Another piece to the story

Michael looked around the living room. It was amazing how full the house had become. After his brother had left for Saudi Arabia, the entire family had seemed to migrate to his mom’s house. His brother’s wife Lauren and four-year-old son Eddie had come back from the base he was stationed at in North Carolina. His sister Anne had even come from Phoenix to stay for a while. It was early evening and the family had sat down in their chairs to enjoy a small dinner when the news came on. Top story, the war in Kuwait.

Michael looked at everyone else’s faces. They were all fixed coldly on the television. Suddenly but silently, he began to see tears streaming down his mother’s face. She jumped up and made a run for the front door, mumbling an apology on the way. Lauren stood up and looked at the rest of us.

“I’ll go talk to her,” she said and she made her way to the door. Michael looked over at Anne, who was looking back at him, then down at little Eddie. Eddie had seemed to be somewhat impervious to what had just happened in the room, and amazingly even more impervious to the story that was being shown on the news at the moment. He looked back to Anne, who was now looking over at the door. She got out of her chair and walked over to it. After peeking an eye through the small lens on the door, she looked back over at Michael.

“I think they’re both crying out there.” Michael knew exactly where this was going to end up, and begged in his mind for her not to open the door. She reached down for the handle, opened the door, and stepped out. Michael stood up and walked over to where Eddie was sitting.

“Hey Eddie, I’m going to go outside for a minute, okay? Here, I’ll put something better on TV for you.” He reached over and grabbed the remote from where his mother had been sitting and changed the channel to the Simpsons.

“I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll be right outside.”

Michael opened up the front door and saw the three ladies huddled together just outside, every one of them crying. He walked over and took all three into a big hug.

“He’s going to be alright,” Michael told the group. “Don’t worry. He’s going to be alright.” He never truly ever believed those words that he spoke to them every day. He was just as afraid that they were that his brother would be sent back to him in a casket. He had decided long ago, though, that he could not let any of them know that. He was now the man of the family. He had taken the role of the pillar of the family, the one that had to be strong no matter what. When everyone else cried, he bit his tears back. When everyone else laid their worries out in front of them, he shoved his deep down inside him, laying out nothing more than reassurances that, in the end, everything was going to be alright.