The Boy(s) Next Door

What do you know about love? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Is it easy to find? Hard to keep? For some falling in love is like waking up in the morning lucky enough to feel as though they experience it every day. For others it’s a once or twice in a lifetime Halley’s comet deal. And for the unfortunate many, love is a Pat Benatar battlefield filled with wrong turns, hurt feelings, endless good intentioned mistakes, and words left unspoken. It’s finding yourself in the splintered reflection of a broken mirror and marching your way through those seven years of bad luck like you just know that special someone will be waiting for you on the other side. This is a story about love, its various forms, and how the best of it can hurt so bad, but be so, so good.

1

...The End...

Maria Anderson fidgeted in her dress and tugged on a scratchy seam. Her mother slapped her hands away. “Ouch.” She rubbed the back of her hand and poked her bottom lip out.

Rhonda rolled her eyes. “That didn’t hurt.” She smiled. “Help your sister with a few of her buttons. The photographer wants to get pictures of you two together.”

Maria strode across the room to where Nadine stood on a very small, circular stage. It was only a few inches off of the ground but enough that it would give Nadine sublime angles in the pictures. The bridal suite was a perfect combination of strong wooden lines and soft femininity. The room they occupied was bathed in a soft glow, the bright light shining through the window dampened by the opalescent mesh curtains. Nadine looked breathtaking in her wedding gown—a floor length, sleeveless style that flared out around her calves in waves of intricately beaded tulle. Her sister looked down at her and placed her hand on her shoulder, tears in her eyes.

“Deena.” Maria sighed and blew air into her sister's eyes, trying to dry the traitorous water droplets before they fell and threatened to ruin her makeup. “I cried enough last night for the both of us,” she recalled, putting her hand on top of Nadine’s on her shoulder. “This is going to be the best day of your life. No tears allowed.” Maria shook her head. “Not even the happy kind.”

Camera shutters clicked like the rapid wings of a bird somewhere very close behind her.

Nadine smiled, reminiscing. “You know it all started with you and that toilet paper.” She sighed. “If you’d never gone, maybe Daniel and I would have never met.” She shrugged, smiling. “It could have all gone so differently.”

Maria harrumphed. “Skidaway is not that big. You would have eventually crossed paths, and I’m one hundred percent sure he would have been just as obsessed,” Maria argued back gently. “Besides, if you think about it that way, you almost pissing your pants and needing the toilet paper in the first place could be the real source of it all.”

Smiling still, Nadine said, “Either way.”

Maria shared her smile, a mirror of her own, their father’s in actuality, only theirs through the miracle of genes, and echoed, “Either way.” It didn’t matter how the O’Ryans ended up in their lives, only that they had. Each Anderson sibling had crafted a unique relationship with the O’Ryan family, none so significant as Nadine who stood before Maria, ready to marry Daniel, the youngest son.

In order, Jordan, James, twins George and Alex, and of course Daniel, had for the last fifteen years been permanent fixtures in the lives of siblings Booker, Maria, and Nadine who as fate would have it, moved into the house right next door. Over the years, the boys had been brothers, friends, partners in crime, and most trusted confidants. Two of the O’Ryan boys had loved Maria. Two of them might have loved her still but only one was the love of her life.

“Go check on the boys,” Rhonda told her.

Begrudgingly, Maria nodded and slipped her heeled sandals off before she went. Maria left the bridal suit and padded softly down the hallway toward the other side of the upstairs floor. The hardwood cool beneath her feet, Maria edged up to the door at the opposite end of the hall. She placed her hand over her mouth and leaned forward, trying to eavesdrop on anything they might be saying. After a few quiet seconds she stood back, stumped, and raised her fist to knock on the door. It opened before she could make contact. She tried not to look caught out and smiled. “Hey.”

Jordan smiled back and stepped aside, revealing James, George, and Booker on the ground doing push-ups.

George watched her walk in as he pushed up and said, “Five hundred.” He sighed dramatically, still looking at Maria who just rolled her eyes. He winked at her. “You’re looking mighty fine, Ms. Anderson.” He laughed as he shifted to sit on his bottom.

She shook her head. “You’re gonna get your tux dusty.”

“Worth it,” he cheesed and asked, “You see these muscles, girl?” He kissed one of his biceps.

Maria laughed again. “Yeah. Real gym, tan, laundry shit.”

George nodded, appreciative of the reference. “See. See. Pauly D got nothin’ on me, brah.” He flexed hard, looking at James. “Besides,” he said, looking down at his triceps and shrugging, “God made dust. Dust don’t must.” James guffawed.

Jordan smiled and asked, “You know that’s not the saying, right?”

George looked confused. “What saying? I just say that.”

