Chapter 11 Don’t Make Me Do Something We’ll Both Regret…
Don’t Make Me Do Something We’ll Both Regret…
Ben
One of the best things about working with your hands all day is that it gives you time to think.
That’s also one of the worst things about it.
Today I was installing sturdy vinyl plank in the house I’m working on, which gave me hours to ruminate over what my brother is doing.
(Side note: For my money, vinyl plank is the best flooring choice for a busy family, especially one with pets, like my clients.
It’s durable, cost-effective, and it looks good too.
No need to spend a million bucks for some rare hardwood from the Brazilian jungle just so you can impress your neighbors.)
Anyway, today while I was cutting and connecting boards, I thought of the perfect thing to say to Dominic to get him to change his mind about this whole thing.
I’m going to ask him what Grandma Georgie would say if she were alive.
Grandma Georgie was Dominic’s favorite person, and he was hers.
It was obvious, even though she denied it.
They just clicked and that was that. She was the first person Dominic came out to.
She gave him a huge hug, told him he was perfect and that she was proud of him for finally being fearlessly authentic, then she baked him a chocolate cake.
She iced it with a big rainbow, then wrote I Love You Dominic, Being Gay Is A-Okay in bright green letters, and she brought it over to the house.
And that’s how our parents found out.
All that to say that Grandma Georgie’s opinion meant something to my brother, and he would hate the thought of disappointing her.
Invoking her memory is playing dirty, but I think she’d approve since she was big on honesty, and she’d appreciate that I’m trying to save my brother from himself.
And in about five minutes, I’m going to get home and do exactly that.
I take a long, deep inhale of the salty air as I drive along the road next to the ocean with my window rolled down.
Smiling to myself, I look ahead to the relief I’m going to feel when I get rid of Vivian forever.
Dom, Henry, and I can go back to the way things were, only Dom will be extra grateful for me getting him out of a situation that I’m sure he already regrets.
Yes, everything is going to be fine. I’ll have a heart-to-heart with my brother, he’ll see the light and he’ll tell Ms. Whitlock she’s “whitlocked” out of our lives.
Okay, not my best material, but I’m a carpenter, not a comedian.
The point is, by this time tomorrow, she’ll be on a flight back to New York where she belongs, and Dominic will be here, and everything will be as it should be.
I pull into our driveway, and gather up my lunch kit, water bottle, and my briefcase, then walk into the house.
Even though I’m physically tired from a day of flooring, I have a renewed sense of purpose.
Only when I walk through the door, I see Vivian, Dominic, and Henry all high-fiving and dancing around.
Henry spots me first. “Dad! Guess what?!”
“What?” I ask, toeing off my work boots.
“Uncle Dom is famous now!” Henry hurries over and grabs my hand, yanking me toward the coffee table, where Dominic’s cell phone is sitting.
“He’s famous?” I ask in a light tone even though my heart is sinking fast.
Dominic grabs his phone and thrusts it in front of my face. “Yes! Look! We’ve got a million views already! And it’s only been two hours!”
Oh shit, she beat me to it. I glance at her, but she avoids eye-contact. Looking back at the phone, I say, “Two hours since what?”
“Since we posted the big reveal video,” Dom says, his face scrunched up in a ‘you’re an idiot’ expression.
“A million! That’s everybody on the whole planet!” Henry tells me. “And they all love Uncle Dom!” He looks up at my brother. “Read Dad what that lady said about you!”
The right side of Dominic’s mouth curves up. “Do you mean the one who said I’m the hottest man she’s ever seen or the one who asked why someone so fine would ever be shy about being in a video?”
“Yup! That one,” Henry answers.
Dominic looks at me. “So, this one woman wrote that—”
I hold up one hand. “Yeah, I got it.”
I walk past them into the kitchen to set down my water bottle and lunch kit, needing to take a second to gather my thoughts. I can’t believe she already posted the video. In all my hours of thinking of a plan, why didn’t I bother to think of what to do in the event she beat me to the punch?
“Do you want to see the video, Dad?” Henry asks, following me into the kitchen.
“Umm, yeah, you know what? I should wash up and get dinner started. I’ll watch it later though.” I offer him a small smile, but he narrows his eyes.
“Aren’t you excited, Dad?” Henry asks.
