I was about 16 years old when I decided to participate in an annual talent show at my church. It was the first year that they allowed non-performing talents to be showcased (such as art), so I got my own table and created a laminated binder with all of my stories. Not wanting to be completely unoriginal, I decided to write a new story just for this event. I saw several people crying while reading this, and so I know that it's at least a decent story. Enjoy!
Brothers
George
got out of the white Honda Accord he drove. When he closed the door, he gave it
a good shove. If he didn’t, the door wouldn’t close properly. But that’s how
cars older than ten years tend to be.
He
took a look at the large house and sucked in a deep breath. He let it out
slowly, not hurrying at all to get inside. It was only when his wife Brenda
spoke to him that he broke out of his trance.
“George,
are you sure you want to do this?”
He
sighed.
“Yes,
I’m sure, dear.”
Brenda
placed her hand gently on his shoulder, then took it off and headed towards the
house. George took in one more deep breath and set off for the house.
It
was very large, at least four thousand square feet. George knew it was just as
big inside as it looked. George examined the front yard, not surprised to find
toys, bikes, and two playground sets covering what grass there was. And there
was a lot of grass. At least an acre
of it.
George
caught his breath when he looked toward the garage. Two beautiful cars sat in
the three-car garage, looking freshly waxed. George immediately recognized the
white fastback as a ’89 Lotus Espirit Turbo 4, which he considered the best
Lotus of its time. He gazed longingly at it before looking at the next car, a
blue convertible. He nearly fainted with ecstasy at the sight of a brand new
BMW Z4. He stared at the cars for several seconds before tearing his eyes away
to head back towards the house.
He
had reached the porch when the door opened. A gorgeous woman opened the door
and squealed with delight, which Brenda mirrored.
“Brenda!”
“Katie!”
They
hugged and kissed each other on the cheek, greeting each other with warmth. A
man walked up behind Katie, and Brenda rushed to greet him as well. George
reluctantly hugged Katie, murmuring hello.
Then he and the man looked at each other.
Brenda
and Katie held their breath, waiting to see what would happen. It was the man
who broke the silence.
“Oh,
it’s great to see you again, brother!”
Then
he rushed to George and pulled him into an embrace. George didn’t hug him back.
The
man realized George wasn’t hugging back, so he let go of George. George looked
back towards the car and mumbled something about leaving the lasagna in the
trunk and hurried out. The door closed softly behind him.
The
man let out a deep sigh of sadness and fell onto a chair in the nearby sitting
room. Katie went over to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Brenda walked
slowly over to them.
She
struggled for words.
“I’m…sorry
about George. He’s been in a bad mood all day.”
“It’s
okay, Brenda. It’s not your fault.”
“Yes,
but still.”
The
conversation faded. Katie invited Brenda into the kitchen and Brenda eagerly
followed her.
“Don’t
mope around too long, Jimmy.”
Jimmy
grunted in response and got out of the chair. George walked back in through the
door carrying a pan covered with aluminum foil. Jimmy and George both walked to
the kitchen.
George envied Jimmy’s beautiful house.
Everything looked new and yet warm.
Before George and Jimmy could make it to
the kitchen, they had to make it through the living room. Apparently the kids
had heard the door open, because they had ran into the living room. Screams of
“Uncle Go’ge!” surrounded George, and he was quickly swallowed into a sea of
children. He laughed and roughhoused with them, saying “Hi, Jenny!” and “Heya, Chad
A sweet little redhead ran up to George.
“Hi, Unca Go’ge!”
He picked her up and spun her around.
“Hi, Denise! Are you having fun with
your cousins?”
She nodded enthusiastically and ran off
to find her brothers. George sighed and watched her run away.
Maybe there was one thing he forgave
Jimmy for.
George and Jimmy walked into the living
room-sized kitchen. Shouts of greeting erupted all around George. He greeted
Carl and his wife Lynn, then Sara and her husband Akira, then Harley. He
grudgingly greeted Harley’s boyfriend as well, Ron or something like that. The
noise of people talking over each other and sharing stories flooded the house.
George had to admit, Jimmy had picked a good house design for conversation
acoustics.
Even though George was silent, his
expression always softened whenever he looked at Denise. Her sweetness and
happiness was contagious. She always seemed to brighten up George’s day, even
when the memory of her namesake, his mother, flooded him.
The family sat down for dinner at a
giant table. The traditional turkey waited to be served. The kids started to
dig in before Jimmy interrupted them.
“Now, kids, first we pray. George, would
you do the honors?”
All eyes turned to George. He smiled at
Jimmy and shook his head.
Jimmy nodded, understanding.
“Heavenly Father, thank you for this
glorious day. Thank you for bringing us together for Thanksgiving. Thank you
for providing this wonderful feast for us, and thank you for blessing it and
sanctifying it for our bodies. We give you all the glory. In Jesus’ name,
amen.”
