Josh busted out a laugh, choking on his water. “Ben, I think you should just move in here. It’s so much more entertaining when you’re around.”
“I beg to differ,” Brad snapped.
“Come on, lighten up little brother,” said Ben. “I’m just kidding you.”
Brad responded with a grunt as he bent over to retie his shoe, hoping to disguise the rush of blood to his face.
“Are you dating someone else?” Ben asked, scrunching his nose in distaste.
“No. I’m not interested in anyone else.”
“Did she break up because of her hair? Did you give her a hard time?” asked Ben.
He noticed Ben rubbing the short hair on his head, as was his own habit when he was caught in a quandary. Despite Ben’s tendency to intentionally irritate him, they had a lot in common.
“No little brother. You’re the Gates brother who gives people a hard time, not me.”
“Oh yes, please play the I’m-older-smarter-nicer-stronger-doctor-better-at-everything-er-than-you-are card.”
“Which is only trumped by the poor-pitiful-younger-brother-whose-older-brother-picks-on-me card.” Brad gestured with flailing hands.
“Watch it! You almost put my eye out,” said Josh, ducking to avoid the onslaught of Brad’s thrashing knuckles. “Seriously Brad, you don’t seem to be making any headway with Grace. Maybe we can help.”
“Yeah, and you look like something the cat dragged in,” said Ben. “If this lasts much longer, your deteriorated condition is going to be a source of embarrassment. You need to uphold the ‘Brawny and Beautiful Brothers’ reputation.”
“I don’t think my looks are hurting your reputation.”
Josh said, “I have to say, Brad, you really do look fatigued all the time. Is it the ER schedule?”
Brad collapsed onto the couch, allowing his head to flop back. “No, the ER is fine. I’m just not sleeping well.”
“Have you tried taking Ambien?” asked Josh.
“I don’t want to be dependent on a prescription drug. Medication’s going to be the last resort.”
“Well you look half-dead, so you might want to try that last resort before it’s too late,” said Ben.
“Thanks a lot, brother.”
“So back to the original subject—Grace. Will she be at the dinner tonight?” asked Ben.
“She’s been there every week so far,” said Brad.
“Grace has been there every week? And you haven’t worked out your differences yet?”
“She won’t talk to him,” Josh said. “And she won’t talk to me or anyone else, for that matter.”
A Cheshire cat grin split Ben’s face. “Ah-ha! Challenge accepted. Grace will talk to me, and I will solve the riddle of Brad Gates’ fall-from-Grace. Pun intended.”
Brad started to object, but realized he’d exhausted all of his other resources. Like it or not, Ben was his best hope. He glanced at his brother, still sporting the wide smile and waggling his eyebrows. He didn’t like it.
*****
Ben tried to secure a chair next to Grace at the Marshall dinner table, but she snagged a seat between her parents on the far end of the table from Brad. However, his place directly opposite her allowed him a perfect position to observe her during the meal. While she seldom spoke and trained her eyes on her plate for the majority of the dinnertime, when her glance arose from her food it always darted toward Brad and back downward. In fact, she didn’t even notice Ben’s scrutiny for the first fifteen minutes. She was definitely preoccupied with his brother’s presence even while she pretended otherwise.
Olivia asked, “Ben, when is your shoulder surgery?”
“I have it scheduled in two weeks. Poor Brad and Josh are going to play nurse to me for the first week after surgery.”