Sidecar Crush

“Wow… that’s great news.”

“I hope you’re excited under that humble exterior of yours,” she said with a smile. “Your career is taking off.”

“I’m just a little overwhelmed is all.”

“God, you’re adorable. Too bad you’re taken. My niece is here.”

I rubbed the back of my neck and glanced away. “Yeah… um, thanks, Dee.”

“Where is she, by the way?” Dee asked. “No Leah Larkin after all?”

“Um, no.”

“Is everything all right?”

I cleared my throat. “She couldn’t make it. Is there water around here anywhere? I’m hotter than a sinner in church.”

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”

“No, no, just point me in the right direction, and I’ll fetch some myself. Don’t need you going to any trouble.”

She stared at me a moment, a strange look on her face. I was about to ask her what she was looking at, but she finally answered. “If you go in through the main lobby doors, there’s a big table with bottled waters.”

I nodded again. “Thanks.”

The lobby was blissfully cool, the air conditioning in the brand-new building working like magic. I grabbed a water and took a few sips. We were starting soon, so I didn’t linger. I grabbed another bottle in case Dee was thirsty and went back outside.

People meandered around the courtyard, checking out the new building, but my sculpture was covered. A platform stood next to it with a podium, microphone, and big speakers. A man was up there—seemed to be checking the wiring.

I headed back toward the staging area, but something—or rather someone—caught my eye. I had to do a double, then a triple-take. Was that Gibson?

He stood near the covered sculpture, his arms crossed, sunglasses on his face. I stopped and stared at him. Was I seeing things? He seemed to notice me and sauntered over. It was indeed my brother.

“What in the hell are you doing here?” I asked. Maybe not the nicest thing I could have said, but I wouldn’t have been more surprised if my dead father had been standing there.

“You should have told us about this,” Gibson said. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Told you?” I asked. “Why?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he asked. “This is a big deal.”

“What, my sculpture?”

Gibson shook his head, then swiped his glasses off. “Yes, your sculpture. Jesus, Jame. Are you serious? This is one of those you’ve made it moments. Don’t you get that?”

“I reckon.”

“You reckon,” he said, shaking his head. “You know, most people aren’t good enough to make a living the way you do. Or brave enough to take the risk to try.”

I stared at him, dumbstruck. It was hands down the nicest thing Gibson had ever said to me. Maybe the nicest thing he’d ever said to anyone—that I knew about, at least.

“Thanks.”

“If you’d said something, we all would have been here. I came down ’cause…” He trailed off and looked away, clearing his throat. “Because I wanted to make sure you weren’t here alone.”

I looked down at the ground, feeling a bit choked up. Those weren’t tears stinging my eyes. Just a little breeze stirring up something in the air. “That was good of you.”

“I, uh…” Gibson paused again. Seemed like he was having some trouble figuring out what to say. “I was here this morning and saw your sculpture before they covered it up. It’s, um… it’s real good.”

“Thanks, Gibs.”

He put his sunglasses back on. “Yeah. All right, don’t think about all the people and shit. Just be proud of your work. You earned this.”

I nodded and he punched me in the arm before walking away. And just like that, the Bodine brothers were good again.

Dee found me again while I was still a bit dumbstruck over seeing Gibson.

“Are you okay?” she asked. “They’re almost ready to start.”

“Yeah, fine. Water?”

She took the bottle. “Thanks. We’ll wait over here.”

I followed her to the platform where a few people, including Mr. Davis, had gathered. He shook my hand again and said how much he appreciated me being here. I just tried not to think about all the people congregating in front of the platform. One second, it looked like just a handful; the next it was getting downright crowded. Someone had obviously signaled that things were about to begin, and the crowd in front of me swelled.