23. George
George Livingston gave his wife a deep, lingering kiss after she pulled up to Check Care Auto.
“Why’d we ever get out of bed this morning?
” His hand drifted over her bare shoulder, her skin so smooth he shivered.
Damn, he loved summer, glancing down appreciatively at his wife’s legs in shorts.
Legs that had been astride his hips only an hour ago.
She laughed when his hand crept from her knee to her inner thigh. “George! Seriously, I have things to accomplish today other than satiating your fantasies.”
“Darlin’, we’ve been together since we were teenagers. Don’t blame me that you get sexier every year. Makes me create more fantasies.” One hard kiss later, and he was opening his door when his wife reached for him again.
“Let me know how Henry is, okay?” Nora’s hands cupped his scruffy cheeks, a reminder that he hadn’t shaved in several days.
In a rush, after spending way too much time in bed this morning, he’d forgone shaving yet again.
He and Nora had returned to South Dakota yesterday, after two days of canceled and delayed flights, from an anniversary trip in Europe.
He would have preferred to spend the day locked away with his wife, but George was worried about his brother, with whom he hadn’t spoken in over a month.
Even though Henry was the quietest of the siblings, he wasn’t altogether silent, so George thought he’d pop in to check on his little brother.
“I’m going to run over and see Liam at the dealership.
” Their son, a shell of his formerly upbeat self, was another concern, but when a Livingston man fell, he fell hard, and George didn’t need a license in therapy to understand that both Henry and Liam were each experiencing varying degrees of heartbreak.
“Love you.” George kissed Nora one more time.
Because of the street dance tonight, Main Street was blocked off, so he walked around the barriers.
A band was tuning up a few blocks down playing “American Girl”, and it echoed through downtown Beverley.
With all proceeds going toward the fire department in town, the dance kicked off the two-day rodeo that started tomorrow.
He and Nora usually attended both but were exhausted from their trip.
George swore his wife never missed an opportunity to tour a castle, and climbing steep stone steps had been hell on his feet.
After opening the door to his brother’s shop, George called, “Hey, Henry,” looking around the immaculately clean auto shop and wondering why he couldn’t keep his shop as orderly.
“George!” Henry came from the back of the shop, greeting him with a bear hug and a grin that didn’t quite meet his eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Downplaying his fraternal concern, George said, “Oh, Nora wanted to check in with Liam at the dealership.” Henry pulled a clean-looking cloth out of the back pocket of his coveralls to wipe his brow.
“Business finally winding down for you for the day?” Leave it to his fastidious brother to be the last man standing at work on a Friday.
“The other guys went home a while ago, but I had some things to finish,” Henry claimed, rubbing his temple with newly cleaned fingers.
Walking into the office, he helped himself to a steaming cup of his brother’s delicious brew. Henry routinely downplayed his talents, but he was a masterful mechanic and an even better coffee technician; George imagined he would’ve made one hell of a doctor. “Are you feeling okay?”
Henry grimaced before slumping into his chair. “Yeah, I’m not sure if my eyesight is changing again or too many late nights,” Henry responded. “My head’s been pounding all day.”
“So what has you up so late?” As if he didn’t already know, thanks to his wife, who’d told him that Henry was helping DD again.
George put up with the woman because she had been Nora’s best friend since grade school, but some antics of DD’s were hard to forgive and forget, number one being the callous way she had treated his brother repeatedly in the past. George groaned inwardly as Henry remained silent. “I know it’s DD.”
Henry’s face took on the determined look he used to get as a child, when he would try to convince the rest of the family that, despite being the youngest, he knew better than all of them.
“I know you’re not fond of her, but she’s suffered since Burnside’s surgery.
With the wedding coming up, I didn’t want to add any stress to Effie, so I just stepped up to help her. ”
“I get you want to help Effie, but you know DD would never put you before anyone else.”
“I’m simply helping a friend. That’s all!” Henry’s tone was defensive, and George raised an eyebrow. “Dammit, my head is pounding and I have no idea where my glasses are!”
“Here they are.” George plucked them from the desk, inches from Henry’s elbow, and handed them to his brother.
