table, he examined Lisa’s sparkling eyes. He knew the answer to one half of the question plaguing his mind, but he needed Lisa’s help for the complete answer. “Lisa, when you’re with me, do you still think of other guys?”

  Pursing her lips and knitting her forehead into a frown, Lisa loosely placed a hand on her hip. “Okay, so where is this coming from? I cook you a meal, and the only comment you have is a question like that?”

  Flicking the TV off with a punch of the remote control, Terence leaned back into the couch and patted the seat beside him. “Sit down. This ain’t some inquisition, I don’t want you getting defensive. Just answer my question, babe. The first time you stepped out on me, freshman year, you said it was best we split up for a while, because you found yourself thinkin’ about what it would be like to be with other guys. Basically, I wasn’t enough to keep you from being curious about other dudes, like Sam Baker and whoever else. I wanna know if four years and however many other guys has changed that, Lisa. Can you be satisfied with me?”

  Taking a cautious seat next to Terence, Lisa folded her hands in her lap and looked out toward the front window. “I don’t understand your reason for asking, Terence, but yes, I can be satisfied—no, more than satisfied being with you. I love you! I always have—”

  “But that didn’t stop you from wanting to experiment with other brothers—”

  “Terence, that is not fair! Do you really wanna play ‘Who’s slept with whom?’ ’Cause if what the girls around campus say is true, you’ve always found someone to get it on with when we were apart.”

  Terence rested his head in his hands. “Lisa, I’m a redblooded male. If I can’t be with my honey, I’m gonna eventually have to get with somebody. It was you who put me in that position.”

  Frowning vehemently, Lisa jumped to her feet, seemingly talking more to the TV than to Terence. “Terence, why would you wait until now, after all we’ve been through, to complain about the past? You could have shut me out a long time ago. Nobody made you take me back when I got tired of those other guys.”

  Terence searched Lisa’s eyes. “These last few days have made me look at life in a new light, Lisa. And maybe part of that new light is the belief that I’m worthy of a long-term commitment from the woman in my life. You’re not my mother, Lisa; I don’t have to be grateful every time you come back. I think I’ve gone so long without expecting anybody to value me as a person that I forgot that. So I gave you a free ride. Well, the free ride ends today, babe.”

  Lisa crossed her arms and began to trace a circle in the floor with her right foot. “Terence, we can’t all be blessed with your talent for loyalty, for settling in life. I’m sorry, but I
think my parents were right. They always told me to make sure not to marry the first guy who came along. They always encouraged shopping around.”

  Terence hissed a sigh through his teeth. “You ain’t sayin’ a word. I knew they never liked me.”

  “It’s not that they don’t like you. They just wanted me to go as far as possible in life. I’ll admit, in their eyes, that meant marrying ‘up.’ They enrolled me in Jack and Jill, the Greek auxiliaries, and tried to steer me toward sons of doctors, businessmen, or politicians. I guess by the time I got to Highland, I decided I needed to experience some of those types so that when I settled down, I’d be at peace about what I was missing out on.”

  “Lisa, I know the story, heard it from you many times. What you ain’t answering is, why I should expect you to be at peace now, when you weren’t a year ago? Is it the fact that I’m goin’ to achieve my goal of becoming an engineer? If Jerry Wallace hadn’t talked to the cops about the Ellis mess and rehired me at Technotronics, would you even know my name right now?” He paused at the sight of tears sprouting in her eyes. Now his felt moist as well. “Dammit, Lisa, I’m not tryin’ to hurt you. I just want us to be real with each other. Talk to me, babe.”

  Lisa wasn’t meeting Terence’s eyes anymore. “Terence, I can’t give a definite answer yet. Of all the guys I’ve dated so far, you’re the only one I could spend the rest of my life with. I know that.”

  “But there’s still plenty of other brothers you might meet down the line, huh?”

  “Who says it has to be a brother? I don’t think I should rule out entire races of people like that, Terence. I don’t know when I’ll be ready for marriage, but right now I want to work on our relationship. It’s the best thing I’ve experienced so far.”