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Michael told himself he’d never come back to this family. He told himself he’d never speak to them again. Well, perhaps that was a lofty goal because George Sr. was dying and a family gathering was set to occur(Or, well, his father was “dying”, it was always hard to tell with that man). In spite of his inner reluctance, Michael was civil. Despite his father being an awful guy, his whole family being awful, for that matter, he couldn’t get himself to disrespect him in return. He decided to take the high road and set up his father’s last wishes without a fuss, even though this all felt a little too familiar for his comfort.
Michael checked for the third time that morning who had and who had yet to RSVP and saw the same name as always: Gob Bluth.
His mother had informed him that she wanted Gob to attend, to which he followed that up by asking if she was feeling alright. She said she was fine and Michael just chalked it up to how the distress of losing her beloved(?) husband must’ve been affecting her. Either way, she was insistent on having all of her children there and Michael didn’t want to put up with her otherwise.
Deciding he was done waiting, he took his phone from his pocket and dialed Gob’s number, shifting his weight to the other foot as he waited for his brother to pick up. He hadn’t spoken to Gob since before he’d left. Gob had tried to call a couple times but Michael wasn’t really in the mood to talk to his family unless he needed to and he had no reason to believe those calls to be anything within the realm of need. The only reason he even knew Gob was living in New York was because his mom had somehow found out and she was complaining how she wished he could’ve gotten that far away from the family sooner. You know, as much of a pain Gob could be at times, their mother’s disdain for him never ceased to make him at least a little uncomfortable.
Finally, the speaker crackled to life as he heard the line pick up.
“Michael?” a hopeful but confused voice spoke. Michael could just barely hear another voice in the background say what he believed to be, “Who’s that?”
“Hey, Gob, mom said she wants you to come to dad’s thing so please be there, okay?” Dead silence. Michael sighed impatiently into the speaker. “Gob, are you there?”
“I don’t want to go, Michael,” Gob hesitantly claimed, slightly unsure in his tone. Michael heard another voice but it was too muffled this time to hear it clearly.
“Come on. Dad’s dying, Gob!”
“Yeah, dad!” Gob exclaimed. “You know how he is with me…” Gob didn’t need to continue for Michael to know what his brother was referring to. Their dad despised Gob and, while Michael felt sympathy for his brother, he also felt like it was rude just leaving their dad to die alone; or rather, with their mother. And, hey, Michael had gotten his fair share of unpleasant memories of his dad and he was still able to suck it up and bear through it.
“Gob, you need to come. Mom said.” The line was silent once more and Michael was about to surrender and hang up but then Gob spoke.
“Michael, I never got to apologize for what I did.” Confused for multiple reasons, Michael paused.
“Which thing?” Michael hesitantly inquired. He could hear Gob sigh.
“I mean, all of the things I did wrong but I was referring to the…to the forget-me-now. I broke your trust, Michael, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have given that to you.”
Michael felt his stomach churn. He remembered that night. It was still a little foggy but he knew the broad details. He knew about his brother drugging him. He knew about his brother and-
“I was just really scared,” Gob said, interrupting his brother’s thoughts. “I didn’t know what else to do and I know that still doesn’t make it right…I just…I really want you to know that I know I messed up. I tried calling you to apologize but you never picked up and now is better than never so…Yeah.”
Michael was surprised to hear his brother actually taking accountability for his actions. He was sort of stunned, if he was being honest.
“No, yeah, Gob…” Michael said, hesitantly. “What you did was messed up but I’m just glad you recognized that that was bad. It means a lot to hear that from you.”
“Yeah,” Gob replied, sounding as if a weight had been lifted off his chest. “I got rid of all my forget-me-nows a while ago,” he added, proudly.
“That’s great, Gob. I’m glad you’re doing better. Hopefully, that means you aren’t letting dad’s opinions affect you anymore either,” Michael smiled, dancing around what they both knew, earning an awkward laugh from Gob, who didn’t add any more to the subject. “But,” Michael continued, shifting to a more serious tone. “I really do need you to come. Mom’s gonna throw a fit if you aren’t here.”
