“Foul!” Janice shouted, laughing. “Speaking of mouthfuls.” She batted her eyelashes at her brother-in-law, how are things going with you?”
David blushed, Rory almost choked, and Rig patted his back as he answered for the rest of them. “Best sex of our lives. And in case Essie never mentioned? David here is hung like a porn horse. I mean, I don’t know how he gets that thing in his pants.”
“Ack!” Janice covered her ears and walked over to Essie, burying her face in her wife’s cleavage. “Ear bleach. I need it.”
Essie wasn’t fazed. “It’s a family trait apparently. You get a few Chardonnays in Mom? She will draw you a scarily detailed picture. She really loves Dad’s junk.”
David just lay down on the kitchen floor and shook his head while everyone else laughed until they were crying. So hard Rory almost didn’t hear his phone ring.
He grabbed a napkin and wandered over to the side table where Rig had plugged it in last night. “It’s Younger.”
“Hey.” A hush fell as Rory answered so he walked toward the balcony and slid out so he wouldn’t disturb them. “What do you need?”
Thank you. I love you. How are you? Were all the things he should have said. He didn’t know how to talk to his brothers without his usual attitude in place. He wasn’t feeling sarcastic or witty. He was all soft underbelly and no shell.
Luckily, Younger laughed. “Well eventually, I’m going to need you to grab the laundry you left after you crashed here last week. I cleaned it, but now it’s just sitting on my dryer, taking up space.”
Rory leaned against the railing, watching the chimes across the way sway in the breeze. “I can do that. Eventually. David’s been shirting me, but eventually I will need clean underwear.” He hesitated. “So. Anything else going on?”
His brother’s sigh was heavy over the phone. “I want to say no but you deserve to know what’s been happening. The department held a wake at Finn’s last night. Seamus and I were there with Uncle Shawn, but the rest of the family decided not to attend.”
What? “What about Noah and Wyatt? Brady?”
“Like James said, none of us want to be hypocrites. I only went because I didn’t want Shawn having to field questions about our absence. He doesn’t need that.”
“What about the burial?” He felt strange asking, like it wasn’t his place.
“We took care of it two days ago. He already had a plot.”
So…that was it? It was over?
Elder was gone.
He felt like he was trying to breathe under water. “That’s good, I mean thanks for telling me. I hope the guys aren’t upset that I wasn’t there for it.”
“No one is upset with you, Rory.”
“Good. I’m glad.” He bit his lip. “Even Uncle Shawn?”
“Especially him. The other day he made Trick tell him everything he knew about your guys.”
I hope he didn’t say anything about pickles. “He did?”
“Yes and when he realized that David was Essie’s brother? Did you know he follows her on YouTube and they chat online?”
“Who?”
“Essie Mills and Uncle Shawn. He’s having Jake teach him how to compile all his videos of Angus. You remember Angus? The dog he taught a million tricks? He wants to upload it on his own channel so he can show her what Hermione’s little boy is up to.”
“That’s crazy.” Wasn’t that crazy? Essie did ask for pictures of the puppies, but that she and Uncle Shawn would talk to each other online?
“Right, so, the point is, he’s watched David online too, and he approves.”
Solomon would never understand how much that meant to him. Then again, maybe he would. “I wish I could be there for him. He needs us now and after all he’s done for us—”
“He understands. He saw how we grew up, Rory. He understands. But he’s Shawn Finn, you know? He needs to find the good. That’s how he gets through it. So he’s getting through by remembering someone we never got to meet. Someone who used to share his toys and defend his brother.”
Rory was nodding but he wasn’t sure what to say. He just knew he wanted to say more. He liked talking like this with his brother. Hell, he couldn’t remember the last time he and Solomon had spent so much time talking.
Unless it was a lecture. His oldest brother had given some memorable lectures over the years. But Rory had earned most of them. Ninety percent.
“Are you still there?”
“I’m here.”
“Should I have kept my mouth shut?” There was a vulnerability in Younger’s voice that Rory had never heard before. “I wanted to talk to you about something, but I don’t want to push when you’re already working through so much.”
“No.” Rory turned back to find Rig’s gaze through the glass. He waved. It steadied him. “No, I want you to talk to me. Honestly, fact that you still want to after everything—”