Why the Straight One? - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

"No, I'm serious. I have an irrational fear of bees."
"But why though? I think bees are cute."
"Cute!" I looked at him in surprise, and he scowled back.
"Look at the road." I turned quickly to look back at the road in front of me, but continued talking.
"First off, I didn't think you thought anything was cute."
"Wow, I'm not a complete asshole! Even I think some things are cute."
"Secondly, bees are not cute. Have you seen wasps?"
"I'm not talking about wasps. I'm talking about honeybees or bumblebees."
"Any kind of bee is scary. They just buzz around and ugh." I shivered an he shot me another warning glare.
"With the way you are swerving, I'm almost thinking I should have driven."
"I drive exceptionally well, thank you very much! And you aren't driving because you said your head hurt too much."
"Well, it did."
"Does it still?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm still driving, and you will keep your complaining to yourself."
"I'm not complaining, just stating the facts."
He muttered to himself, leaning his chair back and covering his head with his hands.
"C'mon, you haven't told me something you're scared of. This game requires two people, especially with three hours left to this drive."
"I will in a minute, but only after I know why you are so scared of bees."
"Do I have to have a reason?" He shrugged.
"No, but most people have a reason for being scared of something."
"Fine, if you must know. When I was eight years old I was over at a neighbors house. They had this rope swing, and so a bunch of us took turns swinging on it."
I paused, and before I could speak again, Thomas cut in.
"Thus explaining why bees terrify you. Good story, Alex."
"I wasn't done."
"The road, Alex."
"You sound like my dad! Seriously, next time we stop you can drive and I'll constantly tell you what you are doing wrong."
"Alright, I won't say anything next time. Just remember that our lives are in your hands."
"I'll remember. Now, to finish my story. While swinging at my neighbors, as wasp flew up my pant leg and stung me repeatedly. By the time my dad killed it, it had stung me at least twenty times. I haven't looked at a bee the same way since."
"Damn. I almost don't want to tell mine now."
"Why, because you can't compare to my badass seven year old self?"
"Something like that." He laughed, and crossed his feet on the dash.
"Well, give it a go anyways. What are you most afraid of?"
"Okay, probably clowns."
"Clowns? What's so scary about them?"
"Are you kidding me? Have you see It?"
"No, but—"
"Then you have no idea! First off, I was youngest for a while until Elliot came along, and even when he did everyone treated him like a baby, so I was kinda stuck with being the one trying to keep up.
All this to say that when you are youngest out of three boys you try to act tougher than you actually are. This amounted to watching a lot of horror movies just because Raymond wanted to, and I was didn't want to look weak so I watched them all. And now I'm horrified of clowns."
"Just clowns? I thought horror movies had other stuff too."
"Okay, but mostly clowns. Or dolls." He shivered. "People can make dolls really creepy."
"I'll take your word for it. So no going to the circus with you, and no dolls."
"That sounds good to me. It's your turn to ask something."
"Okay, what's one of your favorite childhood memories?"
He sat for a minute, lost in thought, picking through the memories to the one that stood out the most. A small smile ghosted his lips, and I knew he had hit upon the one he wanted to tell.
"I guess it's not one particular memory, more like a series of memories, from quite a few years. Being the son of a king, you don't always see your parents or, if you do, it's not like you could talk to them or anything.
Starting from when I was about seven, my dad would spend one hour every Sunday with me. We would just sit and talk, sometimes we would do something, but mostly we'd talk. I used to look forward to those meeting every week, I'd literally count down the hours."
He laughed, and looked down at his hands.
"I guess those memories are why I still love him, even when I have no idea why he's done some of the things he's done. Including this marriage."
He gestured between us, but the smile still played at the corners of his mouth. It wasn't an angry or bitter remark, just a statement of an obvious fact.
"Yeah, that makes sense."
I'd never heard Thomas talk about himself or his childhood until today, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. That one hour a week was like paradise to him, but he didn't seem to realize just how short that was compared to all the time that a child really needed with their parents.
"So, what about you?"
He had turned in his chair so that he was facing me, and he looked genuinely interested in finding out more about me.
"Well it's hard to pick, really. But probably my eight birthday. You see, my parent divorced a little before I turned five, and that was pretty rough on me. My eight birthday party was the first occasion that we all got together and they didn't fight or anything. In fact, they got along quite well, and it was amazing to be able to talk to both of them at the same time. It's kind of a dumb 'best memory', but its the one that means the most to me."
"It doesn't seem dumb to me."
He had been looking at me the whole time I talked, head tilted slightly to the side as he took in everything I said.
"From what I've seen, you are a very affectionate person, so it doesn't surprise me that your favorite memory was one in which your family were all happily together. I'm guessing that family means a lot to you."
"Definitely." He smiled.
"And it should. Sometimes..." His voice trailed off, and I thought he wasn't going to continue his thought. But after a pause, he spoke again. "Sometimes, I wish I had a better relationship with my brothers. We were always kind of pitted against each other, you know? And that doesn't make you all that affectionate towards one another."
I was surprised at how open he was being, but was loving every minute of it. After being married for months, I felt like in the last twenty-four hours, I was learning more than I had in all that time.
"Well, it's never too late."
"Yeah, I guess that's true."
"Besides, for all you know they are thinking the same thing."
"You think Raymond wants to better his relationship with me? We haven't got along in years."
"Yes, I think he does."
"Yeah right. He avoids me like the plague."
—————-
"It's about time you guys got here! I was beginning to think something happened to you on the road."
"With the way Alex was driving, it almost did on multiple occasions."
I tried to whack his arm, but he sidestepped out of the way, not even bothering to look over at me.
"But that's besides the point. What are you doing here at my house?"
Raymond smiled disarmingly, but the glare Thomas was sending him never faltered.
"I was told the country air would do wonders for my health."
"You have your own estate not far from here."
"Oh yeah, so I do! Well, it's boring at the palace so I thought I'd come visit your country estate. I don't think I've ever been."
"For good reason." Thomas muttered under his breath.
"What was that? I didn't quite hear you?" Raymond smiled innocently at him, knowing full we how much he was annoying him.
Before Thomas could answer, I took a step closer and whispered to him.
"Now what was that about wanting to work on your relationship? Here's your opportunity."
Thomas sighed, and looked over at Raymond, whose eyes were going between the two of us, eyebrows raised.
"It was nothing. You're welcome to stay as long as you want, Raymond."
His surprise at this almost cordial welcome from his brother showed clearly across his face.
"Well, thank you. I'll try not to overstay my welcome."
Thomas nodded and started to walk away, muttering something that sounded vaguely like 'you already have', but I decided to ignore it. When he was out of earshot, Raymond let out a low whistle and looked at me with admiration in his eyes.
"Why, Alex, I have to hand it to you. I didn't you could do it, but you've proved me wrong."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about what just happened. You've got him completely wrapped around your finger!"