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Freely Disillusioned
by kate levy
The street was thin and curving, but moved quickly. The neighborhood could have been any out of the way, small country area if it wasn't for the huge fences around the brick buildings. As the freshly washed blue sedan turned back towards what was know as civilization, two geese flew overhead through the barren sky as one solitary object. To the right, benches where people gathered in groups of no more than two faded away. Ahead lay open fields of what would become the biggest corn crops this side of the Mississippi, but now still had the remains of the winter snow melting away on them. At the horizon a line of blues, yellows, greens, and whites filled little boxes that would become the newest subdivision to these parts. Freshly turned dirt still covered the playgrounds of tomorrow.
The two brothers sat quietly speeding over the smooth concrete surface. Jacob drove with his thick eyebrows moving slightly as his hazel eyes focused straight ahead and his nondescript features held still. He was the oldest of the two, but nothing about his physical presence showed his age. Next to him, his brother sat enjoying every sight he had missed over the last six months. He was only 24, but his body had endured much more than any old man could vouch for. His fresh white shirt sat on his torso stiffly tucked into his slightly too large off-brand Dockers.
"Damn, it's beautiful out here," the younger brother said, more to himself than anyone else.
"I suppose, this is crappy weather, though." Jacob's voice was unsteady.
"I guess some sun could be nice this time of year."
Somewhat spastically, Jacob changed the radio station while his brother continued watching out the window. The two had always been close, but in the last 18 months things had begun to change for both of them. The times they talked were more and more spaced and their lives just started to grow apart. Now neither knew what to say to recapture that comfort and closeness. Turning on to a smaller street, Jacob just nodded at the silence.
His house was half way down the block. It was a small house in a small neighborhood. It had one floor and a partially done basement. Jacob had lived there with his wife and her daughter for just over a year. As the car pulled into the driveway, the two brothers breathed in deeply in preparation for entering the house. They weren't afraid, just vulnerable, each with their own worries. Jacob unlocked the back door and went in, while his brother finished smoking a cigarette.
"Lucy? I'm back," Jacob called out.
A woman walked in from the bedroom area. She had black hair that she kept tucked behind her ears, eyes that were anything but a glowing green, and well-tanned skin.
"And are you alone?" She asked after she gave him a kiss on the check.
"No, I'm not. This is my brother," Jacob said as his brother entered the room. "Lucy, this is Norman. Norman, this is Lucy."
"Hi," Norman said in a soft voice, then coughed to clear his throat.
"Oh, hello there. It's so nice to meet you," Lucy said with a fake smile. "Here, let me take your coat. Come in." She threw a dreadful look at Jacob.
Norman thought for a second, then handed her the coat he noticed he was holding. He walked over to a bookshelf and looked at the family's pictures, then took in the rest of the room. The house was new and foreign to him. The last time he had seen his brother was in Chicago, when their business trip paths happened to cross. Jacob never talked about Lucy much. They had been together off and on for two years. Lucy was three years older than Jacob and already had a daughter in grade school, that Jacob was now helping to raise. Everything in the house seemed to be perfectly in its place, causing Norman to be just a little bit uncomfortable.
"You'll be staying in the basement. It's not much, but there's a private bathroom down there and plenty of space," Jacob said and motioned towards the stairway through the open kitchen.
"I'm sure it will be like a master suite compared to where I was staying," Norman replied. He continued, "Could I have some water?"
"Of course, I'm sorry I didn't offer. What was I thinking?"
"I'll get it, why don't you show him the basement," Lucy said as she reentered the room.
-- -- -- --
"I can't believe you let a criminal into our home." Lucy's voice had a definite angry tone to it, but she kept her body language calm.
"What do you mean?" Jacob glared back.
"What about Edna? How can you let that man live right below her. She's just a child."
"He's my brother! What should I do? Abandon him? I thought you had a better sense of family than that." He tried to hold his ground.
"Family? What about our family?" She knew were to aim to get Jacob.
"I'm thinking about our family, too. Listen, it's just for a few weeks. He has nothing right now. Prison takes a lot out of a man." He wouldn't give that easily.
"Yeah.. and prison is for criminals."
"Keep your voice down, he'll hear you."
"Oh no, then what? Maybe he'll come kill me in my sleep."
"You're out of your mind. Lucy, calm down right now." Jacob wasn't angry, just frustrated.
The two sat on their bed in silence for quite some time exchanging looks that neither could read. Jacob finally stood up and started looking in the closest for a tie to wear. Lucy stayed on the bed glaring at the back of his head in confusion. Selecting a dark blue tie, Jacob turned to her as he tied it.
"Why are you so upset? I know my brother. He's a good guy. He got mixed up in the wrong stuff with the wrong people, but he's done with that now. I wouldn't invite him to stay here if there was reason to be concerned." Jacob was always good at calming down fast.
"It just doesn't seem right. You never even told me about him before last week, when suddenly your poor, misguided little brother was coming to stay with us when he got out of jail. Is he some sort of family secret that you hide when guests are over?" She wasn't caving in, but she was less upset. "I just don't like him.. the way he looked at everything when he got here. And you never went to visit him while he was serving his time."
"He didn't want me to, he was embarrassed. He's just a guy, my brother, what's the big deal with him staying here?"
"I just don't like it."
"Well, this once, you're going to have to deal with that."
"Typical. This once? Ha."
"What's going on with you? There's got to be something else bugging you."
"Whatever, I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine." There was a bit of concern in his voice.
"Well, I am."
"Fine. I'm going to work."
"Great. Leave me here with the psycho brother."
"He's not psycho. You're going to work in a hour, anyway." Jacob exhaled with the weight of a thousand tons.
"What about when Edna comes home from school?"
"For the first time, someone will be here with her. She won't have to wait for you to get home." Just as Jacob finished his sentence, police sirens screamed onto their street and right by their house.
-- -- -- --
Jacob walked into the kitchen to make a salad to go with their dinner while Lucy watched the evening news. They hadn't talked since that morning. Edna was out walking their dog around the block.
"Did you hear that? Those sirens this morning... someone was killed down at East Brook park. The suspect is still loose." Lucy's voice was distant, but still burned Jacob's ears.
"That's terrible." He took notice of the news report, but wasn't intrigued. He was annoyed beyond belief that she didn't trust Norman or him.
"Where's your brother? I haven't seen him lately."
"My god, Lucy!" Jacob was pissed. "He was the getaway driver in a convenience store hold-up. He's not a murderer!!"
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