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Julia
There he was! Sure as shit! Michael was standing at the bottom of Edward’s driveway on the other side of the huge wrought iron gate. Fuckeroo! How the hell did he know I was here? I grabbed my bag and quietly slipped outside the house and down the long driveway to the street. If there was one thing I for sure did not want, it was a scene between my brother and Edward. I tried to keep my voice as restrained as possible.
“Michael what are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same thing Julia!”
“I had some early morning business to take care of for Edward……”
I always had trouble lying. I couldn’t even look Michael in the eye when I said that. I could only stare at the sidewalk.
“So when did you start wearing halter-top sundresses to work? Early morning business my ass! You’re fucking that rich scumbag aren’t you? Just admit it already!”
“It’s not what you think Michael! You don’t know him!”
“Fuck Julia! I know he’s changed you into someone who slinks around and lies! Someone I can’t trust anymore! Are you even gonna come out from behind that gate and talk to me?”
I never saw Michael quite that emotional before. He was enraged, confused and almost on the brink of tears. But I still didn’t know how he found me. I entered Edward’s code and when the gate swung open I joined Michael on the other side. We began walking briskly through the Pacific Heights neighborhood while we continued our heated argument.
“So you still haven’t told me why you came here or how you even knew the address of Edward’s house.”
“What difference does it make Julia? The facts speak for themselves.”
“Well I’d like to know if my own brother has been stalking me, for one thing.”
“No I haven’t been stalking you. But after our conversation yesterday afternoon I had my suspicions about you and douche bag… So I tracked your phone……..and as it turns out….. I was right.”
“You put some kind of tracker app on my phone? Michael how could you? You talk about how you can’t trust me? But it’s okay for you to completely betray my trust with your spyware?”
“I didn’t have to put an app on it! You’ve got your iPhone on my iCloud account, remember? You disappeared in the middle of the night! I thought you might be in trouble. I just hit find my iPhone and… Here you are. I did it for your own good Julia! You’re gonna go through with that fake marriage and baby mama thing with Edward aren’t you?”
“And how do you know that? Did you put a wiretap on my bra so you could listen in on my conversations?”
“What good would that do? Apparently early morning ‘work’ with the boss doesn’t require a bra!”
“Michael you may be my brother and you may feel like it’s your duty to protect me. But it’s not. I’m a grown woman and I can make my own decisions without your help.”
“I just can’t believe you fell for that scheming fucker’s bullshit. I suppose you’ll be moving out of our apartment and into that snake’s mansion now?”
“Well eventually I’ll have to since…… he’ll be my husband.”
“Husband! I can’t stand the thought of having that asshole as my brother-in-law. Even if the whole thing is a sham.”
Michael and I eventually quarreled our way over to the California Street cable car line. We stood on the street corner in silence. For the first time in our lives we were at an impasse and we had nothing to say to one another. I needed to wait for the trolley and ride it all the way down the hill to the Armani Building. Before I could go home and nap I had to swing by the office for some documents that I suddenly remembered needing. Michael was headed to the wharf to rehearse with his band mates. He was going north and I was going east.
“Well, I guess this is it. I guess I’ll see you at home Julia. Maybe we can talk later.”
“I guess so. Yeah sure.”
I couldn’t believe how strangely awkward talking to my own brother suddenly felt. I tried a bit of small talk as a last resort.
“I wonder if Uncle Avery is driving the cable car today. I hope he is. He always lets me ride for free.”
“Me too. Good ol’ Uncle Avery. Say hi to him for me.”
“Michael why don’t you just get on his trolley with me, transfer at Powell Street and then ride that one down to the wharf?”
“I guess I could but I’d really rather walk Julia.”
