The Better Brother

“Listen,” he said. “There’s something you need to know.”

“I’m not interested in anything you or your brother have to say,” I snapped.

“You will be,” Joshua said. His confidence only made me angrier. “I was in a really bad car accident a few days ago. The day after Christmas. That’s why I’m calling from this number. I’m still in the hospital.”

My mouth fell open, but no words came out. That wasn’t at all what I thought he would say. I expected him to say something about wanting me back or something about how horrible Michael had become. When I first heard his voice, I thought Joshua was calling to play on my emotions like he’d done a million times before.

“Are you okay?” I asked. My voice cracked, but I cleared my throat and pushed on. “I mean, what happened?”

“I’m going to be fine,” Joshua said quickly. “I had surgery that night, and I’ve been in recovery ever since. They removed my spleen. I have a few broken bones, and my kidneys are a little messed up.”

“Oh my god.”

“But, I’m fine,” Joshua said again. “And that’s not why I’m calling you.”

“It’s not?” I asked.

“No.” Joshua took a deep breath before he continued. “Michael was here that night. I know you two had plans, and I know you think he stood you up, but he didn’t. He got the message that I was in the hospital, and he came up here without thinking. It wasn’t his fault, Julie. He just did what any good brother would have done, even though I didn’t deserve it.”

“He was there?” I asked. “On Tuesday night?”

“Yes,” Joshua said firmly. “He was here all night. My mom said he didn’t leave until early the next morning.”

“I—” I started to speak, but Joshua’s words suddenly registered. His mom was there. Michael’s biological mother, who he’d never met before.

“That’s why he never called,” Joshua said softly. “When he got here, he was ready to call and explain himself. Then, he saw our mom and he just, well, you can imagine how that must have felt.”

“Yeah,” I said. “I can’t believe it.”

“It sounds crazy,” Joshua said. “But it’s true. Michael didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t stand you up. He didn’t forget about you. He just had one hell of a night.”

“I?

??m an idiot,” I said, speaking more to myself than to Joshua.

“Why?” Joshua asked.

“I wouldn’t even let him explain,” I said. “I just slammed the door in his face.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t blame you,” Joshua said kindly. “You were upset. You didn’t know what happened.”

“But I should have let him explain,” I said. “I can’t believe I did that.”

“You can still fix it,” Joshua said. “That’s why I’m telling you.”

I didn’t know what to say. It was weird enough that Joshua called me, but for him to defend Michael, it was like my entire world had just flipped on me.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked suspiciously. “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want me to be with Michael.”

“Because I was wrong,” Joshua said. “I was being selfish, and I’m sorry.”

In all the years I’d known Joshua, I’d only heard him apologize a handful of times. He wasn’t the type of man to admit when he was wrong. If anything, he would go to blows just to prove himself right. Maybe his brush with death had changed him.

“You and Michael obviously care about each other,” Joshua said. “And I shouldn’t have stood in the way of that. I’m sorry, Julie. I really am.”

“Thank you,” I said softly. “But that doesn’t change what I did. Michael isn’t going to talk to me after I slammed the door in his face.”

“He will,” Joshua said. “Of course he will.”