This fictional story is about an 18 year old that just spent his senior year of High School in France, and has returned home to make peace with his estranged brother. He does talk about some of his experiences in France that may or may not be culturally correct. There is plenty of nudity but no sex is involved.
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Chapter 2
Day 2 Brandon POV
Now it's morning and I feel so rested. I can tell my parents are no longer in bed. They probably didn't need as much sleep as I did. I open my eyes and I am met with a smiling Luke. "Good morning, Sunshine."
"Hey bro. Why are you here?" I say.
Luke is laying on the bed with just a pair of gym shorts on and staring at me like he was waiting for me to wake up.
"Mom and Dad got up this morning and they didn't want to wake you. They wanted you to get all the sleep you needed. They also didn't want to leave you alone in the bed if you had another bad dream or whatever. I was already up with Chrissy when Dad asked me if I wouldn't mind coming in here until you woke up. I told him that it was no problem, so I came in here and laid down next to you."
"You rolled over and your arm went over my chest, but you didn't wake up. You just snuggled up to me and it felt, well, nice. It reminded me of when we were young and sometimes if I was scared or cold, you'd let me sleep with you. I'd always wake up with your arm around me. I felt safe. Here, I had fallen asleep and when I woke up, you still had your arm around me. I shifted and you rolled over on your back and that is when you woke up."
I say, "Well I was asleep and I didn't get to enjoy the sugar." I extend my right arm inviting Luke into my embrace. "So come here"
He puts his head on my upper arm and I roll him so his head is on my shoulder and his arm wraps across my chest. I keep my arm on his back and I reach over with my other arm and bring him into a hug. Neither of us have our shirts on, so it is skin on skin. It's nice, warm and cozy. I kiss the top of his head. I love my brother.
My dad walks in the room, stops and smiles. "Hey guys. Your mom has break- ah- brunch ready if you want to get up."
"In a few minutes, Dad. I don't want to get up just yet." and I say and kiss the top of Luke's head again.
My smiling Dad just says, "Take your time, boys. It's not going anywhere."
"Thanks Dad." I said, then he walks out.
"So Luke, What are your plans for today?" I ask.
"My friend Grayson who lives down the street is coming over to shoot some hoops and play video games. We might even go swimming. How about you?" Asks Luke.
"Umm." I say. "Ah this is my first whole day back at home, so I think that I'll try to hook up with some of my old friends like Tony, Jeff or I might even give Jennifer a call and see what she is up to."
Oh crap! The room gets cold and goes silent. Jennifer is the one that I was trying to ask out and Luke here got in the way and invited himself to go bowling with us. I was so mad at him. That night when we were alone I called him a bunch of names and really chewed his ass. I never forgave him, and Jennifer and I never did go on a date.
Luke pulls away from me and sits on the side of the bed away from me. I just opened an old wound. Crap! I have made peace with his actions that night, but the way I treated him...I even told him that I wished he was never born. Now what am I going to say? I have to say something and fast before he hates me again. This was really bad.
"Luke....Luke, I...I.."
I am interrupted. "Not, Now, Brandon!" Luke says sternly.
"But..."
"I SAID, Not! Now!!" and he leaves the room.
I hear him go into our room and get some stuff and then he leaves. I can hear him talking with Mom and Dad.
"I'm going over to Grayson's." Luke says.
Mom then says, "You need to eat something."
Then dad asks, "Is everything alright Luke?"
"I'm not hungry and yes, everything is `Hunky Dorie!'"
I hear the door slam. This is bad! I sit on the side of the bed and put my face into my hands. I think I used up all my tears yesterday. Ten minutes ago I was so happy and now I am in the depths of Hell. I have a horrible pain in my stomach and I...
Dad walks in. "Brandon? Do you know what is up with Luke?"
I lower my hands and he can now see my face. I look at him and I must've scared him. He looked concerned and quickly sat down next to me and put his arm around me. I lower my gaze to the floor.
"Brandon? What happened?"
I take a deep breath. "He remembered." I said, then got up and walked out of the room.