“That’s not like her, Michael.”
“Her husband is dying, Gob. She’s probably not in the right mindset.”
“I guess…” Gob doubted, thinking in silence before speaking again. “Michael, I really…I really don’t want to go.”
“I know, buddy, but…”
“Can I bring a friend?” Gob interrupted. This caught Michael off guard.
“A…friend?”
“Yeah, to, like, um, support…me…”
“I mean…I’m not sure that’s appropriate, Gob.”
“Well, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do it otherwise…I’m genuinely asking-“
“Fine, fine,” Michael cut in, surrendering to Gob’s request. “You’ll be there, though, right?” Michael said, hovering his mouse over the button to confirm Gob’s attendance.
“Yeah,” Gob sighed. “I’ll be there.” Michael let out a sigh of relief and clicked the box next to Gob’s name. The finality of it all washed over him; as pathetic as it sounds, Michael always loved the satisfaction of a finished checklist. An incomplete one bothered him more than it probably should.
“Great. Thanks, Gob,” Michael said, shaking himself out of his thoughts.
“Yeah, whatever,” Gob replied dismissively.
“Well, that’s all I had to say, then. Nice talking”
“See you soon-”
“Oh wait!” Michael exclaimed, but Gob had hung up. He tried calling back a couple times but there wasn’t an answer. And, as much as it bothered him to do so, he’d just have to put down Gob’s extra guest as unnamed.
…
Michael and his mother, Lucille, sat in the lobby waiting for Lindsay, Gob and Gob’s friend to arrive. Michael fidgeted with his watch while Lucille took another sip of her wine.
“They better not be late. I don’t want to have to be around tourists for longer than I have to,” Lucille complained, looking down at her own watch. “Especially, Gob. If his ‘friend’ causes any trouble, I’m going to be very upset.” She shot Michael a dirty look during that last part.
“He said he needed someone to support him, mom.”
“Is his family not enough?”
“You’re right. I can’t believe anyone would ever feel unsupported by this family,” Michael dryly added. Lucille just sipped her wine, not dignifying Michael with a response.
It was then that Michael noticed Lindsay walking through the doors, dragging along two suitcases behind her.
“Lindsay!” Michael called out, standing up to greet her. Their mother just rolled her eyes before saying under her breath, “She’s gotten fatter.” Michael tried to brush off his mother’s messed up commentary on his sister as he went to help her with her suitcases. Even though they technically weren’t twins, Michael still always felt their ‘twin bond’ between them. And, although he’d been insistent on keeping his distance for as long as he had, he definitely felt how much he missed his ‘twin’ sister.
“Good to see you, Linds!” Michael exclaimed, reaching out his hand for a suitcase, to which Lindsay, exhausted, gladly handed one over.
“It’s good to see you, too! It’s been a while. It sucks that it’s under these circumstances, though.”
“Yeah, with dad’s hea-“
“With having to be around mom an-Oh. Oh, you meant-”
“No, uh, it’s- That’s also…”
“But, of course, with dad-”
They both trailed off awkwardly, speaking over each other until they just stood there in silence.
“Anyway, um, how about I help you bring your stuff to your room,” Michael finally stated. Lindsay nodded and they began on their way. Michael couldn’t help but notice Lindsay speeding up a little as they passed their mother.
“So, is dad really dying?” Lindsay whispered once out of ear shot.
“Lindsay!” Michael scolded.
“What?” Lindsay shot back. “You’re not telling me you didn’t have the same thought? Especially with how he’s not allowing anyone to see him.” Michael sighed, and while he hadn’t admitted to anything, his silence seemed to give Lindsay some satisfaction. “So, is he?”
“He’s dying, Lindsay,” Michael persisted, not entirely with all the certainty he’d hoped to exude. Lindsay still didn’t look convinced. “Listen, I get it. But, ya know, he’s getting older so it’s not like this is anything out of the realm of possibility.”
