Chapter 4: The apprehensive brother
"You did what?" Jesse asked as he placed a steaming cup on the counter in front of Jo.
"You heard me," she replied, swirling the tea bag around, when Nora emerged.
"I didn't, what'd you do?" she asked, holding her lower back, her robe hanging open and exposing her enormous baby bump. Jesse leaned on the island separating him from his sister.
"She's taking Tommy Conlon out for coffee," he spoke, glaring at Jo.
"Wow, you certainly don't waste any time," Nora commented, bumping Jo's shoulder with her fist.
"It's not like that. It's just as friends. I told him so," she explained.
"Why not? The man is hot," Nora continued, making Jesse glare at her for a change.
"Not as hot as you, obviously. But you know, hot enough for someone else, like Jo," she added, making her way over to Jesse and hugging him the best that she could.
"You can't date him," Jesse continued with his arm around his wife.
"I'm not going to! For God's sake, I just broke up with someone yesterday. And while we're at it, you seriously can't tell me what to do," Jo retorted.
"I can tell you not to date him!"
"And what makes you think you can forbid me?"
"There's some stuff that you don't know."
"Stuff like his imprisonment? Like the fact that he's a recovering addict? That he's going to therapy, trying to rebuild his relationship with his family? Which one of these don't I know?" she snapped. Jesse fell silent.
"Didn't think so. Now, I'm not going to date him. I'm going to drink coffee with him like friends do, because he was really nice to me this morning and it's the right thing to do to reciprocate. And right now I'm going to take a shower while you cool the fuck off," she spoke, getting on her feet and making her way to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
She caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving a little. She had really worked herself up, defending their right to hang out. She was twenty-six, for crying out loud, wasn't she old enough to know who she could and couldn't hang out with? She loved Jesse dearly, but she couldn't understand his need to protect her from Tommy, especially since there was nothing romantic going on.
A soft knock pulled her from her thoughts.
"Be quick, we're meeting the locksmith at your place in an hour," she heard Jesse's voice, and couldn't be mad with him anymore. She opened the door, meeting her brother's apologetic gaze, reaching out for a hug.
Two hours later she stood in the center of her living room, looking at it with her head tilted. She owned a two bedroom apartment on the seventh floor quite near the heart of Pittsburgh. The kitchen was to the right of the door, an island separating it from the living area, which had big windows and a door to the balcony. In the corner behind the kitchen there was room for a medium sized dining table and chairs. To the left of the door there was a corridor with doors to the bedrooms and the bathroom, and her walk-in closet.
"I think I need to do some changes around here," she stated, as her brother emerged with two water bottles.
"Like what?" he asked, twisting the cap of the bottle.
"Like new wallpapers or paint, new furniture, stuff like that. A fresh start. I might even retile the bathroom."
"Wouldn't it be easier to move?" he asked, and she rolled her eyes.
"I can't move. I love this place. The fact that he did what he did here doesn't change it."
"Right, I forgot. I can take you shopping on Saturday if you like," he offered, but she shook her head.
"No, I have to go today. But you can come around on Saturday to help me with things if you like," she smiled and he sighed in frustration at the prospect of manual labor.
"Can I borrow your car?" she asked, holding her hand out for the keys.
"Don't you have to go to work?" he pointed out, fumbling about his pockets before he found the keys.
"I had a couple of personal days unused. I'm using one today. And maybe tomorrow," she explained as he dropped the keys in her palm.
"You really are a dream employee," he pointed out and chuckled.
"And a dream sister," she added, making her way to the door.