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Dad groans. “I don’t want to hear any badmouthing of your brother tonight.”
Mom shushes him. “Let him talk, honey.”
“I’m not here to badmouth him. We had a talk the other night that brought to question a lot of what I thought I knew.”
“What’s that, son?” Dad prompts.
“About when we were kids, about Cole. And me. About you, Dad.” I put my fork down. I want to get all of my words out before I can overthink them. “He said that I was completely misreading the situation.”
“What situation, Tyson?” Dad sets down his bowl and his fork, and looks directly at me.
“Well… this… It’s kind of hard to talk about, Dad.”
“Go on.”
“Well… Cole always won everything. All the trophies.” I stare down at my shoes.
“Okay. So?”
“And all the kids in school picked on me because I was ‘the little runt Reynolds brother’. And then, you were always praising him. And you asked me when I was going to win.”
“Of course I did, son. Every father wants his son to succeed.”
“But Dad, I was never as good at those things as Cole. And there was no way I was going to ever win. Especially against him. It was bad enough that the other kids hated me, but then I would come home and it felt like the bullies came home with me.”
Mom seems to have forgotten her food. She’s staring at me with wide, round eyes.
I look up, into my father’s eyes. “I never felt like I was good enough. And it felt like Cole was always rubbing my nose in it. Trying to get your attention.”
“Cole always did have a way of standing out, there’s no denying that.”
“And whenever he came home with another trophy, or another A+ English paper, or whatever it was, you always asked me ‘See, Tyson. When are you going to do that?’ You were always so happy for him, and you asked Cole to show me how to do it. I always felt like I couldn’t meet up to your expectations.”
“Son, all I wanted, and what Cole wanted too–I’m sure–was to see you find your own way to stand out too. He wanted to help you. I know he did. I’m sorry that I came off as uncaring, or harsh, or like a bully. You’re my boys. I love you both.”
“I know Dad. But it’s been really hard. And when I started up CyBrix, even then, you never said anything to me about it. I started and built a company that’s worth over thirty billion dollars, and you’ve never even told me you’re proud of me.”
“I am, son. I’m very proud of you.”
“I know Dad. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Really. I’m okay. It’s just that, I’ve hated Cole for so long because of it all. I’ve been kind of a real dick to him about it, too. We finally talked about it. For the first time, and he said what you said.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me he wasn’t trying to hurt me. He just wanted to be a good role model. That he never meant to rub my face in anything, and he was always trying to help. And that you weren’t trying to bully me. But I’m still working on believing everything. I mean… I believe you, but all I know is how I felt. Like Cole could do nothing wrong and that I was just a failure compared to him.”
Mom makes a strangled cry, tears running down her cheeks. “Oh, it makes me so happy to hear you talking about these things, Tyson. I’ve wanted you to open up to us for so long. What changed?”
What did change? That answer seems obvious the second I think about the question. Jordan.
“It’s Jordan, isn’t it?” she asks, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I could see the way you looked at her.”
“I think I love her, Mom.” It’s one thing to say the words to Jordan, privately, and another to speak them out loud to someone else.
Mom and Dad exchange a look. “Have you toldher?” Dad asks.
I nod. “Yes. I don’t know if she really believed it, though. There’s been a lot going on with everything between Cole and me. It’s been messy. And you know, they’re best friends, which doesn’t make things any easier.”
“Clear the mess up, son, and this time when you tell her, make sure it really sinks in. She’s worth fighting for.” Dad sets his empty plate on the tray table and pats his stomach. “When I found the woman for me, I knew right away. Took a little convincing for her to figure out I was the right one for her, but here we are, twenty-five years later.”
