Page 53 of The Leaves In Autumn
“I swear to God, you boys are just the same as you were as kids!”
“I hope not.”
“Not in a bad way. I mean it as a compliment.”
“Have you noticed yourcomplimentssometimes take a bad turn?”
“Hear me out. All three of you have done something not every person does. You held on to your childhood uniqueness. Uniquenessess. However it’s said.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“Explain.
“You know how when you’re talking to a kid, you recognize almost immediately what kind of mood they carry. Not the mood they’re in. I’m talking something deeper. You all had obvious ones and they have followed you.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Was Uncle Van a player?”
“It’s funny because it’s true,” Van says.
“Yeah! Can you picture a three-year-old with swagger?”
“He always brought fun. Never afraid of anything.”
“How do you think I got that way? These two attempted to kill me on a regular basis.”
“See. We did you a favor.”
“And you, Nobel. Your thing was so obvious, you got a nickname.”
“The Invisible Man!”
“Oh shit, that’s right.”
There is nothing like being pulled back to your childhood. Even though it is fleeting. Even though it’s only a whisper. I love going back to mine. Van and Nobel look like I feel.
“I hadn’t thought of that in a long time.”
“You watched and learned. Used your logic,” Dad says.
“He watched and ratted on us!”
“That’s right,” I say. “Little shit disturber.”
“Listen, we all had our tools. I can’t help that I’m better at being stealthy.”
“You mean sneaky?”
“Same difference.”
“Now I’ll tell you boys about your uncle Aargon.”
“I can tell you. He was drunk with the power of being the oldest.”
“I was not!”
