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Derek took the stairs up to his mother’s front porch two at a time. He swallowed his scowl but he stood ramrod straight. He tried to let his arms swing loose at his sides but he knew that his shoulders were tight.
Derek’s sister Sarah opened the door. Her grin didn’t falter but she cocked her head to the side and studied him. “Hey.”
Derek forced a smile. “Hey.”
Sarah popped her head out and looked around. “Where’s Dave?”
“Not here,” Derek answered shortly.
Derek’s other sister Desiree joined them. Her quizzical expression mirrored Sarah’s. “Hey, Derek. Why not?”
Derek stared at the ground. “I’d rather not talk about it,” he grumbled.
Sarah and Desiree looked at each other and shrugged. “Well, are you going to come in?” they asked together.
Derek didn’t move fast enough. They each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him inside. “Tell us what you fought about,” Desiree coaxed.
“You know that you’ll have to spill eventually,” Sarah added. “You know Mom’s been looking forward to seeing both of you.”
Derek sighed heavily. He put his arms around their shoulders. “Did Mom get the flowers?” he asked in exaggerated cheerfulness.
Sarah pointed in the direction of the dining room. “Yeah. Two dozen roses. She put them in the middle of the dining room table.”
“What did you guys get her?”
“Spa gift certificate.”
Desiree leaned against his side. “Chocolate covered strawberries and Darren picked a necklace with a black stone with white flecks inside of it. He bought it with his own money.”
Derek chuckled. “Really. When I was thirteen, I remember blowing all my money.”
Desiree laughed quietly. “He saved from shoveling sidewalks over the winter. Nothing but the best for his grandma.”
Derek elbowed her lightly. “And what did he give you his beloved mother?”
“You haven’t seen her wolf collection lately. You mean the Mistress of the Pack,” Sarah chimed in.
Desiree stuck her tongue out at Sarah and then answered, “A wolf snow globe.”
Derek grinned. “Nice. Where are they at?”
“In the family room playing the wii.”
Sarah nudged Derek. “Are you going to tell us now?”
Derek kissed her forehead and then Desiree’s. “No.”
“You won’t get away with that answer with Mom.”
Derek walked away from them. He held his hands over his ears. “La la la. I can’t hear you. And shouldn’t you be checking on dinner. I smell something burning.”
Derek grinned when he saw his mother and his nephew playing TNA Impact. They stood in front of the couch, twisting and turning, punching buttons on the controllers. “Who’s winning?” he asked.
“Hey, Uncle Derek,” Darren greeted absently.
Fran’s focus didn’t waver from the game. “I’m winning.”
Darren shook his controller. He bit his bottom lip. “Not for long.”
Derek came to stand behind the couch. “Who’s who?”
“Grandma’s Sting and I’m The Phenomenal A.J. Styles.”
“There’s nothing phenomenal about him. I remember when wrestling was more action than talking.”
“You watch wrestling?”
“I used to.” Fran barely glanced back at Derek before continuing to Darren. “I saw Harley Race and Ric Flair in their heyday.”
Darren smirked. “When was that, back in the 1800s?”
Derek covered his mouth to hide the laugh. Fran mock glared at Darren. “Just for that.”
Her Sting took Darren’s A.J. Styles in the Scorpion Deathlock and the computer character tapped out despite Darren’s frantic controller maneuvering. She flopped back down on the couch. “Do your grandma a favor and go make sure that your mom and aunt aren’t burning dinner. Then bring me a bottle of water.”
“Okay,” Darren said excitedly. He set his controller next to the TV and ran off.
“And you’d better leave that chocolate cake alone.”
“Yes, Grandma,” Darren called back dutifully.
Fran wiped her sweaty brow. “Your Nintendo was never near this exciting.” She patted the space next to her.
Derek joined her on the couch. He kissed her cheek. “The classic Nintendo controller had two buttons. I don’t know if they imagined anything like this back then.”
Fran put her head back and shut her eyes. “At least I can still keep up with Darren.” She didn’t bother to raise her head but touched Derek’s leg. “So, what happened with you and David?”
Derek frowned. “Mom, I’d rather not get into this.”
“Tough shit.”
“We…we had an argument,” Derek hedged.
Darren ran back in and handed Fran a cold bottle of water. “Here, Grandma, and Mom says not to worry about dinner.”
Fran opened her eyes and grinned at Darren. “I want you to go watch them. You’re a better chef than either of them.”
“Is Uncle Derek in trouble?”
“Probably,” Fran answered dryly. “Go on. I’ll give you a rematch after dinner.”
Darren shot Derek a shit eating grin that all thirteen year old boys seemed to know by instinct. Then he noticed Fran’s arched eyebrow in his direction. He turned on his heel and ran out again.
Fran half turned in her seat to face Derek. “An argument about?” she prompted.
Derek grunted and folded his arms across his chest. “Mom, I can deal with David Rossi,” he growled.
“Apparently, you can’t.”
Derek swallowed. “Fine. He tried some bullshit excuse about not coming here.” He winced when she stared at him in disappointment. He felt an irrational swell of fear that he was about to be grounded.
Fran’s tone was low but demanding. “And how long did this discussion last before it degenerated into a shouting match?”
“Not long,” Derek admitted.
Fran hit him in the back of the head. “That’s because you’re both hotheads. Neither of you knows when to back down.”
Derek jerked his head away. “Mom--”
Fran did it again. “That’s the least you deserve and I’ll give the same to David.”
“What?”
“He’s still coming but he’s going to be late.”
Derek opened his mouth but nothing came out. He swallowed. “But--”
“He called me after he fought with you. He said he was sorry and he didn’t think it was a good idea for him to come. I told him he’s not getting out of it because he’s part of my family now and I want to see him.”
Derek shrugged helplessly. “I don’t get it. I thought…” his voice trailed off.
Fran sighed and her voice softened. “He wanted to come later because he was going home to visit his mother’s grave. She’s been dead ten years now. He’s supposed to meet his brother there. I gather there’s some family issues there that he was afraid would flare up.”
“Yeah, that’s putting it mildly.” Derek’s shoulders slumped. “Dang.”
Fran put an arm around his shoulders. “You’re both idiots. You know that, right?”
One end of Derek’s mouth quirked up. He hugged her and whispered, “Right.”