Meeting my Brother
His eyes darted back and forth as if to non-verbally tell me he was bored. Maybe he knew I was a master of observation. I told him how weird I thought this was, trying to engage him or perhaps I was just trying to calm my nerves.
His eyes darted back and forth as if to non-verbally tell me he was bored. Maybe he knew I was a master of observation. I told him how weird I thought this was, trying to engage him or perhaps I was just trying to calm my nerves. "Yeah, I guess its awkward," he shrugged. A long period of silence swept over us and I wondered, did he not want o know about me? I was bursting with questions but all he could do was agree this was awkward. A first date is awkward. This, this was earth-shattering!
Slowly we made our way through Los Olas Drive in near silence. Since it was a smoldering Florida summer day, we decided stopped to grab some ice cream. I offered to pay for his cone but he stubbornly denied it, reminding me of dad. Luckily, everything about him didn't remind me of dad. He had his own personality, not that I would say it was a charismatic one. We reached a bridge and he stopped walking. I took it as an opportunity to start asking questions. I couldn't stop talking, wanting to know everything.
It seemed like he didn't want to know anything. When it came to his turn to ask questions he simply asked, "What else do you want to do?" Since I didn't know the area I just gave him the option and I followed him blindly to the movie theater. I mentioned to him that the next movie wasn't for another hour. We both knew what that meant we would have to sit and talk for another hour. How would we keep up this farce for sixty more minutes? Somehow I managed to conjure up some more questions, but it just left me wondering. How could he be so calm? Why did none of this strike a nerve? Maybe he was high. He did seem like a stoner, after all.
The movie came and went along with the day and we decided to part ways. I slowly drove home replaying the days events obsessively in my head. Did I over play if? I hope he liked me. I was too focused on what he thought of me that I didn't even realize I was home until my mother came out into the driveway to greet me. "So, what was it like to meet your brother for the first time?"
Slowly we made our way through Los Olas Drive in near silence. Since it was a smoldering Florida summer day, we decided stopped to grab some ice cream. I offered to pay for his cone but he stubbornly denied it, reminding me of dad. Luckily, everything about him didn't remind me of dad. He had his own personality, not that I would say it was a charismatic one. We reached a bridge and he stopped walking. I took it as an opportunity to start asking questions. I couldn't stop talking, wanting to know everything.
It seemed like he didn't want to know anything. When it came to his turn to ask questions he simply asked, "What else do you want to do?" Since I didn't know the area I just gave him the option and I followed him blindly to the movie theater. I mentioned to him that the next movie wasn't for another hour. We both knew what that meant we would have to sit and talk for another hour. How would we keep up this farce for sixty more minutes? Somehow I managed to conjure up some more questions, but it just left me wondering. How could he be so calm? Why did none of this strike a nerve? Maybe he was high. He did seem like a stoner, after all.
The movie came and went along with the day and we decided to part ways. I slowly drove home replaying the days events obsessively in my head. Did I over play if? I hope he liked me. I was too focused on what he thought of me that I didn't even realize I was home until my mother came out into the driveway to greet me. "So, what was it like to meet your brother for the first time?"
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