1979
Brookline, Massachusetts
One of Conan's favorite activities was to watch The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with his father. Conan thought Carson was remarkable - and no entertainer could ever reach his level. It was like having a personal hero, who was also funny, authentic and shameless. However, in a particular night, Conan didn't feel like watching Carson and he locked himself in his room, to read. His dad went to check on him and see if everything was alright.
"I don't feel like it, dad." Conan replied, reading one of Luke's comic books.
"May I ask you why?" Mr. O'Brien said.
"I'm just bored." Conan didn't take his eyes of the pages.
"Is it because June is away?"
"Not really."
"Do you miss her?"
Conan took a bit to answer. "A bit."
He had five siblings he could bother, but it wasn't the same. Conan wanted to go out with June and play softball with her. He could bully his sister Kate, who frequently played with them, but he would always feel something was missing. June was back to her country of origin and it had been a few weeks since she snuck into his room. He missed it. His family, with exception of Luke, didn't know a thing about it. Conan was glad his older brother never mentioned it to anyone, when he had every reason to do it. He never brought it up when they were alone either.
"Well son, if you need me I'll be on the living room." Mr. O'Brien concluded.
"Okay." Conan simply said, and he knew his father was a bit sad about it, but he didn't want to leave the room that night.
His curtains were still open and he looked at her window from his bed. The house, illuminated by the moonlight and the weak light of the light poles on the street, was silent; as it had been for a while. He put the comic away and got up to close the curtains, to try and get some sleep. He tried to think that June would be home soon, and he would finally have company to watch Star Wars again.
After rolling around on his bed for a while, he went to the kitchen to have a glass of milk. His dad was already asleep, he presumed. He entered the kitchen and was a bit surprised to see his mother, cooking. At first he was paralyzed, but she turned and smiled at him.
"Why are you up so late, sweetie?" she asked.
"I can't sleep." He simply replied, directing himself to the fridge.
Mrs. O'Brien giggled. "I know. I was making you a hamburger."
They both went back to Conan's room, Mrs. O'Brien making sure he knew that if he spilled his milk, he would have to clean the mess up. They sat on the bed beside each other.
"I know you're sad because of June, Conan." She looked deeply into his eyes. He blushed.
"We would play softball this weekend." He said.
"No... it's not just because of that." The mother giggled. He looked at her, confused.
"I called her parents and she's coming back tomorrow." Conan chewed his hamburger looking at his mom's smirk.
"That's good to know." Conan replied with his mouth half full.
"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Go get some sleep."
Mrs. O'Brien went back to bed, after telling her son to brush his teeth. Conan finished his hamburger and went to the restroom, and while brushing his teeth he thought about June. He was so glad she would come back. It wasn't that fun without her. He needed to see her. So they could have a movie marathon soon.
-
"Conan?" Mrs. O'Brien called from the living room. Conan had slept in an unflattering position. His neck was hurting a bit. He mumbled.
"June is here!" she continued.
Conan rushed to the bathroom to brush his teeth and got back to his room to change, running and tripping around stuff. He could hear some commotion coming from the living room. He ran to June's encounter, wearing a polo t-shirt and jeans, his red hair all messy; just to be laughed at - his sisters and Luke were waiting for him.
"Oh my god, look at how desperate he is." Luke giggled.
"Aw. He was waiting for her." Kate said.
Conan frowned and his face flushed; he felt a mix of anger and embarrassment.
"She will arrive tonight. Don't worry, son." Mrs. O'Brien giggled at him, preparing herself to go to work.
Conan went back to his bedroom and locked himself. He could hear the 'aww' of his sisters as they passed his bedroom door. At least June would be there in a few hours. He also hoped no one told her about all of this.
