The Other Brother by Brandon Massey Read Free Book Online Page B

"Remember that time you had a concussion? When you and Pops were driving to visit Uncle Bobby and got in an accident?"
    "Yes-goodness, that was years ago" She shook her head. "What about it?"
    "How'd you feel afterward? Did anything ... strange happen?"
    "Strange?"
    "Any bad headaches, anything like that?"
    "I do remember having an awful headache for a day or two. But that's not strange for someone who's had a concussion. What's wrong, Gabriel?"
    He never should have asked the question. Mom was ready to drive back to Grady and demand that the doctors reevaluate him. He'd been hoping that she would admit to weird side effects. A pins-and-needles sensation in her hands. Maybe seeing visions in mirrors. No such luck. It was time to change the subject, or else she would worry further.
    "I'm fine, Mom," he said. "I guess seeing that accident up ahead kinda shook me up"
    "Brought back bad memories?"
    "Guess so ""
    "Bless your heart" Mom patted his arm. "After your father and I had that accident, I was nervous riding in a car for about a month. But if you're feeling ill-"
    "Mom, I'm okay. Seriously."
    "You know I love to mother you, baby. I miss that sometimes, what with you living in your own house and about to get married."
    "I'll always be your son. I'd better be, 'cause I don't wanna give up your peach cobbler."
    "Can Dana make cobbler?"
    "Dana's cobbler is good, but it's not the same as yours. Don't tell her I said that, by the way"
    "It'll be our little secret" Mom smiled and then redirected her attention to the traffic.
    They drove past the accident. An Oldsmobile and a Mustang had collided, both of the vehicles looking as if they had been smashed in a giant trash compactor. Paramedics rushed a gurney toward an ambulance, the gurney's white sheet concealing a victim's prone body. Or corpse.
    That could've been me yesterday.
    Shuddering, Gabriel looked away.
    Mom pulled into the driveway of Gabriel's house. A dark blue Corvette convertible was parked in front of the two-car garage. It was his dad's weekend, cruising ride.
    "Is Pops here?" Gabriel asked.
    "He left the 'Vette for you to drive since your car was totaled." Mom dug a set of keys out of her purse and dropped them in his hand. "Keep it until you get the insurance and whatnot with yours squared away."
    "He didn't have to do this, Mom. I was going to rent a car."
    "You know your father. He's always looking out for his boy."
    Gabriel formed a fist around the keys. Once again his father had reviewed his situation, diagnosed a problem, and provided a solution. Gabriel loved and appreciated his father's concern, but sometimes he overstepped his bounds. Couldn't Pops allow him to handle anything on his own?
    "Your father only wants to help," Mom said, as perceptive of his moods as ever. "It would hurt his feelings if you don't take the car."
    "I'm a grown man. I don't need him to do everything for me"'
    "Fine. Give me back the keys. I'll tell him you don't appreciate his help."
    "I didn't mean it like that"
    "You should be grateful that you have a father like him," Mom said. "Do you know how many young men don't have their fathers in their lives? Do you know what they would give to be blessed with a father who loves you as much as yours does?"
    Gabriel wished he had kept his mouth shut. Mom was his dad's biggest champion, always had been. She was from the old school, believing that it was a wife's duty to submit to her husband's leadership and support his position on important family matters. She wasn't going to side with Gabriel over his father. He should have known better.
    "I'll keep the car," he said.
    "And you should call your father and thank him for providing it. Honor your parents"
    The only way to settle this was to agree with her.
    "You're right. Thanks for the ride, Mom. I'll see you at the party this weekend"
    He was having a birthday bash at the 755 Club, a ritzy establishment located inside Turner Field. Pops big surprise-was funding the celebration, while