Page 68 of Reckless Kisses
My brother and I were excellent at reading instructions.Both of us had built a lot of IKEA furniture.Even though we were already employed at Sterling Investments by graduation, we didn’t want to overextend ourselves financially, so we bought more modestly priced items for our places.After a childhood where money was often scarce, we knew how to budget.I’d never thrifted stuff because I hated the idea of secondhand items, but I bought a lot of cheap furniture with dubious assembly instructions.
I took another look at the instructions after Finn and Dad were through, and then we started our attack on the shed.
“How’s the store doing?”Finn asked Dad as we started to disassemble the parts that he had mounted incorrectly, which was most of them.
“It keeps me and your mom busy.Frankly, that’s all we need right now.I’m making a small profit, which is good because I would never run it at a loss.Never.”
“You could,” I offered.“You know that we—”
“I know you boys like to take care of us.And we appreciate you buying the store back in the first place.Anyway, your mom and I like to keep busy during the day.It’s nice that we each have our own floors, but we like that we can meet up throughout the day.I feel blessed to be at this stage of life.”
“What do you mean?”Finn asked.
“That your mom and I managed to reconnect.It’s awful when day-to-day life gets in the way of love and respect.Unfortunately, that was what happened with us when you were kids.Your mom was taking on much more than I did with you kids and around the house.We were both working back then.I put in more hours, and when I came home, I figured I’d earned the right to relax.I thought I was doing enough.”
Dad wasn’t prone to introspection, so this was surprising.I figured he’d said his bit, but then he went on.
“Your mom kept telling me that she needed more help—that she was drowning.But I figured it was just the season of our lives, and it would eventually pass.But the resentment built up over time, and I lost her.”He shook his head.“Never allow that to happen.Never.Once you lose someone...there’s no guarantee that you’ll manage to find your way back together.”
“News flash, Dad,” Finn said.“We don’t have anyone to lose.This little monologue would be more helpful to our older brothers.”
Dad shook his head.“Nah.It’s good for you boys to hear it too.Who knows what ideas you might get.”
“No ideas whatsoever,” Finn said.He stopped in the act of undoing a screw and looked at me.“Why aren’t you backing me up?”
“That’s good advice,” I told Dad.“But I agree with Finn.The rest could use it more than us.”
Dad laughed, shaking his head.
“What is it with you and Mom today?She was laughing at me earlier too,” I pointed out.
“Son,” Dad said seriously, “neither your mom nor I was born yesterday.”
“Neither was I,” Finn cut in, putting the correct screw in, “but I’m missing something too.”
“Knox, you’ve seen Amy far more often since the accident than before.Something’s going on between the two of you.”
My parents were correct, obviously, but I didn’t want to discuss this with them.Then again, I didn’t want to keep secrets either.But I didn’t even know what Amy and I were doing, so how could I explain it to anyone else?
“It’s true, we have been spending time together, and we’re going to spend even more together soon.I’m going on a school trip with her next Friday.”
Finn’s eyes bulged.“Dude, we were supposed to have another catch-up session on Friday, remember?”
Dad started to laugh, then shook his head.Finn blinked, then cocked a brow.
“I forgot about the meeting,” I admitted.“The person who was supposed to go with her backed out, and I thought I could help.”
“You forgot about the meeting,” Finn parroted, stunned.
Now that I saw the shock on my brother’s face, I realized that this was a big deal.Ineverforgot about meetings.
“Let’s stop gossiping and focus on finishing this thing,” I said, “or we’ll be here until God knows when.”
“We can go grab drinks after,” my brother suggested.
Usually, I’d agree on the spot, but I wanted to drop by Amy’s place with a margarita.
“I can’t tonight,” I said.
