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“I’ll be alright. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
The ride back to the ranch is a quiet one. As I help her out of the truck, I can see she looks a little annoyed with me. I half expect her to go back to her place, but she doesn’t. She follows me into my house and heads straight for the kitchen.
When she reappears, she’s got a glass full of wine in her hand along with a wet rag and some type of cream.
“Sit.” She points at the couch.
I do as she asks, and she begins to wipe the dried blood off my lip. I wince as she applies some pressure.
“Hush. You’re fine,” she scolds.
“What’s that?” I ask, pointing to the cream.
“Antibacterial ointment. It’ll keep it from getting infected. I always keep some in my purse because I’m clumsy as hell.”
I just nod.
When she finishes applying the cream, she says, “So, you want to tell me what the hell is going on between you and Jessie?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Then, I guess it’s good that I don’t have anywhere else to be.” She sits back on the couch, getting comfortable and sipping her wine.
I also lean back, trying to figure out where to even begin. I let out a heavy sigh before starting.
“Ever since Jessie and I were kids, we were different. I was always pretty straight-laced, and Jessie was the wild child. And Jared was somewhere in the middle. But Jared and I bonded over our love for anything outdoors. Fishing, rafting, hiking. We did it all. Jessie was always more interested in sports. I think that’s probably why he was my father’s favorite.”
“I’m sure he didn’t have favorites,” Andi interjects.
“That’s nice of you to say, but believe me, he did. He’d get sober for a while, and he’d go to every one of Jessie’s games. When he would disappear for months on end, he would call and only want to talk to Momma and Jessie. That’s it. I don’t take it personally. I think he saw sort of a kindred spirit in Jessie. He saw that his youngest had that same wild streak he had.
“It wasn’t until Jessie was almost out of high school that he started getting into trouble. He fell in with the wrong crowd. Started doing drugs and drinking. Partying all the time. The second he graduated, he skipped town with a girl he was seeing. When he came back a couple of years later, he was all strung out. Momma was scared to have him there with Jenna, so I offered to have him stay with me. He was doing alright for a few weeks until he started begging me for money. I told him no, and he tore apart the house looking for cash. When he couldn’t find any here, he went to Momma’s. Shedoeskeep her cash in the house. He cleaned her out and ran off again. He’s been back a couple of times since. She says he’s never stolen from her again, but I don’t know if I believe it. Fuck me over, and I can get over that. Fuck over my family, and we will have an issue.”
Andi is running her fingers up and down my forearm as I talk. Her face is empathetic when I look at her, yet she seems like she’s itching to say something.
“Okay, spill it, baby. What’s on your mind,” I say.
“I don’t want you to get mad,” she replies, shaking her head.
“I won’t get mad. I promise. I want to know what you think.”
“I think you’re being a baby.”
Well, that was harsh.
She continues, “Look, Joe, I’m not saying you don’t have a reason to be mad, but this is something that happened years ago, and you two were throwing punches behind a bar?”
I shrug. “I guess we’ve never really had it out after all this time. We’ve just avoided each other. It all came to a head tonight. Seeing him just brought everything back up.”
“Now that you had it out, maybe it’s time to let all this go. Jonas, life is too short to be holding on to all of this bullshit. You may be defending your mother’s honor or whatever, but look at how much the two of you are hurting her now.”
She’s got a point. Maybe. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to admit that.
Instead, I say, “You’re lucky you don’t have to worry about all this sibling drama.”
I chuckle, but her expression stays serious.
“Jonas, you’re proving my point. You have a family: three siblings and a mother who loves all of you. Stop taking that for granted, and be grateful for what you have.”