Everyone murmured amen and dug in. It was a delicious feast, even to George. He
quickly got over his mood and joined the conversations going back and forth
across the table. Time passed by swiftly while the Jacksons Lynn
While Brenda and Katie cleaned the
kitchen, George and Jimmy put the kids to bed. First they wrestled an ornery,
12 year-old Bill into his bed. Then Jimmy guided 9 year-old Cherrie to her
room, and George carried a sleepy 5-year old Denise to hers.
They got to her room and George laid her
down in her bed. The kids had changed into their pajamas already, so George
didn’t have to mess with that minefield. He made sure Denise was comfortable,
and then he reached to turn off the light. Denise stopped him by placing her
little hand on his hand.
“Unca Go’ge?”
“Yes, Denise?”
“When will you and A’nt Bren have kids
like us?”
George bit his lip.
“I…I don’t know, Denise. But trust me;
you’ll be the first to know.”
Denise smiled.
“Okay!”
George turned out the light and kissed
Denise on the forehead.
“Good night, Denise.”
“Good night, Unca Go’ge.”
George walked out of the bedroom and
closed the door.
Once in the hallway, George let out a
sigh filled with emotion. He wiped tears from his eyes and headed towards the
stairs. He was surprised to find Jimmy waiting outside the door, tears in his
eyes as well. Suddenly George lost the emotions he had been feeling and resumed
his iron mask. He walked swiftly by Jimmy, bumping a shoulder into Jimmy as he
passed. He had almost reached the stairs when he heard Jimmy call him.
“George, I…I…I’m thankful for what you
said in there. For Denise’s sake.”
George quickly made an about-face.
“You think I did that for her comfort??
I said it because I meant it!”
He strode up to Jimmy and pointed his
finger in his face.
“You keep out of my business!”
“George…”
“I said keep out!” George snarled as he
stormed down the stairs. He was surprised to find both women waiting at the
bottom, acting as if they’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
“What are you looking at??” he mumbled
and then he walked into the living room and fell on a couch. He moaned softly.
He heard whispering, followed by the scurry
of feet. He looked up and saw all three adults standing over him.
“What?!”
Jimmy sat down next to him.
“George, we need to talk.”
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes, George we do. See…” Jimmy waved
his finger at George’s opening mouth.
“See, I know how you can have kids of
your own.”
It took all of George’s control not to
punch Jimmy.
“We…We can’t. You don’t understand,
we’ve applied for fertility treatments, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy…
everything! But they always turn us down because…because…It’s just not possible!”
George choked back the emotions boiling
up inside him.
Jimmy waited a minute, and then he spoke
softly.
“George… There is another way for you to
have children.”
“No, Jimmy, we can’t afford to adopt.
You, of all people, know that.”
“No, not by adoption, George. I’m
talking about healing.”
Understanding dawned on George’s face.
“Oh, no, no, no, no, NO! You cannot be
serious!”
He looked exasperated.
“Jimmy, I’ve told you once, and I’ll
tell you again. I don’t believe in any of that mumbo-jumbo crap you religious
freaks put so much value in! No high and mighty god is going to heal us…because
there is no god!”
Jimmy shook his head.
“I have a very personal relationship
with him, so I can tell you that he exists.”
George shook his head vigorously.
“No, no, no. You pulled this crap with
Mom and Bill! You won’t pull it on me!”
Now Jimmy was exasperated.
“But, George, didn’t you see how much good it did them? I brought Mom to the
Lord, and we both brought Dad to the Lord, and then they remarried and lived
ten wonderful years together!”
“NO!!!”
George was quivering with rage.
“No! I won’t listen to you call
that…that…that monster our father?!”
Jimmy looked surprised at the sudden
outburst.
“But, George…”
“No! He abandoned us, Jimmy. Left us to rot with Mom! He knew she didn’t
have a job, couldn’t find one, and he left us!”
Jimmy tried to speak, but George cut him
off.
“Who took care of the family when he
left?! I did! Who made money and
helped raise the kids?! I did! Who
helped Mom recover when she had nothing left?! I did!”
George felt all of the years of
frustration pouring out.
“When you took off to fulfill all your
lifelong dreams, I was left behind to be the normal family raiser! But still
Mom loved you most.”
Now George was sobbing.
“All she could talk about was her
brilliant son! Oh, how wonderful he was! How successful he was! Her amazing
NASA engineer son! I had to scrape out a living while you sipped champagne!”
“But when you came back, all full of
yourself and your newfound religion, oh,
Mom loved you and your faith! She eagerly accepted it, and then you both gave
it to him!”
He spat when he said him.
“You eagerly accepted him back into our
lives! And you know what I got?! A kick in the pants! I was no longer needed to
help Mom or take care of the family!”
Jimmy looked shocked.
“I threw away my future for this family,
and you repaid me by throwing me away!”
George was finished. He breathed heavily
while the others sat in silence. Jimmy spoke up.
“George, I had no idea…”
“Of course you didn’t! You were too
absorbed in your own glory to notice!”
“George, I swear, I’ve changed since
then. I…”
“I know! You got redeemed by the blood
of some dead guy!”
