An alarm clock blared in the dark. Mike slapped the snooze button before sitting up. The patter of his footsteps echoed in the empty kitchen. A coffee-maker gurgled. Rubbing his eyes, he remembered that he had to get on the freeway soon. He couldn’t leave Carl waiting at LAX for too long. Mike knew how impatient he was.
He gulped down his cup of black coffee and threw on a worn shirt and cargo shorts. He slipped on his old running shoes and headed down the apartment stairs. A silver, dented car waited for him in the garage. He dropped heavily into the driver’s seat and drove onto the freeway, listening to Bon Jovi. He soon reached the LAX parking garage. Mike sat inside the airport and studied the ceiling.
Just the week before, Carl had called saying he could finally come visit. “We were so close as kids,” thought Mike. Now they saw each other once or twice a year. If only Carl had stayed in California. Then he could’ve helped out with their mother. Mike knew he shouldn’t be resentful, but he couldn’t help feeling so. He was settling down for a nap when he saw his brother’s face.
“Hey! Look who didn’t oversleep, huh?” Carl shouted. Mike laughed and jogged over.
“Wow, did you lose weight?” Mike asked, teasing. They had both grown potbellies and white hair when they entered their 50s. They patted each other on the back. Mike tried to help Carl with his luggage, but the older man stubbornly refused.
Back in the car, the two sat together in a comfortable silence. They never had to make small-talk with each other. The brothers felt a quiet calm.
“Should we stop by my place before we go?” asked Mike. He had driven off the freeway by now.
“Nah,” Carl decided. “Let’s go over there now. It’ll be rude to keep her waiting.”
Mike raised his eyebrows. But he steered the car towards the retirement home without questioning Carl about his sudden interest in facing their mother. She had lived with Mike until he realized she needed more than he could give her. He drove her to the home almost four years ago.
“I’m sorry, ma,” he whispered to her that day, clasping her gnarled hands. “There’s nothing else I can do.”
Mike visited her practically everyday, yet she rarely recalled who he was. He was hurt, but never missed a visit. It broke his heart each time to see his strong and loving mother slowly disappear. On the other hand, the older brother hadn’t seen his mother for years. When Carl met his wife, she encouraged him to pursue his childhood wish of becoming a novelist. He got a job offer and promptly moved across the country with her to accept it. The couple started a family together. Guilt haunted him ever since the move, but work and family held him from flying out. Now, he decided to finally go see his mother before it was too late.
The light turned yellow as Mike’s car approached. A group of rowdy high schoolers crossed the road. The kids reminded Mike of his two daughters in college. The girls didn’t call too often. He understood they were busy and was glad they were growing up to do great things. He just missed hearing their voices.
“Kids these days,” muttered Carl.

They parked at the quiet retirement home. Mike led the way inside. A staff member greeted them showed them to their mother’s room. The yellow curtains were pulled shut and warm light bathed the space. An elderly lady was resting in bed. She opened her eyes when the staff patted her shoulder.
“Good morning, Mrs. Holt,” the woman said gently. She helped her sit up. “You have some visitors today.”
Mike stepped gingerly towards his mother. “Hi, ma,” he said, smiling. “How are you doing?”
His mother stared blankly at his left shoulder for a minute before seeing his face. “You look familiar,” she mused, squinting her eyes. “Who are you?” Mike felt his stomach drop.
“It’s Mike, your son. Well, your second son,” Mike said, making sure to speak loudly. “This here is Carl, your oldest son.” He motioned for Carl to come closer.
“Ma, do you remember me?” he asked, afraid of the answer. “Where did the years go?” he wondered. He could see his mother’s same face kissing him goodnight, yelling at him to wash his dishes, and warning him to be home before curfew.
A framed picture of him and his little brother as kids stood on top of the bedside table. They were at the beach, grinning as their thick, brown hair whipped around in the wind.
“This one is me.” He pointed at the laughing face of one of the small boys.
The picture was taken during one of their family trips to the beach. Between the boys stood their mother, holding their hands. The boom of ocean waves suddenly sounded in Carl’s ears. He remembered that, right after this picture was taken, a wave knocked him down and threw him around. His mother rushed to help him. She wrapped him in a soft towel and held him until he stopped sniffling.
She slowly nodded. “I remember.”
“You do?” exclaimed both men.
“Will bought that camera a few days before,” she said. Will was their late father’s name. She chuckled. “He was so excited that he took pictures of everything.”
The tension between the three eased. The family recalled vacations and the little moments of hilarity and joy that they shared. Mike recalled the time his mother almost left him at the grocery store one afternoon and Carl talked about how he missed her cooking, even now. Neither of the brothers could stop smiling too widely or laughing too loudly because they felt such a warm relief. Despite all the changes that the family had been through, the brothers looked to their mother with the same loving adoration a newborn looks to a mother’s face.
When it was time to leave, the grown men had tears in their eyes. They hugged their mother goodbye and kissed her soft, thin cheeks. She held their hands and studied their faces.
“Gosh, when did you two get so old?” she incredulously asked, making everyone crack up. The sons promised to come back tomorrow, and although they knew she wouldn’t be as lucid, that didn’t matter to them. Just being with her was enough.
When they were with their mother, they felt protected, and since they were in the company of their sibling, they felt less alone. Current circumstances and the passage of time made them distant. But they knew that their love was simple, pure, and resilient. It didn’t change over the years.

A car pulled into the apartment complex. Crickets chirped and street lamps buzzed in the cold, blue night. Carl followed his younger brother up the building stairs. Mike pulled out the sofa bed for Carl and went to his own bed. The two had the best sleep they had in a long time as they dreamed of the beach. They smiled in their sleep and leapt over waves with their mother while their father took pictures. The laughter of the happy family and cries of seagulls sounded in their ears.

—

Photo courtesy of PIXABAY.COM