Family Reunion
Eleven
"Hello?" Tuukka says cautiously on the other end.
"Hi, Tuukka," I say in Finnish, holding back until he realizes it's me.
"Hey," he says in Finnish as well.
"We need to talk."
"Right now?"
"In person."
"I can come down at the end of the week. We just have locker cleanouts and then break up day. I can fly down after that, if that's okay..."
I run through the schedule for the Capitals and see John won't be home for five days, coming back on Tuesday. "Uh, yeah. I can do that."
"Great, uh, I'll see you then," he says and then we hang up.
-
John calls about two hours later from the hotel in New York. I'm more focused on Tuukka coming down to DC, "Eela?" he asks halfway through a sentence when he must realize I'm not paying attention to his story from the plane ride up to New York.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong? Tuukka tried to talk to you again, didn't he? Is this why you've been off since Saturday?"
"We're going to meet. He's coming down from Boston at the end of the week, and we're gonna talk."
He sighs on the other end of the phone. "You're sure about this?"
"I think. I'm not sure, but I want my brother back."
"Okay. I trust you. Bring Mandy if you need her."
I agree, if only to get him to stop worrying so much, and we talk for a few more minutes before I wish him and the boys luck then hang up.
-
The end of the week comes too quickly for me to sort myself and my nerves out, and Tuukka's plane will land in an hour and a half at BWI, so I get ready to leave and meet him there and pick him up.
I sit anxiously in the terminal Tuukka will be coming out of in a spot where I can see the tunnel he'll walk down to get off the plane.
Within a half hour, people start filtering off the plane, and soon, I see my brother's dark curly hair over the crowd. I stand to meet him, and he comes to stand in front of me before I can completely gather my nerves together. But before he can say anything to me, someone else joins our group. Joonas. I can't contain my smile as I jump to hug him. We say hi to each other before I finally turn to Tuukka. "Hey," he breathes, a wobly smile showing he's unsure whether or not I'll be civil toward him.
I take a quick breath, trying to push all my qualms aside for the minute, "Hey."
His smile goes full fledged after I let my guard down with that one word. He awkwardly, cautiously opens his arms, asking for a hug, though he's aware he may be crossing a line. I supress a smile, glad he's able to go back to normal so quickly and walk into his arms, pulling Joonas in with me.
We get back to the apartment a while later, putting Tuukka's bags in the second bedroom. He comes into the living room after Joonas and I do, sitting down on the couch cautiously. "So, I see DC's been treating you well since you got here," he says in Finnish, glancing around, so I assume he's referencing the apartment.
"Oh, Joonas didn't talk to you about any of this?" I ask, glancing at my twin, going along with Finnish.
"He said something about being sworn to secrecy, I think..." I smile. Joonas kept his promise for me. We share a glance, Joonas nodding once at me as if to confirm my thought.
"Well, I met someone here. The day I got here, actually. He helped me get settled." Tuukka nods, signaling me to continue. "Uh, would you happen to know John Carlson?"
My older brother's eyes widen and he smirks, "A Cap, huh?" I nod, knowing when John comes back from New York, he'll be in for a second questioning by a Rask brother. "I figured when you said your boyfriend was playing hockey the other day."
We finally arrive to the topic of our fall out with that. "Listen, Tuukka, I just want you to know one thing," I say, making sure I have his attention. "The only reason it got this bad was because how ignored I felt. I felt like you didn't really care about where you came from anymore, like you didn't care about Joonas and me. And it went on for years."
Tuukka's smile fades completely. "I know. I was shitty. I guess I got ahead of myself, thinking I was the shit as a back up, huh? I want to say it was accidental and that I didn't mean for it to get this bad, but I think I was fully aware of the consequences.
"But I want my baby sister back with my baby brother. So are we okay?"
In response, blinking back tears, I repeat our previous group hug at the airport, pulling Joonas with me into Tuukka's arms. "We're okay," I agree.
-
"Eela?" John calls into the apartment, discarding his bags by the entryway. I come from the kitchen into the main hall where he waits, a small smile on my face. "How'd it go?" he asks, a smile playing on his lips, too. Joonas and Tuukka take that as their cue, coming out of the kitchen and standing behind me, Tuukka putting his hand on my shoulder. I glance up at Tuukka who's looking John over as Joonas did so many months ago over skype in my hotel room.
I bow my head, going up to John and wrapping my arms around his midesection and burying my face in his shirt and his familiar scent. I look up at him after he puts his arms around me too, not letting go to glance back at my brothers looking on behind us, "We're okay."
