Page 42 of The Merger

“What brought up that memory?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about the past a lot lately.”

He sets himself up and smashes the ball. It arches through the air well, although slightly off target. It’s a typical Jason shot, but I keep that to myself.

“Not bad,” I say as I prepare for my turn.

“What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you ever think about the past?” he asks.

I place my ball on the tee. “I think about how I golfed last week alone, and it was blissfully quiet.”

He laughs. “You’re such an asshole.”

Ball off my front foot. Knees loose. Feet parallel to the target line.I adjust my grip on the club and tilt my shoulders—then drive through the ball.

It sails through the air beautifully toward the hole.

“And that’s how it’s done,” I say, heading back to the cart.

“Mom told me you said I should get her a frequent flier program.”

“You should just give her a jet for Christmas. Then she could be responsible for the maintenance and scheduling.”

“I should.” He chuckles as we climb back into our ride. “I have to admit, though, that I like seeing her so happy. She deserves it.”

“She keeps giving me shit about it.”

“About what?”

I turn the key and press the gas. “About …being happy,” I say, curling my lip. “She thinks that the only way to live your life is to travel around the world. She seems to forget that some of us have to stay behind and keep the funds coming in.”

“That’s a bullshit excuse.”

I give him a pointed look.

Out of all my siblings, I like Jason best. He’s serious and straightforward. Smart. He doesn’t love mindless chatter … usually. He was also the one I was closest to growing up, and we share the most memories.

“Ever wonder what it’s like at the bottom of a water hazard?” I ask. “Because you might find out if you don’t watch yourself.”

His laugh is quick and loud, and the sound of it makes me grin.

“All I’m saying is that given the utter shit show that our family has endured, I have a different perspective on life,” he says.

“One that I’m sure Ripley would love to hear.”

“You can’t tell me that you haven’t changed over the past couple of years.”

I pull up to our balls and stop. Jason is watching me intently. There’s no getting around this without satisfying him to some degree.

Make sure I hide my tee times on my calendar going forward.

I sit back and sigh. “I don’t think you can watch your father try to kill your mother and sister while destroying everything your family has ever worked for and come out unscathed.”

“Bianca and I were talking about it the other day—about how things are different but in a good way.”