"Just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds." – Hugh Elliott
It was a dreary, miserable November day in Toledo, Ohio. It was November 24 to be exact. A gloom seemed to ooze throughout the air settling in an overwhelming way at the Burke household. It almost made it difficult to breathe. Lennox Scanlon sat in her favorite armchair looking out the window as leaves rustled and tree branches swayed in the front yard. She had her favorite book in her lap, but had even given up the pretense of reading instead focusing her energy on sighing every 15 seconds. It became such a predictable sound that other members of the household had picked up on the pattern.
"Lennox, is this just normal teenage angst or is this something we need to talk about?" Joe asked after the 10th sigh.
Lennox finally looked away from the window meeting Joe's gaze. "Joe, I really don't feel like talking. You would not understand at all."
"Why don't you try me? You talk to me about stuff all the time with I would say an immeasurable success rate," Joe states as Mel breaks through the front door, hair askew and hands full of shopping bags.
"I think it is officially a state of emergency outside. This wind is ridiculous. It's made my hair, which always stands perfectly straight, a bird's nest. I mean look at this," Mel trailed off as she noticed the look on Lennox's face and the general mood of the room.
"What's going on you two? Please tell me the car is ok." Mel drips with panic at this idea that suddenly occurred to her.
"Relax, Burke, car is fine. Niece is, however, not. She won't tell me anything either." Joe declares in a matter of fact manner trying to pull Mel away from her train of thought before it turned into a full scale rant.
"Joe, please Lennox and I talk about things. This is probably just something she needs a woman for, we talk about everything and was just probably waiting for me to get home."
"Please, Lennox and I talk about stuff too. As we both know, I am great at giving advice and am nearly always right." Joe says smirking.
Before Mel can respond in disagreement, however, the front door closes shut, the sound echoing through the house. Mel and Joe look over to find Lennox was no longer in the armchair.
"Well, that's just great Joe. You ran her off with your typical behavior. Men just don't get women." Mel states.
"Please, if anything she ran off because you just had to start arguing with me like usual." Joe responds.
"You are - wait, we are doing it again. Let's stop fighting and figure out what is going on." Mel countered.
"Wow, for once you make a rational decision. I'll go talk to Ryder see if he knows what's going on with her." Joe speaks, already half way up the staircase.
"Great, I'll go find Lennox." Mel yells, grabs her keys off the counter and dashes out the front door.
Joe knocks on Ryder's bedroom door twice, "Hey buddy, can I come in?"
Through the door Joe hears, "It's a free country" in an apathetic tone.
Upon entering the room, Joe sees the "gloom" in the air seems to be affecting both of the Scanlon children. Ryder is lying on his bed tossing a ball up in the air and catching it repeatedly. At one point, he drops the ball and doesn't even make a movement to pick it up off the floor.
"Hey man, Joe begins, what is going on? First, your sister is downstairs making up her own soundtrack of sighs, and you are up here moping like nobody's business."
"Nothing's going on. I am just working on some hand-eye coordination," Ryder deadpans, not once looking away from the ceiling.
"Yes, because you have been known to do that. Hand-eye coordination, that's you." Joe laughs trying to spread a more cheerful vibe throughout the room.
"Never too late to start, Ryder says with a quick glance to Joe and back up to the ceiling.
"Ok, does this have something to do with the early morning trip you and Lennox took today?" Joe enquires.
"This is just something that is not a big deal. Why do we always have to talk about everything? This house has no privacy" Ryder says, his speech getting a little bit louder with each word.
"Hey, woah, calm down. You and I usually talk about stuff, you come to me for advice, I give you advice. That is the way of our relationship. I'm not trying to pry, but I'm worried about you and your sister." Joe sits down in chair at Ryder's desk.
"Newsflash, Joe. You are not my father. He's not around and neither is my mom. I'm on my own" Ryder spews with venom.
A flash of hurt spreads through Joe's eyes, but quickly disappears with realization. "That is true. I am not your father. And you're right he is not here. But, you are most definitely not alone. You have me, you have your sister, and you have your aunt, who loves you so much it makes her act crazier than normal." Joe continues, hoping to level with Ryder and encourage a little dialogue.
Ryder sighs and unwillingly tears pool a little bit in his eyes.
"I know that. It's just no matter how many times my parents let me down, I keep going back for more. It's just pathetic, I should have learned my lesson by now. They obviously don't care about me or my sister at all" Ryder blinks the few tears away.
