Brotherbound

On a late June evening, I entered my old generational home in Reign Oak, Michigan. I glanced around the antiquely furnished living room. Everything was left untouched since I’d last visited here for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, with Thanksgiving and the previous summer before that. The style was one my paternal great-grandparents from Puerto Rico had insisted on keeping before their deaths, and it was a living memory of them. Even the ceramic coqui with a miniature straw hat over its head remained on the same shelf with other ceramic and porcelain ornaments. My eyes grew heavy at the faint aroma of spiced apples from my family’s favorite candle brand, causing my lips to curve with nostalgia. I flashed an even wider smile as soon as Dad rushed down the stairs with his arms ready to open widely. My heart warmed at the sight of him even though I’d seen him just a few weeks ago on Graduation Day. He wrapped his arms around me for a big bear hug and a few hard pats on my back, groaning affectionately. Boarding school was finally over, and spending more time with him was a great way to play catch up. Still, what I’d give to hear my name called again just so I could have an excuse to walk across the stage a second time while being struck with that glorious rush. “Christopher Aponte,” the headmaster had said. Goose bumps covered my skin all over again. Dad let out a chuckle as he squeezed me in return and let go with a sigh. “Look at you, Chip. Still feels like you were a kid only yesterday.” I grinned. “Oh, please. I haven’t been a kid since I started middle school.” “Technically, since you turned eighteen recently.” He winked. I exhaled deeply with playfully rolled eyes. “Semantics, Dad.” “I know, I know. So how’ve you been?” I shrugged. “Tired from the flight. Just glad to be done with school. I can finally have a stress-free summer before I start college and hopefully find another decent job. At least the bookstore was nice while it lasted.” “Well, maybe work as a professional cover designer on the side while you’re off in college? You’ve always been great at that.” “We’ll see. Or even start my own company.” “And with your high skills in Spanish, you have broader opportunities. Thanks to me, of course.” Dad winked. “Yeah, who knows what I’ll find?” He smiled and brushed his knuckles against the top of my head. “You’ll find something and stick to it. You’ve always been responsible like me.” “I’m too much like you, artist and all.” He laughed heartily. “So was your mother.” “Yep, she was. The three musketeers.” I took a glimpse of the family portraits hanging above the sofa and sported a tighter smile at the one of Mom with elegance and radiance. So young with lots of life to live before the cancer had taken her away. Dad’s eyes gleamed. He borrowed my tight smile and gave my shoulder a couple of hard squeezes. “I know you were just a toddler and will never remember a whole lot, but she would’ve been so proud of you right now. Just as proud as I am.” I swallowed and blinked a few times to clear my teary vision. I’d seen a bunch of videos. It was generous enough to imagine her in full when compared to nothing. I’d inherited her thick, dark hair and brown eyes, as well as her sun-kissed tone. In fact, I looked just like her in many ways. “Thanks, Dad.” “Anytime, son.” He perked up a bit and headed toward the kitchen. “Well! I hope you’re starving because we have company in a few minutes.” That explained the sudden scent of cheese and herbs I’d barely noticed. I arched my eyebrows. “Oh? And yeah, I haven’t eaten since breakfast. So, who’s coming?” The sound of plates rattling filled the room. “Your other favorite person. You haven’t hung out like you used to since you went to boarding school, but I hope that’ll change.” I wrinkled my forehead. But I had several other favorites, mostly family. How would that make for an easy guess? Unless he meant the one and only— The knocking at the door came in rapid thuds, but quieter than most knocks. Dad set the plates and silverware on the kitchen table. “They’re here. Might want to get that.” He winked. Why was he acting so secretive all of a sudden? Nevertheless, I walked toward the door and opened it. My eyes glared at the sight of the one and only, the very guy I’d never thought I’d see again, a more grown version standing alongside his mother with the sunrays peering through the doorway. Topher Bellomo. And as soon as his pinkish lips curled into a toothy smile of whiteness, all the old crushy feelings I’d felt back in middle school crashed right back into my thoughts, as if having never quite left to begin with. My old neighbor and best