CHAPTER TWO
Jacqueline
My brother’s homecoming party was more lavish than most weddings. With a mother like Veronica Keeton, no party of ours was ever lowkey. I hated her over-the-top nature, but she would never change. As I looked around the living room at the insane decorations, I rolled my eyes and wondered what my brother would have to say when he arrived.
“Jacqueline!” Mom called from the kitchen. “Sweetie, I could use some help in here if you don’t mind!”
“Coming!” I called back. I sighed and glanced around the room one last time. Between the fondue station and the patriotic everything, I knew Bradley would be miserable in seconds.
I walked into the kitchen without enthusiasm to find my mother standing by the stove, stirring a large pot of something that smelled amazing. Without asking, I knew it was gumbo, Bradley’s favorite. I smiled at the scent, remembering all the times I watched my brother shovel bowlfuls into his mouth.
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Would you mind getting the appetizers set out?” she asked. “There are some trays right there on the counter.”
I nodded. “Sure thing.”
Moving to the counter, I laid out all the trays and grabbed the appetizers from the refrigerator. I rolled my eyes again as I realized just how much my mother must have spent on this party. Deep down, I knew she meant well. It wasn’t easy for her to worry about Bradley’s safety. For years, she was the mother of a Navy SEAL. There were times when we didn’t know where he was or even if he was alive. The fear often got the best of me, and I knew it was much worse for Mom.
As I thought about this, my feelings softened. I glanced up at my mother and saw the excitement on her face. With a smile, I walked over and hugged her. She smiled, surprised, and hugged me back.
“I’m excited too,” I said. “I can’t wait to see him.”
“Oh, honey,” she said, sniffling. “We all are.”
I hurried over to finish the appetizers while my mother launched into a story about our neighbor, Mrs. Greenburg.
“Apparently she seduced one of her students,” Mom said, using her scandalous voice. “Honestly, I can’t say I was surprised. You know she’s always been sketchy. I told your father, I said, ‘George, that woman is trouble. I don’t want her anywhere near the kids.’ But he always insisted she was fine. Now look, I was right!”
“Uh-huh,” I said, barely paying attention.
As much as I loved my mom, she was often exhausting. Her penchant for gossip was not something we had in common. I found senseless drama to be boring and uninspired, but she lived for it. Every time I came home, she would give me the rundown on the latest neighborhood news. As her daughter, it was my job to listen politely, but I never remembered a thing she said.
Today I would have been happy to talk about my brother. Bradley was coming home—Bradley and Ryan. My stomach clenched tightly as I thought about Ryan. I hadn’t seen him in over nine years. Last time we were face-to-face, I was only fourteen. It felt like a different life.
“Get the cake out, would you?” Mom asked, taking the appetizer trays into the living room.
“Sure,” I said.
I opened the fridge and pulled out a giant box. As I set it on the counter, I smiled to myself. This was going to be a great day. I opened the box to examine the cake, and my mood changed immediately. Staring at the cake, I felt an uncontrollable rage deep in my stomach. My face flushed, and when my mother entered the kitchen, she looked at me in shock.
“Jacqueline,” she said. “Honey, what is the matter?”
“Why isn’t Ryan’s name on the cake?” I demanded.
“What?” Mom asked, a slight frown on her face.
“It just says ‘Bradley,’” I explained. “Why isn’t Ryan on here too? He’s coming home today.”
“He’s not coming,” Mom said quickly. She smoothed down her apron nervously and walked over to the sink. Her back was to me, but I could tell she was upset.
“Why not?” I asked.
She shrugged. “He didn’t want to.”
“His name should be on the damn cake, Mom,” I snapped. “This is bullshit.”
“Watch it,” she said, turning to face me with a stern expression. “You don’t know everything Ryan put us through.”
“I know enough,” I said, still fuming. “You adopted him, Mom. You and Dad brought him into this family and then you just abandoned him.”
“We did not,” Mom said, her own anger showing in her voice.
“Hey,” my dad said, suddenly stepping into the kitchen. “People are starting to arrive.”
My mother gave me a look of warning before she hurried into the living room. I could hear her greeting family and friends with her high-pitched hostess voice. The sound made me cringe. I was still angry as my dad ushered me into the living room, but I put on a happy face. I smiled and nodded politely, just waiting for Bradley to arrive.
When he did, my anger disappeared. He ran into the house with a huge grin on his face, coming straight to me. He grabbed me and lifted me off the ground, spinning me in a fast circle.
“There she is!” he said. “I missed you, little sister.”
“I missed you, too, big brother.”
Bradley set me down and turned to our parents. He hugged them both for a long time, making tears fall down Mom’s cheeks. I knew how happy she was to have him home, and the sight warmed my heart. My anger was still there, hidden beneath the surface, but I knew now wasn’t the time to release it. This was her moment, just as much as mine or Dad’s. We were all happy to have Bradley home safely. My frustrations weren’t important.
After Bradley greeted all the guests and ate a few bowls of gumbo, he grabbed two slices of cake and dragged me to the backyard. We sat on the back porch together, eating our cake in silence. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I would wait. We had time. Right now there was only one question that needed to be voiced.
“So,” I said, licking the frosting off my fork. “Where is he?”
Bradley stiffened beside me and exhaled slowly. With a sigh, he set his plate down and turned to face me.
“Richmond,” he said. “He moved to Richmond.”
“Really?” I asked with surprise. “Why there?”
Bradley shrugged. “I don’t know. I tried to convince him to come back here, but you know how he gets.”
“Do I?” I laughed. “I haven’t seen him in nine years, Brad.”
“God, has it been that long?” Bradley asked in disbelief.
“I was fourteen,” I said.
“Damn.” He shook his head slowly and sighed. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“I know,” I said. “I asked Mom why his name wasn’t on the cake, and she made some lame excuse.”
“What’d she say?” he asked.
“Just that he didn’t want to come,” I said.
“Well, he didn’t,” Bradley said. “She’s not wrong about that.”
“Still,” I said with anger. “He should be here.”
“I know,” Bradley said. “I feel the same way you do, Ash. Listen, there’s something I wanted to ask you—a favor.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “What is it?”
“I need you to keep an eye on him,” Bradley said. “Just check in on him every once in a while. His apartment isn’t far from your clinic. I looked it up.”
“I don’t know,” I said, shifting uncomfortably. “Are you sure I’m the best person to do that? We haven’t seen each other in so long.”
“I know,” Bradley said. “But, Ash, there’s no one else. He doesn’t have anyone else. It’s just us.”
I didn’t answer right away. My worry was too great. Of course I cared about Ryan. But what would I say to him? After not seeing him for almost a decade, I didn’t even know him anymore. I was just a child the last time we spoke.
“Listen,” Bradley said. “Without someone around, he’ll slip. I know him, okay? I know him better than anyone. He needs someone to be there, to support him. Without that, I’m afraid he’ll go back to his old ways.”
“You really think that would happen?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Bradley admitted. “I hope not, but I’d feel better if I knew you were looking out for him. Please?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Yeah?”
“Sure,” I said. “I can’t promise it’ll do any good, but I’ll stop by. It would be good to see him.”
“Thank you,” Bradly said, wrapping his arm around me for a quick hug.
We sat on the porch for a while longer, finishing our cake and catching up. My mind stayed focused on Ryan, though. I pictured his face, heard his voice, and wondered what he would be like after all these years.