Evan said nothing on the drive back to his house, and Everett was afraid that even small talk would worsen his brother’s mood. He couldn’t face a family dinner where Klair asked how his first day had been — and maybe started a fight with Evan if he didn’t gush about how well Everett was doing.
So, as soon as Evan parked in the driveway, Everett excused himself by claiming a headache and headed straight to the guest house. He fell asleep minutes after walking in, but then woke up rather unfortunately at four in the morning, unable to stop thinking.
Bernardo didn’t think he could make it. Was he trying to inspire Everett by being hard on him? Or should Everett quit before he did so much damage to his relationship with Evan that their twin bond would never recover?
His anxiety continued to spiral until it was time to take another silent ride with Evan, back to Tequila Mockingbird, for his second day of training.
He got a “good luck” from Evan before they entered, then his brother left him with Bernardo.
His phone rang. Clara.
It was three in the morning for her. He didn’t want to answer, but he was afraid it was an emergency. Maybe something had happened to Jimi.
He held up a finger to Bernardo — one second — then took the call. “I can’t talk—”
“Then why did you answer your phone? I know how to leave a message.”
“I’ve been accused of not returning my voicemails … or remembering that I got them.”
“Would you like me to call you back?” Clara sounded uncharacteristically chipper.
“Just tell me what’s up. Quickly.”
She squealed into the phone. “Oh my God, Everett! I got the gig!”
“Congratulations, really. I couldn’t be happier for you.” An apologetic glance at Bernardo, his eyes pleading for another moment. “So, what does that mean?”
“I’ll be touring in the fall, so I’d love for you to take Jimi full-time. Starting in the new school year, through Christmas vacation.”
“Are you kidding? That would be great!”
Everett could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m thrilled to know you feel that way.”
“I’ve really gotta go.”
“Cool. We’re still on for this weekend, right?”
“What’s this weekend?” Everett asked.
“You mean, other than the fact that it’s your weekend?”
“But I told you that I was in Texas.”
“Are you telling me that you’re still not going to be back in time for this weekend? What the hell, Everett?”
“I got tied up.”
“That’s not an explanation!”
“I’m helping my brother open a restaurant.” Everett cleared his throat, casting a glance at Bernardo. “I’ll be here for a month.”
Back to her usual anger: “And you’re just now telling me?”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“Fuck you, Everett.”
Don’t swear at me! “I’m at work.”
“Right, at your brother’s restaurant. This is still the brother you met last week, or did you find another one?”
“Come on, Clara …”
“Come on, nothing, Everett. This is total bullshit. The opposite of what you promised me.”
“I can still take Jimi all fall.”
“Oh, wow. Thank you! It’s so gracious of you to do the bare minimum asked of you.”
Bernardo was now glaring at Everett, the patience all gone from his eyes. He gestured: two aggressive fingers cutting his own throat.
“Clara, I really have to—”
“I scheduled another trip to Nashville this weekend, based on your agreement to take care of your son. I should have known you would pull this crap again.”
Everett opened his mouth to respond just as Evan entered the kitchen.
Evan looked at his brother holding the phone, then to the station chief.
Bernardo shrugged, frowning with a sad little shake of his head.
“You have seriously got to be kidding me,” Evan said. “Are you making a personal call right now?”
Everett covered the mouthpiece and turned to his brother. “Taking one, sorry. It’s my ex-wife. She’s calling with an emergency.”
“Who are you talking to?” Clara asked.
“I really have to go. I promise, we can talk about all of this later. You’re not wrong about any of it. And I swear I’m not trying to blow you off.”
“Convenient. Because that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“Get off the goddamn phone, Everett,” Evan said.
“Don’t you hang up on me!” Clara yelled.
Everett had a great idea, if he could only manage to get it out of his mouth. With fire in his throat, he gurgled, “I’ll be right back!” to Evan and Bernardo.
Then he scurried through the kitchen and exploded through the rear door.
