Page 188 of Black Flag

“All right, mom...” I turned toward her. “What do you needus to do?”

“Follow me boys.”

An hour later, I feltlike those camels in the desert transporting shit. The only difference was I wasn’tin some third world country and I wasn’t carrying anybody but Iwassweating.

We did have to stop andhave a snowball fight but that didn’t last long before dad was yelling at us toact like adults.

Once mom was finishedusing us as her bitches, I made my way to where I was supposed to be gettingdressed upstairs. I was tempted to sneak a peek inside Sway’s room but in fearof Emma chopping off my dick, I steered clear.

Instead, I found myselfreading Sway’s note.

Tucked inside theenvelope was a picture of me inside my sprint car at Elma when I was aroundfifteen maybe sixteen with Sway sitting on the rear tire checking tirepressures. On the back of the picture, written in what looked to be eyelinerwas:

Here’s to a lifetimeof making sure you have the correct tire pressure.

I burst into laughterat the little stick figures she then drew underneath humping. We were theperfect match.

I had just gotten mytuxedo on when Spencer and Tommy came barreling into the room, Spencer’s tie inhis hand and his shirt unbuttoned half way, wrinkled. Tommy was all dressed butlooked like shit. He’d spent most of the drive up here puking out the window.Might have had something to do with my driving but that’s beside the point.

“Sway and I just rewroteher vows.” Spencer said slurring his words.

“What are you talkingabout?” I asked tucking in my shirt as I glared in his direction.

Tommy rushed toward thebathroom with a pale face holding his hand to his mouth.

“They were good,” hesat down on the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. “butthey weren’t great. I helpedspicethem up abit.”

“Are you drunk already?You stink like tequila.”

“No, no, I’m fine. Ijust had a little shot.” He told me waving his arm around. “I’m nervous...are you?”

“I’m nervous you’regoing to embarrass me somehow.”

He threw his head backin laughter. “As you should be little brother,” and then he let out a boominglaugh that made me cringe.

“Great,” I said with thesame excitement that I exuded after finding out about my date night with Dana.“Why are you nervous?”

“I don’t know...it’s a big day.” He leaned forward topeer around the corner toward the bathroom at Tommy. “Do you think he’s gonnamake it?”

“Probably,” Ripping mytie away, I tried to tie it again. “Hell, I don’t know.”

I thought back to hiswords,“It’s a big day.”

It was a big day.Finally, today, Sway Reins would be mine.

As egotistical as thatsounded, I still loved the sound of it.

Thinking back to when Ifirst met her. All those years I’d convinced myself my attraction toward herwas purely physical, avoiding the real underlying feeling. From the time Ifirst laid eyes on those beautiful green eyes of hers, I’d fallen. I didn’tknow it but I had. Looking back, I could pin point the warning signs now. Whenwe were thirteen other boys started becoming interested in her; that pissed meoff to no end because she was mine. That was just the beginning of mypossessive tendencies toward her. I basically chased away any guy that showedinterest in her in fear she’d chose them over me, telling myself she deservedbetter. All those years of pushing her away, convinced I wasn’t good for herand neither was anyone else, look who she chose in the end.

Before long, Tommy wasout of the bathroom and lying on the floor when mom made her way inside theroom to make sure we were ready.

“Oh my,” she gasped atTommy’s appearance. “What happened?”

“He drank too much.”Spencer said with a yawn.

“Oh.” She checkedTommy’s forehead. “Let’s get you boys ready.”

It was though shethought we couldn’t do it ourselves. But when we looked at Tommy, we probablydidn’t look too capable.

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