The Men Next Door

Ch 31 - Campbell

Grandpa Jones loved to remind me that I'd come along two minutes too late to be his 'little twin.'

I was born just after his 50th birthday, at 12:02 AM on January 31st, and his silly, handmade cards always involved some sort of punchline about my fashionably late arrival. My equally goofy, early-bird themed gifts used to be a joke... but the older he got, the more he lived up to the shtick. The man was the first to arrive to just about anything, including the coffee pot.

Turning 77 had no effect on his routine, and the jet lag must've recalibrated Brooks' internal clock to match. That was the only explanation for the pair of low voices floating down the hallway and into my ears at 5:30 in the morning. We'd gotten into Santa Barbara late the night before, and sleep threatened to pull me back under as I registered the still-dark window above my head, but the men's hushed words had me fully alert a few moments later.

"She was dealt some tough cards, Brooks. If you don't already know that, I'm sure you'll hear more about it soon enough."

"I know most of it, I think." My boyfriend's words were slow and raspy, like they always were when he told me good morning, and I wondered how in the world JoJo had already weaseled him into a deep conversation. "The car crash, her mom... your role in her life. She really loves you, you know?"

My grandpa said something about exaggerating, but I missed the rest of his response as I stood up to creep closer to the kitchen.

"Now I know where she gets it from," Brooks chuckled. "Easy to love, hard to convince of it."

I peeked around the corner just in time to see JoJo wave him off. I didn't blame him; it wasn't so easy to feel loved when someone you loved put their vice far above you. Mother, daughter... it didn't matter. We'd both felt the brunt of the pain after dad died.

"Anyhow," my grandpa continued, "tough cards quickly turned into a house of cards. One that threatened to come crashing down at any moment. I did what I could to help — shielded it from the breeze, added supports when things went awry — but she's always been waiting for the big collapse. Stuck in flight mode, ready to run at a moment's notice."

"I don't think that's true," I cut in, making my presence known. My eyes narrowed into a squint as I stepped into the bright overhead lighting, and JoJo held a startled hand over his heart while mine hovered above my brow like a visor.

"Still quiet as a mouse, I see."

I gave him an apologetic smile as Brooks motioned me over. "My house of cards made me pretty good at that, too."

"It did," my grandpa affirmed with a nod. "But I wasn't finished, sweet girl. You're always going to be ready to run, until you accept something more stable. Settle in a house made of stone."

"And you think I could provide that?" Brooks guessed, pulling me close as I stepped back into his arms.

"Exactly right, son. Campbell deserves someone who makes her feel safe, even when the wind and the rain and all earth's forces come knocking at the door." He shifted his gaze to me, then back up to meet Brooks' eyes. "And I may not know you all that well yet, but the way she talks about you..." he trailed off, shaking his head like he was recalling some inconceivable stroke of luck, "...well, that makes me believe you're well-suited for the job."

Brooks hummed thoughtfully. "I hope I can prove you right."

I hoped he could, too. And I hoped I didn't shatter the stone house when chaos came knocking, beckoning me away from comfort and safety. But it was too early to make sense of those kinds of thoughts, and all the words I came up with got stuck somewhere between my lips and my parched throat, so I let the silence linger while I grabbed a mug from the cupboard.