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I chuckled as I watched him walk away. “You have no idea,” I said and turned back to face my brother. “So, where have you been?”
He sighed. “Let me start from when you last saw me. Declan said he would kill me the next time he saw me since I couldn’t pay him back. I didn’t know what to do, so I ran. The next year or so is a bit of a drunken, drug-induced blur.”
This was exactly what I wanted to hear. If he hadn’t given me the check, I would’ve told him to take a hike. I didn’t need to hear this.
“I was sleeping in this alleyway when one day a kind woman stopped to give me some food. I thanked her and she told me if I ever needed more, she worked at the café down the block from where I was and that I could come in and get some.”
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked sheepish. “I didn’t want to admit to this beautiful woman that I needed help.”
“You mean the being homeless part didn’t give it away to her?”
“It did, but I wasn’t in the right mindset to deduce that. Anyway, a couple of days had passed and I wasn’t able to get any work, so I couldn’t feed myself. I ended up going to her café. She was closing up for the night. But when she saw me, she let me in and gave me some warm food and a cup of coffee. I was sober at this point and didn’t want her to get nothing. So, I stayed and washed the dishes for her. We ended talking well into the night as I kept cleaning.”
I thought his story sounded legit so far.
“At 1 a.m., she told me if I wanted to come back the next day around lunchtime, she’d give me another free meal. I enjoyed the feeling of being full, so I came back. And again, I started washing dishes for her in return for her kindness. Soon, I was with her all day, I’d be doing the dishes and she’d feed me. After two weeks, I was shocked when she handed me a check. She said it was for me being her dishwasher and if I wanted, I could keep the job permanently.”
This lady sounded nice to me. Not many would’ve given my brother a chance in the condition he had been in.
“She said she’d been having trouble finding a reliable employee to do this job. I figured what was the harm in keeping it? I didn’t mind the work, I liked the food, and I was growing fond of her company. On top of earning a paycheck, she allowed me to sleep in the back of the storeroom and there was a gym nearby, so I used their showers. With the money I made, I bought some new clothes. I hadn’t felt so well about myself physically, emotionally, or mentally in years. Two weeks turned into six months and then four years. I stopped doing drugs and was really hitting it off with Lisa, the woman who took pity on me. As it turned out, she’s the owner of the café.”
Tears pooled behind my eyes. It was amazing to hear how he had turned his life around. I kept thinking too how I was going to have to find Lisa and thank her. She did what I had been trying to do for years.
Evan paused his story when Austin came back carrying a tray with three lemonades on it.
“Thanks, hun,” I said as he handed me and then Evan a glass. He took his own, put the empty tray on the coffee table and took a seat next to me.
“Please continue. I’m sorry for the interruption,” Austin said.
“No worries. So, things were going well for me. Lisa and I started dating. I was up front with her about my past. She never judged me, but she never gave me a free pass. I told her about you and everything I had put you through. She’s the one who encouraged me to find you.”
A pit of sadness formed in my stomach. It wasn’t my brother who wanted to see me. He was only here because his girlfriend recommended it. As if Austin knew I was upset, he took my free hand in his and gave it a squeeze.
“Is she the sole reason why you’re here?” I blurted out.
“No. I’ve wanted to come see you and beg for your forgiveness for a while. I just thought you’d want nothing to do with me and would’ve preferred me dead.” He paused for a moment, sighed and then gave a small grin. “To be honest, that didn’t work with Lisa either. It took time but I finally admitted to myself I was using that as an excuse. I was just too ashamed and too much of a coward to face you.”
I felt better hearing that. “Evan, you’ve put me through a lot of crap, but I’ve never wanted you dead.”
He smiled and looked a bit relieved. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.” He took a sip of his drink. “So, anyway, that’s what I’ve been doing since I last saw you.”
“I have to say,” I chuckled, “you’ve been more adventurous in your time than I have.”
“I disagree. You got your degree, took down a crook, and got yourself a boyfriend. You’ve been pretty busy.”
I was going to counter his statement but thought better about it. “All right, let’s agree to disagree. I don’t want to scare Austin away with one of our infamous screaming matches.”
“You don’t know me too well, missy, if you think a screaming match would scare me away.”
“Fair point,” I said and giggled as I thought about what brought us together in the first place. If a mystery woman fainting on him and having to deal with her psychotic stalker didn’t scare him away, a bit of yelling wouldn’t. He leaned over to give me a kiss.
For the next hour, we all chatted and caught up. Evan sounded like he really had gotten his life back on the right track.
We offered to have him eat supper with us, but he politely declined and said that he better get going. Lisa would be waiting up for him.
We walked up to the front door. “Promise you won’t be a stranger. I want to meet your Lisa and thank her for bringing my big brother back to me,” I said as I leaned up to give him a hug.
“I promise. Thank you for everything.”
