Blood Brothers

One day Ms. Way called me and asked if I would come visit her. The sky was gray and rainy when I walked outside, as was the usual for mid-October. It seemed like only days ago that summer had filled the world with a promise of everlasting warm weather and mild rains. Winter was not far off, though, and we all knew it.

When she opened the door after I quietly knocked on it, I noticed a negative touch to her demeanor. She smiled as always and invited me inside, a mug of coffee waiting for me as if she knew I’d appreciate it after traipsing through the harsh late fall weather. I gladly accepted it.

“I got a call from Mikey yesterday,” she said quietly as she took a seat at the table in the dining room. I still had to stare at the furniture and everything around the house, comparing it to how she had lived what seemed like just a few short years ago.

“How is he?” I asked. She lowered her eyes to the floor before answering me.

“Alicia’s pregnant.” She took a nervous sip of her coffee. “They’re planning to get married sometime before Christmas, but Frank’s supposed to be coming back around then…”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I offered. She shook her head.

“He was fired from his job just a few days ago,” she continued miserably. “They’re living on welfare now. I told them they could always stay with me, but he won’t have it. Too much pride, that one.”

“That sounds like him,” I said quietly. She sighed.

“I just…if you see him… Could you tell him it’s okay if he stays with me?” she pleaded. I nodded.

“Of course I will.”
-
Two months passed and it was Christmas Eve. The silver snow was falling evenly all across the town. It crunched under my feet as I traveled to the bank to cash in the bonus I had received for the holiday. A poem was repeating itself in my head, something I had concocted earlier in the day. I planned on writing it down as soon as I got home.

“So, Mikey, where’s the party gonna be?”

I stopped walking once I heard the voice coming from a side alley. I stayed off to the side, listening.

“About that, Frank…”

“C’mon! You promised me we’d have a huge party when we got back! Remember? Presents, music, eggnog-”

“I’m broke.” Mikey’s statement was blunt and forceful, as if he was purposely trying to add weight to them. I heard a light sigh, and I knew it belonged to Alicia. “And I have a…a family to take care of…”

“No worries,” Frank said with a smile in his voice. “I’ll pay for everything. We can go get completely drunk tonight, just the three of us.”

“I said no, Frank!” Mikey shouted. “Don’t you listen? Or did you already forget what I said?”

“Maybe you’re the one forgetting things!” Frank yelled back. “Remember that promise we made when we were kids?” His voice quieted down considerably when he spoke again. “‘I promise to always stand by my blood brother, and to always remember him.’”

“That was just kid stuff,” Mikey said coldly. “It doesn’t mean anything now.” He abruptly walked out of the alley, with Alicia close behind him, as I had thought. I saw Frank still standing there, looking hopeless and even a little lost, before I continued on my way.

The warm, eggnog-scented air inside the bank was a welcome relief to the frigid breezes outside. I took my place in line behind about five or six other people and let my mind wander off as I waited.

“Everybody freeze!”

Everyone around me instantly dropped to the floor, but I took a moment to look at the intruders’ faces before following their example. The one that had shouted the orders had an unusually pale face surrounded by black hair that followed the line of his jaw. His eyes smoldered with fear as he pointed the gun at the bank teller and commanded her to give him all the money they had. I held back a gasp.

It was Gerard.

“Hurry up!” The more whispered voice caught my ear, and I slowly turned to look towards the doorway. There, holding the glass door open and looking panicked, was Mikey. Gerard shook his head.

“That’s not enough. I need all of it!” he shouted at the frantic teller. He waved the gun ominously. “This isn’t a toy, you know. We’re not playing games. You don’t get up again if one of these hits you.”

The man next to me slowly moved to take out his cell phone and call 911. Unfortunately, Gerard caught sight of it.

“Don’t touch that!” He fired a shot directed at the man’s hand in hopes of stopping him, but the bullet ricocheted and landed in the center of his heart, stopping it cold. Gerard seemed stunned that he had just done this. Mikey’s eyes had nearly doubled in size out of pure fear.

“You…you shot him,” he whispered hoarsely. “You shot him!”

“I know,” Gerard said as he passed his brother and roughly shoved him out the door.

The police showed up and questioned everyone just minutes later. I only told the police who Gerard was, but I left Mikey out of it entirely, simply writing him off as someone who looked shocked that anyone got hurt. I didn’t get home until almost two hours after the incident, and by this time I had thought up a second, grim addition to the poem.

There’s a full moon shining
And a joker in the pack.
The dealer’s dealt the cards,
And he won’t take them back.
There’s a black cat stalking
And a woman who’s afraid
That there’s no getting off
Without the price being paid.
There’s a man lying bleeding
On the tiled floor,
With another one shouting
For them to run out the door.
And maybe if you’d counted ten
And kept your fingers crossed,
It would all be just a game
And then no one would have lost.