"Oh, buddy. Relationships between parents and children are never easy. Parents don't always make the good or right decisions, and, unfortunately, great kids like you get the raw end of the deal. But, that does not mean they don't love you." Joe explained with sympathy in his tone.
"Trust me, it does." Ryder barks out with a derisive laugh.
"Ok, what happened? Lay it on me." Joe demands.
"Ok, Ryder says giving in to Joe's demand, so my parents used to fight all the time, my dad used to work all the time, and life at home sucked pretty much all the time. Well, about 6 years ago, my dad forgot Lennox's birthday and didn't even notice until I pointed it out to him the next day. To make it up to us, he came up with this day where it would be our family holiday. We would watch dumb movies, make up dialogue for all the characters, eat junk food, and just be together. He made a promise that no matter what, November 24, was sacred. He made sure he would always have that day off. It was the day we actually felt like a family. My parents wouldn't fight, Lennox and I got along perfectly, and it was just a great day. A day that my parents actually kept their promises" Ryder reminisced with a bittersweet smile on his face.
"That sounds like a great memory, Ryder." Joe states.
Ryder cuts him off quickly, "Until today."
A look of realization dawns on Joe's face. Joe begins to speak before Ryder cuts him off again.
"Lennox and I went down to try and visit our parents. They didn't call or send us a letter for either of our birthdays, but we thought we could go see both of them and still spend the day together. Both of them declined to even see us. I mean, I shouldn't be surprised. They let me down constantly. I should be angry, I should hate them, but, for some reason, all I feel is sad. Why can't they love me like I love them?" Ryder chokes out. "It's just not fair. What is wrong with me?"
"Nothing, man, absolutely nothing is wrong with you. You are a normal kid who has had sucky things happen to him." Joe states with aplomb.
"It doesn't matter. I just know I can't keep feeling like this every time they let me down. It happens too often." Ryder declares with fatigue. "It's just exhausting."
Joe moves off the chair to sit next to Ryder on the bed, and places his hand on Ryder's shoulder.
"Ryder, just because you love someone doesn't mean you have to be involved with them. I mean look at me, my life completely fell apart after Tiffany left me. I mean our relationship was never great, she constantly let me down, but I kept going back for more hits. But, I loved her, I mean loved her. I felt like my life was over and I would never be able to move on or find any sort of happiness, but I was wrong. I found this family, our family. You, your sister, even your Aunt Mel, you guys are my family. You are all so important to me and every day I think about my past life less. This is my life now. Tiffany, I still love her and care about her, but I can't be around her anymore. She makes me too unhappy. I have a life that I'm happy with and I don't want to keep thinking about the past." Joe states without even taking a breath.
"It's just hard, they're my parents. I'll probably end up just like them," Ryder states looking down.
"Of course, and they will always be your parents. You can love them and enjoy any time you have together in the future. But, they are, unfortunately, never gonna be what you need. You are a wonderful person, in spite of your parents. They are missing out by not knowing you, not the other way around." Joe passionately states.
"Thanks, Joe. That means a lot. And, I'm sorry for saying you're not my father. You are more like a dad to me, than my own dad. I'm lucky to be here in this family." Ryder states.
"Great, now how about we go downstairs and watch the game. Cavaliers game is on, and we can make fun of all the mistakes they will no doubt make. What do you say?" Joe slaps Ryder on the shoulder and stands up quickly.
"Sounds good. Please tell me there will be snackage," Ryder says with a hint of desperation.
"Of course, and soda's in the fridge. We are set." Joe high-fives Ryder, and beings to heads downstairs. As he walks, he hears Ryder's footsteps fall in behind his own, and Joe smiles.
Meanwhile, Mel was having zero luck finding her runaway niece. "Damn her, and her crafty mind," Mel complains as she gets into her car after her fifth unsuccessful stop. She has tried the bookstore, the record store, pretty much everystore in the mall, called all of her friends, looked at the bus station, and with all of these stops Lennox was nowhere to be found. Mel decides to head home to see if Lennox returned while she was out on the search. She drives past the neighborhood park, and glimpses blonde hair with a large scarf sitting on a park bench. Mel abruptly stops the car, puts it in park, and jumps out.
Mel jogs quickly over to the blonde hair and scarf, and stops in front of the park bench. Mel's suspicions are confirmed when a familiar sigh is heard.
"I recognize that sound, I have been looking for you everywhere." Mel pants, still out of breath after the unexpected jog. Cringing a little at the pain in her feet, these shoes were not made for walking, and, most definitely, not made for running, Mel thinks in her head before focusing on the main problem.
