Free The Other Brother by Brandon Massey Page A

not sure about that one. I'm inclined to think that the door wasn't closed all the way and it sort of bounced open when you moved toward it. Probably was blown open by the wind."
    "But I saw that knob twist, Dana. I know it."
    "Like you saw the shape in the mirror?"
    He pursed his lips. She smiled a little. She had him.
    "So I imagined that, too," he said.
    "I prefer to say `misinterpreted,"' she said.
    "Whatever you call it, it worries me. Going around having hallucinations, misinterpreting things, as you say? That makes me sound like a head case"
    "Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions, babe. First things first; you need to see your doctor."
    "Why do I have to do that? You're a doctor. You help me"
    "I'm a pediatrician, Gabe. I treat children-though sometimes you behave like one" She smiled.
    "Ha-ha"
    "Seriously, you need to see your own doctor. I'll see what I can find out, but a second opinion never hurts. I want you to make an appointment tomorrow."
    He groaned.
    "I know, you hate going to the doctor," she said. "But this is important. We can't put it off or try to brush it under the rug and hope it goes away. You already said your hands have gotten that pins-and-needles feeling three times since yesteray.
    "You're right," he said. He examined his hands. They felt normal. For now. "I'll make the appointment tomorrow morning, see if he can fit me in right away."
    "Good boy," she said. "Let's finish dinner before it gets cold. We won't let this little thing ruin the rest of the evening."
    But the mood already had been altered, irrevocably, in Gabriel's mind. Even as they finished dinner and indulged in their dessert ... even as Gabriel opened his birthday present and discovered that Dana had given him a beautiful Movado watch ... even as they cuddled on the sofa to watch a Will Smith movie and Dana interrupted the film to climb on Gabriel's lap and slip out of her blouse ... even as they began to make love ... even as, afterward, they lay together in bed and drifted to sleep ... even as all these things happened, the question of what was happening to him lingered over him ... like a storm cloud waiting to give birth to thunder and lightning.

Chapter 10
    -hat night, Isaiah decided to get a woman of his own. - The Days Inn at which he was lodging in Marietta was located near Dave & Buster's, a massive entertainment complex that featured arcade games, billiards and shuffleboard tables, a restaurant, and bars. Isaiah strolled into the place around nine o'clock.
    It was a space as vast as an airport hangar, bedecked with glitzy lights and abuzz with electronic sound effects, music, chatter and laughter, and bar-food aromas-enough sensory stimulation to scramble your nerves. Which was most likely the intended effect. Customers satiated with stimuli were more likely to keep guzzling drinks, gorging themselves on fatty food, and pumping money into games. Fun, fun, fun.
    Wishing he had a pair of sunglasses and earplugs, Isaiah sidled up to the Viewpoint Bar, aptly named because it was situated to allow customers to scope out the action in the restaurant and billiards area. A twenty-screen video dome displayed an Atlanta Braves game and news clips of the day's other sporting events.
    The Latino bartender, a dead ringer for Ricky Martin, came to take Isaiah's order.
    "Double shot of Hennessy, on the rocks," Isaiah said. He added, "VSOE"
    "You got it, man," the bartender said.
    Mama, whenever she drank, was partial to Hennessy. Isaiah had his first try of the cognac-without her knowledge, of course-when he was twelve years old. One taste had hit him like a punch to the chest, but he'd loved it. He wasn't a big drinker, didn't like how alcohol robbed the mind of control, but when he chose to indulge, Hennessy was his preferred poison.
    He was drinking tonight because he needed time to locate a lady, and a man sitting at a bar drinking a nonalcoholic beverage looked, quite frankly, like a pussy. In society, perception was reality. He