Robbie looked out of the window at the taxi dropping-off Joey and Karen.
“OK Case, last chance, you can still duck out now, you don’t have to do this just yet, not for me!”
Casey took his hand, squeezed it for moment, and smiled. “It’s OK Robbie; I need to do this, for you as well as for me. I’ll be fine, OK?”
The knock on the door announced they were there. “It’s open!” called Robbie, and then Joey and Karen were in the hallway, calling out to him.
“In here, guys!” he called back, and they walked on in, long familiarity and family ease evident in their casual dumping of coats and flight bags
Joey, slightly shorter and stockier than Robbie, with young, conventionally handsome features, tousled dark blonde hair like Sarah’s, came all the way into the living room, his face splitting into a wide grin on seeing a cute girl with coppery-bronze hair standing with Robbie, not recognising her right away. He took a step forward to introduce himself, and suddenly realised who he was looking at, his mouth dropping open in shock.
Karen, a tall, quietly beautiful girl with a tumbled mass of midnight black curls framing her piquant features, came forward to hug Robbie, a wide, happy smile on her face.
“Robbie, sweetheart, it’s been too long since…” and stopped, shocked recognition making her gasp as she realised who was standing there with him. Anger flashed in her blue eyes as she spat out one word, a curse and a threat all in one. “YOU!”
She started forward, towards Casey, eyes narrowed in fury, stopping short as Robbie stepped in front of her, pushing Casey slightly behind him.
“Karen, Joey, please, calm down. There’s a reason Casey’s here, take it easy, please, guys, come on!”
Karen backed off, staring daggers at Casey, Joey still standing with his mouth hanging open like a boated cod, his eyes narrowing as shock gave way to anger.
“Robbie, what the hell is this… this… creature doing here!?” hissed Karen, sparks spitting in her eyes, glaring at Casey, who quailed at that glare and the sheer concentrated fury in her voice.
“Yeah Bro, just what the hell’s going on? What the fuck is she doing here?” gritted Joey, his shocked expression gone, face immobile but his eyes still narrowed to two angry slits.
“Guys, please, for me, just lay off her for one second, please? I said I had a surprise. Casey and I, we kind of found each other; actually, she’s been looking for me all this time, I listened to what she had to say, and I believed her. All that stuff in the past, that’s all gone now, none of it matters anymore. I finally let it go, only because Casey showed me the way. I have a family that loves me, you guys, and I want you to hear her out, for my sake. Will you do that? At least just listen? Please?”
“For you, Robbie, I’ll listen,” said Karen, “But if I don’t like what I’m hearing…!” she trailed off meaningfully, eyes still fixed distrustfully on Casey. “That goes for me too!” spat Joey,”this had better be fucking amazingly good! Why you let her…” his voice trailed off into angry muttering, his slitted eyes still fixed intently on her face as he shook his head in disgust.
Robbie squeezed Casey’s hand, smoothed back her hair, and looked her in the eyes.
“Say your piece, Case. Don’t hold anything back, there’re no secrets between any of us, just tell Joey and Karen what you told me, don’t be afraid, I’m here.” His sweet smile was all the encouragement she needed.
Casey swallowed nervously, and began to speak.
“Joey, Karen, you both know how I behaved, what I did to Robbie. I have no excuses that mean anything, I did what I did because no-one told me I couldn’t, and I paid for it, with shame and loss, more than I can ever describe. I took everything, and left nothing for him, ever, not a scrap of my time or a thought for him, and I only realised what I’d done when it was too late to make it right.”
“I understood then that I should have been there for him. He’d always needed me, and I was too wrapped-up in myself to know that I needed him until he was gone, and it was too late. I looked for him because I wanted my big brother, I wanted him back, and I would have made any bargain, paid any price, just to get him back, to say sorry, to beg his forgiveness, and to tell him I loved and needed him. We gave him nothing, and we cast him away for no reason, left him alone when he needed us the most, and I cried for him night after night, knowing he was lost and alone when he needed me, and I needed him so badly. When Joey told me he didn’t know where Robbie was, it felt like the bottom had dropped out of my world: If the one person Robbie loved and trusted most in this world didn’t know where he was, then he truly was lost to me, he really was gone forever, I could never make it right with him, and it was all my fault. When Karen confronted me, what she did was no more than I deserved.”
“When I found him again, all he had to do was tell me to go and slam the door on me forever. He didn’t, because, thank God, he’s not like me, nor ever could be. I left him out of my life, but he pulled me back into his, because that’s who he is, and I can never forgive myself for letting him go so easily.
