You're Always You

Chapter Fifty-Nine

David Minett

....

David didn't think he wanted to know, given Lydia had told Brett not to...touch her like something again.

He would like to continue loving his brother, thanks.

In any case, he brought his siblings inside to talk, since he knew that their neighbors were going to ask why his wife had just assaulted a uniformed cop.

Yeah, Brett was taking a minute out of work for this. He'd assured David he wouldn't get in trouble for it, but at this rate David had half a mind to send him back out again because of Lydia.

It was a good thing Lydia was normally on pretty good terms with her in-laws, otherwise Dave would be a little worried about the repercussions.

However, she did return to cordiality pretty quickly, as if nothing had happened, so...that was good.

As he had had to do with his wife, David explained to his siblings what had happened. That they weren't crazy, that he and Lydia believed them, and that it was weird, but it was...real. Unfortunately.

Unsurprisingly, Brett and Monica had an easier time adjusting than Lydia was having. They hadn't...lived so long with the change, so to speak. Monica stayed pretty the same up until she graduated high school, so she had it easy. Her problems weren't nearly so...huge.

Brett, on the other hand, found it hard to have the experiences of an inmate in his head, being a cop, but at the same time that made it easy for him to separate things too. His differences were...rather extreme. Thug memories, cop memories.

Basically, all the memories where David was a deadbeat in their lives were the bad ones.

Considering the awkward glances that kept getting passed between Brett and Lydia, he ended up leaving first. He had to patrol, of course, and...there was also whatever he'd done in the alternate reality that made him feel uncomfortable.

Monica stayed for a little bit after Brett left, but she had class, which she definitely didn't want to miss after wasting so much college in the other world, and David couldn't say he blamed her. So, she left too, though much more graciously than Brett had, leaving her brother and sister-in-law with hugs and kisses.

When they were alone again, Lydia huffed and said, "I had sex with Brett. Thug Brett, but...."

Which made her husband nearly choke on his coffee. His milky coffee, given the mostly good spirits going around, but...it wasn't pleasant. "What?" he coughed, his wife rubbing his back. "Why?"

"....Richie owed Brett money," she admitted. "I think you can put two and two together." Then she gave him a bit of a look and added, "I had no idea he was your brother. Didn't you bust him out of jail?"

....

"Kinda wish I hadn't," the man grumbled, getting over his coughs, and she chuckled.

It was a good thing Brett left when he did.

After a few moments, David took a deep breath and squeezed Lydia's hand. "Your parents are in town," he reminded her, remembering for himself. "They're coming over for dinner...."

She was silent for a moment, thinking, before starting to cry again.

....

David gave an exasperated chuckle, mostly because he had a good feeling which Lydia was crying, as weird a sentiment that was. "I know, honey," he said, wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her far shoulder. "I know. I told you I helped you fix things with your parents."