Brothers

“Jeremiah never realized he was wrong.  Never understood what he did was so out of place and inconsiderate.  It was unbelievable.”  I stood quietly in the hallway, listening to my father complain about my uncle over the phone.  I knew I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I needed to know who he was talking to.  I needed to protect my uncle at all costs.  My father always came down hard on his younger brother and often for no reason. I had a soft spot for my uncle because he was the only one who really seemed to care about me. 

If I could figure out who he was talking to, I could warn my uncle about who was coming after him next.  I alternated between trying to help my uncle get out of trouble and trying to get my father to ease up. Lately, things have gotten more tense than usual between the two of them and I needed to know why. And I needed to know who he was talking to so I could start putting out fires. But the longer I listened to his side of the conversation, the more I began to understand more was going on. Maybe Jeremiah had really done something wrong this time around. I started toward the hallway hoping to pick up the other phone to eavesdrop some more. I wish I hadn’t. I wish I hadn’t heard my father talking about what he was going to do to his brother.