Living

Chapter 26: The Jacobs Three

In March, Davey realized three things.

1) He and Jack have been together for about three months.

2) Les' birthday was two months from now and they had yet to do anything about it.

3) He still had yet to talk to Sarah.

He's not stalling. Not at all. He's just looking for something to keep him busy.

There's a difference.

To Les, however, his big brother was pulling a Heidi Hansen. He didn't think he was ready to see Sarah again either, in fact it was the last thing he wanted to do, but better to jump than get pushed.

So, he walked into Mimi's Florals by himself after school. He figured Davey would be at Jack's house, and Books had track practice. What better time to face your fears, right?

Well, fear might be the wrong word. He's not afraid of his sister, just of what could happen. He didn't want to argue again- thinking about it was stressful enough- but if things turned for the worse, he might have to. Then he was done. It's would be over after that.

Positive thoughts, Les, he thought taking a deep breath. Everything will be fine.

He stepped inside, listening to the bell ring. His sister turned around, a bright smile on her face. "Welcome to Mimi's Florals! What can I- Les."

"Yeah", Les says, walking in further. "That's me."

"How are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"I'm okay."

"Cool."

They stood in silence, staring at each other. "What do you need?"

"I'm here to talk to you", Les sighed, walking up to the counter. "Got a place we can do that?"

"Sure", Sarah says quietly, looking around. "Let's go to the back."

Les followed his sister to some kind of break room, where the walls were pink and pictures of flowers adorned the wall. He looked around.

There's a cactus on the counter. "There's a cactus on the counter."

"Oh, yeah", Sarah chuckled, grabbing a small pitcher of water. "I'm supposed to water that."

"I thought you didn't have to water cactuses?"

"It's cacti, and you don't have to water them often."

Les nodded and found a seat at a small round table. Still looking around, his mind was abuzz. This must be how Davey feels all the time. Worried, but not exactly anxious. He feels prepared, but also like he's missing something.

It's a horrible feeling.

"So", Sarah starts, sitting across from him. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Why do you hate Davey?"

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "You always were the blunt one, Les."

"Answer me."

"I don't hate David, Les", Sarah sighs, picking at her nails. "I'm just- I got upset. And I shouldn't have gotten upset. I'm sorry."

"Okay", Les nodded, sitting back in his chair. "Well, I'll accept that. But I know that apology wasn't for me."

Sarah's brows furrowed in confusion before she realized what he was saying. "I know."

"You gotta stop trying to raise their expectations", Les advised. "They loved you, Sar- they loved all of us- and they still do. It's just different this time."