Thank you all for the nice compliments I received on the first part of this story. Like its predecessor, this story, is totally fictional, like all the rest of the tales I've written. Some of the people I've mentioned are real as are some of the places. Other than that, the rest of the characters are fictional, as in "Not Real". I say this because it never fails that I get an e-mail from some wannabe critic telling me that they've never heard of whomever/wherever I write about. Still though, I ask that God blesses each and every person who takes the time to read my work, thank you...
MoogPlayer
P.S. In order for this story to make sense to you, please read "I'm Not Who I Used To Be" before reading this one, thanks again.
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ME
THAT AFTERNOON
We were all sitting out in the back yard at home, well, my boyhood home, enjoying the Barbeque that Dad and Uncle Jack had slaved all morning to cook. There were several different cuts of steaks available that afternoon; Porterhouses, Ribeyes, Sirloins both Top and Bottom; and then there was my personal favorite, the New York Strip. It's the heartiest cut of steak on the whole cow. Dad knew how much I enjoyed it as well, because he'd grilled two sixteen ounce cuts, especially just for me. They were also prepared just the way I like them, too; medium rare.
"Tell me, Dad," I grinned, after swallowing the first bite, "You always make the meat so tender. How the hell do you manage that?"
"I tried to teach you a long time ago," he chuckled, "But you were too busy chasing some girl while you were in college. What was her name?" Dad playfully chuckled, winking at Sarah, who was seated beside me.
"Her name is Sarah," I proudly smiled, leaning over and kissing her, "And now that you've seen her, don't you think it was worth the time?"
"Yeah, I do," Dad gently replied, "And she really is a pretty thing, Mike. That's for sure."
"Aww, what a sweet thing to say," Sarah softly said, her sparkling smile only making her that much more beautiful. Then she leaned across me and playfully kissed my father's cheek, his face immediately turning bright red, as she teased him, "Thank you, Daddy. That really means a lot to me to hear you say that."
Of course every female member of my family began to howl with laughter at the look on Dad's face after Sarah kissed him. I had always been known to take sides with the men in my family, what few of us there were...lol...But I had to agree with the girls this time...After Sarah kissed him, the look on Dad's face was priceless...
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We'd just finished eating and Mom was sitting on the other side of Sarah talking to her, when Uncle Brian and Aunt Trish showed up in the back yard smiling. Of course Uncle Brian immediately made his way to where Sarah and I were sitting in order to meet "The New Girl in the Family", so to speak. Of course that's bullshit, it was just Uncle Brian's way of not only flirting, but also being nosy.
"But, he's a lawyer after all," I remembered Uncle Jack saying to tease Aunt Trish when I was little, "And I guess being nosy comes with the damn job," and of course, he and Dad would just laugh about it, as they used to sit out behind my grandmother's barn and drink that poisonous crap that Uncle Jack always brewed/distilled. Hell, NASA could've used that shit to fuel ALL of their rockets, plus the Space Shuttle...lol...any way, back to the story.
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"So, tell me, Mike," Uncle Brian grinned, widely smiling at Sarah, "Is this the young lady we've all heard so much about?"
"Don't you mean that you've heard so much about, Uncle Brian?" I teased, "You're just pissed off because Mom, Aunt Dot and Aunt Trish all met her before you did."
"Quit being such a smart ass, kid," Uncle Brian good naturedly laughed, "Introduce me to your girlfriend, or I'm gonna tell her about all the mean pranks you used to pull on your sisters and cousin when you were all little."
"That's bullshit," I began to laugh, "I was only taking up for myself, and you damn well know it, so; lay off, counsellor," and by this time Uncle Brian and I both had tears in our eyes from laughing at each other's bullshit.
"Sarah Caine," I smiled, as I introduced her to my Uncle Brian, "Please allow me to introduce you to my Uncle, Assistant District Attorney, Brian Thomson. He's married to my Aunt Trish."
"Now I can see why Lauren is so pretty," Sarah sweetly commented, "Her mother is beautiful and her father is so handsome, "It's nice to meet you, Uncle Brian."
Of course, just like the rest of the men in my damn family who are cursed to bear burden to, it is the females in our family that cause us the most grief, hence the reason we all blush when one of them, or any other female for that matter, compliments us. Of course it's always done with ulterior motive on their parts, but I guess that makes us dumbasses for letting them get away with it...hahaha.
I used to think a curse of this natures only applied to the Taylor men until Uncle Brian met Aunt Trish and they got married and the women in my family did the same thing to him. They used to do it as a means of entertainment until Aunt Trish made them stop the teasing.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Caine," Uncle Brian politely replied, and of course, again, because he rarely, if ever, missed anything, he immediately grinned when he saw the engagement ring I placed on Sarah's finger, then turned to her and laughed, "No wonder you called me Uncle Brian," and then he hugged her and said, "Welcome to our family, sweetie..."
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"Thanks a lot for letting your sisters be the last ones to know, Michael," Claire disgruntledly replied, with Myra Gayle and Lauren in tow, once the family had congratulated Sarah and smiled at me in surprise.
"Your sisters and your cousin," Lauren pouted.
I thought they were only kidding with me so, not trying to hurt their feelings, yet doing just the opposite, I laughed and told them, "Ha, ha, very funny, if anything the three of you would be happy that you won't have to hear me whining about it anymore."
And then without warning, large, silent, tears began to rain down all three of their pretty but sad faces as all three of them turned and walked away without saying word.
"Shit," I silently cursed, now knowing that I hurt their feelings while honestly not meaning to...
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"I swear I wasn't trying to hurt their feelings, Dad," I told my father, after informing and apprising him of what had taken place between, not so much with Lauren, but Claire and Myra Gayle and the way they'd been acting.
"You're sisters both love you, Mike," he plainly replied, then he looked me in the eyes and said, "Think back to when you were all younger, the three of you were thick as thieves, and because Mark was part of it too, you four were damn near impossible to keep up with, especially after Lauren came along," a huge grin covering his face at the memories he spoke of that we were both familiar with.
"Just because you're growing older, doesn't mean that you grow apart, son," Dad kindly told me, "Remember that, okay?"
"I will," I warmly replied, "Thanks, Dad..."
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I made peace with both of my sisters and Lauren after that. And once the smiles returned to their pretty faces, I playfully teased them, "I still think you three are just nosy asses, and you've got all of the Aunts, Uncles, Moms, and Dads, all fooled."
"Bite me," Clair laughed.
"Tell him, Claire-Bear" Myra Gayle giggled, calling my sister by the nick-name only she was allowed to use; and then after sticking her tongue out at me, she laughed and giggled "Kiss my butt, Mikey."
Claire may have been my little sister, but I'd always looked at Myra Gayle as my baby sister, much of it because of the age difference. Still though, just because there were two of them and one of me, I used my knowledge of my younger siblings as a means of self-defense from being oldest of my parent's offspring, and decided to cut her to the quick in order to shut her smart ass up.
"Mark off a chunk," I teased, knowing just the right buttons to push with my baby sister, "The Good Lord knows that there's more than enough butt there, baby sister."
