All Dressed in White

27

That night at seven-thirty, Alex was thrilled to hear the sound of keys in the front door. His brother, Andrew, had made it to New York with time to spare before dinner.

He was about to pull the door open when he felt it being pushed.

“Glad to have the better-looking Buckley on the premises,” Alex said with a laugh.

“Younger and better-looking!” Andrew said as he embraced his brother.

Ramon was hustling away his suitcase.

As much as Alex enjoyed his life, so busy with work, he felt most at home when Andrew was here. One of the reasons Alex had bought this large apartment on Beekman Place-six rooms, plus housekeeper’s quarters-was so his younger brother could always have his own room and there would be plenty of space when he brought his family up for a weekend. Andrew was a corporate lawyer in D.C. who came up to New York frequently on business.

There was a reason it felt natural for Alex to have his brother under the same roof with him. For a long time, it had been only the two of them. Their parents had died within two years of each other. At only twenty-one years of age, Alex became Andrew’s legal guardian. He sold their parents’ home in Oyster Bay, and the two of them moved to an apartment on the Upper East Side, where they lived together until Andrew graduated from Columbia Law School. At commencement, Alex thought he probably cheered louder than any of the graduates’ parents.

Alex walked over to the bar to make cocktails while Ramon continued to prepare dinner in the kitchen. Measuring shots of gin into a martini shaker, Alex asked Andrew about Marcy and the kids. He and Marcy now had a six-year-old son and three-year-old twin daughters.

“I love coming back to the city,” Andrew said, “but, man, it’s getting harder and harder to leave them, even for a few days. Marcy tells me I’m lucky to have a break, but I miss them like crazy when I’m here.”

Alex smiled, wondering what that was like. He handed Andrew a martini, and the two of them clinked glasses.

“So what’s your story, Alex? I thought I might finally meet Laurie tonight. She couldn’t join us?”

Alex regretted mentioning the possibility when Andrew had phoned yesterday. “I invited her, but she’s lining up a new case. When she jumps in, it’s not just with both feet. She gets in all the way up to her ears. She didn’t want to ruin dinner by being distracted.”

Andrew was nodding. “Sure, I understand.”

It was obvious to Alex that his brother, in fact, did not understand. When Laurie said she didn’t want to meet Andrew until she could give him her full attention, Alex accepted the explanation at face value. Now he was seeing it as yet another wall standing between them. “Hopefully, next time.”

Alex found himself relieved when Ramon appeared with a small plate of hors d’oeuvres. He had not realized until that moment how much he wanted Andrew to meet Laurie. Andrew was the only real family member he had. Would there ever be a time when Laurie would become part of this family, too?