Everyone laughed at that, and Maria looked around, so happy to be with her family. Being so close growing up had made going off in different directions hard. The dynamic and obnoxious duo, Booker and James, had gone to college together in Arizona. While the other children had declined to fly the coop so soon, after he completed both his undergrad and master’s degree at the University of Georgia, Jordan had gone to medical school in California. He’d only just graduated a few months before. Maria had also attended the university but had relocated from Athens to Atlanta a little over a year ago. Life was good for the Anderson and O’Ryan siblings, but due to unforeseen circumstances, this was the first time they’d all been together in ages. Maria banished the thought of said troublesome circumstances, she wasn’t allowing herself to think about the bad today. Today was only for the good.

Maria told them, “I’ve been sent to see how ready y’all are?” She sort of sized them up. “I’d say we’re like ninety-eight percent there? Looks like you're missing your socks, George.” She pointed. “And James, I know you want to look cute and all and while I know you’d rather be front and center, you’re gonna be sitting on the pew next to your mother. Nobody is gonna be able to see you. For today, stow you show boat and button up your shirt all of the way. Nobody wants to see those scraggly chest pubes.”

James rolled his eyes at her. “Charlotte does,” he said and turned away, then back again quickly.

Maria didn’t move a muscle. “How many does he get for me not flinching?” A smile stretched across her face as James groaned.

Jordan watched on behind them. “Four.”

George stood up. “And you can defer to someone.” He rubbed his hands together.

Maria’s head fell back as she laughed and smiled sweetly at James.

“George, you can do the honors.” Maria stepped back. She looked at Daniel as George delivered the first blow.

“Ooof,” James said as George punched him in the chest. “Fuck, I thought it was supposed to be on the fucking arm, you bitch.”

George held a finger in the air. “Did anyone hear the location specified in the rules?”

“The first rule of fight club is–.” Booker started.

“Don’t talk about fight club.” James groaned.

“And the second rule is?” Her brother asked.

“There are no rules,” Alex piped up from his prime real estate sprawled across the large four poster bed that matched the one in the bridal suite at the other end of the cottage her parents had rented. They were approximately eight and a half minutes away from the cathedral.

George scoffed. “Traitor.” He tersed, “That’s why I’m older.”

Alex added, “And fatter.”

Everyone laughed, except George.

He pouted. “It’s muscle.”

James sighed and rubbed his chest. “Uh huh.”

Booker smirked. “You’ve been saying that for years. Lay off the whey protein and the bench press and get on the treadmill, Santa.”

George stomped away and sat on the edge of the bed to put on his dress socks. “You know,” he started back up as he bent to pull one of the long socks onto his foot, “some people would say the way y’all are talking to me is like,” he paused and reached for his other sock, “indicative of a larger issue.”

Jordan’s eyebrow raised as he fastened James’ tie and repeated, “Indicative?”

Booker groaned as he got up off of the floor. “That’s a ten dollar word for you.”

Maria picked what she thought was a piece of green fuzz off of his shoulder. It was, in fact, a small piece of weed.

“What the fuck is this?” she asked, holding the tiny nugget between her index finger and thumb up in front of her brother’s face.

Booker squinted at it and smirked. “The little piece of fluff from that Dr. Seuss movie?”

Maria shook her head but smiled despite herself. “No Horton, this is not the spec of fluff Hooville is located on.” She flicked it at him and turned to Daniel. “Little brothers clean up nice.” She smiled and tilted her head up to kiss his cheek. “I remember when you were like, this tall.” Maria held her arm out to her hip. “My, my how you’ve grown.” She sighed. “A lot has changed, huh Zuko?” As in Danny Zuko from Grease. Daniel had formed an unhealthy obsession with Olivia Newton John as Sandy and her tight leather pants in the classic’s final musical number. He’d learned the entire song, used his mother’s mousse to craft a very T-Birdesque slicked-back hairstyle, and refused, for an entire summer, to respond to anything other than Zuko.

Daniel smiled at her through the mirror he faced. “But a lot has stayed the same too.”

Maria nodded, knowing he was talking about him being love sick for Nadine since the day he’d met her.

“Yeah. You’ve always been a dork.” She laughed and so did Daniel. “You ready to get hitched?” She hugged him from behind.

~~~

Jordan looked down at her. “Ready?” he asked, his arm outstretched toward her.

Maria took a deep breath and stepped forward, unsure her ankles would hold up. “As I’ll ever be.” She held onto his arm tightly.

Jordan said, “Relax. I look good, you look good.” He shrugged and pursed his lips, trying to be funny and put her at ease. “We both look good.” They laughed together, Maria’s breath shaky still. “All we gotta do is walk a few feet, stand for a few minutes, and then walk back out. Easy.”

Less sure, Maria nodded and watched the ushers reach for the door handles. She repeated, “Easy.”

Jordan’s grip on her was tight. “I won’t let you fall. I promise.” Maria blew out a breath, her hand sweating around the tightly wound bouquet of flowers she held.

Just as they both lifted a foot to take the first step forward, Jordan murmured, “Trust me.”

To be continued...