friend, but most memorably, my first love. In secret, of course. But what was Topher even doing here? And why was Alessandra invited as well? This was quite an odd experience, definitely not anything I’d have ever expected. What had made Dad invite them in the first place? Topher half-nodded. “Yope. What’s up?” Yope? Wow. He still said that after four years of us not seeing each other. And that deep voice travelling throughout my body in all the right places. This only proved to be more of a challenge than I’d expected. Dad chuckled, serving the cheese-and-veggie penne on each plate. “Well, don’t just stand there, Chip. Greet them and let them in.” I snapped back to reality with a rushed nod. “Y-yeah, of course, s-sorry about that.” I imagined my cheeks were red by now. So much for spending some time with Dad before having to put up with any company, especially the kind of company that triggered so many fond but emotionally torturous memories. Alessandra sauntered her way through and let out a soft laugh, her eyes glistening. She aged gracefully for a forty-something, much like my similar-aged father. “That’s okay. I can tell you were surprised by the surprise. It worked perfectly.” I formed a grin. “Well…it’s just…been a long time, I guess.” “Since before you left for boarding school, I know.” “Yep.” This was getting rather awkward. I wish I’d had some extra time to prepare for this. I wasn’t just tired from the flight, but I hadn’t even gotten the chance to at least shower again. It had been since late morning, and I felt a bit gross all over. Alessandra hugged my dad respectfully, then she followed Dad’s direction to give him a seemingly tighter hug that immediately captured my attention. “Hey, Carlos.” “Mmm, how are you?” “Good.” The two of them seemed a bit too close compared to years ago, as if something else had changed. I’d never seen them hug quite like that. What was going on between them? I brushed it off. They’d probably just grown as close friends, while Topher and I couldn’t say the same about ourselves, something that was still a mystery to our parents just from how they acted. My eyes shifted to Topher’s brown ones. My heart fluttered exactly the way it had the last summer we’d spent together. We had been together almost every day and in various places that special summer, like crazy fourteen-year-olds not knowing what to do with our newfound freedoms, albeit limited. Bro-like, but special, nonetheless. I suppressed a sigh. Why did high school have to change everything and separate us for four years? All because I’d wanted to attend a prestigious boarding school for my résumé. We’d eventually lost touch with just the online version of a “How are you?” here and an “I’m okay” there. Were we still considered best friends, or even simply friends, for that matter? Sure, we’d been friends since childhood, but that didn’t guarantee a lifelong duration. Topher closed the door and remained standing there with his sun-drenched arms crossed, much tanner than in other seasons. Such fine, dark hairs decorated them almost impeccably. He flashed another toothy smile that complimented his shaved-but-still-manly face. His smiles were more like subconscious smirks, as if with a hint of seduction, despite otherwise. Overall, he mimicked a portrait to stare at and ponder his mystique and mysteriousness for endless minutes. This newly grown man had been the only person ever to wake what had been stubbornly dormant, a tingly sensation I took care of on my own with no partnered involvement. But the emotional response? Even more powerful, and all because of this very bond I’d shared with him. His smile morphed into a grin. “I’m still Luigi.” I suppressed a giggle and snorted gently at the memory. “And I’ll forever be Peach. She can at least glide.” “Timeless classic. That was how we became buds, actually.” “Like I’d ever forget that.” Trying out the classics had led to something special, after all. “I know you wouldn’t.” Topher gave me a playful punch on the shoulder, no harder than a tap. “I bought a pretty decent knockoff, except Luigi’s actually hot for a guy, oddly enough. But no princess in this one. Just the bros.” “I always did like to play games with you.” “Board game later as well? Like old times?” “Board game it is.” “Nice. Hey, I can still cuss in Spanish just like you taught me. Useful for when I lose at a game in front of others.” I rolled my eyes and grinned. “You’re silly.” “Well, that was the most interesting part of the Spanish lessons you gave me back in the day.” “Oh, I’m sure it was.” Topher looked at the meal and smiled. “Food looks good, Carlos. Smells great, too.” Dad smiled in return. “Thank you, it’s