Black Obsidian

3. Unexpected truth

"Honey, you're here!"

Andrew looked up from the papers in his hands and smiled at his mother. The woman, with her ash-blond hair gathered in a bun and the inseparable pearl necklace that showed off on a pink cashmere turtleneck, reached him on the sofa and, after having smoothed off the dark blue pencil skirt, gently took his son's hand in his. "I thought we would not see each other until tomorrow."

"In fact I would not have gone home for lunch, if Julian had not combined one of his. Work is the last of his thoughts and to me, instead, it seems to split my back twice! "The boy exclaimed, taking his hand from Hanna Keller's and then shaking his head and sighing. At the same time, he threw the sheets he was examining on the crystal table in front of him and left his back on the back of the sofa. "If I were not obliged to keep it with me, I would have already thrown it out of the studio ..."

"Perfect!"

A deep and imposing voice echoed him from the stairs and, in a few moments, his father entered the living room with his eyes already on him, the one that he always reserved when there was something he disagreed with, thin and sharp. "Apparently, whenever I recommend to you and your cousin to stop making children, to think about building a solid future and to try hard to get along with each other, do so with your head but, in reality, I tease! "he said in a loud voice, stopping at the other side of the table, in front of his wife and son, his hands resting on his hips and his eyes, identical to Andrew's, staring at the boy.

Victor Keller would forever remain one of New York's most famous and clever criminal lawyers, also thanks to the collaboration of a lifetime with his younger brother Robert, Julian's father, to whom he was deeply attached and who, like him, had decided to abandon the profession to leave the law firm, as well as a rich source of years of glory and satisfaction, to his only son. What the Keller brothers probably underestimated was that, unlike the two of them, Andrew and Julian never got along and that the bond that had always united their fathers did not even know where they were at home. The two boys, despite having traveled the same road for all those years, from kindergarten to university, had always been rivals, they had always detested without making it a mystery.

Andrew glanced at the authoritative figure of Victor, the eyes of ice with which he stared at the elegant suit he was wearing and that, apart from the man's hair, now almost entirely white, and a few more wrinkles, contributed to remind them of how similar they were, both physically and in their tastes and ways of doing things. He always got along with his father, but when it came to Julian, it was as if they spoke two different languages: he did not exactly understand why, but Victor insisted on believing in him, trusting him and even more than Robert, hoping for a miracle. But Andrew did not believe that miracle. He and Julian would have hated themselves forever, perhaps even if the latter had decided to take his job seriously. As he saw it, on the horizon the sky was darker than ever.

"You who continue to hope for the redemption of your nephew, despite the facts say more. I never believed it and, to be honest, it never mattered to me. In common we have about twelve percent of the genes. In my opinion ... very little! "Andrew stood up, going around the table to bring himself closer to his father, who kept looking at him with his eyes narrow. "I understand that you love him, but it's different for me. I can bear the fact that it is a lavatory, even if this inevitably affects the whole study, but the rest take it off the head. If we have never got along, there will be a reason! »

"Already. And I would like to know what it is! "

Andrew did not answer. He just kept his eyes on those of his father for a few more moments. Then, with his slightly contracted jaw, he turned his back on both of his parents and hurriedly left the room. He wanted to smash something, and if he had stayed a while longer in the living room, he would have taken it with his mother's collection of precious vases.