Chapter 49 Breenan´s dream
The music is pumping in my ears, and I can’t help but grimace a little bit. My brothers are throwing a party tonight, and there was no way that I could tell my sisters-in-law that I wasn’t coming. I’m trying hard to avoid the happily smiling couples, not interested in chit-chatting about how amazing each of my brothers is. Despite everything I’ve accomplished, every time I try to join the dancing, my brothers Vittorio, Adelmo, Gino, and Emiliano try to check on me and see if I’m ‘okay.’ All they seem to see me as is a sickly child, even though it’s been years since I’ve overcome the wasting illness of my youth. Once it’s socially acceptable, I make my excuses and leave the gathering, unable to deal with my brothers’ overbearing worry.
“Hey, Breenan, over here!” Bo waves at me from the top of one the pylons we’ve been working on installing over the course of the last week. For a man without the ability to fly, Bo seems to be fearless when it comes to heights, and I shake my head at his exuberant grin.
“What are you doing way up there, Bo? Aren’t we ground crew today?” I shout with a laugh.
Chortling, he shimmies down faster than any human should be able to move. “Wanna get out of here?” he asks.
“Yeah. I’m not sure how much more of my brothers’ overbearing presence I can stand,” I say as we head to my black Escalade.
“You staying over tonight, Faust?” he asks me as he hops into the passenger seat. With a shrug, I pull onto the road, flicking my lights onto auto.
“Wouldn’t object if there’s an open invite …”
“My couch is always open if you need it, dude, no questions asked,” he says with a laugh, grabbing onto the ‘oh shit’ handle as I take the corner a little too fast.
“Thanks, Bo, it means a lot. I love my brothers, they’re amazing, but they treat me like a sick kid still.”
“I get that. My dad still treats Ames like she’s thirteen. She hates it,” he says. “Hey, mind if we stop off at that Chinese place off of sixth? I’ve been craving some cashew chicken.”
“Absolutely, Chinese sounds great. Take out or dine in?”
“Let’s take it out. We can pop in a movie and eat in the cave, so we don’t bother Dad.” ‘The cave’ is Bo’s affectionate title for his basement suite of rooms.
“How is Richard, anyhow? I haven’t seen him the last few times I’ve been over.”
“Oh, you know Dad, big businessman and all that jazz. He’s been out dealing with whatever it is he deals with when he’s on business trips.”
I think about how similar Bo’s dad is to mine. My dad was always on one emissary trip or another, leaving Emiliano in charge of the kingdom. Of course, my dad is now dead, and it saddens me a little to think of him. We drive in silence for a while, each with our own thoughts.
It doesn’t take long to pick up our dinner and drive back to Bo’s house. His house is about half the size of the main house at the estate where my brothers and I reside, with two stories, a basement, and a gabled roof. The basement has three rooms: an entertainment room, a large bathroom, and a bedroom.
I park on the curb in front of the house and help Bo grab the food. Then I sling my overnight bag, which I keep in the back seat, over my shoulder and follow him to the side-door which accesses the basement. Once we’re inside, I toss my bag next to the couch and help Bo spread the food out on the coffee table before picking out a movie and pressing play on some action flick. We’ve just finished eating in record time when Bo stretches and yawns.
“Man, I’m beat. Think I’ll turn in for the night, bro. You good? Need anything?”
“Nah. Thanks, though. I know where everything is. Get some rest,” I tell him. I turn off the television, grab some sheets and a pillow from the closet upstairs, and make up the couch, relieved to be away from the large, empty main house of the estate. Once my bed is made up, I take the food upstairs to put away.
As I’m coming off the last step, the door slams shut, and Bo’s sister comes stomping into the house. I watch her with raised eyebrows and find myself wondering what’s wrong, but when she doesn’t say anything, I take the leftovers to the kitchen. A couple of seconds later, I hear a bedroom door slam upstairs. The front door opens again, and Richard walks in.
“Oh, hello Breenan. I hope Hanna’s tantrum didn’t wake you?”
“No sir, I was just bringing the leftovers up to put away,” I tell him, lifting the containers in my
hand.
“Ah, I see. Thank you. Bo tends to forget the basic etiquettes of being an adult,” he says.
With a grin, I reach for the kitchen cupboard behind Richard and grab some storage containers
to put the food in.
“Will you be staying the night tomorrow as well, Breenan?” he asks me as I close the fridge.
Shrugging, I turn to face Richard.
“I’m not certain. I guess it depends on how late the job runs.”
“Of course, of course. Bo tells me that you’ve been leading some of the crew during the larger jobs lately.”
“Yes, sir. We’ve found that it helps when the area we’re working is so spread out. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, no, of course not. I’m always happy to see a young man stepping up to take responsibility,” he says, adding under his breath, “unlike my own children.”
“Excuse me, sir?” I ask, frowning.
“Nothing, son, nothing. Have a good night,” he says, waving me off as he grabs a glass of water and goes to his office.
I head downstairs and get comfortable, quickly drifting off to sleep.