CHAPTER 8
1104 Words
Brandon got near Annalise. She turned toward her brother and disappeared in his embrace. His arms surrounded her in a hug that nearly squeezed the air out of Annalise. Sometimes her older brother was acting like a giant panda.
“I’ve missed you, Anna,” Brandon said, laying a kiss on the top of her head. “How are you?”
“I am okay now that I have you both here with me,” she replied and took a small step back from him, stopping right in the middle.
“And how are things between you and Mom lately?” he went on.
Annalise lowered her gaze.
“Not bad…”
“Really?” Brandon asked.
“Well, at least, she stopped repeating ‘you should quit your job and get married’ during every lunch we have. Now she’s talking to me about her friends and their grandkids…” Annalise answered and smiled, but the smile never reached her gaze.
Brandon looked at her, then at Jeremy.
“We should talk to Mom about this,” he said to Jeremy. “Reassure her that as long as we are around Anna, she is going to be okay. That what happened in San Francisco was just a shitty accident and that it won’t happen again.”
Jeremy moved his head.
“Yeah, we should. But how to convince her that Anna is okay when we are…”
“What the hell! I’m standing right here, guys!” Annalise cut in, waving a hand between them.
She gazed first at Brandon and then at Jeremy. They were so overbearing and overprotective! Still, they were filled with good intentions and love. They were fierce in their loyalty to her, and Annalise adored them for it. However, sometimes enough was enough!
“Please, stop talking about me like I’m not present. Stop acting like I’m just a child in desperate need of your help. I messed up once, I agree, but I’m good now… Even if I’m not our mother’s favorite, I can handle her and my life.”
“Well, you begging us to come here ASAP says the opposite,” Brandon went on.
“I just wanted a break from her nagging, that’s all,” Annalise refuted and raised her voice a little. “And, for the record, you two should come home more often.”
“We have demanding jobs, Anna, a lot of responsibilities… And we live in different cities…” Brandon replied.
“So what, Bran? I’m here every week, and I, too, have a demanding job. Maybe you should make time! Both of you…”
“Anna…” Jeremy said slowly, trying to calm her down.
Annalise took a deep breath and lowered her tone.
“I’m sorry I raised my voice… We’ll talk more about this later. Right now, let’s not bother Mom with our issues, okay?”
Both men nodded.
“Good,” Annalise said, stood up on her toes, and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek.
Then, she went toward Brandon’s car and took the flowers and the gift she had brought for their mother.
“Princess Ann, when did you become so feisty?” Brandon asked and slung an arm over Annalise’s shoulders.
“I’ve always been this way. But I had to tone it down a notch right after you left for college and a lot more after Dad’s passing and Jeremy going to college. Mom was hurting too much and emphasizing her incapability of loving me, of trusting me, of motivating me would not have helped either of us.”
Brandon took the roses and the little bag from her hands. Jeremy went back to the car and took a huge bouquet of roses.
“Speed it up a little, 'Mr. High and Mighty'!” Brandon exclaimed. “Let’s not keep Mom waiting for us. John is inside with her, but she won’t remain calm forever.”
“He eventually came,” Annalise whispered. “I’m so glad he did.”
“Oh, our ‘Great Captain’ is here,” Jeremy said, catching up with Brandon and Annalise.
“He said he wasn’t sure he could come. He was supposed to be in Georgia already.”
“Yeah,” Brandon added. “This weekend, ‘L.A. Cali FC’ is playing in Atlanta. The team is already there. John told his coach he had to be here, so his coach gave him a free pass for today.”
Annalise nodded slowly.
“Good. I have to talk to him about something important.”
“Important?” they both asked in a curious tone.
She saw on their faces that they wanted to know more.
“That’s all I’m going to say. Come on, Mom is waiting for us.”
Brandon opened his mouth, but Annalise raised her hand and stopped him.
“Okay, pretty girl,” Jeremy said. “This is not going to end here...”
Martha Walsh appeared on the front porch.
“Should I move the table here, in the driveway, or are you coming inside any time soon?” she asked.
All three turned to see their mother leaning against the doorframe, impatience evident in the way she was looking at them.
“We'd better go inside before she starts with the threats, like when we were little. You know she is still a pro in that department,” Annalise grinned. “Poor John… I bet he went through a long, exhausting interrogation.”
Jeremy ruffled her hair then tucked his arm over Annalise’s neck so he had her in a headlock. He started walking toward the house, dragging her with him. When they got to the porch, Annalise laughingly stumbled from Jeremy’s hold and gave her mother a nice long hug.
“Happy birthday, Mom!” she said, smiling slightly.
Martha smiled back, then squeezed her slowly and dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
“Thank you, Anna,” Martha replied.
“Where is John?” Annalise asked.
“Where he always is. Since that boy bought me that damn big flat screen, every time he’s here, waiting for you to arrive, he’s always parked in front of it, watching some soccer game.”
She hugged Jeremy.
“Happy birthday, gorgeous lady!” Jeremy said to his mother.
“Are those flowers for me, sweetie?” Martha asked him.
“Of course! Beautiful roses for the most beautiful girl in the world! And about the present Anna bought for you… It was my idea…”
“Liar!” Annalise exclaimed and pushed him slightly.
- Writer
