Page 9 of Forever Flustered

That wasn’t like their parents, who used to pit the two boys against each other for entertainment – but then again, maybe this suited them? Elijah was the stupid cash cow… and Bode had broken free of their bonds. Good, he thought grimly and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Look – I’m not the monster you think I am. I just might be handling it all in a messed-up version of what I thought was the right thing to do. Nobody goes through life with all the answers. Heck, we barely know the questions before we get smacked across the face with the problem… but that doesn’t make it any better. I’m trying to handle things, trying to be a better man than Dad was, and you know what… I’m failing. I’m failing at all of it – but you somehow figured it out,” Elijah finished tiredly, feeling broken and exhausted by this whole conversation that should have happened long ago.

Honestly, it should never have had to happen, but you couldn’t change the past – only move forward and try to manage somehow. They both just stood there, looking at each other silently, neither knowing what to say next. A lot had been shared – and there was a lot to process.

Bode had a hand on Austin’s leg while the kid toyed around with a screwdriver that was lying on the cart beside him. He’s gonna be a great father to that boy, Elijah thought silently in admiration. He’s got a temper, but his heart is in the right place and always was…

Bode smirked and looked away, speaking quietly. “I bet you’ve gotta pay the nurses extra because he’s… ah, temperamental?”

“Yeah,” Elijah chuckled grimly at the truth spoken between them. His brother had no idea how bad things had been. “They’ve been kicked out of two nursing homes already.”

“Dang…”

“Yeah, not the nicest of people…”

“No kidding.”

“But we don’t have to be them,” Elijah said quietly. “I’d rather we talked and got to know each other eventually – over time. That’s why I’m here, to start a relationship with the only brother I have… and it’s long overdue. That’s why I asked for Ghazni.”

“You asked for that… place?” Bode worded his question carefully, glancing at the child as he obviously caught himself from saying something scathing – and understood.

Ghazni was indeed a ‘place’ – and that was putting it kindly. In fact, it gave him the creepy-crawlies just thinking about that place when people told him about the scorpions, snakes, fleas, and other inhabitants of the inhospitable place he was now stationed for the next two years.

“Yeah. It’s kind of a dumpster fire there – isn’t it?”

“You have no idea…”

“I’m finding out awfully quickly,” Elijah shot back, thinking about the last communication he’d read and immediately regretted. It had to be a joke, but then again, from what he’d seen – maybe the order request for baling wire and duct tape was real… and that wasn’t funny in the slightest.

“So you’re here now – and you want to talk.”

“Maybe we could talk over a slice of wedding cake?” Elijah offered, trying to silently remind his brother about the moment he’d just interrupted. He was here for his brother’s wedding and was hijacking the entire moment selfishly. This was supposed to be Bode and his bride’s moment.

They could just talk later… hopefully.

“It could happen.” Bode hesitated and then looked at the child. “Austin, meet your Uncle Eli…”

“Elijah,” he corrected immediately, wincing as Bode grinned wolfishly. His father used to call him ‘Sly-Eli’ all the time, making him feel like he’d done something wrong… but when you grew up like they did – yeah, you hid things from your parents. ‘Uncle Eli’ was certainly better than ‘Sly-Eli’ followed by a shove…

“Uncle Eli,” Austin said excitedly, holding up both arms expectantly. Bode lifted an eyebrow, grinning. He’d never done this before – and it showed. He picked up the kid awkwardly and was shocked when the little spider monkey immediately wrapped his arms and legs around him like a human vise.

“You know I hate ‘Eli’…”

“I figured you still did…” Bode chuckled.

“Yet you did that anyway, huh?”

“Wouldn’t be very ‘brotherly’ of me if we didn’t tease each other – eh? And remember, you had me forcibly removed from the room after I said that I was perfectly fine in my seat. Payback is a… well, is tough to handle,” censoring himself once more for Austin’s delicate ears – and Elijah’s. He wasn’t a fan of foul language after having it screamed at him for years and years.

“You also asked me in front of everyone if I moaned when…” Elijah hesitated, remembering the child holding onto him. He glanced at Austin, then to Bode, before looking back at Austin and smiling nervously. “Your new stepdad thinks he’s funny sometimes.”

“I’m number one,” Bode grinned – giving Elijah the finger, but wiping it along his brow like he was scratching his forehead. Elijah just rolled his eyes, chuckling as he set Austin down. The trio began walking back toward the opening of the hangar, and Bode paused, looking at him.

“Nothing is ever forgotten or goes away like that,” Bode began, snapping his fingers. “But we could talk…”

“It’s a long flight back to Ghazni.”

“About fourteen hours.”