When He Got Married

DANIEL:

I was at work when I got a call from Luke. 'I'm coming,' he said. He seemed a bit upset, but at least he talked to me. I didn't know why, but ever since he got married, he had been distant. He hardly ever called, and when I did, he didn't talk much. I hadn't seen him since his wedding, which was fourteen months before. I asked both of them to come to Vegas for a mini-honeymoon, but he declined. He didn't tell me anything anymore. He was slowly becoming a stranger. We were becoming those friends who lose touch after they got married, and I absolutely hated it. He was clearly having some issues, but why wasn't he sharing them with me? He had never behaved that way before.

I left work after lunch that day. I went home and made up the guest room for him. I was excited to see him. Around four, the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find a gloomy man standing in front of me. He had a depressed look on his face and seemed like he was holding back tears.

"Hey, why the gloomy face?" I asked. He didn't say anything, just wrapped his hands around my neck, and broke down. He was literally sobbing. He couldn't even balance himself. "Hey, hey, hey... What happened, Luke?" I asked him, but he didn't say anything. I didn't push it either. I just stood there and let him cry.

It hurt to see him in such pain, but at least I was sharing it now. "Everything will be alright, buddy. I'm here," I said, and he finally let me go. I wanted to ask him why he had been ghosting me for more than a year, but it didn't seem like the right time.

I took him inside. He sat on the couch while I went and grabbed a glass of water for him from the kitchen. "Here, drink," I said. He gulped down the water in one go. "Better?" I asked, and he nodded. "Good, now elaborate?" I said in my big-brother voice. I learned to do that after his brother died. Whenever he was being stubborn, or I had to pry something out of him, I had to use it. Otherwise, he would just stall.

"She's pregnant," he said.

"What! Congr-" I got really excited about becoming an uncle, but before I could congratulate him, he cut me off.

"Not with me," he said.

"Oh... I-I..." I didn't know what to say. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently to show my support.

"She wants a divorce," he said. I was devastated when I heard that. He loved Veronica a lot. More than anyone before her. I could understand his pain all too well.

"I'm so sorry, man," I said. I squeezed his shoulder again to comfort him. "Tell you what, go take a shower. I'll fix you something to eat. Maybe your favorite tuna fish sandwich. How does that sound?" I asked. He didn't say anything, just nodded.

I fixed him a sandwich and poured a glass of wine. Soon after I was done, he came into the kitchen and sat on a chair by the island. "Here, have this and then go to sleep. You look really tired. We'll figure things out later," I said. We sat there in silence while he finished his meal. He went to bed after that.

I decided to take him out. He could use a distraction. "Hey, Luke, wake up!" I yelled.

"Huh, what happened? What time is it?" he mumbled, suddenly waking up.

"Here, take these," I said, handing him my clothes. "Get ready. I'm taking you out."

"I don't wanna go."

"Yes, you do. You need to clear your head. So, I'm gonna get you laid tonight," I said.

"But-" He tried to reason, but I cut him off.

"I said, get up and get ready. Don't make me use force." I said in my big-brother voice.

"Okay, fine. But where are we going?" Luke asked.