Tommy Stands Alone by Gloria Velásquez

Author:Gloria Velásquez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arte Público Press
Published: 1995-08-04T16:00:00+00:00

TWELVE

Ms. Martínez

When I arrived home that evening, I was surprised to find Frank’s car already parked in the driveway. Before he had left for his office that morning, Frank had reminded me that he wouldn’t be home until after dinner. January was always the beginning of the busiest time of year in the accounting firm where Frank worked. They were starting to get people’s taxes filed before the deadline. It wasn’t unusual for Frank to work until way past eight o’clock, which meant I often ate dinner alone. And if there was anything I disliked, it was eating alone.

As soon as I opened the front door, I called out Frank’s name, but he didn’t answer. Thinking he might be cooking dinner, I flung my briefcase on the floor next to the couch and went to look for him in the kitchen. Occasionally I would arrive from work to find Frank cooking one of three things: spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches or greasy potatoes with ground beef, a dish he had learned from my mother.

When I walked into the kitchen, I found Frank sitting on a chair with the telephone receiver in his hand. He glanced over at me, and the serious expression on his face warned me that something was wrong. Not wanting to interrupt his conversation, I kissed him lightly on the cheek then walked over to the refrigerator for my usual can of Pepsi. As I headed back into the living room, I heard Frank say, “Yes, Mom. Don’t worry. I’ll call him this evening.”

A few minutes later, Frank came into the living room and sat next to me on the couch. It was unusual for Frank to be so quiet. He was usually full of silly jokes and remarks from the minute he walked in the door.

“Frank, what’s wrong?” I asked. “Was that your mother on the phone?”

Without uttering a single word, Frank reached out for me and buried his head in my shoulder.

“Honey, what is it?” I insisted, running my fingers through his thick curly hair.

Frank finally raised his head to look at me, revealing a sad expression in his sea-blue eyes. “It’s Bryan. He’s in the hospital.”

I felt a cold shiver race through my body. I knew how close Frank was to his older brother Bryan. It was Bryan whom Frank had always admired and sought out for advice.

“What happened?” I stammered. “Is Bryan all right?”

“He’s in the hospital. He has a severe case of bronchitis,” Frank explained. His voice faltered for a moment before he was able to continue. “Mom said he’s going to be fine, but they found out he’s HIV positive.”

Now I understood Frank’s pain. Tears filled my eyes and I reached out for Frank. We sat holding each other tightly for a few minutes. When we finally let go of each other, I felt safe and secure again.

“I told Mom I would call Bryan tonight. I guess he’s known about it for a while, but he didn’t want anyone in the family to know.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.