Belonging by Alexa Land Page B

the side door. Neither seemed to notice.
Awesome.
    In the tool shed, I grabbed a couple
narrow pruning saws and a ladder, then went to work on the huge old
oak tree to the left of the house. I’d been at it a good twenty
minutes before Vincent finally came outside. When I frowned at him
he asked, “What?”
    “Are you two BFFs now? Did you braid
his hair and talk about boys and make matching friendship
bracelets?”
    “What exactly are you talking
about?”
    “Nothing. I’m just annoyed because you
two totally hit it off. I always thought he was antisocial because
he won’t speak to me. But he’s not at all, he’s just anti-Gianni!
What did I ever do to him?”
    “No clue. Want me to climb up there
and help you?”
    “Yes, please.” Vincent picked up the
second saw, then climbed the ladder and started cutting a dead
branch. After a minute I asked, “What did you two talk about,
anyway?”
    “Hair braiding. Boys. Friendship
bracelets.” I shot him a look and he grinned at me before saying,
“He asked me about myself and my family. He knew I’d recently
gotten married and asked about Trevor. He wanted to hear all about
Josh, too. He’s a really nice guy.”
    “To people he actually
likes.”
    “We also talked about a few projects
he wants to do around the house, and I told him I’d be glad to help
him out.”
    “What kind of projects?”
    “Just little things,” Vincent told me,
“like swapping out the shower head in the bathroom. I’m going to
come back next week and give him a hand.” When I knit my brows he
said, “What? It’s not my fault that he doesn’t like
you.”
    “It’s not my fault, either. I’ve been
perfectly nice to him! Well, except when he’s acting like an ass
and I get in his face. But people who act like asses should expect
that!”
    “And you wonder why he doesn’t like
you.” Vincent cut through the branch and tossed it to the ground as
I sighed and went back to sawing.
     
    *****
     
    My brother and I worked for a few
hours before we finally decided to call it quits. We then dragged
the dead branches well away from the house. “I’ll rent a wood
chipper this week,” Vincent said. “We can turn these into mulch and
use it around those bushes over to the right.”
    “Good idea. Thanks.”
    My brother paused for a moment and
watched me as he pushed his damp hair back from his forehead.
Finally he asked, “Why are you doing all of this? You’re salaried,
so I know you’re not getting paid extra to come out here on a
Sunday and trim trees.”
    “It just needs to be done.”
    “Why do you care, though?”
    “I worry about Zan,” I admitted. “I
don’t care if he hates me, he still needs someone to look out for
him. What if there’s a wildfire? He’s so vulnerable there in his
house. I can’t protect him from everything, but maybe I can protect
him from that ‘what if’.” My brother watched me for another moment,
then grinned and went back to stacking the dead branches.
“What?”
    “Nothing.”
    After we put the tools away and he
washed up in the garage’s utility sink, Vincent went into the house
to say goodbye to Tillane. I washed up next, then remembered
something and retrieved a small paper bag from the backseat of my
car. My brother was coming out of the house just as I was heading
inside with my purchase, and I told him, “I forgot to give this to
Zan, I’ll be right back.”
    “Take your time, I’m going to text
Trevor and see how the birthday party went.”
    Zan was standing on the far side of
the kitchen island with a glass of water when I came into the room.
“I brought you something,” I said as I reached into the sack and
grabbed its contents. He frowned at me as I held my hand over the
kitchen island and dropped half a dozen little objects onto its
surface. “Don’t throw them outside. I mean it.”
    “For fuck’s sake,” he exclaimed. “Why
have you brought me Lilliputian oranges? What am I meant to do