“I guess so. I just don’t want to have come out here for nothing,” Lindsay confessed as they stopped at room 127.
“I’m with you there,” Michael said, unlocking the door with the room key before handing it over to Lindsay. “I’ve been trying to stay away from this family as much as possible, no offense, and if this does turn out to be nothing but another one of dad’s tricks,” Michael said, letting his voice dip into a whisper at the mention of his dad’s previous schemes. “I’m also going to be pretty pissed.”
The two of them entered the room. It was nothing fancy; they certainly couldn’t afford the hotels they used to stay at. It was nice, though. The white walls, the pictures of various flowers, the small, unstocked kitchen; it was all very quaint.
“It is nice getting to see you again, though,” Michael offered. Lindsay smiled, reaching for the second suitcase to place it along with the other next to the large, dark brown dresser that sat at the wall across from the foot of the bed. Standing up, she started walking towards the door, Michael following close behind.
“Yeah, it’s nice seeing you again too. Honestly, if you weren’t going to be here, I’m not sure I would’ve come.”
“That’s fair. When I saw that, at the very least, you were going to be here, it made everything seem a lot more bearable. It seems we’re all sort of in the same boat, on that. I mean, Gob is bringing a friend for support.”
“A friend? Do you know who it is?”
“No, he never told me.” Lindsay shook her head.
“It’s probably whatever girl he’s decided he’ll keep around him until she tries to get more serious. I’m leaving the room if he starts talking about how much sex they have.”
“I mean, I would think he would’ve said girlfriend if that was the case.”
“Maybe, but he probably knew you wouldn’t allow it if he said he was bringing his girlfriend! Besides, Gob’s never had any friends.”
“Whoever it is,” Michael interrupted, trying to move on from the subject. “We won’t know until they arrive. I’ve tried to call him since to find out but he wouldn’t pick up. He messaged me saying he was busy.” Lindsay let out a short laugh at that.
“Busy with what?”
“No clue,” Michael shrugged. “I haven’t really talked to him since I left. Apparently he’s living in New York now.”
“New York? Huh,” Lindsay thought to herself. “I’ve always wanted to live there…Is he here yet?” she asked as they emerged back into the lobby.
“Not yet,” their mother replied for Michael. “It’s cutting it close, Michael. I won’t postpone the breakfast if he-”
“Gob!” Michael interrupted, spotting his brother and another man, presumably the friend, entering the hotel. Michael shot Lindsay a look for her earlier statements and she rolled her eyes. Hearing his name, Gob perked up, identifying Michael in his scan of the crowded room and, after getting a pat on the back from his friend, he began making his way over, Michael going to meet him halfway.
As Michael approached the two, he noticed two things. The first thing he noticed was that his brother’s eyes were red and puffy. He looked like he’d been crying. Michael didn’t know if it was because their father was dying, if it was because he had to come and be around family or a combination of the two but he couldn’t help but feel a little bad for making him come, seeing how upset whatever part it was was making him.
The second thing he noticed is that Gob’s friend looked familiar, which was surprising for how distinctive of a feature that goatee he had was; one would think you’d never forget a face like that. But, Michael just couldn’t quite place the man.
“You just narrowly missed getting an angry rant from, mom-” Michael began to joke before being crushed by one of his brother’s notorious hugs. He awkwardly patted him on the back, trying his best to reciprocate the gesture he didn’t quite have the expertise to properly deal with.
“Michael,” Gob somberly offered, lacking the punch of his usual ‘Michael’s.
“Good to see you too, buddy,” Michael squeezed out before pulling away and regaining his ability to breathe. “Um, anyway, I’m assuming this is your friend…” Michael said, reaching out for a handshake.
“Tony,” the man answered with a warm smile, reciprocating Michael’s handshake. “Tony Wonder.”
Michael’s heart skipped a beat and he hoped his face didn’t show it. As soon as he heard that distinctive name, the face he couldn’t quite place finally became oh, so familiar.
“Oh, uh, have we met?” Michael inquired, hoping to glean confirmation of his identification. Gob shifted nervously at the question.
