Words Left Along

Now with a title like “my sister’s boyfriend” you might be thinking that this is about, well, my sister’s boyfriend. No, this is about me, the boyfriend of the sister. 

I never thought much about this role I played; well at least in the moment. It wasn’t until today that a collection of thoughts brought this to my attention. 

In my first relationship, my girlfriend had a brother who was in middle school while his sister and I were dating. We were in high school and so thinking about him never came up unless I was with him. 

He was a soft spoken kid. More shy and into himself and his head than out going. He reminds me of myself when I was his age. We never really spent much time one-on-one, but when we did it was always silent with a touch of awkwardness.

On occasion I’d help out my ex’s parents and my ex by picking him up from school, buy him some  Taco Bell and then off to home to be dropped off. The only conversation that would happen would be the polite “how’s it going? How was school? Playing any games right now?” and the one word answers that would follow.I tried to not push him too much or ask too many dumb questions. Since I would be in my car driving, I’d just drive him to-and-fro listening to my own music.

 It wasn’t until a few years into this relationship did her brother surprise me. My ex, her mom, dad, brother and I were driving home from this fancy restaurant called Mastroes where we had a Christmas dinner. All of us were making small talk except for him. But he was the one who was controlling what music we were listening to. That’s when it hit me like 2000 pounds of bricks, he was playing the song Carlos Rex by the band Sabaton.this band had been my religion and it was never on the radio. When I heard it, I shot my guise in his direction and you know he was already looking my way. 

I always thought that moment was cool. I always felt that it was sick that I converted another to Sabaton. That being said it’s not till today did i see this as me rubbing off onto a kid. I never showed him it directly, nor did I intend to influence his taste in music. He, on his own accord, liked what he heard and looked into them. I never tried to be a mentor, role model, etc, all I did was acknowledge him and treat him with the respect we all deserve; no matter how young or old. 

As I write this, I can help but have another memory with him come to mind. This memory is one that I look back at with a smile ear to ear. 

It was thanksgiving, probably 2015-2016? And I joined my ex, her brother, sister, sisters boyfriend and her dad on a road trip to New Mexico. When it was the day of thanksgiving, I was sitting in the couch with her brother and some random Cousin across from us. 

Now, I’m no magician, but I do know how cards work; Suits and colors Ace-king. This kid must have been young, but not a baby. Probably in the 5-7 years old range. That age where he knows what magic is and is still wowed by it. 

So naturally I asked this kid if he wanted to see a magic trick. My ex’s brother could see what I was doing and was holding his laughter back. I took a single suit of cards in my hand and had her cousin pick one and told him to not tell me. After he’d grab one, I’d see the missing card and tell him exactly what his card was. This blew him away every time until he began to catch on. So to prove that I was a magician, I laid out the cards, face down, on the coffee table between us. 

The universe must have wanted this kid to believe in magic because I did not plan or set up the following. The cards laid face down and scrambled. So I flipped one over. I don’t remember what it was, but what I do remember is flipping over the second card to make a matching pair.

Naturally this kid was now a full on believer in magic. Spending the rest of the evening practicing that last trick, trying to get the match himself.

My ex’s brother was equally shocked, asking how I did that. Which led me to reveal an all too true fact of life, sometimes it’s not skill but luck. 

Looking back, I’m happy some part of me lives on in him, even if it is just a taste in music, or even a phase of music he listened to. 

I feel like I had some other conclusion in mind when I first started writing. Perhaps there is, perhaps there isn’t. I guess to take something from this, it’s that I’m looking forward to the day where if I meet someone and have kids, that I can impart some of myself onto them. If I don’t, at least I know something lives on.