The Best is Yet to Come (Chapter 16)

Though the sky had cleared a while ago, the air was still thick and muggy. The sun had already set by the time Eli and George made it back home. Their clothes were somewhat soaked, and they reeked of the distinctive smell of dried rainwater.

When they came in, they witnessed Eva and Dave setting the table. The brunette looked awkward handling the plates and cutlery; he seemed to tower over them, and laid them down without a care in the world. To his little brother, who had been assigned that duty for years, the details that Dave failed to pay attention to were alarmingly obvious to him; a plate not perfectly centered, a knife placed before a fork.

Regardless, George said nothing and took special care to wipe his feet on the doormat before taking off his shoes. "We're home!" he announced.

"Oh, hi," Dave said after throwing down a napkin. "How was the library?"

"About what you'd expect." Eli kicked off his own sneakers and approached the table. He leaned into his brother and muttered "Something interesting did happen, though."

Dave raised his eyebrows. "What does that mean?"

Eli pulled Dave to the side, glancing to the kitchen to make sure his mother was out of earshot. "I got a ticket for running a stop sign."

Dave's expression quickly switched to annoyance. "You're kidding."

"I have to pay seventy-five dollars. You wanna see it?"

"Can I ask how you missed it?"

Eli folded his arms. "It was pouring out, and I...couldn't quite see it."

Dave sighed. Of all the screw ups his brother could've made, he was at least grateful that this one was relatively tame. "You're under eighteen. You're gonna have to show up to court with Mom or Dad for that." Both disappointment and dread flooded Dave's insides.

"I know."

The two disbanded when Eva strolled out of the kitchen, hefting a large pot of stew over to the table. She set it down on the arranged potholders with a thud. "Sit down, you two. It's almost time to eat."

"Yeah, Mom." Eli quickly claimed a place at the table, Dave following suit.

When George took his spot, he rearranged the positioning of his silverware and refolded his napkin. Dave couldn't blame him; he didn't do nearly as good of a job as his little brother would have.

Heavy boots stomped through the front door, prompting Eva to greet her husband with the usual hug and kiss. "Make sure to wipe your boots off well," she chided. "I don't want them leaking water onto the floor."

"Of course, Eva." Jack slipped off his boots on the doormat and approached the table.

"Hi Dad," Eli anxiously said, straightening out his posture. "How was work?"

Jack gave his son a suspicious look. "It was fine, Eli."

"Cool. Anything interesting happen?"

Dave's disappointment and pity in his brother only increased. "Why don't you leave Dad alone? I'm sure he's tired."

Eli caught a glimpse at George; he looked confused at first, but put it together and silently willed his brother to stop. "Alright."

The parents took their usual seats at the table, and stew was doled out. Eli and Dave kept shifting glances at each other, waiting for the right moment to say anything.

"George, Dave told me that Eli took you to the library after school," Eva said. "What was that about?"

"I wanted to do research for my campaign." George glanced at Eli for approval. When he received no response, he continued. "I looked up past ones and made notes on their strengths and weaknesses."

Dave thought back to Adam's claim of George never winning the election; he had no reason to believe it back then, and he had even less of a reason to believe it now. He'd never seen a single poster or other campaign trinket from him. It was a wonder anyone knew he was running at all.

Dave was still extremely proud of George, but had to try to save his twin too. "Yeah, I thought that was really nice of Eli to take him. Especially with how bad it was pouring out."

"That rain was really something," Jack added. "I could barely see anything on my way home."

Dave nudged Eli and stared at him. Eli tapped the side of his bowl and looked down into it for a few seconds before accepting his fate. "Actually, speaking of not being able to see in the rain..." Jack's spoon clinked against his bowl when he let go of it. "I got a ticket."

"Sweetie, what happened?" Eva cooed.

George stepped in. "Like Dad said, the rain was really difficult to see through. We didn't know where we were going, and Eli accidentally ran a stop sign."

"Dad, I didn't mean to, I swear! I honestly just wanted to take George to the library."

A pause. "Anything else?" Jack groaned.

"Eli lied to the officer that I was homeschooled and autistic." George muttered.

Jack gripped the bridge of his nose. His whole body radiated exasperation. "How much is the ticket for?" He appeared to be too disappointed to even address George's point.

"Seventy-five dollars." Eli admitted.

Dave watched his little brother repeatedly scoop up broth with his spoon and dump it onto the beef and vegetables in his bowl. He wished that his father would just dole out a punishment to end the tension and his guilt.

"Son, you're actually in luck." Jack said.

"What?" The rest of the table was equally as interested.

"There is an opening at one of the fast-food restaurants at the base." The family was a bit lost, but continued listening. "I put in a good word for you. The manager said he wants to give you an interview on Saturday."

Eli glimpsed at Dave, who didn't respond. "Uh, thank you?"

Jack sighed. "Here's going to be your punishment. You don't have the money to pay the ticket, so I will. I will also go with you to your court hearing. However, you will pay me back every cent of that ticket, with interest. You're not getting any money from me until that debt is paid."

"But what if I don't get the job?"

"You will, Elliot." Jack sternly concluded. Eli couldn't help but cringe when his father said his full name. It didn't sound right to him.

"Eli, you've worked in foodservice before, right?" Eva said. "I'm sure your father mentioned that. I think you'll be fine."

The dinner carried on in silence. Eli observed his father's countenance retain the look of disappointment. Even through his classic teenage obstinance, he almost felt bad for his old man. There were calls from the office at school for truancy, and breakdowns on the side of the road when he ran out of gas or had some other problem unique to beater cars; his father was always there to speak with the principal, jumpstart his battery, or to do anything else necessary to get his son out of trouble.

"Dad, I'm really sorry." Eli blurted.

Jack took some time to process the words and their surprising sincerity. "Eli," he began. His son was grateful for the switch back to his nickname. "Listen to me. You're a good kid, and I know you didn't mean to get a ticket. You just don't make good choices sometimes, and I get disappointed." He wiped his mouth with his napkin, then gently replaced it. "I know you can do better."

Tendrils of guilt gripped Eli's chest. "Okay Dad, I'll try to be better."