"Why'd you run off? Talk to me, please." Mel pleads with her niece.
"It's November 24." Lennox grumbles out.
"Yeah, it is. Oh." Suddenly, everything clicks into place for Mel. "I didn't realize what day it was, I'm sorry."
"You are not supposed to remember or even care, my parents are. But, of course, they're not around. Even when they were around, they missed birthdays, soccer games, parent teacher meetings, basically, missed our lives." Lennox blurts out.
"I should have been paying attention. I can take you and Ryder to visit if you want to go." Mel states with understanding.
"Hah, yeah. Ryder and I already tried to visit this morning, they both refused to see us. Can you believe that? I can't believe I wasted my day on them." Lennox expressed bitterly.
"Oh, honey. I'm sorry. I know all about getting hopes up. I get my hopes up for your mom, I get my hopes up for my parents. When it's people you love, you don't act rationally. It's a fact of life." Mel invokes.
"I know. It's just insanity. I keep thinking they'll be there for me, I keep thinking things will get better, but they never do. I found out one of my short stories is getting published in the New Yorker," Lennox says before quickly getting interrupted by her aunt's excited voice.
"That is wonderful. I am so proud of you. I mean not a surprise since you're brilliant, but still great job," Mel exclaimed with a proud smile on her face.
"Thanks, Aunt Mel. Anyway, I took the letter with me to show my mom and dad. I was hoping they'd see that I was great and maybe actually want to spend time with me. I, of course, was wrong." Lennox begins to cry, tears streaming down her face.
Mel grabs her in a tight hug, and begins "Oh, sweetie. They are so missing out. They have the best kids in the world and they don't even realize it. That's the worst thing I can think of, not knowing how amazing your children are."
"It just hurts. I wish it didn't. But, I feel like this hole, a physical hole, in my chest whenever I think about them, whenever they let me down." Lennox says choking back tears. "I still love them."
"Of course you do. Something I've learned, though, is sometimes love just is not enough. Love is not a bandage to cover wounds. I wish it was and I wish I could make this better for you." Mel says with tears in her eyes. "Though, it may not seem like it at times, your parents love you. They just suck at showing it."
"They just suck at being parents. I just don't think I can do this anymore. It's emotionally draining." Lennox speaks with exhaustion.
"I know I'm not your parent and I'm not your mom. But, I have never been happier in my life since you and your brother came to live with me. I know I'm not great at the parenting thing all of the time, but I love you and I am very glad you are with me," Mel continues with conviction, "We have our own crazy, dysfunctional family right here – you, your brother, even Joe. I can't imagine my life without you all in it."
Lennox smiles for the first time all day. "Thanks, Aunt Mel. I don't know what Ryder and I would do without you. I love our crazy, dysfunctional family." Lennox wraps her arms around her aunt and squeezes her tightly.
"Ok, love you too, but your cutting off the airway," Mel squeaks out playfully as Lennox releases her aunt. "I have an idea. Let's go home and get Joe to make us some comfort food, what do you say?"
"Best idea ever. Plus, this wind is getting ridiculous." Lennox proclaims.
"I know and you made me run around town all day in this storm. I could have died. Not to mention, you made me run, in my beautiful, new shoes. That's how much you know I love you." Mel adds dramatically.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Mel. I'll try to keep the teenage angst to a limit for a while." Lennox says trying to promote peace.
"That's all I ask, let's go home," Mel says grabbing Lennox and pulling her towards the car.
The girls enter the house through the front door to find the men of the house engaging in a chest bump amid yelling hoots.
Mel turns to Lennox, "Apparently, we're at the wrong place. This isn't our house, it's a sports bar."
Upon Mel's sarcastic barb, Joe turns to see the ladies of the house have made it back home.
"There you guys are, we were starting to get a little worried." Joe remarks to the women.
"Yeah, I can tell." Mel quips back with a faux smile on her face.
Ryder lets out a shout, "Yeah, the Cavs are, for once, not sucking."
Lennox notices the player being shown on screen. "Oh, he is cute. Why have I not been watching basketball?"
Mel looks appalled, "Oh, no. You cannot abandon me and leave me as the only non-basketball watcher in this household," Mel trails off however as she looks to the screen, "Oh, you are right. He is super cute."