"Hi, Tuukka," I say in Finnish, holding back until he realizes it's me.
"Hey," he says in Finnish as well.
"We need to talk."
"Right now?"
"In person."
"I can come down at the end of the week. We just have locker cleanouts and then break up day. I can fly down after that, if that's okay..."
I run through the schedule for the Capitals and see John won't be home for five days, coming back on Tuesday. "Uh, yeah. I can do that."
"Great, uh, I'll see you then," he says and then we hang up.
-
John calls about two hours later from the hotel in New York. I'm more focused on Tuukka coming down to DC, "Eela?" he asks halfway through a sentence when he must realize I'm not paying attention to his story from the plane ride up to New York.
"Hm?"
"What's wrong? Tuukka tried to talk to you again, didn't he? Is this why you've been off since Saturday?"
"We're going to meet. He's coming down from Boston at the end of the week, and we're gonna talk."
He sighs on the other end of the phone. "You're sure about this?"
"I think. I'm not sure, but I want my brother back."
"Okay. I trust you. Bring Mandy if you need her."
I agree, if only to get him to stop worrying so much, and we talk for a few more minutes before I wish him and the boys luck then hang up.
-
The end of the week comes too quickly for me to sort myself and my nerves out, and Tuukka's plane will land in an hour and a half at BWI, so I get ready to leave and meet him there and pick him up.
I sit anxiously in the terminal Tuukka will be coming out of in a spot where I can see the tunnel he'll walk down to get off the plane.
Within a half hour, people start filtering off the plane, and soon, I see my brother's dark curly hair over the crowd. I stand to meet him, and he comes to stand in front of me before I can completely gather my nerves together. But before he can say anything to me, someone else joins our group. Joonas. I can't contain my smile as I jump to hug him. We say hi to each other before I finally turn to Tuukka. "Hey," he breathes, a wobly smile showing he's unsure whether or not I'll be civil toward him.
I take a quick breath, trying to push all my qualms aside for the minute, "Hey."
His smile goes full fledged after I let my guard down with that one word. He awkwardly, cautiously opens his arms, asking for a hug, though he's aware he may be crossing a line. I supress a smile, glad he's able to go back to normal so quickly and walk into his arms, pulling Joonas in with me.
We get back to the apartment a while later, putting Tuukka's bags in the second bedroom. He comes into the living room after Joonas and I do, sitting down on the couch cautiously. "So, I see DC's been treating you well since you got here," he says in Finnish, glancing around, so I assume he's referencing the apartment.
"Oh, Joonas didn't talk to you about any of this?" I ask, glancing at my twin, going along with Finnish.
"He said something about being sworn to secrecy, I think..." I smile. Joonas kept his promise for me. We share a glance, Joonas nodding once at me as if to confirm my thought.
"Well, I met someone here. The day I got here, actually. He helped me get settled." Tuukka nods, signaling me to continue. "Uh, would you happen to know John Carlson?"
My older brother's eyes widen and he smirks, "A Cap, huh?" I nod, knowing when John comes back from New York, he'll be in for a second questioning by a Rask brother. "I figured when you said your boyfriend was playing hockey the other day."
We finally arrive to the topic of our fall out with that. "Listen, Tuukka, I just want you to know one thing," I say, making sure I have his attention. "The only reason it got this bad was because how ignored I felt. I felt like you didn't really care about where you came from anymore, like you didn't care about Joonas and me. And it went on for years."
Tuukka's smile fades completely. "I know. I was shitty. I guess I got ahead of myself, thinking I was the shit as a back up, huh? I want to say it was accidental and that I didn't mean for it to get this bad, but I think I was fully aware of the consequences.
"But I want my baby sister back with my baby brother. So are we okay?"
In response, blinking back tears, I repeat our previous group hug at the airport, pulling Joonas with me into Tuukka's arms. "We're okay," I agree.
-
"Eela?" John calls into the apartment, discarding his bags by the entryway. I come from the kitchen into the main hall where he waits, a small smile on my face. "How'd it go?" he asks, a smile playing on his lips, too. Joonas and Tuukka take that as their cue, coming out of the kitchen and standing behind me, Tuukka putting his hand on my shoulder. I glance up at Tuukka who's looking John over as Joonas did so many months ago over skype in my hotel room.
I bow my head, going up to John and wrapping my arms around his midesection and burying my face in his shirt and his familiar scent. I look up at him after he puts his arms around me too, not letting go to glance back at my brothers looking on behind us, "We're okay."
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