This is Gonna Require a Little Finesse

I pulled up outside the Mercers' old house, Bobby, Jerry, and Jack pulled in right behind me. "Nice to be home," I said and then gave a lazy glance to the right of the Mercer house, at my old house, "that shit-hole hasn't been burnt down yet?"

"So, shit, Bobby what've you been up to?" Jack asked as we walked to the front steps.

"I'm a freaking college professor, Jack. What do you think I've been doing?" Bobby snarled, opening the door to the porch.

"I doubt that." I told Jack, nudging him with playfully with an elbow.

"Same old Bobby." Jerry said half pushing me through the porch door.

"What about you?" Bobby asked glancing over his shoulder at Jack. "You still sucking a little cock left and right, or what?" he smirked

Jack looked pretty pissed, "Fucker." he growled.

"Y'all ain't right leavin' me out here in the cold like this." A voice said from the corner of the porch. Not expecting it I jumped back a bit. Jerry turned the outside lights on from just inside the house door.

Angel was sitting in the corner of the front porch.

"Yo, little brother! You asshole!" Bobby said doing that weird, guy-on-guy handshake/hug thing. "You ought to be ashamed!"

"I missed my plane." Angel explained.

"Excuses, excuses." I said shaking my head.

"Hey, baby girl!" Angel said hugging me and in the process nearly crushing every bone in my body. I giggled.

"You missed your mother's funeral too, Jarhead." Jerry scolded, hugging his little brother.

"So you shaved off the Afro, huh?" Jack said smiling a little bit. I was glad he smiled, I did too, at the thought of Angel's old - and mildly ridiculous - hair.

"Jack!" Angel chuckled, "Haven't seen you in forever."

They hugged, "Yeah, I know." Jack looked at Angel smiling widely. Then he teased, "Did you get your teeth whitened?"

"Man, shut-up, Jackie-poo." Angel said pushing Jack toward the door. It was dead silent as the five of us looked around the house. Things shouldn't be like this. We should all be here to have Thanksgiving with Evie... not to bury her.

I sighed and pulled my duffel bag higher up on my shoulder. I walked through the brothers and into the kitchen. I put the bag down softly by the table. Walking over to the fridge I saw Angel walk in too. "Hungry?" I asked him.

He nodded. I looked in the fridge. "Sorry, she must've been grocer-." I couldn't finish, my throat caught. I reached into the fridge and pulled out the only thing that seem to offer any comfort, a beer. I pulled open several draws trying to find the opener, finally I found it and popped the cap off.

I put the bottle to my lips as I walked briskly back to the table, grabbed my bag and took the stairs two at a time. I closed the bedroom door behind me. I'd always taken the guest room, which was decorated just as it had been when I was 17; Evelyn had let me decorate however I wanted.

I let my bag fall to the floor and put the beer on the nightstand next to my bed and sat down. I pulled my knees up under my chin. I tried to hold it together, but everything was how it was before. I could even still see the dent in the wall where I had punched it once when Bobby had been standing there making fun of me. I had made a move to belt him one in the face but he ducked and I hit the wall. I managed to smile a little through the tears.

After a while I could hear a guitar, obviously from Jacks room. I crouched down at my duffel bag and took out a Detroit Red Wings sweatshirt, pulled it over my head, and took my beer into Jack's room.

"Hey." I said dropping down onto the bed next to him. He had his back against the headboard, legs straight out in from of him. I laid my head down lightly on Jacks shoulder listening to him play the guitar.

"You O.K.?" he asked looking at me for a second with those slowly-dying green eyes.

"I think so," I said lifting the bottle to my lips again, "but I could be wrong, you know?" I said with a small smirk.

"You been crying in here you little fairies?" Bobby taunted sitting down with his back to the side of the bed at Jacks' knee.

"Leave it alone, man" Jack said putting the guitar down next to the bed.

But you have. I could see Bobby had done a good job to cover up the tears but I could tell this was rough on him, too.

"Too weird in Mom's room?" Jack asked as he rolled himself a cigarette. I sat up pulling my sleeves down over my numbing hands and held the beer cupped between the two.

"Oh, man." Bobby complained, "Way too weird. It's crazy. I mean, everything's exactly the same. She didn't change nothing in this house."

"I know, everything is still in my room exactly where I left it. Even the old, clean clothes she had asked me a thousand times to put away are still on my bed." I shook my head. I should have done that, how long would it have taken, 30 seconds, if that? I looked at my beer and then looked away.

It was quiet for a minute, then, "Still making a lot of racket on that freaking thing?" Bobby gestured to Jacks guitar.

"Yeah, still making a lot of racket." Jack mumbled lighting his smoke.

Jerry appeared in the doorway, "Look at y'all." He said smiling

"What?" Bobby snapped

"Nothing I'm just happy to see you, man. Happy to see my family, tha's all." He said in defense.

"We're happy to see you too Jerry." I said smiling.

"I guess I'll stop by the grocery store and grab a turkey or something. Have a Thanksgiving dinner. Let's at least act like were a real family." Jerry offered.

"Mom would like that." Bobby said barely above a whisper. He saw Angel headed for downstairs. "Hey lil' bro, where you think you going?" The four of us smirked, at Angels' expense of course.

"It's a little heavy in there." Angel said not looking at any of us. "I'm gonna just go outside and get me a little air."

I practically choked on the alcohol laughing. I managed to swallow without spitting out what was already in my mouth. "You're full of shit, man. Lamest excuse ever!" I giggled.

"You can smell that ass from down the street, huh?" Bobby said laughing too.

"What are you talking about?" Angel said failing to cover his true meaning.

"What do you mean, 'what?'" I was stunned at how stupid he thought we all were.
"Come on, what, man." Angel said obviously getting annoyed.

"You know exactly what we're talking about with La Vida Loca." Bobby boomed. Jack and I started laughing, which hurt because I was now lying so my feet were toward Jacks' chest and my head was hanging upside down off the end of the bed so everything was upside down.

"Ain't nobody going to get no La Vida Loca nothing." Angel said, Yeah he's definitely getting pissed.

"She got a boyfriend." Jerry pointed out.

"She got a boyfriend." I repeat backing up Jerry.

"She's got a hard dick in her right now. She's screaming somebody else's name, and the last thing she's doing is thinking about your black ass." Bobby said laughing along with me and Jack.

"I can't believe y'all coming at me with this crazy junk, man." Angel said shaking his head, his hands in fists. Which I pointed out to Jack and we laughed harder.

Jerry wasn't making fun of Angel like the rest of you were but he tried talking to Angel, too, not that it helped, "She's nothing but trouble, man."

That pissed Angel off. "I'm standing here telling y'all right now, I'm not going to see that girl," he started to actually yell, "AND IM NOT!"

I just shook my head, and finished the rest of the cold beer.