I did the most terrible thing in the world; I only had one chance to have a big brother, and I blew it; I threw him away, I nearly destroyed him, and I laughed when I did it, and it will weigh on my heart forever. Now I know how it feels to lose the most precious thing in the whole world, and I’m never letting him go again!”
She was crying openly now, hot tears pouring down her cheeks as her shame and guilt bloomed large inside her again. Karen looked at her, her expression flinty, but tears glimmered in her eyes, wringing Joey’s hand between hers, mute evidence she was feeling the powerful emotional charge in the room. Joey was still in shock; this was a side to Casey he’d never expected to see, the confident, arrogant, cheerleader babe-about-town reduced to this emotional shambles, all her defenses down, and his heart went out to her as he felt the emotional impact of her deep sorrow and even deeper sincerity.
Robbie took her in his arms, holding her against him as she sobbed, smoothing her hair, murmuring gently to her, clumsily trying to calm her as he held her close. Casey wrapped her arms around him and held him tight, letting Robbie rock her gently against his chest, her hands holding and caressing him. Karen’s expression slowly softened as she watched, realisation of the true nature of Robbie and Casey’s relationship gradually dawning.
At last, Robbie let her go, dabbing her eyes as she rested her head against his chest and brushing her hair gently with his lips, silence in the room as all of them sat motionless, mulling-over what had just unfolded.
Joey stirred, breaking the spell, to hunker-down in front of Casey, wonder stirring in him as he finally got what was going on between Robbie and Casey, and reached out to gently touch her arm, take her hand. Casey looked at him through her tears, gradually seeing the look on his face, all his anger gone, only concern for her there.
“Hi Casey, I’m Joey, Robbie’s brother, it’s nice to finally meet you at last!” he smiled, flashing a quick look of concern and enquiry at Robbie, getting a quick nod and smile back, all the affirmation he needed. Casey smiled through her tears, grateful for the love and support Robbie had been given when he’d needed it, stricken that it wasn’t her who’d done that for him.
“Hi Joey, I’ve heard so much about you; Robbie’s told me all about his family, and how much he loves you all, I’m glad I finally met you!” she quavered, smiling tremulously, her eyes still bright with unshed tears.
Joey reached behind him, Karen’s hand slipping into his as she moved up behind him, smiling at Casey when she looked up at her. “Casey, this is my fiancee, Karen. Karen, I’d like you to meet Casey, she’s with Robbie!”
Karen held out her hand, Casey’s slipping into it, the two of them holding hands as the family reunion unfolded around them, Karen also feeling the depth of Casey’s sorrow and regret, and feeling and hearing her sincerity.
“Casey, come with me, let’s get you cleaned up.” said Karen gently, Robbie rising and handing up Casey from the couch, the two girls making for the bathroom to fix Casey’s tear-ravaged makeup.
While they were gone, Joey and Robbie sat silently for a moment or two, Joey finally breaking the silence.
“Mom’s gonna have a haemorrhage, you do know that don’t you!” he grinned. “So, are the two of you really… uh…?”
Robbie grinned back at him. “Yeah, we’re – significant pause – ‘uh’! Is that a problem, meat-head?”
Joey grinned even wider. “Hell no, Casey always was a babe, even if I hated her with depth and conviction, but this whole … relationship thing you two seem to have begun, it’s gonna open a huge can of worms, you do know that, don’t you? You got the stones to keep a lid on it, Rob?”
Robbie expression became sober, thoughtful. “Joey, I really think we can do this right, if you guys are willing to help us. How ’bout it? You gonna help out a friend in need?”
“Always and forever, Bro, even if you are a butthead geek, that’s what family does, we help each other out, and then we never mention it again while somehow constantly reminding each other about it, and then we mind each other’s business, so if you can get Mom on-side, expect a whole lot of her minding your business!” grinned Joey, walking into the kitchen to the refrigerator, rummaging around inside for a beer and tossing a cold one over to Robbie while he popped his own.
Joey suddenly grinned.
“Mom’s gonna get ‘that look’, you know the one I mean? And that little vein, right in the middle of her forehead! It’ll be like when we did that thing with the telescope and Jodie Hollister, man she shredded us good! And somehow, once again, this will be my fault; you do know that, don’t you? You were always her fair-haired little golden boy, and I’m gonna catch heat for this one, I can feel it in my bones, so you are gonna owe me big-time! I shall demand payment when I figure out what you’ve got that I want most, so be prepared! Come to think of it, I just love that car of yours; I would look sooo good sitting behind the wheel of it all the time!”
Robbie grinned at him.
“Yeah, right, blow it out your butt, meathead!” he said as he motioned Joey to take a seat.
He sat down, took a long slow swallow of his beer, his eyes closed in enjoyment, then suddenly began coughing as he nearly choked.