view.
Lucca stopped at a grocery and purchased everything he would need for supper, knowing the chances that his twin had a stocked refrigerator hovered between slim and none. He arrived at Tony’s house, found the house key hidden on a rafter on the back porch, and let himself inside. By the time Tony drove up, Lucca had a salad made, baked potatoes ready, and two huge rib eyes ready for the outdoor kitchen grill.
Tony changed into shorts and a T-shirt and walked out barefoot carrying a bottle of Cabernet. He inhaled the aroma and exhaled with worshipful appreciation. With his gaze locked on the sizzling steaks, he said, “As of this moment, you are officially off the hook for the hundred you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you a hundred.”
“Yeah, you do. American League won the All-Star game.”
“Oh.” The brothers had a standing baseball bet. “I didn’t notice. Think I was taking in the sights on a nude beach in Brazil when that game was played.”
“Asshole. I take it back. You still owe me.” Tony decanted the wine and poured two glasses.
“Nope. Take-backs not allowed on bet settlements. Sit down and fill your face with rabbit food. Steaks will be ready in five.”
Both men were hungry, and they didn’t waste much time talking as they plowed through their meal. Afterward, they cleaned up, then Tony dished up two bowls of Rocky Road ice cream—their favorite—and carried them outside. Tony had a great backyard spot to watch the sunset.
Tony opened the conversation with a challenge. “I had hoped you might come by campus,” he said. “You haven’t seen the new practice facility. I’d like to show you around.”
Lucca understood that his twin’s offer involved more than a tour of a new basketball headquarters. He hadn’t gone near a basketball court since the day of his meltdown, and Tony was asking if Lucca had his head on straight yet. The answer was no. “Maybe next time.”
Tony set down his ice cream. “I’m thirsty. You want a bottle of water?”
“I’m good.”
His twin snorted as he stood and took a water from his outdoor kitchen fridge. He lifted the remote and switched on the television mounted above the bar area. He thumbed to a basketball game then defiantly sauntered back toward Lucca, who shifted his chair toward the sunset—and away from the TV.
Tony muttered an expletive, then asked, “So, what brings you to Boulder so soon? You’ve been in Eternity Springs, what, two weeks? Is small-town life proving too boring already?”
“Actually, Eternity Springs isn’t too bad. Mom wanted me to go to Denver to pick up some things she’s ordered, and I’m not going to come that close and not visit you. Besides, I need to talk some family things over.”
Tony stretched out, took another bite of ice cream, then asked, “You having trouble with Zach?”
“No. Not at all. I really like him.”
Once the facts about their mother’s adult “secret baby” had come to light, Lucca and Tony hadn’t been as certain as Gabi and their brother Max that Zach would end up being a welcome addition to their family. The way it turned out, he’d been just what Mom had needed to jerk her out of her depression after their father died.
“It’s Mom and Gabi,” Lucca explained. “Both of them are acting weird, and I want a second opinion on how to deal with the situation.”
Tony lifted his spoon in salute. “The doctor is in. What’s the trouble?”
“I’ll start with Mom. It’s kind of hard to explain, but if you had to describe Mom, using three words, what would they be?”
“Loving. Witty. Loyal.”
“True, but that’s not what I’m looking for. Think business-related words.”
“Mom was a stay-at-home mother. I don’t think of her in business-related terms.”
“Think PTO mom.”
“Oh. Okay, then. Organized. Decisive. And workaholic.”
Lucca nodded. “I’d agree with those. So let me explain three things about the work being done at Aspenglow Place. Indoors, the first thing she did was have the upstairs bathrooms painted.”
“I thought they were all going to be renovated.”
“They are.”
“That’s stupid. Why did she do that?”
Lucca ignored the question. “It gets better. She has purchased six colors of paint for the outside—not samples, mind you—but enough paint to paint the exterior six different times in six different colors. What’s craziest of all, three times I’ve walked into that house in the middle of the workday to find her sitting in a rocking chair reading a book or watching TV. Watching soaps!”
Tony sat up straight. “Soaps? Mom? Our mom?”
“Yep.”
“She doesn’t watch daytime TV.”
“She does now. And she’s hooked. She got all teary yesterday when she told me about one of the characters coming back from the dead. Pregnant. With amnesia.”
“That’s bizarre.”
“Gabi doesn’t know what she’s getting into. You’ve heard that she’s quit the sheriff’s office?”
“Yes. I understand she wants to help Mom run the inn.”
“I’m not taking bets on how long that idea lasts. Gabi put together a renovation plan—a good one, mind you—but the changing paint palette is driving her crazy. Yesterday she told me she’s beginning to wonder if working together might be harmful to their mother-daughter relationship.”
Tony pointed his remote at the TV and started channel surfing. “I could have told her that.”
“Yeah, well. I thought they needed to try it to figure it out for themselves. If you or I tell Gabi it’s a bad idea, she’ll dig in her heels and stay longer just to prove us wrong.”
“You have a point.”
“And I could be all wrong. Gabi and Mom could be the perfect working couple. At least Gabi’s not afraid to say no to Mom, which is more than I can manage.”
“Man, I’ve never been able to do that, either.”
“I’m counting on Gabi to convince Mom she needs to hire a contractor.”
“I thought that was your job,” Tony observed.
“I can handle a little painting and repair and doing yard work outside, but I don’t know a damn thing about plumbing or electrical work or carpentry. I don’t know the subs in the area. If she wants Aspenglow to be a commercial success, the work needs to be done right.”
Tony’s cellphone buzzed, and he picked it up and sighed. His thumbs flew across the touch screen. “If somebody had told me five years ago that my job would soon entail tweeting, I’d have called BS.”
He tossed the phone onto the chair beside him and glanced at Lucca. “Daytime TV, huh?”
“And laundry.”
“Laundry?”
“She doesn’t do laundry on a schedule anymore. I’ve seen her let dirty towels pile up for over a week. And there were breakfast dishes in the sink at dinnertime.”
“Definitely bizarre.” Tony took a thoughtful sip from his bottle of water. “You know, Lucca, considering everything, I hesitate to bring up the D word. …”
Lucca flattened his mouth. Damn, he didn’t want to talk about this. Not even with his twin brother. “I know I was depressed. I did get some help when I was away. It’s better. Now we are talking about Mom, not me.”
Tony took a moment to absorb the news and Lucca could see questions lighting his eyes. His brother knew him well enough to understand that now was not the time to pursue the topic. He asked, “Do you think we need to be worried about Mom?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think so. I think she’s just … changing. Everything is different with Dad gone.”
“It was easier when Dad was alive. Everything was his call. Now we’re the ones with the responsibility.”
“That’s the problem right there. Mom would say that she’s responsible for herself. And honestly, she’s right.”