George stood up.
“I’ve had enough of this. Brenda, get
your coat. We’re…”
He looked over at Brenda and noticed
three children standing on the stairs. All their eyes watched him, but Denise’s
were the only ones with hurt in them. George choked back tears and ran out the
door, followed by Brenda.
Two
weeks later
The phone rang. George slowly woke up.
The phone rang again. George looked at the clock. George groaned and reached
for it.
“Hello?” George said groggily.
“This is Dr. Charleston. Is this George
Jackson?”
“Yes. What’d ya need?”
“We need you to come to Saint Paul Hospital
“Why?”
“We’ll inform you when you get here.”
George hung up the phone. He sighed and
then got out of the bed. He dressed quietly and was about to leave the room
when he heard Brenda wake up.
“George, where are you going?”
George sighed.
“The hospital needs me for something.
They called earlier.”
Brenda got up.
“Well, I’m coming with you.”
George nodded. He knew better than to
argue with her.
They got in the car and drove silently
to the hospital. Neither one talked at all. When they reached the hospital, an
ambulance with its lights flashing sat outside. George parked and they walked
into the hospital. They reached the front desk.
“Yes, we’re George and Brenda Jackson. I
believe a Dr. Charleston called us here.”
The receptionist went white. She nodded
and gave them directions to a room. She whispered “I’m so sorry,” as they
walked away.
George was getting nervous now. What had
happened to someone he knew? Maybe it was his boss? Or one of his siblings?
They reached the room. George knocked
lightly. A doctor answered the door.
“Oh, it’s you. Come on in.”
George couldn’t help but notice the
doctor’s depressed tone as he let them in. George looked at the bed and gasped.
In the bed laid Jimmy. He was wrapped in
bandages, all of which were filled with blood spots. George stared at his
mutilated brother. He finally worked up the courage to ask the doctor, “What
happened?”
The doctor sighed and sat down.
“Your brother and his wife were driving
across the intersection of Maple and 85th when a drunk driver ran a
red light. He t-boned the car on the passenger side, instantly killing Miss,
uh…” The doctor took a moment to read his sheet. “Katherine. Your brother
received multiple injuries, only three of which being serious.”
George licked his dry lips.
“When did this happen?”
“Around 11 o’clock last night.”
“Why weren’t we informed earlier?!”
“Your brother James was unconscious so
we had to look up his relatives. None of them answered their phones. We only
found your number thirty minutes ago, when your brother regained consciousness
momentarily.”
George looked over at Jimmy.
“Yes, the rest of our family is out of
town. We tend to ignore calls from people that aren’t family or friends when
we’re out of town.”
The doctor nodded.
“That’s understandable.”
“Will…will he survive?”
The doctor grew silent.
“Well? Will he?”
“…No. One of his lungs was punctured by
metal and his chest plate is collapsed. It’s a miracle he survived this long,
much less regained consciousness. I wouldn’t bet on him regaining it again,
though.”
No sooner did the doctor say this when
Jimmy’s eyes opened. George rushed to Jimmy.
“Jimmy! Are you okay?”
“N-no. But that’s okay. I’ll be in
heaven with Mom and Dad soon. Apparently Katie as well.”
Jimmy laughed as much as his collapsed
chest would allow.
“But, Jimmy! What about the kids? What
about the rest of the family?”
George started sobbing uncontrollably.
This was too much.
“George…”
George looked up.
“Yes, Jimmy?”
“While I was awake I had them write out
my will. I’m going to need you to take good care of the children for me. This
will be a tough time for them.”
George was shocked.
“But…but Jimmy! I…I…I don’t deserve
this!”
He started sobbing again.
“Brother, I am so sorry! I’m sorry for
always being envious of you, and letting it control and poison me! I’m sorry
for hurting you and yelling at you and everything I’ve ever done to you!”
Jimmy lifted a feeble hand to George.
George gripped his hand tenderly.
“George, I am sorry for everything I did
to make your life worse. No,” Jimmy stopped George from speaking, “No, let me
say this. I’m sorry for holding Mom’s attention. I’m sorry.”
George did not speak. Could not speak.
“Now, George, I have something else to
say. I forgive you. I forgive you for hurting me.”
George broke into tears again.
“I forgive you too, brother! Oh, I wish
we could have done this sooner!”
George bowed his head in grief.
“Me too. But maybe this is the Lord’s
way of bringing us together. And I would die a thousand deaths if I had just
this one moment with you, George.”
George nodded and wiped away tears from
his eyes.
“Take care of Bill. This will be hardest
on him. Keep Cherrie from danger. She has always been violent when sad. And
comfort Denise as much as possible. She’s too young to understand this yet.
None of them will understand this.”
George nodded his acquiescence.
“I will, Jimmy.”
Jimmy smiled.
“I love you, brother. Take care of my
children.”
“I love you too, Jimmy. Say hi to Mom
and…Dad for me.”
Jimmy’s eyes filled with tears. They
looked at each other once more, and then Jimmy closed his eyes forever.
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