Outside, he said, “Listen, why don’t you fly out here before you go to Nashville? There’s a direct flight to Austin from Las Orillas.”
“No, I’m not making things easy on you by flying to Austin. Fuck you, Evan.”
“STOP SWEARING AT ME!”
Clara didn’t respond.
“I’m not trying to make this easier for me, Clara. I’m trying to solve the problem. I can stay with Jimi. He can meet his Uncle Evan and his Aunt Klair. He has two cousins now, Harmony and Jazz.”
“No, Everett.”
“Why?”
“I’d rather leave Jimi with my mother, again, than fly out to Austin and leave him with strangers.”
“They’re not strangers, they’re family you haven’t met yet. Besides, I’m the one you would be leaving him with.”
“Really? Because I thought you were busy helping your brother open a restaurant.”
“Hold on—”
The back door opened and Bernardo’s head appeared in the doorway. “You remember that question you asked me at the end of your shift?”
“I know, I know,” Everett said.
“I hope so.” Bernardo slammed the door.
“You know what?” Clara asked.
“I really have to go.” But of course, there was no way she was about to let him hang up in the middle of her shit fit.
“I have a counter idea, Everett. Would you like to hear it?”
Just hang up. You can make things right later.
“Is it serious? Or is this going to be one of your—”
“How about we go ahead and do that — I’ll send Jimi to Austin, but no need for me to come with him. I appreciate how much you’re trying to help me, so I’m going to go ahead and take full advantage of that and send him on a plane all by himself.”
“Okay, so—”
“No reason to pick him back up immediately, right? You’ve got this. I’ll leave him there with you, and maybe I can start actually getting some shit done in my life. Sound good?”
Hang. Up.
He didn’t kill the call, nor did he answer. Doing so would only encourage Clara further. Not that she needed any more encouragement than she already had.
“We might as well take him out of school. No reason he should be going to class when he can hang out with his new family in Texas.”
“Sorry I made the suggestion. Can we please pick this up later?”
“So you’re really doing this?”
“If you mean honoring my commitment to help open this restaurant, then yes, that’s what I’m doing.”
“I cannot fucking believe you.”
“I’m sorry that any of this is hard on you.”
“It’s not that it’s hard on me, Everett. It’s that I can’t believe I was ever married to such a man-child.”
“I’m a man-child for trying to give my child a better life?”
“I seriously don’t understand how your brain works. Explain how you opening a restaurant for your brother in Austin will give Jimi a better life? Your son needs you here, in Las Orillas, now. You haven’t seen him for weeks.”
“My mother died!”
“And then you took an unscheduled road trip.”
“Look, Clara. I’ve gotta go. If I was in Las Orillas right now, of course I would love to take Jimi. Once I’m back in town, I’ll bend over backwards to make everything right with you, and with him. But I’m here right now, and I need to finish what I started.”
The back door opened, but this time it wasn’t Bernardo.
“What the hell are you still doing out here, Rhett?”
Evan’s expression said he’d heard everything, and Everett flooded with shame. His argument with Clara was more evidence that he was an inferior copy of Evan.
“Is that your brother?” Then Clara yelled, “Tell him I said hi!”
“Bernardo is waiting on you.”
“I’ve gotta go.”
“When are you going to call me back?” Clara demanded.
“Tonight,” Everett said.
He hung up the phone, dropped it into his pocket, and turned to his brother. “I’m sorry, Chef. That was my ex-wife. She was having an emergency with our son.”
Evan’s expression remained hard, but he asked, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, Chef. We just had to work it out.”
“And did you?”
“Yes, Chef.”
“It’s better if you go now than later. You understand that, right? Training you is expensive.”
You haven’t even offered to pay me.
“If this isn’t going to work out, I need to know now.”
Way to say thank you.
“It’s going to work out.”
“I hope so.”
“You better not make me look like an asshole,” Evan said, holding the back door open for his brother.
It took everything Everett had to nod and say, “Thank you, Chef.”