Wednesday Briefs: Bad Karma and the Family Plan #80 (16.4)

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After a surprising heart-to-heart with Ethan's older brother, Vinnie and Ethan leave him to his mother and spend some time with Uncle Benny. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

Bad Karma and the Family Plan #80 (16.4)

We found Ethan’s Uncle Benny in the kitchen, putting away some dishes. Obviously helping his sister with her daily routine. I couldn’t have stopped my snicker if I’d tried…and I confess, I didn’t try very hard. The man was wearing a ruffled green plaid apron—obviously Maureen’s—but how incongruous it appeared on his rugged frame, especially with that ginger beard. Luckily for me , he didn’t take my laugh in the wrong way, giving us both a huge grin.

Then he turned immediately serious. “Everything okay out there?” I had to guess he had overheard the same thing Maureen had but had elected to give them their privacy, much as we had.

“It will be,” Ethan replied. “It will be.”

Benny nodded as he removed the apron and set it on a hook on the wall. We had carried our dishes in from the porch. Ethan automatically reached for my empty glass, but I beat him to the punch and helped myself to his instead.

“I have this,” I insisted. “My mama raised me right.” I gave him a quick wink before carrying them to the sink. I quickly washed both and placed them upside down into the dish drainer by the side of the sink so they could dry.

“Looks like you have him well-trained.” Now it was Benny’s turn to snicker, and I couldn’t exactly blame him. Turnabout is fair play, after all.

Before Ethan had a chance to respond, my smart mouth had to open. “In ways you can’t even imagine.” Did I really just say that?

We all laughed at that, breaking the solemn mood, at least for the moment. Ethan suggested we sit in the living room, which idea Benny and I seconded. We were just getting settled when the sound of the back door, followed by an excited yip, announced our pup’s impending arrival moments before he barreled into the room. I was curious to see which one of us he would favor with his presence, but he was playing equal opportunity pup today, and bounced back and forth between the three of us for pets and rubs. Probably trying to gauge which he liked the best before he made his decision. In the end, he settled on Ethan’s lap in serene contentment.

Maureen wasn’t far behind. She was alone, so I assumed Joey was collecting himself outside and might possibly join us later. Maybe. Her eyes seemed suspiciously damp, but no one commented on that. Besides, she didn’t seem unhappy, so hopefully whatever was said between them had done them both some good.

“I know y’all are heading out tomorrow, so I took the liberty of inviting Sarah to come over tonight. And Troy and Brendan too.”

Well, this was her house, of course she had the right to have whatever guests she chose. Not like we would be complaining at seeing Ethan’s sister as well as our friends once more before we took off for Atlanta. Well, Troy and Brendan were coming with, but still. They were our closest friends. I would be sad to say goodbye to Maureen and Sarah and little Alex, but truth be told, I was ready to get back to work. Waiting for something that might not even happen was driving me crazy.

Too bad we had an appointment with crazy the next day.

 to be continued

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We found Ethan’s Uncle Benny in the kitchen, putting away some dishes. Obviously helping his sister with her daily routine. I couldn’t have stopped my snicker if I’d tried…and I confess, I didn’t try very hard. The man was wearing a ruffled green plaid apron—obviously Maureen’s—but how incongruous it appeared on his rugged frame, especially with that ginger beard. Luckily for me , he didn’t take my laugh in the wrong way, giving us both a huge grin.

Then he turned immediately serious. “Everything okay out there?” I had to guess he had overheard the same thing Maureen had but had elected to give them their privacy, much as we had.

“It will be,” Ethan replied. “It will be.”

Benny nodded as he removed the apron and set it on a hook on the wall. We had carried our dishes in from the porch. Ethan automatically reached for my empty glass, but I beat him to the punch and helped myself to his instead.

“I have this,” I insisted. “My mama raised me right.” I gave him a quick wink before carrying them to the sink. I quickly washed both and placed them upside down into the dish drainer by the side of the sink so they could dry.

“Looks like you have him well-trained.” Now it was Benny’s turn to snicker, and I couldn’t exactly blame him. Turnabout is fair play, after all.

Before Ethan had a chance to respond, my smart mouth had to open. “In ways you can’t even imagine.” Did I really just say that?

We all laughed at that, breaking the solemn mood, at least for the moment. Ethan suggested we sit in the living room, which idea Benny and I seconded. We were just getting settled when the sound of the back door, followed by an excited yip, announced our pup’s impending arrival moments before he barreled into the room. I was curious to see which one of us he would favor with his presence, but he was playing equal opportunity pup today, and bounced back and forth between the three of us for pets and rubs. Probably trying to gauge which he liked the best before he made his decision. In the end, he settled on Ethan’s lap in serene contentment.

Maureen wasn’t far behind. She was alone, so I assumed Joey was collecting himself outside and might possibly join us later. Maybe. Her eyes seemed suspiciously damp, but no one commented on that. Besides, she didn’t seem unhappy, so hopefully whatever was said between them had done them both some good.

“I know y’all are heading out tomorrow, so I took the liberty of inviting Sarah to come over tonight. And Troy and Brendan too.”

Well, this was her house, of course she had the right to have whatever guests she chose. Not like we would be complaining at seeing Ethan’s sister as well as our friends once more before we took off for Atlanta. Well, Troy and Brendan were coming with, but still. They were our closest friends. I would be sad to say goodbye to Maureen and Sarah and little Alex, but truth be told, I was ready to get back to work. Waiting for something that might not even happen was driving me crazy.

Too bad we had an appointment with crazy the next day.