“Probably,” the man answered, looking over to Gob, who gave back a cautionary glance. “I used to live around here and I’ve been in the magic community for a while so there are lots of opportunities for you to have, um, seen me.”
Michael nodded, deciding he wouldn’t press them further. He didn’t even know if they actually were…something. For all he knows, his brother is straight and this really is just a friend who he slept with one time for whatever reason. Whatever they were, they clearly weren’t open to discussing it; not that Michael expected them to talk about how he caught them sleeping together in the lobby of a hotel they were at because of a dying relative.
“We perform magic together. Your brother’s really talented,” Tony boasted, putting his arm around Gob and looking up at him lovingly before coughing and returning his arm to his side. “Um, but yeah, thanks for letting me come.”
Lindsay may not have gotten the girl part right but…Maybe they’re just…really, really good friends.
“It’s no problem,” Michael maintained with a smile, even though it maybe was a little bit of a problem. But, it is what it is. It was more-so a thing his mother had qualms with, anyway, so it’s not like he really minded.
“Anyway,” Michael continued. “Let me show you two to your room and then we can all head out to the restaurant for breakfast.”
“Sounds good,” Tony said. Gob just nodded, looking down and sniffling.
…
“So, that’s his friend?” Lindsay asked Michael, leaning up against the wall. The family was waiting in front of the hotel for the car that was coming to pick them up and take them to Le Sceau à Main, the fancy restaurant his mother had picked out. Lindsay and Michael watched Gob and Tony, who were sitting on the curb, Gob leaning up against Tony’s shoulder while Tony rubbed his back slowly.
“Apparently,” Michael replied frankly.
“And, they’re just friends?”
“What happened to you being convinced that Gob would probably bring a girlfriend and brag about sleeping with them?”
“I never said that meant he wasn’t gay.”
Michael sighed.
“Let’s not speculate, Lindsay. If he wanted us to know, he would tell us,” Michael insisted. They paused, watching the two, Tony now wiping a tear from Gob’s eye. “I wouldn’t be surprised, though.”
“It would make sense.”
“It would.”
They looked over their mother, who also seemed to be observing the two, scoffing at their affection.
The sound of crunching gravel brought Michael’s attention over to see a car pulling up to where they were standing. He held up a finger to Lindsay and quickly made his way over.
As he approached, the man driving rolled down his window, Michael placing one hand on the ledge.
“Are you here for the Bluths?” Michael asked, out of breath. He didn’t know why he chose to run.
“Yes, sir,” the man replied.
“Perfect. Come on, guys!” Michael called, turning around and waving his family over. Lucille stood up from the arm of the chair she’d been perched on like a vulture and looked over to Lindsay who was making her way over.
“Surely you can walk faster or are you really that out of shape,” Lucille chastised.
Michael watched as Lindsay quickened her pace, crossing her hands over her torso and Tony looked over to Gob as if to confirm whether their mom had really just said that.
Their mother climbed in the passenger seat, Michael and Lindsay took the middle two seats and Gob and Tony went to the back. And, with a couple complaints about how the car smelled from their mom, they were off.
“So, Gob, how’s New York?” Lindsay asked, turning around in her seat to look at her brother, taking note of his hand which quickly moved from its place on Tony’s. She gave Michael a look, who’d also twisted around, non-verbally continuing their earlier conversation.
“Oh, um,” Gob started, his nose sounding vaguely stuffy. “It’s nice! I like the city. The magic community is way more widespread up there, too, so there are a lot more opportunities for us to perform.”
“Mhmm, I see.” Lindsay said, vaguely disinterested. “Sounds like it’s great for you, then!” Gob smiled, preoccupied in his love for magic.
“It is, it is. It’s also nice being far away from, ya know…” Gob trailed off in a hushed tone. They all eyed their mom, seeing her snap a handheld mirror angled towards them shut.
“How’s it actually having weather?” Lindsay inquired after a moment with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s so funny,” Tony butted in before Gob could get a word out. “He does not know how to dress for cold weather.”
