dude.”
“Shut up about the photo already,” I said in exasperation.
“I can’t. It’s too good,” Aaron said. I could see him laughing on my computer screen. “I told you not to cross Sadie and my soccer boys.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Enough of that. How about you tell me some interesting stuff about college? Any good parties? What are the girls like?”
“The parties are awesome,” Aaron replied. “They rage all night long and then we have ‘keg and eggs’ in the morning. It’s pretty sweet. The girls are hot too. Most of them have just broken up with their old high school boyfriends and are looking for a rebound. It’s worth putting in the extra work in high school to get here, trust me bud.”
“So how many have you hooked up with so far?” I asked wistfully.
“Hooked up with? Nah man, I’m not doing that. I’m still with Sadie. She’s actually coming to visit me this weekend.”
“You mean to tell me you’re ignoring an entire university full of hot girls just so you can hang out with a high school chick once a month?” I asked incredulously. “Get your priorities straight, bro.”
Aaron shook his head. “You don’t understand yet,” he said. “You will one day. That reminds me, though; you need to go cut Sadie’s grass today.”
I swore. “Are you seriously going to make me do that?” I asked.
“Yup. You want to keep using my car, you mow her yard. She said she could do it but I assured her that you wanted to help out. Their push mower is all gassed up. It’s in the shed along the side of the house. There’s a letter combination lock on the door. The combination is M-L-E.”
“Are they at least going to pay me?” I asked.
“No. They don’t have a lot of money, especially with medical bills. You’re going to do this because you’re a good person and because if you don’t you’ll be riding the school bus,” Aaron said.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “I just decided I’m going to go into your room every time I have to fart this week. Your clothes and bed sheets are going to soak up the stench.”
“Love you, little brother,” Aaron said. He was serious, too. Aaron was like that. He was the coolest guy but he wasn’t afraid to get sentimental. It never failed to make me feel good inside and somehow safe.
“Yeah, love you too.”
Of course it turned out to be a scorching hot day. September? No way. It felt like we were in the middle of July. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun beat down on me relentlessly as I yanked on the Anderson’s rip cord over and over again to start up the mower. Within minutes my shirt was drenched with sweat. I took it off and tossed it onto the driveway. Their yard was surprisingly large and there was no way I was going to put up with a wet, sticky shirt for all of it.
The lawn mower was old and heavy. I had to muscle it up the surprisingly steep slope of the yard. I realized that, aside from the inconvenience to me, it was a good thing Aaron was making me do this. I didn’t like the idea of Sadie’s sick father trying to manage it. It was hard enough for me and I was fit guy in my prime.
Going shirtless only bought me a short respite. After about 45 minutes I was drenched in sweat again. My mouth was dry and I wished I had brought a pair of sunglasses. I was about to stop to take a break when the front door of the house opened and a tall, middle-aged man with a bald head walked out. He was holding a tall glass of water. My mouth immediately started to water when I saw the beads of condensation rolling down the cool glass.
The man waved to me. I let go of the mower handle so that the emergency release lever fell and the mower shut off.
“You must be Aaron’s brother,” the man said. “My name is Gus Anderson. I’m Sadie’s dad.”
I shook his outstretched hand. “My name is Nathan. Everyone calls me Nate.”
“I figured you might want this water,” he said, offering the glass to me.
“Thank you, sir,” I
“Shut up about the photo already,” I said in exasperation.
“I can’t. It’s too good,” Aaron said. I could see him laughing on my computer screen. “I told you not to cross Sadie and my soccer boys.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “Enough of that. How about you tell me some interesting stuff about college? Any good parties? What are the girls like?”
“The parties are awesome,” Aaron replied. “They rage all night long and then we have ‘keg and eggs’ in the morning. It’s pretty sweet. The girls are hot too. Most of them have just broken up with their old high school boyfriends and are looking for a rebound. It’s worth putting in the extra work in high school to get here, trust me bud.”
“So how many have you hooked up with so far?” I asked wistfully.
“Hooked up with? Nah man, I’m not doing that. I’m still with Sadie. She’s actually coming to visit me this weekend.”
“You mean to tell me you’re ignoring an entire university full of hot girls just so you can hang out with a high school chick once a month?” I asked incredulously. “Get your priorities straight, bro.”
Aaron shook his head. “You don’t understand yet,” he said. “You will one day. That reminds me, though; you need to go cut Sadie’s grass today.”
I swore. “Are you seriously going to make me do that?” I asked.
“Yup. You want to keep using my car, you mow her yard. She said she could do it but I assured her that you wanted to help out. Their push mower is all gassed up. It’s in the shed along the side of the house. There’s a letter combination lock on the door. The combination is M-L-E.”
“Are they at least going to pay me?” I asked.
“No. They don’t have a lot of money, especially with medical bills. You’re going to do this because you’re a good person and because if you don’t you’ll be riding the school bus,” Aaron said.
“Fine,” I grumbled. “I just decided I’m going to go into your room every time I have to fart this week. Your clothes and bed sheets are going to soak up the stench.”
“Love you, little brother,” Aaron said. He was serious, too. Aaron was like that. He was the coolest guy but he wasn’t afraid to get sentimental. It never failed to make me feel good inside and somehow safe.
“Yeah, love you too.”
Of course it turned out to be a scorching hot day. September? No way. It felt like we were in the middle of July. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun beat down on me relentlessly as I yanked on the Anderson’s rip cord over and over again to start up the mower. Within minutes my shirt was drenched with sweat. I took it off and tossed it onto the driveway. Their yard was surprisingly large and there was no way I was going to put up with a wet, sticky shirt for all of it.
The lawn mower was old and heavy. I had to muscle it up the surprisingly steep slope of the yard. I realized that, aside from the inconvenience to me, it was a good thing Aaron was making me do this. I didn’t like the idea of Sadie’s sick father trying to manage it. It was hard enough for me and I was fit guy in my prime.
Going shirtless only bought me a short respite. After about 45 minutes I was drenched in sweat again. My mouth was dry and I wished I had brought a pair of sunglasses. I was about to stop to take a break when the front door of the house opened and a tall, middle-aged man with a bald head walked out. He was holding a tall glass of water. My mouth immediately started to water when I saw the beads of condensation rolling down the cool glass.
The man waved to me. I let go of the mower handle so that the emergency release lever fell and the mower shut off.
“You must be Aaron’s brother,” the man said. “My name is Gus Anderson. I’m Sadie’s dad.”
I shook his outstretched hand. “My name is Nathan. Everyone calls me Nate.”
“I figured you might want this water,” he said, offering the glass to me.
“Thank you, sir,” I
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