prepped everything for him while he more or less stood there and watched.
“When Mom calls, all you have to do is fire up the grill and heat up the potatoes in the oven. Shouldn’t take you more than half an hour.”
Then, we parked our asses in front of the TV, watched the Food Network, and smoked a blunt.
“Yeah, she passed out about an hour and a half ago.”
I heard Connor’s hushed voice and stirred. I had passed out on him, his arm draped over my shoulder and side, cradling me to his warm chest. There was a nice little patch of drool on his shirt, and he held my phone up to his ear.
“Oh, she just woke up.”
Groggy, I accepted my phone from him. “Hello?” I croaked.
“Hey,” came Phil’s warm chocolaty voice. “You feelin’ okay?”
“Yeah. I guess the blunt laid me out. What time is it?”
“Almost six. You ready for me?”
“Mmhmm.”
“All right, I’ll be there soon.”
Connor smiled at me as I hung up.
“What?” I asked, righting myself and rubbing my face.
“Nothing. Just happy for you, is all.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“How did you guys meet? You never told me.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
I gave him the tale and told him how we’d reunited. I left out the hairy bits, saying only, “It was somewhat nuclear in the beginning, but shit’s smoothed out since then. We both had wanted to be together for so long, but we really didn’t know each other, you know? So, we had to figure shit out, but…I could never imagine being with anyone else.”
“That poor Brian guy never had a chance, did he?”
“Actually, he did. I had all but given up hope of ever seeing Phil again. I think a part of me really fell in love with Brian. But not enough. The minute I knew Phil was coming home, that was it. It was over between us. I haven’t heard from or seen him since, which sucks because he’s a wonderful man and a true friend. But he had strong feelings, and I didn’t think it was right to have him around, only to hurt him worse.”
Connor nodded. “You did the right thing.”
“I think so.”
“So…I’m not sure if I’m at all comfortable playing Love Letter, considering it’s about my sister.” He grinned. “I used to think that song was so awesomely fucked up, you know? And knowing now that he wrote that with you in mind…I might need to have a talk with him.”
“They’ve only played it twice in concert that I know of.”
“Let’s convince them to keep it that way.”
I cuddled up to my brother, curving into his side and resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m so happy you’re back.”
He dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Me, too.”
We heard the Black Beauty pulling into the driveway, and the house phone rang. We both got to our feet and headed into the kitchen. Connor grabbed the cordless phone off the jack, and I pulled on my light corduroy jacket.
“Hey, Mom.”
A soft knock came from the front door, and I went to answer it.
Not realizing it until that very moment, my heart and soul registered with my brain just how much I had missed Phil. Seeing his twinkling warm eyes and brilliant dimpled smile, my world blew up with the radiance of an incandescent rainbow. Before I knew what I was about to do, I threw myself at him, and he caught me in his arms.
“Damn, I missed you, too,” he told me, his voice full of laughter.
Connor rounded the corner from the kitchen, and he and Phil gave each other man hugs.
“Have a good time,” said Connor, giving me one last hug.
As we pulled into Ormond, Phil pulled over and took out a folded bandana from his pocket. Holding it up, his mouth in a lopsided grin, he asked, “May I?”
I closed my eyes, and he secured it around my head.
A few seconds later, I felt the Black Beauty pulling back out onto the road, sensing the familiar bumps in the asphalt and turns that led to my house. He parked, opened the driver’s door, and assisted me out and on my feet. Carefully, he led me up the steps of the front porch, and I heard his keys jingle as he slipped his key to my house in the lock.
When the door opened, the scents of food and evergreen filled my olfactory. I smelled sugar, broth, cheese, and fresh seafood…and Phil as he turned to stand in front of me. I felt the heat pulsing off his