Spark
Marlon was already sitting at their usual table when Travis arrived. Taking a deep breath, Travis steeled himself for another tough dinner with his twin. Marlon hadn’t been himself since his breakup with Ellen. It had been six months, and Travis hadn’t seen a hint of his brother moving on.
As Travis slid into the seat opposite, Sal, their always waitress, plopped a couple of glasses and a pitcher of draft on the table. “Chicken wings will be up in a few.”
There was a sameness to the twins’ lives. Travis had always felt a comfort in that. Sure, they had gone to different colleges, pursued different careers, but some things never changed. Like Thursday nights at The Roadhouse. They’d been coming here since they were teenagers.
Travis’s wife, Kendra, was happy to let them have their time. They hired a babysitter and Kendra went out with her girlfriends. Travis’s life was stable, and he liked it that way. Marlon, on the other hand, had never been able to settle down with one girl. Travis knew why, but every time he tried to bring it up, his twin shut him down.
Tonight, something was different. Marlon seemed brighter. Maybe he had met someone. Was that? No. Yes! That sparkle in Marlon’s eyes was definitely back. Something had turned his inner light back on.
Travis sipped his beer, waiting for his twin to speak. There was never any rushing him. Marlon grinned, meeting Travis’s eyes. Yep. Definitely a sparkle.
“Okay,” Travis said, grinning back. “What is it? Have you got a new project on the go?”
“Oh yeah.” If possible, Marlon’s grin widened. “I finally figured out why gene graft wasn’t working. Set up the lab for a new set of trials.”
Travis never understood Marlon’s work. He just smiled and nodded and let him talk. Marlon worked out a lot of his theories during these Thursday dinners. Travis felt he contributed to the medical advances his brother made just by being a good audience. He’d missed this spark over the last six months.
Dinner arrived and Marlon kept talking. By the time they got to dessert, he had wound down and they moved on to baseball.
“Speaking of baseball…” Marlon let it hang.
“Yes?” Travis dutifully supplied.
“I met someone…” Another hang. Then, “His name is Mark. He plays for the Blue Jays.”
And there it was. Finally. Maybe this time the relationship would stick. Travis’s smile lit the room. For the first time in their thirty-four years, he was able to honestly say, “That’s amazing, bro. I’m really happy for you.”
The prompt for this flash piece, from Reedsy, asked for a story about either a literal or figurative return of light after a period of darkness. It’s hard to maintain our light (or our spark) when we’re not being true to ourselves. I’m glad Marlon finally learned to accept himself as Travis did.
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Ah, the joy of embracing our true selves! How exciting!
Sweet acceptance and Sparks!!! Yay, we all need that Spark.