“I’m gonna go and get you a different shirt, Grant,” Melissa said as she finished bandaging his forehead. “Are you hurt anywhere else? Are you in any pain?”
“No, I’m really fine,” Grant shook his head.
“Okay then,” Melissa smiled. “Take that shirt off, and I’ll wash it for you.”
“Mel,” David sighed, “I’m sorry, but can you please stop playing nurse and mommy for a moment and at least bat an eyelash over the fact that my troublemaker of a little brother stole a car, somehow forgot that he wasn’t the second-coming of Jeff Gordon and crashed the stolen car into a tree.”
“You know what,” Melissa said thoughtfully, “I know that what he did was wrong, but if I have learned anything over the past couple years, it is to focus on the positive. So, the stupid car might be totaled, but Grant didn’t hurt himself or anyone else, and that’s what I’m choosing to focus on.”
David eyed Grant curiously. “No one else was hurt were they?” he asked, more in the form of a prayer than a question.
Grant pulled his shirt over his head and handed it to his sister-in-law. “No,” he rolled his eyes.
“I’m glad that you’re alright too,” David conceded after a moment. “I just don’t understand why you were out driving around at this time of night?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I needed to ride around and clear my head,” Grant said softly. “Then…I guess I was sleepier than I thought.”
“You fell asleep at the wheel?” David gulped.
Grant hung his head for a moment. “Yeah,” he finally mumbled.
“What were you up thinking about? What’s on your mind?” David asked.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Grant said as he turned his head.
“Okay, so who does the car belong to?” David asked.
“That’s none of your business,” Grant replied quickly.
“Oh, that’s funny because I’m pretty sure that you made it my business when you showed up at my door at three in the morning asking for money!” David hollered.
“Leah is asleep, David,” Melissa gulped. “Keep your voice down.”
“You don’t know the guy,” Grant lied.
David closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep, deliberate breath. “You do realize that a guy as pretty as yourself won’t do well in prison, don’t you?”
“Is that supposed to scare me?” Grant rolled his eyes.
“Doesn’t it?” David replied seriously. “It’s hard to blend in with the big, burly lifers who haven’t seen the outside in your lifetime when you’re eighteen, six foot tall, blond and prettier than any women they could have ever landed.”
Grant crinkled his nose and curled his lip. “Honestly, I don’t know which scares me more,” he shrugged, “Butch the mass murderer, or the fact that you’ve called me pretty twice in the last thirty seconds. I mean, do you have a little bit of a man crush on me or something?”
David glanced over at Melissa, looking for a little backup. “Sorry, I’m actually with Grant on this one,” she shook her head.
“Yeah,” Grant grinned. “How about going and getting me that clean shirt now? I’m suddenly a little uncomfortable.”
“That’s great,” David exhaled. “I’m being serious, and the two of you have decided on careers in stand-up.”
“David, I know you’re serious,” Melissa nodded. “It’s just that in this case, I think you might be overreacting. I realize this isn’t the first straw, but I hardly think that having a fender-bender in a borrowed car is going to land him in prison.”
“Stolen, Mel…not borrowed…stolen!” David insisted.
“Borrowed without permission,” Melissa argued. “It’s not like he intended to take off with it and not return it. It was more like a joy ride gone bad.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with the perfectly sensible woman I married?” David protested.
“I get where you’re coming from. I know this isn’t the first time,” Melissa nodded.
“No, it’s a pattern with him, Mel,” David insisted. “Grant finds trouble anywhere he goes. You might be right, and this might just be kid stuff tonight, but what about the night of the fire? What about that whole ordeal a few months ago? Do you remember that? Do you remember how frightened my mother was when she got that call? What about the fact that he’s only a few weeks shy of his eighteenth birthday, and things just seem to keep getting worse and worse? I am scared for him, and someone has to put a stop to this before the next phone call comes from someone wanting one of us to come identify his body. I lost one brother; I don’t want to lose another one.”
“We really are just concerned for you, Grant,” Melissa agreed.
David walked over to the phone.
“What are you doing?” Grant exclaimed.
“I’m calling Dad,” David said.
“No!” Grant yelled. “Don’t call Dad!”
“Shh,” Melissa sighed. “Leah’s sleeping!”
“Yep, I think that’s what I’ll do,” David nodded with a sly smile. “I think I’ll call Dad and let the general deal with this in whatever way he deems suitable.”
“No,” Grant begged. “David, please; it’s late, and he’s in Washington.”
David dropped the receiver back into its cradle. “And it all just became so clear…”
