When You Read Between the Lines

Joe sat on his kitchen counter, phone in hand, debating whether or not he should call Faith. She hadn’t been home long and who knows if Nick was home. They probably hadn’t talked yet. With a sigh he set the phone down on the counter next to him.

He tapped his fingers against the granite top and kicked his feet against the cabinet beneath him. The clock on the wall over the stove ticked with each slowly passing second. He hated waiting but that’s all he could do now. Wait.

A few knocks on the door caused his head to snap up and his heart to flutter. There was the possibility that it was Faith. Maybe she and Nick had talked and she left angrily and needed to stay with him. A smile crept upon his face and he jumped off the counter and headed to the door. He stopped at the hallway mirror and checked his hair. Standing in front of the door with his hand hovering over the knob he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and pulled the door open. When he opened his eyes his mouth was ready to give her a huge greeting but it immediately snapped shut when he saw the person in front of him.

“Hey, Joe. I was wondering if I could stay here tonight,” Nick said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet. Joe took note of the three bags set on the floor beside Nick and his brain started processing.

“I’ll… order Chinese,” he said, pulling the door open wider for Nick to enter. Nick gave him a slight smile before picking up his bags and walking into the apartment.

“Thanks,” Nick said, setting his bags down next to the couch and sitting down.

“Anytime,” Joe said, closing the door. “Oh boy…” he muttered under his breath.

Nick picked up the remote from the coffee table and turned the television on. There was constant noise as he flipped through the channels. Joe walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone from the counter. He dialed the number of the Chinese restaurant from the menu on the fridge.

“Hi, I’d like to place an order for delivery,” he said to whoever answered. “815 Abbott Road, apartment 7… I’d like two orders of sesame chicken, a quart of chicken lo mein, a quart of pork fried rice, an order of shrimp chow mein, an order of fried dumplings, and two egg rolls… Okay, thank you very much. Bye.”

“Got any good movies?” Nick called from the couch. Joe walked out to the living room and sat in the chair that was rarely ever used.

“Chinese will be here in twenty minutes. Movies are in the cabinet next to the television,” he said and Nick walked over to the entertainment system.

“The Patriot… blood and gore and war… sounds perfect,” he said, turning the DVD player on and putting the movie in. “I never get sick of this movie.”

“Yeah, me either,” Joe said, his eyes scrunching together as he watched Nick’s movements. He took his seat back on the couch and kicked his shoes off, swinging his legs up onto the couch.

It was silent between the two brothers as the previews started to play. Nick skipped though them to the menu and pressed play. The opening credits started and the blue glow cascaded onto Nick’s face. Joe noticed how stone cold it looked but he didn’t say anything. Not yet.

Fifteen or so minutes into the movie the buzzer rang. Joe stood up and walked over to the intercom, buzzing the delivery guy in. A few minutes later and he was at the door. Joe pulled out his wallet and paid for the dinner and tipped the delivery guy and brought the food into the kitchen. He pulled the containers out of the bags, setting them on the island.

“Food!” he called into the living room.

He heard the gunfire suddenly stop and the creaking of the floorboards as Nick walked towards the kitchen. Joe pulled bowls out of the cabinet and forks from the drawer. He and Nick dug into the food silently, taking what they wanted and leaving the rest on the island for later.

They returned to the living room, once again in silence. Nick curled right back up on the couch, bowl in hand. He brought his food to his mouth as his eyes stayed glued on the screen. Joe turned his eyes from the screen to his brother’s face every few minutes, wondering what was going through Nick’s head. Wondering how Faith was doing, if she was with Kevin and Danielle, or possibly someone else. He wanted to talk to her but he obviously couldn’t with Nick sitting right there. And he wasn’t going to text her; this seemed like something that needed to be talked about face to face.

He waited until the movie was over about two hours later. Nick put the news on, the bowls were soaking in the sink, and the Chinese food was sitting in the fridge. He stood up from the chair and walked over to the television, shutting it off. Nick sat up on the couch and stared at Joe who stood awkwardly in front of the television, his hand in his hair.

“What’s going on, Joe?”

“Should I be the one asking you that?” he asked, looking up at Nick.

“Nothing’s going on with me.”

“Then why are you here Nick? Asking to stay the night and a few packed bags says something in my book.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Nick said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge door and looked for something to drink.

“Should I call Faith then? See if I can fix this?” he asked, hoping in his heart Nick would say no.

“There’s nothing to fix, Joe,” he said, putting his elbows on the island and putting his head in his hands. “Faith and I are over.”

“Wait, over. What do you mean over?”

“Our marriage is done. She wants a divorce,” he said, clearing his throat and slamming his fists against the granite countertop of the island.

“Nick, I… don’t know what to say.”

“Wait, here’s the kicker. She might be pregnant,” he scoffed. Joe swallowed and looked down at my feet.

“Wow this is…. Whoa.”

“I’m tired. I’m going to bed. The couch unfolds right?”

“Yeah. Do you want blankets or sheets or something? A pillow?” Joe asked, following Nick back into the living room.

“No thanks. I’m good. Goodnight Joe.”

“Night,” Joe said, watching as Nick grabbed one of his bags and walked into the bathroom.

Joe walked into his bedroom and closed the door. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, reliving the past twenty four hours. First he had slept with Faith. Then he found out Faith might be pregnant with his child or Nick’s. Then Nick showed up at his door asking to stay the night. And then Nick revealed that he and Faith were going to get a divorce.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath, heading into his bathroom to get ready for bed.

****

Joe sat at his office desk the next morning, taping his fingers impatiently on the desk as the ringing of a phone waited to be picked up sounded in his ears. The morning hadn’t been as awkward as he thought since he and Nick were both in a rush to get to work. There was no time for talking. Now he was trying to reach Faith before she had to start working.

“What’s up Joe? The kids are heading in so I don’t have long.”

“Faith, Nick stayed at my place last night,” he said. It was silent on her end. He pulled the phone away and checked the timer which was still running. “You there?”

“Yeah. I’m… why did he stay at your place?”

“He just showed up and asked if he could stay with me so I let him. I didn’t ask what was up until a few hours later and then he told me you said you wanted a divorce.”

“Oh… yeah. I knew what I wanted so I just told him. You knew it was over so I don’t know why you sound so surprised.”

“It’s because I wasn’t expecting for you to tell him right away I guess,” he said with a sigh.

“Well I can’t handle it anymore so that’s done with.”

“What am I supposed to do Faith? I don’t know if he can stay here any longer because I might slip. We had sex Faith. While you were married to my brother. This isn’t good.”

“I know it isn’t Joe. It isn’t good for any of us but it’s happening and we all have to deal with it. Your parents know that Nick and I are separated. I’m calling my parents tonight to let them know. We just have to take this one step at a time.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I understand why you’d be freaking out. I really have to go now though. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Bye.”

“Bye,” she said, hanging up. Joe sighed and put his phone back on the receiver.