Chapter 115 - The Brother's Keeper

Miguel had come rushing up the tower, thinking Gabriel might be seriously ill, that his brother might be on the throes of death. He nearly smashed into an oncoming truck on the way here, all because he was madly worried. He knew Claire would not have called him up if it was not utterly urgent—she would avoid having to speak with him, he knew that now. He had expected to find medical personnel, paramedics when he pushes open the doors.

But this.

What stuns Miguel is seeing the complete opposite of what he fully expected. The romantic setup that only Gabriel could think of. He had seen her kiss him, but just a smack on the lips, and somehow it had given him the illusion that things were not yet final, that the ship had not completely sailed away. And somehow, living in denial, Miguel had been able to control his own despair, no matter how flimsy that control had been.

But he opened that door and he beheld the most heartbreaking sight.

"Miguel?" Gab says, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Claire is so surprised, too. "I…I called him up."

"For what?"

"I thought you were dead," Miguel says, walking towards them, smiling a joyless smile. "Claire called me up."

"When I thought something happened to you, I called him up," Claire mutters. "I called up everyone."

"Oh," is the only thing Gabriel manages to say.

"I came here to save a brother, but I find a feast," Miguel says, looking at the table. "A feast in more ways than one."

"I'm fine, Migs. I'm sorry I…I was playing a prank on her."

Miguel takes a piece of sliced fruit from the table and tosses it into his mouth. "A prank? She was so frightened, man. You should have seen her, heard her voice. Edgardo, the guard downstairs, said she stumbled into the building's lobby in full panic, apparently after having walked a few miles on the way here."

Gabriel gives Claire a hangdog look.

"It's…It's fine, Miguel," Claire says. "He only did that to surprise—"

"And I," Miguel says, sitting by the table. "I left a party in a mad rush just to get here. I was with good people. I was talking with a woman, a beautiful woman, who was such a delightful distraction from the loneliness of my days. Because distraction is what I need most, Gab. I need distraction. I need to stop thinking about that woman in your arms." He pauses, gazing at her. "You know where I'm coming from. You now know why it has been hard. But the moment I get just a little chance of forgetting about her, if only for one night, this happens. I'm yanked out of that little distraction because I thought I must save you. We all must save you. But it turns out, we're all pawns in your little games, Gab."

Gabriel says nothing. He just gazes at his brother. Only now he understands the depth of his brother's feelings for Claire. He didn't really know. He thought she'd just be one of Miguel's fancies, another of his many conquests. But Miguel's honesty here seems too much to bear. "I'm really sorry, Migs. I wanted to surprise her with this dinner."

"Yeah, fancy dinner," Miguel says. He uncovers a dish. "Oh, shit, is this Lobster Cobb salad?" He takes a morsel with his bȧrė hand and shoves it into his mouth. He chews the food for a while, eating as though there's no one else but him. "Must be worthy of all the trouble. I really hope you've made her happy, brother."

Miguel stands up. He sighs. "Congratulations to the both of you. May you live happily ever after." He gazes at her for a moment, then he walks away.

Claire tries to run after him, but Gabriel holds her back. "Let me talk to him. This is all my fault. I'm the big idiot. I didn't really think through this…this dinner."

He follows Miguel into the suite, but finds no one. "Migs?" he calls out in the darkness; the power has not come back yet, as it's supposed to last two full hours. "Migs?"

But Miguel's not there.

He returns to the garden and finds Claire deep in thought, sitting by the table, gazing sadly at the otherwise festive spread, alone. The musicians are long gone; they had bounced the moment Miguel appeared. Now, what's supposedly a romantic setup seems a most heartbreaking sight; the candles even flicker in the evening breeze, commiserating.

"He's gone," he says, running his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry I called him up. I was in a panic," she says, standing up to face him.

"Anyone who loved me would call up my brother," he says. "This is on me. I didn't realize the implications of my little stunt. I was living in a bubble, you know. Like we're the only people in the world, and this entire world is our playroom. Like I forgot about other people's feelings. There's no one else in my mind but you, and everything else—my stature, my responsibilities for my businesses, everything—seems unnecessary things that only get in the way. That's why I tend to make these spot decisions." He sighs. "I'll make up for it. I'll pay him a visit tomorrow, have an earnest talk. I can't talk to him now. It might only lead to something we both don't want to happen."

She says nothing; she just gazes in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm a fool in love."

"I'm a fool, too," she says. "Maybe more than a fool."

They lock in a desperate embrace. He doesn't kiss her; he just wants to feel that she's there, warm and real, that they're together on this night on the rooftop of the city's tallest skyscraper. Here, it's so easy to give in to the illusion that there's only the two of them in the entire universe; an illusion he loves surrendering to.

"Look," he says, pointing to the evening sky. "It's full moon."

"It's beautiful," she says. "And look down there. The power's still out."

Down on the city's streets, only the headlights from passing cars give illumination; the buildings are all still dark, save for a few occasional lighted windows.

"Well, the power should…" Gabriel looks at his wristwatch. "It should return any minute now."

As if on cue, the buildings around them suddenly light up; the huge billboard blinks to life in front of them, advertising a new TV series on Netflix.

"You say things and it happens!" she says. "You're such a lucky guy." But she's really thinking about these happy coincidences, not about Gabriel's life in general.

"Yes, I am," he says, looking at her. "I am." But he's really thinking of how lucky he is for finding her. And how, if he could have his way, he doesn't want this night to ever end.