“I do, too!” Gob retorted, jokingly shoving the man next to him, to which Tony shoved him back.
“He always has to borrow my jackets when we’re out because he’s too cold even though I always tell him that what he’s wearing isn’t warm enough,” Tony laughed as Gob scoffed defiantly at his words.
“You say this like it happens all the time.”
“It does!”
“Three times! It happened three times!” Gob shouted defensively, his smile softening his protests.
“Oh, it’s definitely happened more than three times. Don’t believe what he’s telling you. He’s a liar.” Tony objected, turning his attention to Lindsay and Micheal.
“No, I believe you,” Michael laughed. “Growing up, on the rare occasion it was actually cold, he’d refuse to wear anything weather appropriate and then wouldn’t admit he was freezing.”
“Yeah, even though your teeth would be chattering,” Lindsay added with a laugh.
“Uhh, I don’t think my teeth ever chattered, Lindsay. I’m not a cartoon character.”
“Okay, I can’t tell if you’re saying that as a joke or if you’re being really dumb right now.”
“We’re here!” Lucille called out, bringing their banter to an abrupt end. Michael and Lindsay turned back around in their seats, preparing to exit the vehicle. A smile still lingered on Michael’s face. Moments like that with his siblings were rare. It was nice to think that, at the very least, he’d have that nice moment to deem this whole thing as worth it, no matter what happened.
They exited the car, standing on the curb as the car pulled away. Michael began scanning the surrounding area, smoothing the wrinkles on his shirt.
“So, where are we supposed to meet-”
“Buster!” his mother cried out, making them all flinch. They all turned to look towards where their mom was quickly making her way over to and saw Buster, who was accompanied by two policemen.
“No touching!” the man to the left ordered as Lucille reached out her arms towards her son.
“No touching, no touching,” she mocked under her breath, her sour expression returning to the caring countenance from when she first spotted Buster. “Buster, have they been treating you well in prison?”
“Well, they stopped allowing me to drink OJ at breakfast since I kept getting all hyper,” Buster spoke in his usual innocent candor.
“What have I told you about drinking too much juice?” Lucille scolded.
“It was only one cup!”
“There were three cups, at least,” the policeman on Buster’s right interjected.
“These are the kind of hard lessons you’re going to have to learn in prison, Buster.” Buster pouted at this but didn’t protest any further.
Michael, Lindsay, Gob and Tony all stood from afar, watching, not exactly sure how to feel about the whole Buster thing. It was jarring seeing the baby brother of the family being escorted around by policemen. Buster being a killer seemed so…wrong; I mean, the only thing on his mind when asked about prison was the fact that he wasn’t allowed to drink juice. Michael wasn’t quite sure what that said about his brother but it definitely made him uneasy.
“How about we all head inside,” Michael suggested, rounding up everyone and gesturing towards the entrance. A waiter met them at the front of the restaurant and escorted them to the back room they’d rented out.
It was a small but still nice looking space. One could describe it as a fancier children’s birthday room. A buffet of breakfast foods sat on a long table, parallel to another empty one, set with plates, forks, glasses of water and napkins.
The waiter placed himself in the corner of the room, available if any help was needed for whatever reason and everyone began to make their way towards whatever they were choosing to eat.
Michael soon came to realize that booking the whole room probably wasn’t necessary.
Lindsay, after hesitating at the start of the buffet, just sat down at the table with nothing. Their mom got the attention of the waiter and ordered a glass of wine. Michael, himself, wasn’t really a breakfast person and he just got coffee and toast. Buster, Tony and Gob were the only ones to actually get stuff but Gob seemed to have returned back to his earlier depressive state and Tony was too busy fussing over Gob to try and get him to eat to actually eat much himself. Buster was really the only one to eat anything but he was visibly upset by the fact that he wasn’t allowed any juice, which he really shouldn’t have been surprised about. It was all a little depressing. It reminded Michael that they were, in fact, all in town because their father was dying.