Joe interrupts their remarks, "Sorry to interrupt this disgusting display of lust. But, Mel I have some snacks in the kitchen. You want to help me out," he says heading for the kitchen.
Mel immediately tore her face away from the cute men on the screen at the mention of food. "Yup, I am all for the helping," and followed Joe out of the living room and into the kitchen.
Before she can grab the food, Joe begins his inquisition. "So, how'd it go with Lennox? Ryder told me about November 24."
"Yeah, I can't believe I forgot. I am a terrible aunt."
"Please, if anything you are too involved," Joe says with laughter in his voice.
"I am not," Mel states shaking her head, but quickly changes her tune upon Joe's blatant look of disbelief.
"Ok, fine I am," she continues. "But it's only because I'm all they have. I get so angry every time I think about my sister and Lewis and how they have completely just ditched these kids. These kids are great, and they need to be appreciated, damn it." Mel says with escalating anger.
"You're right. I get angry that their parents aren't around, too. However, Lennox and Ryder are great and that's partly because of you. They could be a totally different way if you hadn't stepped in. They now at least have one solid relationship and one adult who has never let them down," Joe preaches to Mel with his hand on her arm.
"Thanks, Joe. But, they actually have two adults who never let them down. They are great kids because of the both of us. Together, we make a semi-functional parental unit." Mel quips, downplaying their abilities.
"That's really sweet, Burke. We do make a good team." Joe states back, now face to face with Mel.
"It's really surprising. You know, I came to a realization during my talk with Lennox earlier." Mel admitted quickly, looking down a couple of times to her very interesting shoes.
Joe picks up on the slight nervousness, and asks "What was that?"
"I am happy. I don't think I ever was happy before you and the kids. At first, the kids filled this hole that I didn't even realize I had. You came to live with us and I really appreciated and do appreciate all of the things you do for me, the kids, and the house in general. I have thought of you as family for so long now. I have thought of you as a co-parent. But, today made me realize, I think of you as more than that. I want you with me even when the kids are not here. You make me better and you make my life full. You made this family, this dysfunctional, crazy family, complete. I just wish I could point out when you became so important but I can't. You just are. You are under my skin, Joe Longo."
Joe's voice hitches, and he breathlessly says, "I feel the exact same way."
Before Mel can continue talking, Joe kisses her soundly on the lips. He pulls away after a few seconds, now breathless for an entirely different reason.
He puts his arm around her, picks up a plate of food, and directs her back to the living room. "Let's go and spend time with the kids."
They settle on either side of Lennox and Ryder, who are still super involved in the game. They meet each other's eyes and smile, both perfectly content.
Early November 25, Mel comes down the stairs to Lennox and Ryder yelling over each other. Upon entering the kitchen, Joe is at the stove flipping pancakes, trying to ignore the screeching teenagers.
"Ok, woah. What is with the yelling? It is way too early in the morning for this high of voices." Mel interjects between yells.
"Aunt Mel, Ryder has apparently no regard for other people's belongings." Lennox bites out quickly before Ryder has a chance to speak.
"Well, Lennox, has no regard for personal boundaries." Ryder replies.
"Ok, give me the scoop. No extra drama. Just the facts please." Mel implores the two.
Lennox once again jumps in before Ryder can even blink, "Ryder used my new razor to shave the nonsexist hairs on his face."
"Ha! Hairs, you said hairs. That implies they do exist." Ryder says with his finger pointing straight at Lennox.
"Oh, please," Lennox begins before Mel quickly interrupts.
"Yes, Ryder you are very hairy and manly. Now, why'd you use Lennox's razor?" Mel says trying to refocus and get to the point of the argument.
"Well, someone barged in while I was in the shower, and continued to brush her teeth as I was shouting at her to get out." Ryder says with anger.
Before Lennox can continue the anger train, and noticing behind the teenagers that breakfast is close to being finished, decides to lay down her judgment.
"Ok. Here's what's going to happen. We are done fighting as it is breakfast time. Lennox, no more barging in on your brother, you will knock & ask permission. Ryder, no more using Lennox's stuff, especially her razor. Great, now we are going to enjoy these fabulous pancakes by Joe and enjoy our time together as a family. Ok? Ok" With that last ok, Mel sat at the table ready to eat breakfast.
Joe brings the plate of pancakes to the table, as everyone sits down at their regular spots.
Joe leans over to whisper in Mel's ear, "You handled that very well."
Mel, whispers back, "Thanks," a smile bright upon her face.
And with that the family ate breakfast and enjoyed their time together.