Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

At first, Juno wanted to bring everyone with him to meet Roe. In the end, he had Piper drop him off at the curb and agree to wait at a café down the street. Piper kissed him soundly before Juno stepped out of the car, and it calmed his nerves, but only until the car door shut and the sound of Piper driving off faded into the distance.

It was very sunny out but much cooler that far north, and Juno appreciated the reprieve from the late-summer heat and humidity. He had his cane with him—not the first time he'd used it on the trip. He was getting bolder, especially since Oliver kept relentlessly mocking him for being shy about it.

He'd taken it to dinner on the first night they arrived. Then to the mall when Oliver insisted he needed a new meet-the-brother outfit. He'd used it that morning at breakfast and during the afternoon walk he and Piper took together.

A small part of him wanted to hide it now as he approached the front door to his brother's house, only because he didn't want to seem weak, but he supposed that was pointless.

His heart was beating against the back of his tongue as his fingers felt around, then pressed on the doorbell. It gave a long, heavy chime. Then there were footsteps.

The door opened, and Juno didn't bother trying to turn his head to see the man. He'd sat with his nose close to his laptop screen for hours, staring at their similarities. And all their differences. He still couldn't get over sharing someone's face.

"Juno." Roe's voice was deeper in person. Juno saw him extend his hand, so he took it. His palms were soft, and his grip was firm. And he hesitated before letting go like he wasn't sure if he should do more than shake his hand.

"Thanks for having me."

Roe cleared his throat, then laughed. "God, this is weird. It's weird, right?"

"It's definitely weird," Juno confirmed.

There was a smile in Roe's voice when he said, "Come in. I put some drinks and snacks on the back deck, and I figure we can sit out there and talk. Uh…unless the light hurts your eyes?"

Juno patted his pocket. "I have shades if it gets bad, but outside sounds nice. I'm not sweating out of my eyeballs from the humidity here. I'd like to take advantage of that."

Roe chuckled again, then stepped aside for Juno to enter. This was a first—someone's house he didn't know with his eyes as bad as they were going to get. He couldn't see much—walls he was pretty sure were a greyish color, a lot of furniture, hardwood floors and runners. The furniture was dark, which made it easy for him to avoid it, and he could follow Roe's feet through the room as he was led into a kitchen and then toward a sliding glass door.

He kept his cane in front of him close to his body, and he felt for the lip on the back door with it before stepping over it.

"Just here," Roe said.

"Um?"

"Sorry. Fuck. To your left."

Juno turned his head until he could make out the table and chairs. They were wicker and low to the ground. The table looked like one of those fake fire ones that Piper had been eyeing recently, and the whole thing was shaded by a massive umbrella.

"Sit anywhere," Roe said.

Juno appreciated that he wasn't being dragged to a seat. So far, that hadn't happened to him, but he'd read enough horror stories he knew it was probably coming. He touched the back of the wicker chair that was partially in the sun, then sat and stretched his legs out as his brother took the one beside him.

With the sun in his face, he couldn't see the other man at all, but it didn't matter. He was there. They were both there.

Present. Family.

It was bizarre.

"I don't know what to say," Roe finally admitted. "I used to come up with all these scenarios about what I'd do if I ever met a sibling, but nothing prepared me for how it would feel when one of them actually called."

Juno folded his cane and set it on his lap so he could play with the strap. He always thought better when he could keep his hands busy. "I always told myself I wasn't going to go looking for anyone. After Mom's family wasn't happy to see me, it didn't seem worth the risk."

"I don't know how people can be like that," Roe told him. "I mean, I don't even know if any of our dad's family is alive, but I always wondered what they'd think if I showed up on their doorstep."

"Probably nothing good. My grandparents were nice. I don't know where they went wrong with my mom," Juno said quietly. "But I also feel like I didn't miss out on anything, you know? Life was hard. It was shitty. But some of it was good, and I do have a family."

"You brought them, right?" Roe asked.

Juno nodded. "I almost asked them to come with me. I was terrified that I couldn't do this by myself, but then I realized I needed to do this alone."

Roe let out a soft laugh. "Yeah. I sent Shannan and the kids away for that reason. I really do want them to meet you. I feel like you're going to be a super-cool uncle. But I think I needed this for me first."

Juno warmed deep into his bones. A cool uncle. He never thought he'd get that kind of chance. "So. Where do we go from here?"

"Well. We can start with chips and salsa. And a beer?" Roe offered.

Juno grinned. "Okay."

"And then," Roe said, a little more softly, "we find time for each other. And space for each other. If that sounds good to you."

"It really, really does," Juno said. His heart was warm. His heart was full.

He was happy.