After a while of silence, Lucille stood up, saying she needed to use the ladies room. Once she’d left, Michael elbowed Lindsay, who was fidgeting with her napkin.
“You wanna get something while she’s not here?”
“She’ll know.”
“How would she know, Lindsay?”
Lindsay just looked at Michael, confused, as if the answer to that question was obvious.
“Lindsay,” Gob said, holding out a half of the waffle he’d yet to touch. “Here.” Lindsay was startled by her brother’s kindness, just staring at the food, partially out of fear of what her mother would think and partially afraid that this was a trick of some sort. She looked to the door and, after another moment of hesitation, she took half of the offering and began playing with it, eyeing it hesitantly. The silence returned as Lindsay stared at the food.
“It wouldn’t hurt if someone were to talk, ya know,” Lindsay quipped, putting the waffle down on her plate a tad defeatedly. And, after a moment of people trying to think of something to break the awkward silence, looking around and hoping someone else would be the first one to talk, surprising them all in more ways than one, Buster was the one to break the silence.
“Is Tony your boyfriend now?” This didn’t help the silence. Or, well, it wasn’t exactly silence. While no one spoke, the sound of Gob spitting out the water he was drinking and spilling the rest of his water in the process, certainly made a clamor, Tony now desperately trying to wipe it up with his napkin. Michael and Lindsay shared a look before turning back over to the two, Gob looking quite panicked.
“Gob?” Tony awkwardly prompted as he dabbed away the table cloth.
“Um, no, Buster!” Gob nervously laughed once he’d finished coughing. “Wha-what made you think-boyfrie-No. Not-No. I don’t-Dad wouldn’t-Not-I just…I- I’m not-can’t…” As Gob stuttered, becoming more and more anxious, Tony, abandoning his futile attempt at drying the table, began gently hushing him and whispering “you’re okay” and “deep breaths” while rubbing circles into his hand. It wasn’t really helping their case.
“We’re just friends, Buster,” Tony answered. “We do magic shows together.”
“No, I remember,” Buster stated, slightly offended. “The whole point was because he wanted to reu-”
“What is going on in here?” Lucille shrieked from the doorway. Michael watched as Lindsay quickly moved her nibbled waffle to his plate. “The things I do for my husband…” she muttered to herself. “I leave you all alone for five seconds and Gob is already ruining everything. And, Lindsay, don’t think I didn’t see that waffle on your plate…Ugh, Michael, do something!”
Michael, perplexed, looked around him at the escalating ruin. Buster looked to be having a panic attack, his assigned officers attempting to calm him down. Gob also seemed to now be having a panic attack(or, rather, it had worsened from the one he was having earlier after Buster’s question). Tony was trying to console his, uh-Gob, to little success. Lindsay sunk into her seat, slowly shrinking under the table, her arms pressed tightly around her stomach. And Michael, who used to be the one who cleaned up the family’s messes, found himself frozen.
He sat there under the scrutinizing eye of Lucille, who scoffed before turning and heading out. And, even after she left, he still felt too overwhelmed to act. And, soon, he, too, had joined his siblings in having horrible, parent-induced anxiety.
…
The family had met at lunch for a second attempt at the family meeting, the time between it and breakfast being exactly how long it took to get everyone calmed down. It was awkward. The family wasted no time for things to go wrong, Lucille starting immediately with what she’d intended to say at breakfast.
The gist of what they were all told was that their father would be meeting with them the next day to tell them his final words. With everyone going off and doing their own thing, he, apparently, wanted to gather them all so he’d be able to properly say goodbye to all his children before it was too late. He had something to say to each of them.
It was safe to say the meeting went decently. Well, except for the fact that Gob started crying at this meeting, which he got yelled at for since he was “causing a ruckus”. And, then Tony yelled at Lucille for berating her son like that so there was a bit of a screaming match there. She threatened to kick him out, which only made Gob cry more. Lindsay had gotten overwhelmed by the whole thing and ran off. Buster began having a panic attack again and he was escorted out by the police officers who didn’t want to risk having to deal with Buster’s panic attacks for a third time. But, ya know, the message of the meeting was brought across and that’s all that really mattered, right? It’s a bit foolish to think that a Bluth family meeting wouldn’t end in some sort of chaos, no matter how many times you try.