Dad follows and is questioning me as I keep walking... "Remembered what? Brandon? What did he remember?"
I know Dad isn't going to give up so I take a seat on the couch in the living room. Dad sits on one side of me but isn't touching me. Mom comes into the room and sits on the other side of me. I don't want to look at them, so I just go back to holding my face in my hands. Neither speak, knowing that I need time to gather my thoughts. My parents have always been patient with us.
The next thing I know, Chrissy comes into the living room and jumps up on my lap. I instantly lower my hands and she just tells me that she loves me bunches and hugs me. I put my arms around her and for a moment I forget my anguish. I just hold her.
"Do you want to play with me?" Chrissy asks and looks at me with those puppy dog eyes. I can never resist them.
Mom says to her, "Now's not a good time, Sweetie. He'll play with you later. Why don't you go outside and draw a picture for your brother on the driveway with chalk. I bet he'd really like that."
"Okay, Mommy." She gives me a kiss on the cheek, gets down off my lap and she is out the door. I smile for a second watching her leave. My smile fades as I remember why I am here.
I know they're going to be disappointed with me, but I have to talk to them about it. I sigh.
"A few years ago, Luke was really being annoying to me and he wouldn't stop! There was a girl I really liked and wanted to go out with her. She had an Aunt that she was close to that died. I told her how sorry I was and gave her a hug. She was in two of my classes and had missed several days of school, so I had offered to share my notes with her. We agreed that she would come over to our house that afternoon to get them. I really cared about her and I had hoped that we could be more than just friends. I had asked around and found out that she liked bowling and I also liked bowling and thought we could go. So I asked her if she would like to hang and go bowling. Then, Mr. Ears, (Luke) comes in... "Bowling? I love bowling. But no one ever takes me" and he pouts. "Can I go? Can I go please?" Then he says, "unless this a date. I'd understand."
"What could I say? The little turd invited himself on my date, which wasn't a date, but I wanted it to be. So we three go bowling. He is hogging her attention and I am just livid. I try not to show it in front of Jennifer, but she must've sensed that I was in a bad mood. I even had to pay for the little bugger. He then wanted to play an arcade game and asked me for a quarter. I figured that if he was playing a game, I could finally talk to Jennifer. So I reach into my pocket and give him my last quarter. He leaves and I start to talk with Jenn and back he comes telling me it takes two quarters. I give up. I told him that I already spent all my money and let's just go. I drop Jennifer off at her house and we never did go on a real date. All I wanted to do was to get him home and tear him a new one. I was so frustrated and angry at him..."
I stop. I rub my eyes. I look at my mom and then dad, and then to the ground. I can tell that tears are forming in my eyes. I know when I tell them what happened next, they are going to be so disappointed in me. They should too. They still don't say anything but they both put a hand on my shoulders for a second. I take a couple of big breaths and close my eyes. I then look at my dad.
"I was so mad at him Dad. I wanted to hurt him. I knew I couldn't hit him but I wanted him to pay. - I was so mean to him Dad."
A tear falls down my cheek. "I told him that he was a lousy piece of shit and I was done with him. `Stay out of my stuff! Don't talk to me! Don't look at me! Stay out of my business, and stay out of my life!' By now I was yelling at him. I could tell I had hurt him and I didn't care. Enough was enough. "
I wipe away a few more tears that have fallen. "Actually, I did care, but I couldn't stop myself after I had started. I was that mad at him. I looked into his eyes full of tears and it didn't stop me. I wish you were never born!' Who says that to their brother? He just looks at me devastated then yells, I hate you!!!" and runs out of the room."
I can't look at my parents now. They must be so ashamed at me. I am so ashamed of me. They still aren't saying anything. I wish they would just yell at me right now.
"We never did speak much after that day. He lived his life and I lived mine. I felt justified with most of what I had said, and it did keep him out of my business. I was okay with it."
My mom now speaks. "Wow! That is bad, but last night you sincerely apologized and begged his forgiveness. That took a lot of courage. It really looked like you two worked out your problems and wanted to act like brothers again?"