Henry shook his head, sighing. “I forgot where I took them off earlier.” He popped two tablets from a bottle of Tylenol, washing them down with the coffee George poured for him, then unsnapped the top of his coveralls.
“I can’t believe you still wear those.” At his shop, he preferred wearing an ancient shirt and ratty jeans instead of the old-fashioned coveralls. “Didn’t Grandpa used to wear them, too?”
His brother chuckled half-heartedly. “These might actually be his. I just hate getting street clothes dirty, even if they’re old.
Josh even started wearing them when he worked here.
” No surprise, since Josh was an apple that didn’t fall far from his father’s tree.
Henry tossed his Minnesota Twins ball cap on the desk.
“Listen, I’m sorry I snapped about helping DD.
I feel like I’m on pins and needles all the time. ”
George waited for him to continue, but the office phone rang and his brother answered it. “Hello, thank for calling Check Care Auto, Henry speaking?” A brief pause, then, “Hello? How may I help you?” Another pause. “Hello…hello?” Henry hung up, frowning at the phone. “Well, that was weird.”
“Who was it?”
Henry shrugged. “No idea. I could hear breathing on the other end, but no one said anything.”
“Okay, so probably a wrong number.”
“Yeah, but the thing is, this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Been getting them for a few weeks now. A couple times one of the guys picked up. Whoever it was asked for me by name.”
“Okay—you thinking stalker?” George laughed.
Henry hesitated briefly. “Worse.”
George grunted, “You’re thinking Melanie.”
Henry raked a hand through his hair. “It’s been over a year since I blocked her. Probably got tired of not being able to torture me on my cell.”
“You think she knows Josh is getting married?”
“I don’t know how she would. Even Dad swears he hasn’t told her.”
“And you believe him? I’ll never understand why he’s always had a soft spot for her.”
Henry nodded, refilling their cups. “You know, when Josh and Effie first got engaged, the three of us had a conversation about Melanie. I told him it was their decision to invite her or not. Josh was the one who pointed out every milestone she missed of his…choir and band competitions, drama performances, being inducted into the National Honor Society…” Henry sipped his coffee.
George continued for him, “… his graduations from high school, college, med school.” Every single accomplishment of his nephew was because of Henry’s support.
After Melanie left, George marveled at his brother’s strength and how much fucking courage it took starting all over with his son in Beverley.
“But you think Josh might regret not having his mother at his wedding…despite Melanie doing nothing for over twenty years?”
“I know, I know. In the end, he decided he didn’t want her there, so…” Henry held up his hands.
“So no invitation for mama,” George finished, studying his brother’s defeated stance.
“Since we’ve talked about the other two women in your life, can I ask what happened with Charlotte?
” His brother raised his head, shock written on his face.
“You can’t be surprised I knew about the date.
Everyone knew…the family, the guys at your shop…
this entire town. Everyone was happy for you.
You’re a good-looking guy, which is no wonder since it runs in the family, and Charlotte is amazing.
Our sister adores her; your son is fond of her.
It’s been, what, a couple of months, but here you are, alone in this garage on a Friday night. ”
Henry moaned, “I don’t know what happened, honestly. Either I pushed things too far or rushed her. I don’t know,” he repeated, planting his face in his hands.
“What do you mean? Did you declare your undying love? Did you propose? What?” George prodded, joking but also serious.
“Henry, I know you, and you don’t rush anything.
You overthink and over-analyze. It can’t be as bad as you imagine.
” George swatted him with the discarded baseball cap. “Tell me what happened.”
“She was gorgeous…perfect. She wore this dress that…” Henry broke off with another groan.
“It was…magical. I sound like an idiot, don’t I?
” No, George thought, shaking his head, he sounded like a man who cared, probably also why he sounded like he was in agony.
“The food was incredible, and our table at the restaurant had all these candles, and we were in a corner by ourselves. She said she loved it. We talked about books, TV shows, movies, her students…how much she loves her job. Even talked about our marriages. You won’t believe this, but she got married right after high school, too. ”
“So many did back then. All three of us did. Can you imagine if our kids got married that young? Neither of mine is even in a stable relationship.” Instead of laughing along, Henry remained silent. “If it went so well, why haven’t you gone out again with her?”