closed for Gamina
I attended my brother's barbecue party more out of family obligation than actual interest. I'd never really liked Tom all that much. As a child, he'd seen his role as "tormentor" to his younger siblings. Being the baby of the family and female, Candace avoided most of it; Tom knew he'd catch a beating for picking on her too much. But as the male middle child, I was mostly fair game. Dad's advice was usually to "toughen up" when Tom went after me.
The juvenile pranks and such faded away in our teens. Tom's height advantage still lingered, but I had the edge in muscle mass. Our last actual fight ended with me laying him out in the living room; if Candace hadn't been there holding me back, I'd probably have given him more than a black eye. Tom never took things that far again.
Now in adulthood, Tom mostly needled me through his success. He hardly studied for the SAT, got great scores, and sailed into a scholarship at a top school. There he met Alexandra, an absolute peach. Alexandra's father then hired Tom at his firm; after a few years, Tom was clearly the heir apparent whenever his father-in-law decided to retire. Tom then started taking fancy vacations, driving a fancy car, and now buying a fancy house. So this barbecue was less about having fun and more a chance for Tom to show off his success.
It wasn't like I was scrounging for quarters in the gutter. I had a good job making good money. I wasn't married and had need for a giant house. I also didn't have a four car garage, so I needed a car that could handle trips to the grocery store rather than one that did 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Still, it still aggravated me to see him doing so well. While I had to work for my success, Tom seemed to just drift along and have everything come up roses for him.
As such, I was a little surprised -- and a bit pleased -- when I saw not everything was sunny with Tom's life. I actually knew Lexi a bit better than I'd have expected. Sensing our brotherly tension, she'd always tried to soothe things between us at family gatherings. Nothing overt, but she'd chime in with compliments for me or little comments to rein Tom in when he got too high on his horse. I'd always liked her for that.
Because of that connection, I noticed that things between them seemed less congenial than usual. I doubted the couple dozen of Tom's business associates, clients, and other work invitees noticed; they put on a show of being a happily married couple, now with their first child on the way. (Lexi's loose sundress could only somewhat conceal just how huge her breasts and belly had grown in the past six months.) But something was subtly off between the two.
I got confirmation late in the afternoon as things were winding down. Folks had been making their goodbyes for half an hour and I decided I'd make my exit as well. Then Tom got a phone call. "Sorry babe," he declared afterwards. "I've got to go into the office for a bit."
Lexi's eyes got hard and angry for the briefest of moments. She smiled quickly and told him that was fine, but I could tell she was lying. Interesting. So maybe Tom was working too much?
"Hey Lexi, why don't I stay after to help clean up?" I offered. She'd been so nice to me in the past, I felt I had to offer. Plus, I was curious to learn more about why the perfect couple might no longer be the picture of wedded bliss.
That seemed to soothe her for the moment, so the brief tension blew over. Another twenty minutes later and it was just the two of us. I carried around a garbage bag collecting discarded paper plates and cups while Lexi wrapped up the leftover food. We chatted a bit and then I decided to satisfy my curiosity. "So Lexi," I began. "What was that thing with Tom there? You looked pretty angry there for a second, like you might take his head off. How are you two doing?"
I attended my brother's barbecue party more out of family obligation than actual interest. I'd never really liked Tom all that much. As a child, he'd seen his role as "tormentor" to his younger siblings. Being the baby of the family and female, Candace avoided most of it; Tom knew he'd catch a beating for picking on her too much. But as the male middle child, I was mostly fair game. Dad's advice was usually to "toughen up" when Tom went after me.
The juvenile pranks and such faded away in our teens. Tom's height advantage still lingered, but I had the edge in muscle mass. Our last actual fight ended with me laying him out in the living room; if Candace hadn't been there holding me back, I'd probably have given him more than a black eye. Tom never took things that far again.
Now in adulthood, Tom mostly needled me through his success. He hardly studied for the SAT, got great scores, and sailed into a scholarship at a top school. There he met Alexandra, an absolute peach. Alexandra's father then hired Tom at his firm; after a few years, Tom was clearly the heir apparent whenever his father-in-law decided to retire. Tom then started taking fancy vacations, driving a fancy car, and now buying a fancy house. So this barbecue was less about having fun and more a chance for Tom to show off his success.
It wasn't like I was scrounging for quarters in the gutter. I had a good job making good money. I wasn't married and had need for a giant house. I also didn't have a four car garage, so I needed a car that could handle trips to the grocery store rather than one that did 0-60 in 3.2 seconds. Still, it still aggravated me to see him doing so well. While I had to work for my success, Tom seemed to just drift along and have everything come up roses for him.
As such, I was a little surprised -- and a bit pleased -- when I saw not everything was sunny with Tom's life. I actually knew Lexi a bit better than I'd have expected. Sensing our brotherly tension, she'd always tried to soothe things between us at family gatherings. Nothing overt, but she'd chime in with compliments for me or little comments to rein Tom in when he got too high on his horse. I'd always liked her for that.
Because of that connection, I noticed that things between them seemed less congenial than usual. I doubted the couple dozen of Tom's business associates, clients, and other work invitees noticed; they put on a show of being a happily married couple, now with their first child on the way. (Lexi's loose sundress could only somewhat conceal just how huge her breasts and belly had grown in the past six months.) But something was subtly off between the two.
I got confirmation late in the afternoon as things were winding down. Folks had been making their goodbyes for half an hour and I decided I'd make my exit as well. Then Tom got a phone call. "Sorry babe," he declared afterwards. "I've got to go into the office for a bit."
Lexi's eyes got hard and angry for the briefest of moments. She smiled quickly and told him that was fine, but I could tell she was lying. Interesting. So maybe Tom was working too much?
"Hey Lexi, why don't I stay after to help clean up?" I offered. She'd been so nice to me in the past, I felt I had to offer. Plus, I was curious to learn more about why the perfect couple might no longer be the picture of wedded bliss.
That seemed to soothe her for the moment, so the brief tension blew over. Another twenty minutes later and it was just the two of us. I carried around a garbage bag collecting discarded paper plates and cups while Lexi wrapped up the leftover food. We chatted a bit and then I decided to satisfy my curiosity. "So Lexi," I began. "What was that thing with Tom there? You looked pretty angry there for a second, like you might take his head off. How are you two doing?"