“You know what, I think I forgot to finish cleaning the, um… I mean the helicopter… I have stuff I have to do,” Giorgio announces awkwardly.
As he retreats, Cal chuckles into his hand.
“What did you do to Giorgio?” he asks me.
“Me? I didn’t do anything to him.”
“What are you talking about?” Irving asks, looking up startled. “Is there something wrong with Giorgio?”
Cal glances at me in theatrical surprise. “You saw that, right? Giorgio practically ran away. Don’t break my chief operating officer, Irving. We need him.”
“Yeah, we really do…” Irving muses in a faraway voice. “You know, a lot of this is really very smart. I recognize some of the things you put in here. The offshore aquaculture farming is a great choice. I can see the potential in that.”
“So glad you approve,” Cal smirks.
Irving doesn’t want to let the sarcasm slide, but I interrupt, diverting their attention. “Will Giorgio stay on? Is he planning on seeing the project through?”
Irving raises a challenging eyebrow at Cal. Cal pulls a face and scrubs his forehead with the palm of his hand.
“You have to let him go,” Irving says softly.
“I don’t want to let him go,” Cal counters. “Seventy-five percent of everything here was his idea. Or if not his idea, he made it seem possible.”
“You could send him to work for me. You could visit him on weekends, even.”
Cal flinches back, smirking. “Was that a… a joke? Irving?”
Irving looks around helplessly. “Why doesn’t anybody think that I’m funny? Nobody appreciates my jokes? Ever?”
Irving stares at me until I just shrug, not really wanting to answer. “I think you’re funny,” I answer meekly.
“That sounds very convincing,” he scowls.
“I don’t know, Irving. You don’t come off as the joking type, you know what I mean?” Cal explains gently.
“What, I’m some sort of tyrant? Some humorless beast?”
“No! Not at all!” I object, snatching his hand so I can hold it in mine. To my relief, he doesn’t pull away.
“You’re just very… serious,” Cal shrugs. “Maybe a little intense.”
Irving seems to consider it for a moment. “Intense isn’t terrible, I guess.”
“Lightening up a little bit isn’t terrible either,” Cal suggests.
Irving shoots him a look. Cal raises his hands in a gesture of innocence.
“Okay! Too soon. I see that now. I take it back.”
“Anyway,” Irving continues, changing the subject, “Giorgio didn’t want to be in this life forever. I know he’s amazing, but he is just treading water.”
I watch Irving watching his brother. Cal squints and looks away, obviously finding this unpleasant. But he seems to accept the idea eventually.
Something about watching these brothers talking at this level makes me feel a great sense of warmth. Obviously the gulf that separates them is not as wide as they made it appear. Even cautiously, I can feel them coming closer together.
“What does Giorgio want to do?” I ask aloud.
They both stare at me, blinking.