Chapter 60: It's Home Now

“It’s not your fault. We are both victims of the situation. We were separated because mom and dad grew apart. You were here because it’s where dad ended up being. I came here because mom passed away. It’s never our fault,” she pressed, making sure to have her point delivered across.

Neil opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He simply closed his mouth and smiled. “Jack’s right,” he said as he leaned back against the wall with both his hands behind his head. “What about him?”

“He said girls from the city are wise,” Neil shrugged, “I didn’t believe him. I was from the city as well, you see.. but I have no recollection of any particular owls.”

That got a laugh out of Nelly. “Seriously, owls?” Neil shook his head. “In his case, it was a real girl. No owls. I would be damned if an owl got him fawning for so many years,” he was laughing before he realized that he was too relaxed to mind his language. He peeked at her expression before coughing a few times to try to cover the slip up.

“There’s a story. What happened?” Nelly beamed. She was never one for gossip even when she was in school with a group of the other girls. She used to call it a waste of time but it’s Jack they were talking about and curiosity got the better of her.

Neil felt like biting his own tongue. “I’m afraid it’s not my story to tell,” he said cautiously, afraid of letting his sister down. “Oh, come on! Jack shares everything,” she pushed, grinning ear to ear. “Apparently, not everything. Only a selected few know this story. Don’t tell him that I let that slip in front of you.”

“Oh..” one moment Nelly was considering, and the next, she’s grinning mischievously. “You know.. if you tell me the story, I won’t tell him that you let that slip.” Her eyes were literally shining with anticipation.

Neil almost rolled his eyes. “Why are you like this..” He had both his hands in front of him, palms up. Nelly burst out laughing at his antics. “You know the irony?” She said, still grinning. “I think I got this whole humor thing from him,” she observed his expression before adding, “Jack.”

“What about Jack?” Both the siblings practically jumped out of the bench. “What? Do I look like a ghost?” Jack appeared out of nowhere, walking towards them with a pack of chips in hand.

“Oh. Hey, bro!” Neil greeted a little too enthusiastically. Jack leaned into Neil, sniffing up and down, making Neil push at his forehead with his palm. “Hmm.. smells fishy,” Jack concluded with a nod of his head. Nelly simply stayed out of it and laughed.

“What were you talking about?” Jack pushed when none of them made the effort of answering him. “Nothing. We’re simply catching up,” Neil gestured to Nelly as he answered. Jack looked over at Nelly. Then, he made some exaggerated action of checking her from a distance.

Nelly followed his sight, turning left and right to check at her own body, confused. “What? Is something wrong with me?”

“Are you alright? I’m glad you are,” he said, “you know, the last time Neil said that he’d been catching up with someone, the place burnt down.” Neil turned so fast, it’s a wonder he didn’t strain his neck. “That was one time..” he tried to explain, to no avail. Jack continued, “I had to check his definition of catching up.”

“We were talking..” poor Neil was still trying to defend himself. “Yeah, right. What’s the most normal thing you’ve ever said to a girl?” Jack countered, expression smug.

Neil’s eyes were wide. “What do you mean? Of course I say normal things to girls!” Jack was really enjoying teasing him. Nelly was practically wheezing at the side. “I want examples, Neil! Examples!” Jack said with exaggerated gestures. “The.. the usual,” Neil stammered, making Nelly laugh even harder.

“The usual?” Jack repeated, almost bent over laughing. “Who was that to? Sandy the waitress at our usual place?”

Neil held both his hands up in the ‘I give up’ gesture before sinking back on the bench. Jack gestured towards Neil. “Despite his inability to talk to girls like a normal human being, your brother is actually very popular.”

“Watch it,” Neil growled from his seat. Jack held both hands up in surrender. “No violence, no violence. Your sister is here,” he gestured at Nelly flamboyantly before sliding to the side. “One day I’ll really..” Neil closed his eyes, his voice a control of fury.

Nelly giggled. “How popular is he?” Her eyes lit up as she asked the question. Neil practically deflected and sagged on the bench. “Oh, kill me..”

Jack doubled over laughing. “You know, whenever we go out drinking, the girls will be checking him out,” Jack’s grin went wider and wider as he continued talking, enjoying Neil’s obvious discomfort.

“They weren’t checking me,” Neil countered, “they were simply looking at our table.” Jack clapped once. “Bingo! Because you were with us. When you weren’t there, none of the girls even realized that we ol’ guys exist.”

“You’re lying,” Neil’s tone was flat and humorless. “And Sandy,” Jack started. Nelly practically bounced back to life at the name. “The waitress Sandy,” she nodded enthusiastically. “She literally eye fucked Neil everyt..” Jack was halfway through announcing it like it was a sacred message before a hand clasped over his mouth, yanking him backwards. He flared his arms dramatically as Neil tried to choke him.

Nelly laughed so hard, tears started forming in her eyes. A warm feeling pooled in her chest as she watched the two men wrestle each other like little boys in the backyard. ‘I could get used to this,’ she thought. Her face hurt from laughing too much.

It’s where she lives now. This chaos is her home. She wasn’t alone, they had each other. She’s even more determined to do better at her job than she ever had. There’s no time for self pity and negativity indulgence. There were still two women lying unconscious in there, waiting for her to think of ways to assist them.

And that’s exactly what she planned to do.