My dad now speaks. "This morning it looked like you two had made up and really loved each other. I was touched. Why are you telling us about this now?"
I no longer have tears and I wipe my eyes anyway. Looking again at my dad, "Luke and I were discussing what we were going to do today and I said that I wanted to look up old friends and maybe see what Jennifer was up to. It was like all those memories about that day came rushing back and Luke pulled away from me and I tried to talk to him and he shut me down. I kinda knew he couldn't have forgiven me that easily, but I was hopeful. I was so elated that Luke and I could be brothers again and now, I am devastated. I will never be able to forgive myself. I don't know what to do."
I lean over to my dad and he takes me into his arms. "I love you, Son. I always have and I always will; no matter what you do. Don't ever feel that I will hate you or not love you. I'm not pleased with how you handled the situation initially, but you have proven to me maturity and true repentance. You are not the same boy that left to go to France last year. You left a boy and came home a man. You have done all that you can. It'll work out. Trust me! There is one thing I want you to do, and it isn't negotiable. It won't be easy, but you must do it."
"Whatis that dad?"
I'm feeling a little apprehensive. I look at Mom and she is nodding her head in agreement. She must know what he is
going to say.
My dad answers, "Forgive yourself."
I protest. "But Dad. I..."
"You must forgive yourself." He repeated. "Your mother and I forgive you. I know Luke pretty well and I know he has forgiven you. He is just adjusting to it. He's still a boy and lacks the maturity you have, but he loves you. He loves you! Give him some time. Be patient. It's a lot to process in a day for him. Forgive yourself. The love you two have is genuine. I know that."
My mom now speaks. "There is one more thing you need to do. You need to stop demeaning yourself; saying that you don't deserve to be forgiven or are a bad person. You are a wonderful person that did something bad. It doesn't define you."
She opens her arms and I slide into her embrace. "Life is about learning and progressing. You have had more growth then people twice your age. You are loved and you deserve to be loved. Never say that you are a bad person, say that you did a bad thing. Acknowledging that says that you recognize your error and want toimprove on it. Alexander Pope famously said, `To Err is Human. To forgive; divine.' Not only should you forgive others, you must also forgive yourself."
My dad speaks again. "Luke is a wonderful person and also is deserving of being loved. We love the both of you so much, that it broke our hearts that you two didn't get along. I knew that you two still loved each other way down, but now you both realize it. Luke loves you, but he is just reliving an old memory that was painful. I didn't hear him yell at you this morning, so it couldn't have been too bad. What happened?"
Well," I say. "When Jennifer's name was brought up he went really quiet. I knew this had reminded him of what happened and I wanted to explain, but he told me, Not Now!,' and was leaving the room. I didn't want to lose him and I tried to talk to him again, and he raised his voice and said, `I said, Not Now!!!, Brandon!!'"
Dad cuts in. "There you go. He wanted his space to process what he was feeling. Give him the time he needs to think this over. Just be patient with him, Brandon. Trust me! He'll come around."
I have never loved my parents more than I do now. I don't deserve to have paren... um maybe I do deserve to have them as my parents. I am so lucky! Actually, I am blessed.
"Thanks, Mom and Dad." I say. "I love you both so much."
Then I kiss my mom on both cheeks and on the mouth, and I repeat it to my dad. I then realize what I had done. I'm not in France any longer. They don't react differently to this act of love, so I don't make anything of it. It's okay for them to get a little French culture once in a while.
Mom pats my thigh and says, "Come on, Sweetie. Let me reheat your breakfast."
I say, "Mom, it's noon."
"Okay," she says. "Let me warm up your lunch."
"So what's for lunch?" I ask.
She says, "French Toast".
"You know, Mom. It's not French toast in France. Toast there, is just like toast we eat here. What we refer to French Toast, is what they call, Pain Perdu or Lost Bread. It was made with old, hard or stale bread. It would soak up the egg and cream mixture, cooked and then would be served with honey or sugar and given as a desert."
"Well there you go then. Would you like some lost bread desert for lunch today?" She asked me with a smile.
