Chapter 5 - In my space

When I open my front door, Jay is standing there with a big smile on his face.

“What’s up?” I ask shaking his hand.

“The sky and the sun and the clouds.” He says laughing at his own joke.

“Come in.” I say moving to the side so he can walk through. I close the door behind him and turn to follow him down the hallway.

“This place is coming along.” He says when we walk into the living room.

“Yeah, it took a lot to get here.” I say looking proudly around my house.  7 years of school later I’m finally here. There was a time when I didn’t think I would get here. It has been a long and tedious ride.

“I’m so proud of you man,” Jay says walking closer to me and giving me a brotherly hug.

“Thank you, thank you,” I say hugging him back.

“Speaking of I bought you this. A little housewarming gift.” He says handing me a bottle of Hibiki.

“Wow, man,” I say looking at the bottle appreciatively.

“You deserve it, man. This is incredible, you’re incredible.” He says a little emotional.

“Thank you so much,” I say walking to the kitchen. “We should have some,” I say looking back at him.

“No. That’s yours, enjoy it.” He says smiling at me.

“I would love to share a glass with you,” I say and he shakes his head no.

“Then you should buy a bottle we can enjoy together. That one is to celebrate you and your accomplishments. I bought it for you, so you can sit back and savor it at your own time.” He says and I nod.

He walks to the kitchen table taking a seat.

“Do you want a beer?” I ask placing the whiskey in the cabinet. I’ll find a special place for it later.

“I would love some beer.” He says and I walk to the fridge to get a couple. “Did you have Junior this weekend?” He asks looking at a pile of comic books on the kitchen table. I hand him his beer and I sit on the chair next to his

“Yeah man, we had the best weekend ever. It’s crazy how grown he is. He’s teaching me so much.” I say pointing to the comic books.

“You feel like you have to catch up.” He says reading my mind.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do since I came back, but it feels like I’m not making any progress,” I say letting out all these emotions for the first time. He’s grown so much that I feel like I don’t know who he is.

“You’ll get there, these things take time.” He says making me smile.

“What?” He asks surprised.

“Shalom told me the exact same thing,” I say and he looks at me with too much interest, the look on his face is making me uncomfortable. 

“What the hell is the story there?” He asks and I can tell he’s been waiting a long time to ask me that.

“Shalom didn’t tell you?” I ask curious to know what she said.

“No.” He says still looking at me with that creepy overly curious look.

“We dated in high school,” I say and his face lights up.

“Dated?” He asks looking at me closely.

“Yeah, we had a pretty intense relationship once,” I say and my entire body gets goosebumps.

“But then you had a baby with someone else?” He asks looking at me confused.

“She broke up with me suddenly, and a year later I had Junior,” I say and I can see the confusion in his face grow.

“Okay.” He says as if he’s trying to make it make sense in his head. “So now?” he asks after a moment  

“Now, nothing,” I say and he looks at me like I’m dumb.

“So we’re going to pretend like that moment the two of you had when she walked in didn’t happen.” He says calling me out.

“It wasn’t a moment. I was just shocked to see her. I didn’t expect to see her there.” I say lying to him and myself. He looks at me like he’s not buying this crap at all.

“”So you’re saying that there;s nothing there. At all” He says looking worried for me.

“It was shock.” I say and he looks at me blinking more than usual.

“Okay.” He says smiling at me a little.”When are we buying the engagement ring?” He asks and I look at him confused, is he even listening to what I’m saying?

“For Shalom? Why would I…”

“For Olive.” He says interrupting me. “Once upon a time, you said that you were going to buy a house and then an engagement ring. Do you remember?” He asks and I take a deep breath to calm my heart. The thought of getting married to Shalom got my heart going.

“I’m not ready yet,” I say and he nods at me.

“Well, tell me when you are. I’ll be happy to help you out.” He says smiling at me.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say smiling at him too.  “Although I think I should be the one accompanying you to the jewelry store. When are you going to marry that woman?” I ask and he smiles at me his eyes sparkling. He does that whenever I ask about Farrow.

“I asked her dad for her hand in marriage.” He says smiling like a little kid.

“Really, when?” I ask excited by the thought of him tying the knot. He and Farrow are amazing together; they deserve all the happiness in the world.

“I asked him about a week ago.” He says looking at me seriously.

“What did he say?” I ask realizing then that her father might have said no.

“He was so happy; he hugged me and gave me his blessing. I got the best reaction in the world.” He says his voice thick with emotion.

“Congratulations,” I say tapping him on the shoulder a little.

“Thanks, man. When I tell you I was so nervous, I was sure he was going to say no.” He says looking at me with a strained face.

“They wouldn’t have said no. They love you.” I say thinking of Farrow’s parents they adore him. He has the best future in-laws in the world.

“I know but marriage is different. Some fathers feel a way about their daughters; I knew I had to have my shit together before I thought about asking her to marry me. Her dad is a serious and proud man. I had to go to him with respect.” He says and I know exactly what he means. I worked hard to get my shit together for someone too. It means a lot to be able to stand tall knowing you’re a man.

“I know what you mean man,” I say because there really isn’t anything more you can say.

We sit there in silence for a moment just letting the emotions evaporate. This got emotional very quickly.

“When are you going to ask her to marry you?” I ask smiling at him.

“In two weeks.” He says surprising me.

“That’s really soon,” I say looking at him excitedly. “Do you know how you’re going to do it?” I ask after a beat.

“I’m taking her to Kenya.”  He says proudly/ he knows she’s going to love it because Farrow loves Kenya.

“She’s going to love it.” I say patting on the back again.

“That’s what I’m counting on. Can you imagine if she said no?” He asks looking horrified all of a sudden.

“If she does say no, not that she will but if she does you try again. You give her time to think about it and you try again.” I say and he nods slowly.

“I hope she says yes. I know she’s going to say yes.” He says looking at me for confirmation.

“Yes, she’s going to say yes and then we’re going to have a huge party to celebrate.” I say holding him by the shoulders and shaking him a little. He needs to snap out of the negativity.

“Yes, she is.” He says smiling, I see the joy coming back to his face. “This is nerve-wracking.” He says taking a swig of the beer.

“It is, you’re putting your heart on the line. But the beauty is you’re doing it for someone you love and she loves you too. Love is a beautiful thing man.” I say and he gives me a full-on smile.

“You’re right.” He says looking at me intently.

“Of ‘course I’m right,” I say and the two of us laugh.

“Thank you man.” He says when we stop laughing.

“You know I’ve got you back no matter what.” I say looking at him in the eyes so that he knows I what I’m saying.

“And I’ve got yours, always.” He says looking at me with the same intensity I’m looking at him. I knew from the first time we met that he was my brother.