Read Online Divisions (Dev and Lee) by Kyell Gold - Free Book Online Page B

shifts his gaze to Marta. “How much has he had to drink?”
    “I’m not drunk!” Gregory straightens. “And he put you in the hospital, for Chrissake, Dad.”
    “Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain,” I chime in.
    Dad glares at me. “Devlin, there is no call to make this worse. Gregory, we have settled all that, and neither is that your business. Do we understand each other?”
    “Yes.” Gregory lowers his eyes just a fraction.
    “Good. Lee, thank you for coming.”
    “It’s good to see you again too, sir,” he says. “Thank you for inviting us.”
    Dad reaches down to shake my fox’s paw. I’m sure he’s deliberately doing this in front of Gregory, and my brother watches with that sour curl to his lip as Lee’s dark brown paw disappears into my father’s orange and white one.
    “Come. Your father is talking to my sister and she would like to meet you as well.” Dad guides us across the room.
    Behind us, Gregory calls, “You haven’t even asked about my commercial!” I don’t know if that’s to me or to Dad, but we both ignore it.
    I lower my voice as I follow Dad around an armchair, Lee trailing behind me. “Is he okay? Is he just having a bad day?”
    Dad harrumphs. “Bad month. He says business has been down. You have not talked to him?”
    “I’ve been a little busy with football. I thought things were going well. The commercial and all.”
    We circle Aunt Mariya, sitting at the coffee table with Mom, and walk over to my third aunt, Zarya—Auntie Za. She’s sitting with Lee’s father on the loveseat, but stands when she sees us. “Ah,” she beams. “So this is Lee. I see the family resemblance.”
    Lee laughs, and before he can say anything, she’s wrapping him up in a hug. “You are a lovely fox. So handsome! And your father, Brenly, I have just enjoyed the pleasure of meeting. He tells me that you have made my nephew very very happy. I am so delighted for this.”

     
    She steps back, leaving my fox a little breathless. “He’s made me happy, too.” Lee grins, his tail wagging.
    I can’t help but match his grin. Auntie Za is awesome. She notices the wagging and points. “And you wag your tail for him! So adorable, so wonderful. Look how lovely you look together. Hello, Devlin, come give your Auntie Za a kiss.”
    She hugs me and kisses me on both cheeks. “You are so big, so strong! You need it, to run into those other players on the field, yes.”
    “It helps.” It’s not just how cheery she is; it’s how easily she’s accepted Lee. Dad is still standing off to one side, but he’s smiling—if only a little—and looking fairly relaxed. For Dad. Lee’s father stands up, too, with a smile. Auntie Za does that to people. “How’ve you been?”
    “I am leaving in one month—two days before Christmas, so sad I will miss it—to go back to Moskva for one year. There is counseling center there for abused wives, I am going to help them. Exciting, no?”
    “Very exciting,” Lee’s dad says. “Are you a counselor?”
    Auntie Za laughs. “Oh, my stripes, no. But I will work with counselors, and I hope to talk to some of the wives myself. Officially my job is working in kitchen, but they have asked for people with ‘bright and cheery disposition,’ and prefer native Siberian speakers, so I am accepted quickly.” Her eyes catch the light of a nearby candle. “I am so excited!”
    “It sounds really cool.” Lee smiles. “Is domestic abuse a big problem there?”
    “Always.” Auntie Za’s smile fades, the stripes over her eyebrows creasing downward. “Is terrible problem. Only now is truly being recognized. Counseling center is first of its kind.”
    “You never talked about helping domestic abuse victims before,” I say. “I mean, it’s great, just…I wouldn’t have expected it.”
    She glances at my father. “When you reach my age, perhaps you will understand. I have been wondering lately if the things I do make a difference in the world. I love