“Look, I’m sorry, okay?” I say. “It’s hard doing Pop’s work.”
“It’s hard taking care of her too when I have no one else to help me,” Flynn retorts.
“Why not ask each other for help?” Lesley intervenes.
We both look her way.
“I’m not trying to meddle in your business, but it’s apparent you need each other. Why not offer a helping hand?”
It sounds so logical, but one thing she doesn’t know about me, about us, is the fact that we do everything completely random and wrong, and usually just hope for the best. We’re a train wreck family. At least, nowadays, we are.
It didn’t always used to be like this.
Not when Pops …
“Where’s TJ?”
“I’m here, Ma,” I say, waving at her.
“Oh …” She clutches her hands. “Where’s your pa then?”
Lesley frowns and whispers my way, “Is there a reason you haven’t told her yet where your dad is? She keeps asking.”
I cringe. “It’s … complicated.”
“Tell her, TJ,” Flynn says. “Just tell her and get it over with.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then I lean over and grab Mom’s hand, holding it tight. “Pop isn’t here with us anymore, Ma.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s … gone. He had a heart attack a few years ago.”
She stops and gasps, her pupils widening after which tears begin to form. “Oh … right.”
“It’s okay, Ma.”
“I forgot again …” she mumbles, clearly getting depressed again.
It’s the same thing every damn time. And I get to be the one to break the news. It’s like a curse. All because of this name I carry … the same name my father once had. But my pops is no more.
“But what about Flynn?” she suddenly asks.
“I’m here, Ma,” Flynn says, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. At least not for a while.” He laughs it off like it’s somehow funny even when it’s not.
She smiles softly, and for some reason, it breaks the sadness in her eyes like she’s already forgotten about Pa’s death. Just like that.
“We’re all fine,” Flynn adds.
“Good … good,” she says, and then she lifts her trembling hand and caresses my cheek. “You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Is she feeding you enough?”
I glance at Lesley who’s chuckling to herself when my mom throws a look at her as if she somehow discovered Lesley and I are together. Or maybe she just thought it up out of her own imagination. It isn’t far from the truth either.
“Yes, Ma … I’m doing great,” I answer.
“Good. Because she’d better take good care of my little Teddy.”
“Teddy?” Lesley bursts out into laughter, immediately hiding it behind her sleeve. “Sorry.”
I roll my eyes and wish she hadn’t said that word.
I guess the secret’s out now.
Teddy Junior. Yep, that’s me. And Teddy Senior was my pops.
But no one calls me that anymore.
“I’m not little anymore, Ma. I can take care of myself,” I say.
“Yeah, little Teddy is all grown up, Ma,” Flynn says, rubbing it in even more.
“Says the fucking playboy,” I growl back.
“Not again,” Lesley groans.
“Yeah, Teddy. Let’s not fight again,” Flynn muses. “Ma wants us to make up, remember?”
“As long as you stop calling me Teddy, maybe I can be in one room with you again.”
Flynn laughs. “All right, Teddy-boy.”
I groan but let it pass. There’s no use in trying to argue with him. If there’s something he’s good at, it’s taunting people. Even when we were younger, he was always the one instigating the fights and getting me into trouble. Not that I didn’t have a knack for it. I mean, I do fucking love to mess with people. But only in a playful way, of course. My brother’s different. He likes the brawls. The physical stuff. That’s why he’s a playboy too. Girls like it when boys get physical. Brawny. A real macho, but with a softer side he rarely lets anyone see.
That part, we got from our mother.
“Oh Teddy, why is your jacket covered in hair?” Mom suddenly starts plucking at my clothes.
“Oh, that’s my dog’s. I forgot to wipe it off after playing.”
“You got a dog?” Flynn asks, folding his hands behind his head. “You?”
“Yeah? So?”
He shrugs. “Never thought you’d actually be that committed.”
“I told you I was determined to keep Morrows going. And that includes the Toys4Dogs brand.”
“But Pops never did it like that … with actual dogs, I mean.”
“Pa’s not here anymore,” I say, sucking in a breath before continuing. “I’m running the business now, and it’s my job to do everything I can to keep it going.”
“And that means forgetting about your family?”
“You know damn well one of us had to do it, and it wasn’t going to be you. We both knew that.” I sneer.
“Guys, guys,” Lesley says. “Not again. Please.”
Flynn’s nostrils flare again, but he crosses his arms and gazes out the window.