Regrets

We're Gonna Move

1975

Barney Ross straightened a picture frame that had been hung up on the wall of his new apartment. The frame had been bought by his elder sister- Beatrice, who went by the nickname Bea- and she had inserted a family photo. The picture she'd chosen to put inside the frame was the first family photo that had been taken when the family moved from Italy to America in 1948.

"We don't really have too many photos from when we were growin' up, do we?" Barney asked his older sister.

Beatrice let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head. "Unfortunately, no," she frowned.

He smirked a bit. "Good."

The older Ross sibling rolled her eyes. "Ok, what is it with you and Brandon sometimes? Neither of you like photos, I don't get it."

"Well, I don't know about him, but I'm not too sentimental or anything like that."

"I know why you're like that."

Barney gave his sister a questioning look. "Oh yeah?" he challenged, "Prove it."

"I think it's cause you don't have a girlfriend or any type of relationship. Not to mention that the only friends you've got is that guy Tool, Trench, and sometimes I think that Rusty is- even though he's only fourteen. Either way, Trench and Tool sure aren't sentimental, I know that for a fact."

Barney didn't want a girlfriend, no less a wife. As soon as he had become a teenager, only a slight desire for relationships had sparked, but it hadn't turned into a flame. Sure, there were girls he'd gone out with during his teenage and college years, and it's not like he was a virgin anymore- that ship had sailed during his sophomore year in college- but that was pretty much it. He didn't like getting too close to people, and he placed romantic relationships under that category.

"Look, Bea," Barney started, "I don't want a relationship. I'm never going to want a relationship. That stuff obviously works for you since you and Robert are expecting, and Brandon's married like. But you know what? It doesn't work for me."

"Fine," Beatrice grumbled, "Either way, I think it's nice for you to have at least one family photo in your apartment."

"Fine. And you and Brandon can have the rest of the photos."

The older of the two siblings nodded and frowned. "I feel sorry for you, Barney. I really do. I'll see you later."

-/-/-

Beatrice 'Bea' Ross Presto- Presto being her married name, Ross her maiden name- was the oldest of the three Ross siblings. Her parents always made sure she looked out for her two younger brothers- Barney and Brandon- even though she was a girl. They did this just for the sake that she was the oldest sibling. Of course the two brothers had been told to watch over her too, for the sake that she was a girl. As they all grew up, the two boys didn't hide when they were watching out for their sister, but she made sure to kind of hide when she was watching out for her brothers so she didn't hurt their male ego and their self-esteem.

Beatrice really did feel bad for her younger brother. She knew that he didn't like to get close to people in any way, shape or form. In fact, it was a miracle he'd become friend with that Tool guy and That guy Trench, and the only reason he could be considered "friends" with Russel Jameson was because they knew each other as they grew up, even though there was nearly a ten year age difference. But because he wasn't close with anyone else, she'd always try her best to help him, but it was never an easy task- especially with him being such a hard head.

It didn't help the fact either that Barney was still having problems getting civilized again. Beatrice supported her brother's choice to join the military when he had finished college, but she knew it had affected him. It upset her that he had become cold and distant- more than he already was and could be- when he came home for good. But he'd always been that way, ever since he was a teenager, and she'd been working on it since then.