Me: Got time to meet up tonight at Dixie’s and have a beer?
Liam challenges me to a game of poker to waste away the last hour of our shift, and I’m not one to back down. He always acts like he’s so good at it, but he needs to learn to not show his cards. I laugh every time.
“So, did you see who that girl was you saved?” he asks.
Of course I know who she is, but how does he? “Yeah, Tessa. Why? What about her?”
“I almost asked her out earlier this year, but decided not to.”
I am not competing with my brother over a girl.
“It’s those eyes, I bet. Got me too.”
I try hard not to show him any kind of resistance because he likes competition, and Tessa doesn’t need us fighting over her, treating her like a piece of meat. Liam isn’t a womanizer like Aiden, but he cares too much about looks. Honestly, for me, of course I want them to be attractive, but it’s more about who they are and what they bring to the table. In twenty to thirty years, we will both be older, and it’s more important that I have someone to talk to and share things with in my life than basing my decision off their looks.
So instead of hearing more from Liam, I try to change the topic. “Hey, you know there’s that set of duplexes over off Dupont. Been a for sale sign for months now.”
“If Aiden wants in, we can go see it. Mark can find us a good deal.”
I lay down my cards and smile.
“How do you do that every time?” he yells, rising from the table, almost knocking it over.
“Keep your cards hidden and I won't beat you.”
My phone vibrates against the wood table.
Aiden: Meet you there at five.
Things between Aiden and me haven’t been great in recent years. It started when our mother passed. With Aiden being the youngest, he was used to receiving special treatment, but Liam and I didn’t hold back. He needs someone to make him realize when he’s messing up, just as Dad would do if he were still alive.
After our shift ends, we head to the bar and chat about the various properties we’ve seen for sale around the neighborhood. Mark is the agent that helped us find our homes, so he’ll be the one we enlist to help us find the perfect property.
“You think Aiden will go for it? He might not have enough cash left...”
When he turned twenty-one and got access to his account, he dropped his money on luxurious items like an enormous home and an upscale Audi instead of saving or investing it. Liam and I are wiser about our wealth. We each acquired a fixer-upper house and set the rest back in an interest account for retirement. When it comes time, we both wish to live comfortably.
Aiden didn’t really have a plan. When we asked about how he’s saving for retirement, he laughed at us.
“I’m too young to think about retirement. I haven’t even lived yet.”
His materialistic aspects of living will be his downfall. Those elements don’t mean crap when you’re sixty-five and need to pay for your medication. Until then, all we can do as his brothers is wish for the best.
I pull my red Honda Civic up to the bar and unbuckle my seat belt and turn the car off. “Let me talk with Aiden. You know how he can be sometimes.”
Liam nods, agreeing to let me take the lead as we head inside.
When the doors open, I regret my decision to meet here, forgetting it’s open mic night. I can hardly hear Liam when he tries to talk to me.
“Over there.” He points where Aiden is thrashing his hands around, trying to get our attention.
“What’s the big occasion? We haven’t done this since what? My twenty-first birthday...” He bangs his beer down.
Fuck. Already?His eyes are glazed over, and he is already slightly slurring his words. It’s only five on a weekday. How can he already be this drunk?
“Now hear us out. We wanna buy some property and use it for those who don't have anywhere to go. Just another way to support our community,” I explain. Even though my brother enjoys having money to fall back on, he has a heart. Just like Liam and me, there’s a reason he followed in the family’s footsteps. Helping people runs in our blood.
Aiden’s eyebrows rise. “Well, what do you need from me?”