"Oui. Merci beaucoup ma mère."
I sat down at the table as Mom heated up the `lost bread' in the nuker. Everything else was on the table. I don't mind. I even like frozen waffles in the toaster. Soon Mom puts the heated food in front of me. After a fair amount of butter and boysenberry syrup (Mom makes it from our own berries) I take a bite.
"Oh my gosh, Mom! This is so amazing! I forgot just how delicious you make French Toast." Another bite. "Ahh.... So amazing. When I went to France, I was wondering how French toast and French fries would compare to those here. We got them beat. But their French bread and their cheese is to die for. I thought that American, Cheddar, Provolone, Jack and Swiss were a lot of varieties. Oh man! I counted 50 different kinds of cheese in one delicatessen."
I take a few more bites. "And this syrup is soo good too! Yumm!!!"
Dad asks, "Did you try all 50 kinds of cheese?"
I get a smile on my face. "Yesss, but not all at once. Some were out of this world. Some were so strong and stinky that I had to force myself to try them. Then we had to ride home with the windows down because my breath was so bad. Andres wouldn't even stay in the same bedroom that night."
Dad then asks, "So did you try Limburger?"
"Stinky feet? Yeah, I tried it and it really does smell like stinky feet. It's not a French cheese though, it comes from Germany. Oh my gosh, the stinkiest cheese would have to be Vieux-Boulogne. It is so bad that it is banned in the US. and China. I wanted to try it but the whole family warned me that I would have to ride home in the back of the truck, sleep outside, and my clothes would be burned.
"Did you try it?" Asks my dad.
"Heck yeah!" I say. "I knew they weren't serious. At least I thought so until I was riding home in the back of the truck. That was okay because I couldn't stand to be around me either. I figured I would air out on the way back home. We passed a skunk and he was holding his nose and said, `Le Pew, Le Pew!' I'm serious! It was that bad."
"Ha Ha," laughs Dad. "Did you have to sleep outside?"
I feel my cheeks redden. "My host dad told me that it had to go through my system. He said, "you'll breathe fomage (cheese), burp fomage, fart fomage and sweat fomage. For dinner, I got spaghetti with 40 roasted cloves of garlic. Andres' dad said that it would counteract the cheese in less than a day. I had to sleep in the barn. The pig turned his nose up to me. The rooster's crow was horse and he gave me the middle toe. The horse fainted. I peed on a rock and it turned to sand. I could see my breath and it was 80 degrees out."
My parents are laughing hysterically. They're laughing so hard, they were crying.
"In the morning, Andres, his father and brother come outside to wake me up. Andres opens the door, screams, Putain!' His father isn't happy for his cursing and gets a whiff of my scent, Putain!' is yelled once again. Ha Ha! I'm startled by all the yelling and say, "Sacrebleu!" They laugh at me because Sacrebleu is primarily used by the English trying to speak French. Anyway, Jean, Andres' dad, started a fire and said, `Okay, through them in.' I guess he wasn't kidding about having to burn my clothes. Only my belt was saved, but it had to stay outside for a week and soake in a brine. I looked at Andres in disbelief and he told me that I was warned. So everything went into the fire, including my underwear. I covered myself with my hands, but I was still embarrassed. I'm glad that there wasn't any neighbors nearby."
My parents aren't laughing anymore. Their mouths are open though.
I continue. "Funny, I didn't have bad breath anymore. I guess the garlic worked. I didn't even smell like garlic. So, no more farting or burping fomage. Jean told me that my skin and hair had to be cleansed. Andres digs a mud pit while his dad hoses me down. I'm bouncing around like a gorilla because the water is cold. Sébastien takes the hose from his dad and then he is hosing me down laughing the whole time. I let one hand go and grab the hose and try to take it away from him and Jean ends up getting soaked. We three start laughing and then we stop and look at Andres. He stops digging in the dirt and notices that we all have a grin on our faces. Andres puts up his hands like he is surrendering (after all, he is French) and is saying, `No! No! No!' Yes, yes, yes we did. We soaked him down real good. Then he starts laughing and we join in. It was so crazy.