“Well, to be honest, buddy, I’m not interested in being famous,” I answer.
True, but not at all why I don’t want to watch the video.
“I’d rather have a nice, quiet life surrounded by the people I love, like you and Uncle Dominic.
” Oh, that was totally manipulative, which honestly, might be called for right now.
“Not me,” Henry says. “I want to be rich and famous like Auntie Vivian.”
“Auntie?” I ask, shooting Dominic a look.
“I thought we should get him used to it since we’re getting married,” Dominic says, strolling into the kitchen. He picks up a grape from a bowl on the island (wait—there’s a bowl of grapes on the island? When did that happen?) and pops it in his mouth.
“Speaking of which,” Vivian says. “We best get going to the resort. So much to do before the big day!”
“You’re not staying for supper?” I ask. Not that I want her to stay, but I need to get Dominic alone so we can talk.
It’s not too late yet. I can still convince him to back out.
After all, she proved Mister X is real and got her viewers back.
There’s no reason they have to go all the way with this insanity.
Vivian picks up her handbag from one of the island stools. “No, we’re going to eat with Frank, my videographer. We need to shoot some B-roll footage around the resort while the sun is setting.”
Dominic lifts his shoulders to his ears in excitement. “B-roll! Did you hear that?”
“I heard it all right,” I answer.
“Can I come too?” Henry asks.
“No, buddy, not this time,” Dominic says, patting him on the head. “I have to go straight to work after and Auntie Viv’s going to be in a long meeting with Frank.”
“Oh, butts,” Henry says. “I was hoping to have some fun tonight.”
“Hey, you and I can have fun here,” I tell him, feeling what I know is a totally irrational sense of hurt that my son wants to leave too. “Maybe that stinky sea star is still there?”
He shrugs, looking dejected. “That’s only a little bit fun. Not super fun like being at the resort with Uncle Dom.”
My brother gives me a satisfied look. “I am the fun one, after all.”
“Sorry to be a nag, but we really should run,” Vivian says. She holds out her hand to Henry and the two of them give each other a fist bump. “See you tomorrow morning, young Henry.”
“Will you make me Mickey Mouse pancakes again?” he asks.
“I have something extra special planned for tomorrow,” she says, glancing at me with a tentative expression. “See you later.”
“Yup, later,” I answer with an upward nod.
I look over at Dominic, who has one eyebrow raised. “Vivian, can I meet you out in the car in a minute?”
“Of course.” She makes her way to the front door, calling a quick good night over her shoulder as she walks out.
As soon as she’s gone, Dominic mouths, “You be nice.”
It’s how we argue in front of Henry. We mouth things at each other. Sometimes swears and all.
I give him a shrug as if I don’t know what he’s talking about. “I am.”
“You are not,” he mouths back.
“Well, can you blame me?” That was too many words. He’s throwing both hands in the air and mouthing, “WHAT?”
“Are you two fighting again?” Henry asks.
I say no at the same time that Dominic says yes.
“You should just use your words,” Henry says. “It’s faster.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I tell him. “Why don’t you go grab a cookie?”
Henry’s eyes light up and he zips around me to the pantry.
Looking at my brother, I whisper, “You and I need to have a talk when you get home tonight. Alone. About all of this.” I gesture in a big circle for emphasis.
“We do not. This is happening,” he whisper-yells, making his own big circle with his index finger in the air. “Either get on board or be left behind.”
“Yeah, well, there are a few things you haven’t taken into consideration with your big plan.”
“No, there really aren’t. What happened was you spent the day stewing about it while you laid those floors. And just because you’re imagining all sorts of scenarios in which this goes horribly wrong, doesn’t mean anything is going to go horribly wrong.”
“Trust me. You’re going to regret this.”
“I am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not,” he answers. Holding up his hand, he says, “I have to go.”
“Fine, but we are going to talk later.”
“You can talk till you’re blue in the face. I’m not changing my mind.” With that, he walks out the door, jogs down the steps, and takes off while I stand in the window, fuming.
When I finally turn around, I’m met with a photo on the wall of our parents. It was taken on their first trip to Zambia with Habitat. And then it hits me. I know exactly what to do to put a stop to all of this nonsense.
I’m calling Mum.