See You in Hell

15

Louise had never been more happy to see her brother. Gene had attacked her with a big bear hug. Her brother had returned from Europe much the same as she remembered him. Gene had sprung up in height in middle school, his limbs becoming long and lean, although his round cheeks had remained. No matter how much he slimmed down he would always have a bit of a gut, something he had come to embrace, even proudly displaying in a crop top most days. His hair had grown out overseas. It was now tousled in a shaggy mullet, accentuated by one dangling earring and an impeccably manicured mustache. He looked like a lost member of Sgt. Pepper's Band.

He wasn't home for good. He had flown in only for a few weeks to relieve their father from his restaurant duties so that he could fly down to Florida to help out with their Grandparents. Gene wanted it to be a surprise. That first night they'd stayed up late in the living room, Gene regaling her with his wild road stories until the wee hours of the morning. She filled him in on the events of the summer, although leaving out her intimate encounters with the restaurant's newest employee. She did make her feelings on his continued presence known, but it was still too painful to admit the full truth, even to her most trusted confidant.

Gene was most shocked by the news of her and Ollie's budding "relationship". He tried his best to remain supportive and excited for her, but he'd never had much of a poker face. Her own lack of enthusiasm didn't help ease his visible concern. She generally conveyed her own uncertainty in a way that did not invite follow up questions and her brother wasn't pushy, he was non confrontational by nature.

Gene did offer to cover all the shifts with Logan, which was a huge relief, at first. But when the two started working together Louise immediately had regrets. Gene had never been a fan of Logan's, although he hadn't been on the direct receiving end of elementary bullying in the way that his sister had. Despite his forgiving nature, he was fiercely protective over his family and not easy to forget wrongs done to the people he loved most. This left Louise even more shocked when he returned from his first shift with their childhood nemesis.

"I like him!" Her brother had dropped this bombshell as they devoured cold pizza on the floor in front of the TV (they're lifestyle had devolved even further in the absence of both parents)
"You just think he's cute."
"He is cute! But it's not just that, he's good on the grill and he's good company." Louise made a face.
"It seems like he's changed a lot since elementary, maybe you should give him another chance?"
Logan's slippery charm had worked on Gene too. She wanted to dissuade her brother, but she couldn't think of a way of justifying her opinion of Logan without divulging more than she wanted to. Besides, what did she care? At Least she wouldn't have to work with him.

Louise was grateful to have Gene's warm presence back in the Restaurant, even if it was only temporary. Even his incessant droning on about his European travels couldn't leave her frustrated for long. Gene had a gift for cheering up any situation. With both parents now gone, they had the apartment fully to themselves.

There was only one unavoidable Logan encounter left in sight. The annual Mermaid Festival was a staple Wonder Wharf draw, rivaled only by Lobsterfest. It was an iconic all-weekend event which culminated in a huge parade on Sunday. It was the most lucrative weekend of the year primarily because it drew in so many out of towners in the month of August, when there was no competition from other long weekend destinations. All three of them were scheduled together for the entire weekend. At least she wouldn't be alone with Logan.

But when the Saturday finally came, Louise found herself almost wishing Gene hadn't been there. She would have preferred uncomfortable silence to having to listen to her brother and Logan chatter with all the familiarity of old friends. She sulked at the other end of the counter.

"It must have been fun growing up in the Restaurant."
"It was! Most of the time. We made it fun. Oh man, we had so many games we made to pass the time. There was one Louise made up that was especially nasty!"