Sébastien is freezing and runs to the house, strips down naked and is joined by his mother with a towel. Remember he is 14 years old. She looks at us and shakes her head. Andres is shivering and is taking off his clothes as fast as he can. I had forgotten to cover myself and Jean looks at me and says that he didn't know I was Jewish. I was about to protest and he just laughs. He tells Andres to finish the job and goes inside."
My dad keeps laughing then says, "You mean there is more".
"Yup. Andres mixes the dirt with water and makes mud. He says that I need to be covered from head to toe including my hair with mud. It absorbs the stank and once dried, it can be washed off and no more stink. I start to cover my arms and chest with mud and Andres says, `Hey Brandon?' I turn and he hits me with a big clump of mud. Splat! I pick up a clump of mud and hit him in the chest. He then jumps on me and we are wrestling around in the mud like a couple of pigs. We get tired of wrestling after about 5 minutes. You can't win mud wrestling. You're so slippery and can't hold on to anything. By now, I don't even bother to try to cover myself."
"When we catch our breaths, he guides me over to the Chaise Lounges and we lay down until we are dried. Then we turn over. Once completely dried, we rinse each other off with the freezing water and run to the house. We are met by Marie which she hands each of us a towel and tell us both to hop into the shower. By now, the whole family has seen me naked. As we go in, Marie swats Andres on the bare butt, he yelps and I laugh. All this because I had to try the nastiest cheese ever. I hadn't had so much fun in years. At that point, I wished I had Andres as my brother permanently."
"Wow! That was quite a story, Brandon." My mom says. "Now I think I understand why you aren't as shy as you used to be. Is this pretty normal in families there?
"Yeah," I said. "Andres, Sébastien and I went over to their friend Pierre's house. He was about 13. We were playing video games and he told me that he had 4 sisters. He had three older sisters and one younger sister. They were out playing in the pool. It was a pretty warm day and all three of us were just in shorts. His younger sister comes into the house and comes up to us asking if she could play. I was concentrating on the game and didn't really see her and Pierre didn't answer. So she steps in front of us and Pierre just tells her that she is in the way and to move. I noticed that she was naked as the day she was born. He and Andres were only concerned that she was in the way. She was only about 9, so I didn't think it was too strange though it did startle me. Then his three older sisters came in. They come in laughing and noticed that their brother has friends over. They are all topless wearing just the bottoms of their bikini's."
My mom now has here mouth open. My dad said, "I bet they were embarrassed. I hope you behaved like a gentleman, Brandon."
"Well, my reaction was similar to Mom's right now, but no, they didn't act any different when they saw me. The oldest was Lya. She saw me and asked Andres. Is this your brother from America?' He said, Oui. His name is Brandon." Lya extends a hand and I just look at it. I didn't know what else to look at."
I'm a little embarrassed telling this story in front of my mother and felt my cheeks redden. Of course I was staring at her boobs, but I'm not going to tell my mother that. The youngest, Ellia didn't have boobs, but the three older gals sure did. Man, did they ever, and no tan lines. This is probably why the other's didn't react. I feel a stirring in my shorts reliving this experience. I finish my story to my parents.
"Andres told her that I was just shy and the three boys start to giggle. When I looked up, I saw her hairy arm pit and it startled me back to reality. Gross! I have never seen a girl with pit hair. I looked at her in the eyes and shook her hand and introduced myself, then shot the giggling boys a mean look and turned red. I was so embarrassed. `Can we just get back to the game?' If I could've dug a hole and jumped in, I would have."
My dad smiles and says, "I bet you were glad that you were still sitting down. A gentleman would have stood up and introduced himself."
My Mom rolls her eyes and walks off.
"DAD!!!" I say pretending to be mortified as my mom is leaving.
I gather up my plates and put them in the sink. Dad notices that I have quite the tent popping out my gym shorts. I see him look and I shrug.
"What can I say? I'm a healthy teenage American boy?"
He looks like he wants to hug me, and then awkwardly gives me a hi five. He leaves and I'm left there laughing to myself.