Page 7 of When the Walls Come Down
If I couldn’t drive my baby sister up the wall while she and her husband were basically ousting me, then what was the point? I might have been a man who kept to himself, but I could hold my own in the pain-in-the-ass department.
She punched my bicep, but I could take a hit—especially from this one. Sure, she had a stern mom voice that could peel paint and a death stare that scared even me shitless, but her right cross needed some work.
I wiped my mouth and tossed the napkin down with mock offense. “Do you treat all your paying customers like this?”
She huffed as she chewed and swallowed her favorite meal. “Since when do you pay?”
Blake had a point.
“Eat shit. I tip more than fair.”
Chris nodded his agreeance as he slid the sauce down the bar top.
Blake pointed in my face before she took another bite of her sandwich. “You fucking better. So, what do you think you’ll do next? A while back, when Casey and I first decided to conspire against you, Reggie and Nora said you guys talked about you possibly starting an advertising firm or maybe consulting. Is it something you’d still consider?”
I couldn’t outright say it to her at the moment, but all I really wanted to think about was eating this steak, going back to my apartment, throwing back a few beers, and then mulling it over alone. If I weren’t being forced into this situation, I wouldn’t be thinking about the future in the short or long term.
The fact was I didn’t want to leave and I was going to do whatever it took to stay.
I was a creature of habit. Sleep. Gym. Work. Steak. A couple of beers in the evening. Maybe listen to some music or a podcast or read a book. Then do it all over the next day and the next and the next. That was my life, I’d had no plans of stirring things up.
My personality wasn’t crazy type-A like my brother Reggie’s, nor was I a social butterfly, people-pleaser like Blake. I just wanted to stay in my lane.
I’d already lost everything once before, and I didn’t want to ever find myself in that position again.
So who the fuck knew what would happen next? Sure as hell not me. But if I had anything to say about it, it didn’t include losing my job. I’d just have to be a little more outgoing. Prove to them I wasn’t hiding away.
Oddly, it kind of felt exciting though. As if somehow it really was the right time to make a few changes. And I had to admit I was stuck on repeat and could see why, to everyone around me, it looked like a rut. Like the old Shane—just fifty pounds lighter and in better clothes.
“Well, since this was sprung on me today and I have zero time to prepare my team—my old team if Casey has anything to say about it—for the change, I haven’t had a chance to give it too much thought yet.”
That was a lie. I had thought about it and I wasn’t going anywhere.
She popped a homemade chip into her mouth. “You know everything isn’t coming to a grinding halt next week. We want you around to show them the ropes, make sure it’s a good fit, make it as easy as possible on everyone.” Her shoulder shoved against mine as I cut another bite off my expertly cooked, no-sauce-actually-needed steak. “That includes you, Shane. No one is trying to fire you.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“You know, I may be the younger sibling here, but you’re the one being a baby. This is a great opportunity for you. Start a new business. Finally do a little traveling if you want first. Find a place to live that isn’t between the brewery and Two Ships. You eat here every night, Shane. I know steaks and potatoes are good, but fuck, broaden your horizons a little. San Francisco is much bigger than just these six blocks.” She smiled at me, and I had no doubt that what she was saying and what they were attempting to do was out of love.
It was… Wait… “Hey, I love my apartment. I’m not moving.” Too much was too much. They couldn’t make me leave this neighborhood. It was the best. “Jeez, I was just fucking with you about the steak. You know it’s my favorite. No need to banish me.”
She stared at the tin ceiling while she swallowed. “Shane, maybe it’s time you find a girlfriend.”
This again.
She hadn’t been around a lot for my divorce, but she had that I’m happy so everyone around me has to be happy too mentality now. Both of my siblings had it actually. Even Reggie had tried to set me up with women and he lived halfway around the fucking world in Switzerland most of the time.
