The Love We Choose

Chapter 2

Saturday rolled around and Lynne found herself chugging down the Turnpike, blasting Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" at nine in the morning with her baby brother David riding shotgun.  David was a lanky, wiry, and myopic milk-chocolate six foot even Bohemian who kept his head shaved bald.  The reception was slated to start at 1pm, but there was a cocktail hour to precede the event which started at 12pm that they had to help prepare for.

"I will never understand your obsession with this song."  Her brother stated, with a confounded look on his face as he adjusted his white-framed glasses.

"It's just a work of lyrical and melodical art."

"Yeah, but 8 minutes of it. It's too long for a song.  It's like the 12-inch version of "Love is the Message."  Good God, that song takes forever and it's pretty much just the same words over and over again."

"Yeah, but this song tells a story.  Now shut up, because my favorite part is coming up." She told him as she raised her right hand off the steering wheel and mimed holding a microphone in front of her mouth.  "Stop right there! I gotta know right now!"  She sang along to the rest of the song in her raspy alto voice.

"You know, if you're gonna sing along to your playlist all crazy like this, you should let me drive." David told her, with a slightly panicked look on his face.

Lynne let out a breathy chuckle in the direction of her brother.  "Dude, for an artist, you aren't all that laid back. You need to chill out. We are on the turnpike in the 'trucks and cars' section. There are like seven other vehicles on the road this early on a saturday in October.  Who am I gonna run into out here?"  Cocking her eyebrow at him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Davie, you are my precious cargo and I promise not to hurt you.  Ever.  OH shit!" She fake swerved the car to the left.

" LLLLyynnNNE!" He screamed out.  She was overcome with giggles. "That's NOT FUCKING FUNNY!"

"Ooh my God!  Your face!  He he he heee!   Oh God, I'm gonna piss myself from laughing too hard.  Hooo.  I'm pulling over at the next service station.  Good it's only two miles away."

"And I'm driving the rest of the way!"

"Oh fine.  Big baby."

An hour and a half later they pulled up outside a sprawling estate and parked next to the three catering vans.  Their eldest brother Vinny was unpacking equipment with a few of their mother's staff out the back of one of the vans.  "Look who finally showed up. You're cutting it kind of close."  He said, raising an eyebrow in their direction.

"Hey, we would've been here sooner, but someone drives like a seventy-five year-old church lady on the highway." Lynne retorted.

"I got us here SAFELY!" 

"Safely, slowly, potato, po-tah-to." Vinny said, walking up to them and giving them each a hug. Lynne loved her eldest brother's bear hugs.  On more than one occasion the now mid-back length dreadlock sporting anesthesiologist, built like a first-string linebacker, had been her calming factor growing up.  When she was younger and still afraid of the crash of thunder storms, it was his arms she sought solace in, burying her head in his shoulders, deep breathing his calming, earthy scent.

"Please give me my keys back." Lynne held out a hand, which David tossed for her to catch.

"I strongly dislike both of you," David huffed out before focusing his attention on Vinny. "Where's mom?"

"Somewhere in the kitchen with Elisa." Vinny raised his caramel colored hand, the complexion of matching their mother's and pointed over his shoulder as David grabbed his backpack and headed inside to help them out. "No, we don't need you to help with the heavy stuff out here Dave." He intoned flatly to their brother's retreating back. Turning around he faced Lynne, his light brown eyes bemused. "Still can't believe he's one of us."