My Brother's Keeper

CHAPTER THREE

Jared pulled his Volkswagen Tiguan up to the gate leading into his home's driveway and pushed the button on the remote opener. He'd spent the morning at the gym and now looked forward to a hot shower and some lunch. Pulling into the garage he saw that his mother was home, her Mercedes sat in its normal parking spot. He hadn't seen her for the last two days but at some point, she'd come home and gotten her car it had been missing along with her. He sighed deeply this was about to be a face-off, a power of wills. He knew first would come the guilt trip, then the tears and finally begging. What she didn't know was that he'd decided a day ago to allow Joseph and Colin to move into the house. It was the only way to keep an eye on Joseph, he believed strongly in keeping his enemy's close and under the same roof couldn't get any closer. He couldn't let his mother know or make convincing him too easy or she would suspect something was definitely up.

Jared stepped out of the car and moaned. "Here comes the drama." Jared turned the door knob and entered the mudroom that led into the kitchen and stopped short when he found his mom sitting at the kitchen table. Yep, this was going to be bad he contemplated, she never sits in the kitchen it was too close to the stove it was the appliance she loathed the most so she left cooking up to their private chef.

"Hi, Honey." Eva smiled brightly.

"Hi, Mom." Jared responded blandly and walked to the kitchen cabinet and retrieve a drinking glass and then walked over to the fridge for something to drink. During times like this, he almost wished he was old enough to have a hard drink, liquor would fit in here very well. But then that would have been how his father would handle things so unquestionably a no go to option.

"Honey, I wondered if we could talk for a few minutes." Eva tried to continue in a cheerful voice even though she felt dread that there was little she could do to change his mind.

"If it's about Joseph the answer is still no." he responded.

"Honey, please just hear me out, for just a moment. If you still feel the same way, then I'll accept your decision."

Yeah, right, he thought, but settled into the kitchen chair across from his mother and sipped his juice.

"I'm listening," he stated once settled in his seat.

"Jared, first I want to apologize. I didn't handle the situation with Joseph very well. I should have told you a long time ago that I was seeing him. I shouldn't have just thrown this at you I didn't consider your feelings.

When she paused for him to respond Jared just stared at her. After what seem like an eternity, she continued. "I just wanted this so bad and I was afraid of how you would respond to me being with a man other than your father. I didn't think you would understand, it has just been you and me since he died."

"You and me?" Jared chuckled at the absurdity. She'd ditched him the moment his father died to live her life free of him and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

Eva ignored his comment and continued. "Jared this is an opportunity for us to be a family again. I know you're a little old for a father at this point, but both Joseph and Colin could be friends and confidants to you. I know you've never really had that in your life. Joseph is so sorry about how the dinner went he wanted to apologize, but I asked him to let me speak with you first because I owe you the biggest apology of all."

"It's all bullshit Mom, you haven't cared about what I wanted in many years. You handed me off to the highest bidder to ease your own guilt of abandonment and now you have to deal with the results of that, I even think on some level you thought this day would never come. Me becoming an adult with an opinion has been probably your greatest fear, but what you didn't realize is that sending me away taught me independence, it taught me how to take care of myself, speak up for me because no one else would in a word it matured me. You and I he pointed back and forth between them have never been a family. Do you think me coming home on Christmas breaks and two weeks in the summer would constitute family time? Most of my two-week summer break were spent alone with staff while you traveled. In short mom when I needed family I did not have it and I don't need it now."