Chapter 19
Big Mac McCarthy entered the bar at the Beachcomber and took a look around, locating his younger brother at the far end of the long bar.
Chelsea, the bartender, caught his eye. “Thanks for coming, Mr. McCarthy.”
“I’m glad you called, sweetheart. How long has he been here?”
“Couple hours now.”
“Is he talking?”
“Not much. Just drinking. I told him no more after the last one.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Big Mac moved to the far end of the bar and slid onto the stool next to Kevin’s, nudging his brother. “What’s up?”
“What’re you doing here?”
“Same thing as you.” He accepted an icy bottle of light beer from Chelsea with a smile and a wink for her.
“Did she call you?”
“Nope.” He’d never toss Chelsea under the bus for doing the right thing.
“So you just happened to turn up out of the fog? Total coincidence?”
“No fog tonight. Beautiful clear night out there. You want to get out of here and take a look?”
“Nah, I’m happy here.” He noticed his glass was getting low and scowled. “Or I was until she shut me off.”
Despite having consumed a lot of alcohol, Kevin sounded remarkably sober. “You must’ve been here awhile for that to happen.”
Kevin’s shoulder lifted into a shrug. “Nothing else to do.”
“You coulda come to my house. I wouldn’t have shut you off. Lots of empty bedrooms upstairs if you ever need one.”
“You and Linda don’t need your miserable little brother underfoot.”
“Hate to see you this way, Kev.”
“Hate to feel this way. All these years I’ve spent counseling other people on how to save their marriages, and mine went up in flames right before my eyes. And the best part? I didn’t even see it coming. How’s that possible?”
“You didn’t think you had anything to worry about.”
“So I slacked off. I didn’t pay attention. Look at where that got me.”
“Have you talked to her at all?”
“Here and there. Mostly logistics about the house and the bank accounts and filing papers.”
“No talk of reconciliation?”
“Nope. She’s done, and with hindsight, I guess I don’t blame her. She got a better offer with a younger guy, of all things.”
“Is that what bugs you most? That he’s younger?”
“The whole thing bugs me.”
“Do you know the guy?”
Kevin shook his head. “Someone she met through work, I guess. She swears nothing happened between them until she left me, but she’s talking physically. She’s been having an emotional affair with him for a while now.”
Big Mac signaled to Chelsea to bring Kevin one more drink, pointing to himself to let her know that he’d take responsibility for him.
A short glass of bourbon landed on the bar in front of Kevin.
He looked up, seeming surprised. “How’d that happen?”
“It’s all in who you know around here, my friend.”
“Another one of your groupies?” Kevin asked with the first hint of amusement Mac had seen in him.
“I like to call them friends.”
Snorting, Kevin said, “You always were popular with the ladies.”
“We’re not talking about me here. We’re talking about you and how we’re going to get you out of this funk you’re in. Your sons are worried about you.”
That got his attention. “They are? How do you know?”
“They’ve told me so. You haven’t been yourself since things went south with Deb. They’ve noticed it. We all have. I told them you’re grieving the end of something that meant a lot to you, and in time you’ll be back to your old self. I suggested they give you a little space to work things out.”
“Is that what you’re doing? Giving me some space?”
“I’m making sure you don’t do something stupid like get behind the wheel of a car after you’ve been here for hours.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Good to know.”
“Always the big brother.”
“I take my responsibilities seriously,” Mac said with a grin. “What can I do, Kev? How can I help you through this?”
“Damned if I know.”
“It’s going to take some time, but you’ll get past it. We’ll make sure of it.”
“What would you do if Linda suddenly up and left you for a younger guy?”
The very thought of it was like an arrow filled with fear landing in the vicinity of Big Mac’s heart. “I, um…”
“Sorry,” Kevin said. “That was unfair. She’s not going anywhere. She’s as crazy about you today as she was the day you married her a long-ass time ago.”
“Gonna be forty years this Christmas.”
“I remember. I was twelve. Had my first beer at your wedding. Did you know that?”
“How’d you get that by Dad?”
“I waited until he’d had at least six and wasn’t paying attention anymore.”
Big Mac laughed at the memory of their late father. “He did love a good party.”
“And that was a great party. I remember it vividly. My first time in a monkey suit, too.” He ventured a sideways glance at Mac. “Mom and Dad thought you were too young to get married. Did you know that?”
“No, I never knew. Really?”
“Yep. They had fights about it. Dad thought twenty was way too young to tie yourself down for the rest of your life, but Mom said you always knew what you wanted and how to go after it. She told him it was your life and he should butt out.”
