Never Too Late

Chapter Thirty One

The evening was a warm one with summer looming closer as Luke and Johan helped their father string up lights and set up chairs in their backyard. They were having a barbecue and some of their relatives were coming over as well as friends. Johan worked silently, thoughts of the wading time he had with his family looming on his mind for a moment before his brother's complaining caught his attention.

"We should've done this hours ago," he grumbled.

"Yeah but Mom needed help," Johan reminded him. They'd spent the morning shopping for the things they needed for the barbecue, such as food, drinks, and charcoal.

"You could've gone alone, I don't know why she made me come along," Luke argued but Johan already knew the answer. His mom liked showing them off and that's why they took longer than they intended to.

"Hey, how are you two holding up? Do you need any help?" Their dad asked but both boys responded 'No' in unison. Chuckling he went back to setting up the grill.

"So what are we going to do? Just eat and sit down?" Johan questioned hesitantly.

"Oh, I guess this is your first barbecue huh? I mean that's pretty much it but it's pretty cool." Luke reassured him and Johan nodded in agreement.

"Are you two finished yet?" Their mom called from the back door. "I need help bringing the extra lawn chairs out of the garage."

After helping their mother carry out most of the things they needed, she sent them upstairs to get blankets for themselves; however, this caused a fight between Luke and Rachel.

"This is mine! Mom bought it for me last year!" Rachel said as she tugged on a beige coloured striped blanket.

"I need it, you have plenty of others so give it to me!" Luke tugged back.

"No, I said I was going to use it first!" She argued back.

"But I got to it first!" Luke shouted.

Johan watched the spectacle with amusement, remembering his days in foster care with his foster siblings. His younger siblings were no different. Eventually, he decided to step in and diffuse the situation.

"Luke, just give it to her, there are plenty of blankets around." Johan reasoned but his brother stubbornly refused to let go. Being stubborn himself, he took the end that Rachel was yanking and pulled on it, trying to rip it from his brother's hands, but his grip was firm. It then developed into a tug of war between them, but with their strength being equally matched, no one was winning; however, their stubbornness prevailed.

"Stop being a Jerk and let go, Luke!" Rachel chided, but he didn't budge, and neither did Johan. Soon, a distinct sound of tearing fabric filled the air, and the blanket ripped in two, and both brothers fell on their backsides.

"Look what you did idiot!" Luke said angrily but Johan shot back.

"This is your fault! Why didn't you let go!" He scolded his brother.

"It's ruined now!" Rachel said, distraught, as she slumped against the wall behind her.

Just then, their mother came in and saw the three of them, and after inquiring about what happened, she couldn't stop laughing.

"I brought new blankets from my trip overseas last month. They're in the laundry room, you can have those." Hanna offered. Immediately, Johan got up and ran to the room, and although Luke was right behind him, that didn't stop him from snatching the nicest blanket.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Luke pouted, defeated, but Johan didn't care about getting there first. He just liked beating his brother.

"Here you go, Rachel, for the blanket we destroyed." He said offering it to his little sister.

"Thanks, Johan. This is perfect." She beamed and he smiled triumphantly. Luke, on the other hand, seethed at his loss and the smug look on his brother's face rubbed it in even more.

After each of them had a blanket they rejoined their father in the backyard. A few people had already arrived and one of them was their grandfather.

"Hey, Grandpa!" Luke called and Rachel ran up to him. Johan vaguely remembered meeting him during the first week he had reunited with his family. That period was a blur because of all the emotions and faces he saw but one thing he never forgot was his grandfather's mischievous smile.

"Johanan, get over here!" He called to him with a cheerful hearty laugh. Although he was old and grey he had an energetic personality and sharp eyes.

"Hey, Grandpa," Johan greeted him reluctantly.

"Why are you acting so shy? Don't you remember me!?" He grinned but his tone was apprehensive. His grandfather looked a lot like his dad, as he did with his father, but appearance wasn't the only thing they shared. He was just as perceptive and straightforward as he was. Johan still had trouble adjusting to his new family dynamic and had only recently become used to addressing his parents as 'Mom' and 'Dad'. Now, with his grandfather present and more of his family joining soon, he felt uneasy.

"Yeah, I do," he told him, but his grandfather had already sensed his discomfort, and he surprisingly seemed to understand.

"You and your brother should come fishing with me one of these weekends. We need to get to know each other more." He said, but before Johan could respond, he remarked. "We've got to break you out of that shell!"

Flustered, Johan nodded in agreement before rejoining his father in setting up preparations. Once they were finished he set up his blanket and sat with his brother and sister. Together, he and Luke admired their work; the string lights, the flowers they'd brought from the garden, and the arrangements of the tables.

"Not bad," Luke remarked proudly.

"Yeah, you two did well." Rachel agreed.

They both smiled just as their mom came outside carrying an igloo full of soda.

"Alright, I think that's everything now!" She sighed before smiling and greeting the other guests who had arrived.

Johan felt warmth growing in his chest as he realized how fortunate he was to be amongst his family, and most of all, how bland his life was before.

Picking up a drink from the igloo, he was about to open it when he looked up and saw Ericka out of the corner of his eye. She gazed at him momentarily before Luke sprang to his feet and blocked his view of her.

"Ericka, you made it!" He said already giving her a place beside him.

"Thanks for inviting me," she said softly to him.

"Hey Ericka, I didn't know you were coming," Rachel said cheerfully.

"It would be odd not to invite her when she lives just down the street," Luke said trying to hide the fact that it had more to do with his feelings for her.

Johan watched as Luke took up another blanket he had brought with him and draped it around Ericka before resting his arm on her shoulder. She looked over at him again and he felt his heart ache for her even more. Unable to contain his jealousy, he got up and went inside. He didn't care if it seemed rude because he just wanted to get away.

"Johan, what are you doing?" Rachel asked after going into the house after him.

"I'm just getting some ice for the cooler." He said as he went into the kitchen and pulled out the freezer drawer. Silently, he scooped ice into a bucket, and his sister watched him quietly.

"You like her don't you?" Rachel asked and Johan froze for a moment before scooping out more ice.

"Yeah, so?" He said nonchalantly trying to play off his emotions.

"How long have you -" Rachel began, but Johan cut her off mid-speech

"That's not important because she likes Luke," he said standing up with the bucket of ice. "Let's get back to the barbecue."

Rachel nodded and they rejoined the group outside but he silently berated himself for allowing his feelings to show like that. Sure, Rachel would keep it a secret, but he couldn't allow it to happen again.