“I guess he probably scared the poor woman to death,” Joanna sighed.
“Yeah,” David nodded. “She was a really nice lady when I finally got a chance to speak with her. Obviously, she was shaken by what had happened.”
“Why did he do it?” Joanna questioned.
“Lies…all lies,” David said angrily. “I finally got him to stop hollering, and I thought I was going to get him to level with me. Then he says, ‘You should have been there, David. It could have been a real Kodak moment…both of the general’s sons watching him try to pull his pants back on and stammer out a reasonable explanation of how he had managed to fall on top of the naked woman on our couch.’”
“What?” Joanna exclaimed angrily. “He said that?”
David shook his head in disgust. “He just blurted it out right there in front of everyone. I was humiliated in front of some of my closest buddies…”
“He’s lying,” Joanna agreed.
“Of course he is,” David scoffed. “He stuck to his guns last night though. He told me point blank that dad was having an affair, and then he looked me in the eyes and asked me how I could even think he was lying about something like that.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Joanna rolled her eyes. “Maybe because that’s what you do, Grant! You’re a liar, and now you’ve gone way too far.”
“Dad would never cheat on Mom,” David huffed.
“Of course he wouldn’t,” Joanna agreed.
David ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know why he made the accusations he made last night, but, as furious as I was with him, it ripped my heart out to watch him sit there with his hands cuffed behind his back, trying to fight back tears that he couldn’t hold in. He was a wreck, Joanna. He wasn’t a criminal sitting in the back of my squad car, he was a scared kid.”
“I assume that charges will be filed?” Joanna exhaled.
“The woman didn’t want to press charges,” David shook his head. “She seemed really nice and sympathetic; she had never seen Grant before in her life, and she just wanted us to get him off of her property. Dad came and got Grant, and he put up some money to pay for the damage.”
“I bet you had to hold Dad off of Grant, huh?” Joanna gulped.
“Surprisingly not,” David replied quickly. “I mean he was understandably furious, and things got heated between the two of them, but, somehow, they ended up in the same old argument about basketball.”
“Wait? Grant decided to play a nice game of catch with some bricks and a bunch of windows, and Dad was yelling at him about playing basketball?” Joanna sighed.
David thought for a moment. “He managed to tie it in. You know…hoodlums that destroy property and run from the cops play basketball. They’re all a bunch of delinquents. It’s not a real job. Grant needs to aim for better. The same old banter.”
Joanna’s mood changed. “As many times as Grant has messed up, I still wish Dad wouldn’t be so hard on him about the basketball thing. He really is dedicated to it.”
“Yeah, he is,” David agreed. “If he ever stops focusing so much of his time and energy on playing basketball, I don’t know how he would occupy his time; we’d all be in for a wild ride. But, in Dad’s defense, he just wants what is best for all of us, and he is never going to believe that playing basketball is what’s best for Grant.”
“It’s just a game,” Joanna grumbled. “He enjoys it; what is the big deal? If Dad doesn’t want Grant to end up some basketball playing hoodlum, then, perhaps, we should focus more on eliminating the hoodlum part of the equation and give him a break on the basketball aspect of it.”
“I wish we had been around more when he was growing up,” David sighed. “I remember when we were kids, and we were moving around; you guys were my supports system. You, Ike, Rachel and I were a unit, and, no matter where we went, I had you guys to lean on.”
“Mom and Dad both changed a lot after we lost Ike,” Joanna nodded. “Sometimes I think Dad treats Grant, whether it be consciously or unconsciously, like he expects him to be some sort of Ike replacement, and that’s not fair, David. It’s just not right!”
“We’re gonna help him, Jo,” David said as he put his arm around his sister.
“There’s a really sweet kid underneath all that animosity,” Joanna sighed. “You have to scratch the surface to find it, but it’s there.”
David and Joanna stared at each other for a long moment, both unsure of how to help their brother “Come-on,” Joanna smiled when she heard Rachel pull into the driveway. “Let’s lighten the mood and go make fun of Wally.”
Wally had long, tangled brown hair that looked as though it had never been introduced to a comb. He had a tattoo of an Eagle on the side of his neck and the face of a lion on his right arm; he always seemed to have a half-smoked, Camel cigarette between his fingers, though, as was the subject of many family debates, none of the Cohen clan had ever actually seen him smoke. He was the lead singer of his floundering band and leader of the conspiracy theorists who believe that Courtney Love had Kurt Cobain killed. Wally was the target of many family jokes, but, despite the differences that made him stand out, he seemed to be a pretty decent fellow.
Rachel got out of the jeep in her tight, zebra print skirt with her matching purse. She was tall, thin and beautiful; she attempted stylishness but usually came off looking cheap. She leaned over to kiss Wally as her father took her bags from the backseat.
“Stand up straight, young lady,” Nora panicked. “That skirt is too short.”
“Yeah, you’re flashing the neighbors,” Joanna quipped.
“Hush, Joanna,” Nora swatted.
Rachel stared at Melissa. “Is she going?” she exclaimed.
“Nice to see you again too, Rachel,” Melissa smiled uncomfortably.
“Aww. No. I’m sorry,” Rachel sighed. She turned to her mother. “What happened to your strict family only rule. If she gets to go, why can’t Wally go?”
“I’m married to her!” David exclaimed. “She is family.”
“Besides, none of us like Wally,” Joanna shrugged, offering him a wave and a wink.
“Well, look at you,” Rachel smirked as she turned to her sister. “We’ll have to go shopping while we’re on this little jaunt. Those clothes are just so…Joanna.”
Joanna, who had traded in her usual black pantsuit for jeans and a casual button-down, stared back at Rachel. “You are the fashion expert! Did you find that skirt at Sluts-R-Us or Groupies Unlimited?”
“Joanna!” Nora gasped. “Why such language?”
“At least I don’t look like I got dressed under a highway overpass,” Rachel snapped back. “Do they not pay lawyers well?”
