“Just in time!” Jake's mom wiped her hands on her apron. “Will you boys set the table, please?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied automatically, accepting the stack of plates she handed me. 

“Oh, goodness, what manners! You can just call me Sue!” 

Heat crept up my neck, practically sensing the talk I’d get from my own mother on the subject. She’d been so strict about titles that it was a hard habit to shake. Before I could stress about it too much, I frowned at the last place setting. 

“Just four plates?”

“Yes, Jake’s father won’t be able to make it home for dinner tonight,” Sue replied, flitting around the kitchen. Jake was actively dodging her as he placed glasses on the table. “Which is too bad because chicken fried steak is his favorite!” 

It was suddenly way too quiet and I instinctively looked toward Jake to find him half-turned away. 

Sue froze, panic slowly dawning in her face. “Oh, Jake, honey! I’m so sorry! I didn’t even think about it for you!” 

“It’s fine, Mom. I’ll just have a sandwich.” Despite his smile, his voice was tight. 

Pressing her lips into a thin line, Sue glanced between us as she began moving about the kitchen again. “I’ll go get your brother, now.” 

Jake began making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, focusing a little too hard on his task. I leaned against the counter next to him, studying his expression while Sue was around the corner. 

“Josh, baby, it’s time for dinner!” 

“Mom! A little privacy!?” 

“Right now, sweetie! And put a shirt on!” 

Nudging my elbow, Jake distracted me from their exchange. 

“Will you help me with this, please?” He held out the jelly jar, not quite making eye contact. 

I was shocked he’d even asked, but opened it without a word. 

“Thanks,” he whispered under his breath as his mom reentered the room. 

He already seemed overwhelmed from his family and the attention he got and we’d only been here an hour. 

“Look what the cat dragged in.” 

“Missed you, too, Josh,” Jake replied mildly, not even turning around.

“And you brought someone with you!” He seemed to be taunting Jake for some reason.

I turned to study his brother. It probably shouldn’t have surprised me, but he looked a lot like Jake. But where Jake was soft, Josh was all sharp, his eyes less kind. 

“This is Damien. Damien, Josh.” Jake quickly did the introductions as Sue practically pushed us toward the table. 

“There’s plenty of food, so no need to go hungry!” Sue exclaimed.

Josh eyed me slightly distastefully – or was that just my imagination? – as we dished up our plates. 

“I don’t want this, Mom,” Josh whined.

“Well, this is what’s for dinner, so eat up or you can just wait until breakfast.” Sue’s reply was so cheerful but the undertone of steel in her voice was enough to scare me. Apparently it didn’t phase Josh. 

“Jake’s eating something else.”

“Well, that’s because Jake’s special, sweetie,” Sue responded calmly. 

Flinching, Jake clenched his jaw. “Mom, please.” 

“I thought it was better than the ‘D’ word.” Sue frowned at Josh who was snickering quietly. 

“‘Disability’ isn’t a bad word,” Jake mumbled, sliding down in his seat.

Man, this was uncomfortable. 

“So, umm, Josh, you planning on going to college next year?” I hoped that was an appropriate topic of conversation. Anything to take the heat off of Jake. 

“Maybe,” Josh replied, ducking his head. 

“Damien, honey, Jake said that you transferred in from another school. How are you liking it?” Sue was apparently used to Josh’s behavior enough to ignore it. 

“There’s been a lot to learn, but I think it was a good move for me.” I really didn’t want to get too far into this subject, but that was the truth. 

“Where did you transfer from?” 

“MRIT.”

“Oh, that’s a good school, too. Why did you transfer?” 

Freezing at the question, fork halfway to my mouth, I cast a quick look over to Jake.  He was focused on his food, giving me no clues in how to proceed in this minefield of a conversation I’d accidentally walked myself into. 

“I, umm, got a scholarship,” I stated quietly. 

Regret immediately washed through me when Josh snorted out a laugh.

“That’s wonderful, Damien! Jake had the most wonderful scholarship all through high school! And then for a little while in college. As long as you keep up with your school work, those scholarships really are wonderful! I know Jake was doing his best...” She trailed off, eying Jake a little sadly.

“Yeah, until he got into an accident and was too sad to keep up with school,” Josh said under his breath, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. 

Standing up so quickly his chair screeched on the floor, Jake abruptly walked around the table. Snatching one of the glasses from the table, he dumped it on Josh, ice cubes and all. Turning around without a word, Jake left. 

Gasping as water dripped from his hair, Josh grabbed a handful of napkins as Sue began to scold him. 

With the awkwardness now ramped up to a million, I made the easy choice. 

“Umm, thank you for the dinner. It was delicious. I’m just going to—” I motioned toward the stairs, quickly making my escape.