Chapter 49
“How bad is it? Have you heard anything yet?”
Mel looked over at Denny while they finished making a drink for the next customer. They gave them a smile, “Don’t mind my little sibling. I promise we have them in obedience training.”
The customer grinned then took the cup and walked away. Denny let out a growl. “I am not a dog.”
“Then, maybe you shouldn’t leap all over me for attention. I’m sorry for saying that, but I told you I’d tell you whenever I heard anything. He went in this morning, but I don’t know if they’ve gotten any results yet. I still have to work.”
Denny slumped down on their elbows against the counter. “I’m just worried. Aren’t you worried?”
“Yes.” Mel was. Despite getting to talk to him the night before. Maybe more so because they talked to him. They’d heard something in his voice when he’d talked about his early life. They weren’t exactly sure what that something was, but it made their chest ache.
They wanted to be able to talk to him, even if they couldn’t do anything else for him.
They made another drink but the noise of the machine wasn’t enough to drown out their thoughts. “There isn’t much I can do about any of it,” Mel told Denny after handing over the drink to the customer. “He’s in Ohio, and he has a whole team around him. I’m sure he’s going to be fine.”
“What if they lose again without him in the lineup?”
Well, they apparently were not worried about the same things. “Then, I guess they’ll lose. It won’t be the end of the world if that happens.”
“It could be the end of his world. Don’t you know how much getting to play means to him? He told me it’s the only time his brain calms down. I know what that’s like, even if no one else cares.”
Mel glanced at the next customer. Their break would be coming as soon as they finished dealing with this line. Which would be the better time to deal with this, but Denny wouldn’t let this go.
They should have known this wasn’t just about the game and how the team was doing. It was just how Denny related to it. “I do care. I’ve tried to convince Mom and Dad there’s more going on than you and Sonia being stubborn teenagers. If they won’t listen to me, there isn’t much more I can do.”
Denny let their head fall down to the counter. “I know. Why do they hate us?”
“They don’t,” Mel said, the words coming out instantly.
“They just think they know the right way to love us. Even if they don’t actually understand us.
” It had taken Mel a long time, and a therapist in college, to understand that, so they didn’t expect their sixteen-year-old sibling to grasp the nuances of parental love.
Or that not everything that happened in the world revolved around them. They couldn’t fault a teenager for acting like a teenager. “Go on back to the table. I’ll bring a snack over soon. I’ll let you know if I hear from him.”
Mel really hoped whatever news Rhys got wouldn’t set him back too far.
They tried to keep their mind off what might be going on with Rhys as they served more customers. It’s not like they could do anything for him. They weren’t even in the same state. Hell, there might not be anything they could do if he was here. He’d make a joke out of it and act like he was fine.
They might not know him that well yet, but they’d seen it for themself when he’d been at the center. They wanted to get to know the real him, not just the face he showed to everyone else.
The coffee shop was just busy enough Mel didn’t have a chance to look at their phone, but plenty of time to think, until their relief came out just past noon.
They made themself a coffee, grabbed their phone and a couple brownies and headed over to the table where their siblings sat.
Sonia barely looked up from her book as Mel set one of the brownies in front of her.
They handed the other brownie to Denny and took a sip of their own drink as they unlocked their phone. Denny leaned forward, ignoring the treat, their gaze glued to Mel.
Rhys
Benched for at least a week
Shoulder impingement
Mel
I don’t know what that is. I focused more on psych and social work in college than physiology
Rhys
tendon gets caught under shoulder blade. Rest, antiinflammatory, ice
common with over the head motions
Mel
Like throwing the ball back to the pitcher’s mound?
Rhys
Or trying to catch someone stealing second base
Denny’s foot kicked against the table, and Mel sighed. “He’s going to be fine. Out for a week so he can rest his shoulder.”
“So, he didn’t tear anything? He doesn’t need surgery?”
“Not from what he said. I told you that you didn’t need to worry about it.”
Sonia let out a soft snort. “Because Denny was the only one worrying.”
“Hush and eat your brownie.” They couldn’t stop smiling, even as they were called out by someone a decade younger than them.
Mel
So what are you going to do with your time off
Rhys
Right now, go support my teammates. I’ll let you know how I survive the rest of it later
Mel
Give me a call when the game’s over. I’m sure I can help you pass the time