ready, so come eat.” Topher swaggered into the kitchen so naturally stiff and butch as if unable to loosen any joint. Then again, he’d always been that way. He’d also always swung from girl to girl. The last one I’d known about was the prom queen. Or so his profile updates had stated, anyway. That night before we’d parted ways for different high schools, though. That eternal hug Topher had given me, the tightness, my face buried in his neck, the refusal to let go, and the eye-to-eye contact when we had let go. What had it all meant? Why had our faces been too close unlike every other time? “Chip, come join us,” Dad said. “Unless you feel like standing there and missing out on some great food, if I can say so myself.” I smiled in an exaggerated manner. I probably looked as drunk as I’d been on the night of my high school graduation before vomiting everywhere at the bar after only a few drinks. That and getting kicked out for being underage with a fake ID had made me pledge never to have another drink. I reached the left side of the four-seater table, opposite from the kitchen wall. I took a seat across from Dad and next to Topher, with Alessandra next to Dad, as if all naturally coordinated. Dinner began. Alessandra took a small bite. “Mmm, this is delicious.” Dad sported a smile of pride. “Thank you.” He took a larger bite. Alessandra swallowed and glanced my way. “Congratulations on finishing boarding school, by the way. What are your plans for the summer before college? Any ideas?” I poked at my food. “Probably not much. Look for a job, mostly. I do want to have a stress-free summer, though.” I took my first bite and instantly agreed with Alessandra. “Really good, Dad.” “Thank you, thank you. I prepared it with love.” He flashed another smile and ate some more. Topher licked his lips instead of using a napkin. “I thought about going on a little road trip soon. You know, just drive around, see places, that kind of thing.” Alessandra nodded. “Okay, honey. Sounds like a nice plan.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, you should ask Chip if he’d like to come along. It can be a celebration since you both graduated recently.” I froze, and seconds later, I stuffed my mouth as nonchalantly as I could. “Yeah, man, you’re welcome to come with. Up to you.” His words flowed in one ear but knew better than to flow out the other. Instead, they lingered in my head and woke me up in a way porn failed to do. I simply gave him a nod. He resumed his meal as if nothing had happened. Alessandra chuckled lightly. “I still think it’s a strange but adorable coincidence that you guys are both named Christopher. It was fate for you two to meet.” She nodded with certainty. “Very much so.” Dad formed a wider and warmer smile while looking at the two of us. “We’re family.” Alessandra’s eyes sparkled with joy. “We are.” I lowered my eyebrows a bit at the tone. There was just something odd about how he’d said it. Sure, we’d known Topher and Alessandra since forever, but family? Since when? Topher let out a chuckle. “I guess friends can be like family in a way, sure.” Dad took Alessandra’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze with his thumb caressing the back of it. My eyes widened. What was going on between them? “Chip? Topher? We’re a family now because I proposed to Alessandra and she accepted.” My jaw dropped. “What?!” “We’ll be getting married next summer and she’s agreed to move in with us tonight.” Topher scoffed. “And you didn’t say anything, Mom, because…?” Her smile morphed into a guilty grin. “We wanted to surprise you.” “But not even about dating each other at least? And where am I going to live now? I just started saving up for an apartment and it’ll be at least a few months minimum.” Dad shook his head. “Don’t worry about that. You’ll be living with us now. I want us four to be a happy family.” Words couldn’t even come out of my mouth. Since when had they been dating? They’d kept everything a secret. Dad was not just my father, but a best friend to me. We told each other everything and never hid any secrets. Until now. “I’ll even clear out the extra room for you. It’ll take a couple of days with all that junk in there, so you can just sleep with Chip for now.” Dad looked at me. “That okay?” I gave him my most reluctant nod with a contrived smile that was more like one mouth corner higher than the other. Topher patted me on the shoulder. “Welp? Should I officially call you my new bro now?” And that was the other issue, an issue that forced the corners of my mouth to wilt like the dying rose my heart started feeling. Topher, the only man of my dreams and the only love of my life, now my new brother.