Free Beautifully Broken by Shayne Donovan

before Mr. Bradley took a shaky breath. “This truck belonged to my father. He passed it down to me. I passed it to my oldest son Owen.” Mr. Bradley’s voice was both shaky and quiet. I had never heard of Owen Bradley. I wasn’t sure if I should have spoken or not so instead I stayed silent, letting Mr. Bradley say what he needed too. He ran his hand over the worn leather steering wheel. “You’ve probably never heard of Owen. Everyone pretty much keeps him quiet. Not because they are ashamed but because the pain is still fresh.” He took my hand in his and I was struck with how similar he was to Cole. He rubbed slow circles against my skin, not in a romantic way but more in a comforting way and I think it was more for him than for me so I stayed quiet.
                  “Owen was our oldest son, Cole is the baby. Owen was just two years older than Cole. He would have turned twenty five this past march. He passed away a year and a half before you got here from cancer.” Mr. Bradley’s voice broke as tears fell gently on his face. I suddenly remembered the conversation I had when I asked Cole if he had cancer. I remember the sad look on his face, but it passed so quickly that I didn’t think twice about it. He took a shaky breath and continued. “Cole took Owen’s death really hard. After he finished seeing the world…he came back here wanting to see Old Louise up and running again. It makes him feel connected to his brother.” I nodded solemnly, I could never relate since I was thankfully an only child. My parents were at least kind enough not to reproduce other than me. I was enough of a broken mess. “Cole holds his own secrets Marley and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen him smile and open up. I don’t know what it is about you but you’ve fixed my boy and I couldn’t be more thankful.” I tried to smile but I could feel my own tears struggling to be freed. “He really cares about you. I know you’ve tried to stay distant, I’ve seen it, but life is a lot less lonely and the burdens a lot less heavy if you have someone to help you. I know you were hurt before, but one piece of advice I can give you, be patient and strong; someday going through this pain is going to be useful to you.” He patted my hand and leaned back sighing deeply. “In the last three and a half years I’ve felt like I lost both my sons. First Cole…then Owen. After Owen, Cole never really came back. But then you…” He turned and smiled, “After he met you…I feel like I’m starting to get my son back.” I shook my head feeling a bit embarrassed, “Mr. Bradley…I didn’t do anything special.” I insisted.
                  Mr. Bradley turned abruptly, looking at me with wide sincere eyes, the same blue as Cole’s, making my heart ache unexpectedly. “You didn’t have to do anything but be yourself Marley. You are an amazing young lady. Just remember… Cole is going to need you in the coming year and truthfully I think you are going to need him just as much. Maybe you need to think about this, maybe it’s not about the happy ending, but more about the story you take to get there.” He sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, wiping away the evidence of his tears. “I should let you fix this old lady up.” He patted my hand again and climbed out, leaving me alone with the silence.
                  I sat in the truck mulling over my own thoughts until the sun was high in the sky. I did no work just sat thinking. The past couple days I had felt my wall chipping away bit by bit until little bits of my heart and soul were exposed. I spent my whole life building up that wall and in a matter of days Cole Bradley came along and started chipping away at it. My carefully constructed, unbreakable wall was apparently breakable after all.
                  Finally I got up and started moving around. I felt exhausted. I had been put through the proverbial emotional wringer