Chapter Two
Gabe
The drive out from Clark County Airport felt like the longest drive ever, after the longest flight ever. I checked in the rearview mirror. Louie was looking out of the car window, mesmerized by the passing scenery.
“You okay, bud?” I turned my attention back to the road.
“Yes Daddy. Are we nearly at Gramps’ house yet?”
“Five minutes and we’ll be there.”
Louie didn’t really understand what was going on, but he was happy to be going on a trip with me. I couldn’t really expect him to get it, considering he was only five years old.
I felt dog tired. We had traveled all through the night after booking a last minute seat on the red eye from Washington DC. All I wanted to do was get to the farm and find out what was going on.
Dad was dead. It didn’t seem real. We had only been talking on the phone a couple of days ago about him coming over to DC to visit. He knew I hated coming back home, hated the memories it brought up.
But there I was, driving towards the farm I grew up on, knowing that the man who had loved me and brought me up was no longer there to greet me.
Louie yawned and stretched his arms and back. I smiled into the rearview mirror at him. “You look beat, pal. You ready for some zee-time?”
“Sure am, daddy,” he replied through an even bigger yawn.
Stifling my own yawn, I indicated to turn off the main road and turned left on to the long sliver of road that led to our farm. The trees on either side met in the middle to form a canopy, meshed together like a tunnel. I had a vague recollection of chasing my brother down the road with my water bazooka one summer. Back before he hit the terrible teens and changed overnight into a giant pain in my dad’s ass.
I passed the tiny cottage that the Torres family lived in and parked up outside the farmhouse. I sat for a moment, trying hard to collect my thoughts. I wiped the grime away from my eye and just sat there, staring out the window.
“Daddy, why are we just sitting in the car?”
Shaking my head, I tried to pull myself together, getting out of the car and opening the passenger door to help Louie out of his seat belt. He climbed out and placed his feet on the dusty track, toeing the deep groove in the muck with a curious look on his face.
“The road is all churned up from the big farm trucks. That’s why it’s not all flat like the big roads. You need to watch your feet when you’re out here so you don’t trip, okay?”
Louie took my hand and nodded, already turning the uneven surface into a balancing game.
“You finally made it!” A male voice called out.
I looked up and Julio and Marta were standing at the front door of the farmhouse. Marta smiled sadly and picked up Louie before pulling me into a hug. She buried her face in my shoulder, tears staining my grey sweater.
“Hi Marta! Hi Julio! Is Lanabear here?” Louie looked around to see if he could see his friend.
Lana appeared at the door. “Is that my Louie monster?” She took him off her mom and whipped him round in a circle before hugging him tight then placing him on the ground.
I couldn’t help but smile at Louie holding on to Lana and telling her all about his adventure on the plane. I was surprised he even remembered Lana. He only met her once when he was two, on a rare trip home to see dad. She must have left a big impression on him. Looking at her now, it wasn’t hard to see why Louie was so entranced with her. She had a warmth about her, and her wide smile was enough to light up the darkest day. I suddenly felt a little more at ease.
The Torres family ushered me inside the farmhouse and sat us down while Marta busied about putting some lunch together. Julio and Lana sat across from me.
“I don’t even know how to begin…” Julio tailed off. Lana put her hand on his knee to comfort her father. “Charlie was fine earlier in the day. In a good mood, even.”
“It must have been a terrible shock for Marta, finding him like that.”
Julio nodded.
Lana frowned in sadness. “I’m so sorry Gabriel,” she whispered softly. Her dark eyes shimmered with tears which she quickly wiped away with the sleeve of her red sweater. I found myself staring at her, halfway drowned in her eyes. Suddenly aware I was making her uncomfortable, I cleared my throat and looked away.
The Torres family arrived at our farm not long after my mom died when I was about eight. I resented the intrusion at first, with Marta busying around us all the time, and Lana poking her nose into everything I did. But the love and laughter the Torres family brought into our lives soon wormed its way into my resentful heart. Marta bribed me with cookies, and Julio enjoyed spending time with me when dad was busy or out of town.
I even got used to Lana. She was the same age as my brother, but it was always me and Lana against Matt when we played together. I remembered her mass of black curls bouncing about wildly as we would run away from Matt to hide. And the evil grin she had as she ran round and round the big oak tree, tying my brother up with a seemingly endless length of rope.
I stole another glance at her, to find the same bright almond shaped eyes, sharp with intelligence and fire, staring back at me. The fire had in her eyes had dampened a little over the years, I knew that, and the wild hair had been tamed into luscious waves. Dad had told me that she had never been the same after her fiancé Kyle died. There was always an air of sadness around her.
Again, that familiar sense of comfort washed over me at seeing her once more. I could feel my cheeks growing warmer as I realized I was being weird again.
Marta placed a plate heaped with sandwiches on the coffee table. Louie and I were both famished, so we dug in. For once I didn’t rag Louie about leaving his crusts. I figured I could let him get away with it for one day. For this day.
Damn. Dad was gone. He wasn’t going to come down the stairs and ruffle Louie’s hair. He wasn’t going to pull me into one of his legendary bear hugs.
My eyes were wet with the tears that had been building up all night. It felt like it all hit me at once. I looked up through blurred eyes and saw Lana crouching in front of me. She had seen the dam break and moved quickly to comfort me. A small hand wound its way under my elbow and on to my forearm. I looked down at Louie’s tiny hand and damn near lost it again.
“You finally bothered to show up.” The voice boomed from the open staircase leading up to the bedrooms. I had been so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I hadn’t even thought to ask where Matt was. There he was, standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking pissed as hell. He was wearing a crumpled and faded black shirt, and his curly hair was plastered to the side of his head, as though he had just woken up.
I stood up stiffly and walked towards him, arms open for an embrace. He stood stock still, his arms folded over his chest. No brotherly love there.
“We got on the first flight we could after Julio called.” Matt pursed his lips as though conceding a small point. I sighed. I was bone tired and I didn’t want to have to deal with Matt’s usual petty behavior. “Louie, come and give uncle Matt a hug.”
Louie looked at me, his little face crumpling in a mixture of bewilderment and fear. Lana nudged him gently forward. Matt seemed to snap out of his sulk and gave Louie a half smile.
“It’s okay little man. You don’t have to hug me if you don’t want.”
Louie’s eyes opened wide and he broke into a huge smile. “Uncle Matt, we came all the way from Washington DC to see you and gramps!” He barreled towards Matt, who winced at the mention of dad, but bent down to embrace his nephew anyway.
“I missed you kiddo,” Matt said, and for a moment I believed he was being genuine.
However, when Matt looked at me again, all I got was cold disapproval and years of resentment on blast from his narrowed eyes.
Tears were threatening again, so I looked away and caught Lana’s eye. The warmth radiating from her just about undid me. She seemed to understand, and nodded her head in solidarity. It was all I could do not to run towards her and bury my head in her chest.