Big Mac grunted out a laugh. “I can picture it.”
“You’re just like him with your kids, you know.”
“And you’re not with yours?”
“True.”
“Let me give you a ride home, Kev.”
“Okay.” He pulled a twenty from his wallet and left it on the bar for Chelsea.
Big Mac did the same, in part to thank her for looking out for a member of his tribe.
“Despite her ratting me out to you, she’s really cool,” Kevin said of Chelsea.
“Yes, she is. She’s the best. I keep trying to hire her away from the Beachcomber for the Tiki Bar, but she’s been here forever and doesn’t want to leave.”
“Loyalty is a nice trait to have.”
The double meaning wasn’t lost on Big Mac, who steered Kevin in the direction of where he’d parked his truck.
“Deb was loyal to you for a long time, Kevin, and she handled this the best way she could from all reports. People change. Shit happens. The most important thing for you to remember is she’s the mother of your sons.
That’ll never change. No matter how bitter you may feel, keeping it cordial with her is in their best interest.”
“I know. And I’m not really bitter. I’m just sort of wrecked that it happened in the first place. How could I not know she was that unhappy?”
“You can go over and over it a thousand times and never find the answers you’re looking for. Or you can accept that she’s made her decision and try to find the way forward. You can also try to learn from it so if you’re ever in a serious relationship again, you remember to pay attention.”
“The thought of starting all over with someone new makes me nauseous.”
“Frankie would tell you there’s a lot to be said for starting over.”
“He’s happier than a pig in shit.”
“I’m sure he’d love that description.”
“It’s true.”
“Yeah, it is, and he’s waited a long time for it.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Kevin said. “I’m happy for him and Betsy. She’s great.”
“She really is. You’ll find your Betsy, too. When you’re ready.”
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely. And my family would tell you I’m always right about these things.”
Kevin groaned. “And you wonder where Mac gets his blowhard tendencies.”
“I don’t wonder at all.”
Kevin laughed harder than Mac had heard him laugh in a long time.
After a five minute drive, Big Mac pulled into the driveway of the house Kevin had rented from Ned Saunders for himself and his sons. The light was on over the back door.
“Check it out,” Kevin said. “They left a light on for me for a change.”
“They do grow up, even when we think it’s never going to happen.”
“They’ve been great through all of this,” Kevin said of Riley and Finn.
“Have they talked to Deb?”
“Here and there. I’ve told them there’s no point in holding a grudge, because I’m not going to. And if I’m not going to, they don’t need to hold one on my behalf. Like you said, shit happens. People change.”
“Like you, they need some time to absorb it. They’ll be fine, and so will you.”
“Thanks for coming tonight when Chelsea called you.”
“She didn’t call me.”
“Whatever. You always were a terrible liar.” Kevin opened the passenger door to get out.
“Hey, Kev?”
“Yeah?”
“Come to me the next time you think it’s a good idea to tie one on, okay?”
“Will do. Maybe you can actually get me drunk enough to forget why I wanted to get drunk in the first place.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Laughing, Kevin shut the door and headed for the house, turning to wave before he went inside.
Poor guy, Big Mac thought as he drove home.
He’d never seen Kevin so low. As the baby of the family, Kevin had been the joker growing up, the one who always made them laugh.
He’d grown into a serious, well-respected doctor who still made his brothers laugh when they were together.
Until recently, anyway. Big Mac decided to keep a closer eye on his “little” brother over the next few weeks to ensure he was coping with the ringer life had thrown his way.
He also couldn’t stop thinking about the question Kevin had asked him. What would you do if Linda suddenly up and left you for a younger guy? The very thought of it gave him chills.
Big Mac pulled into the driveway at home, killed the engine and went inside, eager to see her, to make sure she was still there and had no plans to be anywhere else. Ever. Bounding up the stairs, he pulled off his jacket and went into the bedroom, where she was in bed with her e-reader.
Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of her, he started unbuttoning his shirt.
“Hey,” she said. “How’s Kevin?”
“Not great, but we had a good talk.”
“Am I allowed to say that I’m so mad at Deb for doing this to him?”
He sat on the bed to kick off the boat shoes he wore year-round. “Yeah, you are, because I am, too. But he’s not. More than anything, he’s upset that he never saw it coming.”
She held out a hand to him, and he took it, bending to kiss the back of it. “Be right there, love.”
He went into the bathroom to use the facilities and brush his teeth, leaving his jeans in a pile on the floor near the hamper, which would give Linda something to talk to him about in the morning. He crawled into bed with her, putting his arm around her waist.