…
It was around midnight and Michael was left alone with his thoughts. It’s not like this was out of norm but, being around his family definitely made things worse than they usually were.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how he didn’t do anything at the meeting as everything fell apart. He just sat there. Not even just sat there, actually; he became a part of the shambles. He felt…useless. He’d already felt useless having left the family, with no one to rely on him, not truly. But, this almost confirmed it in his mind. He’d failed at the one thing he was good at. He’d always considered himself to be better off than his siblings. But, all this was making him feel right down there in the trenches with them.
Deciding he needed some fresh air to clear his mind, he left his room and headed out the back door of the hotel, believing this might be a quiet spot where he could be alone. But, apparently he wasn’t the only one to have this thought because, to his surprise, he saw his brother sitting on the pavement, crying.
“Gob?” Michael called out, getting the attention of his brother.
Startled, Gob jolted around, relaxing once he realized it was just Michael. He turned back, looking off in the distance as Michael took a seat beside him.
“I’m such a mess, Michael.”
“Nooo,” Michael lied. No offense to Gob, really. It was hard not to be a mess in a family like theirs. He wasn’t sure any of them would considered anything but.
“I am. I’ve just been crying…like a little child. And, over what?” Gob gestured widely, his face twisting into a torn expression as he tried to speak. It was like he was fighting having to say it out loud. Like, that would make it real. “A dad who-wh-wh-who hates me?”
“I mean, he’s manipulated us our whole life. He kept you roped in with the hope that, ya know…” Michael winced as he felt himself having the same difficulty saying it that Gob did.
“All I’ve done is work to escape him. To escape his influence. And, it’s hard when he affected me as much as he did for as long as he did. It’s as if he’s always there, criticizing my every move…Coming back for this…it’s like reopening a wound that hasn't even healed yet. I left with Tony to live in New York and it’s been hard but I’ve been so much happier being able to just be myself.” Gob paused, clearing his throat. “You know, magic, not having to worry about him criticizing my love of…magic.”
“You know you can tell me anything, Gob,” Michael offered, tilting his head to the side.
“Ugh, yes, I know- That’s what I’m…That’s what I’m doing…Michael.” He paused. “And, if I were to be not admitting something, it’s not because I don’t trust you specifically. I’m sure I’d tell you one day…if I had some sort of secret.” Michael nodded, understanding, but perhaps Gob was unconvinced that he’d truly gotten his message across or maybe he just really wanted to get it off his chest, Michael didn’t know, but Gob just continued on.
“Because, if I had a secret, one I still have some feelings of societal-imposed-shame for, I might feel uncomfortable being open about it at first around certain people, especially the first time being in a scenario like this one. If I had a secret that pertained to something that would make someone in my life who’s criticized me…criticize me, I might not feel ready to tell people about the hypothetical secret when we’d be about to see that person for the first time in a while. The secret, which I don’t have, to reiterate, but just for the example’s sake we’re pretending exists, might bring up some unresolved feelings of self hatred and repression. And, maybe this hypothetical-me was worried that he would just revert if he were to be manipulated so he brought along a partner, however you may interpret that word, along.” Gob continued on like this for a while. “And, maybe it would make me stronger to proudly say my secret and not care what people say and maybe…that makes hypothetical me a coward who’s just pretending to be someone he’s not again…Stupid, cowardly hypothetical-me…” Michael hesitated, waiting to see if his brother was actually done talking before beginning to speak.
“Well,” Michael sighed. “I think that you-”
“No, Michael, I don’t think you understand. This isn’t actually me we’re talking about. Weren’t you listening? It’s-”
“Yes, right,” Michael interjected, cutting him off before he began another rant. “I think that this imaginary you…in this hypothetical situation-”
“Thank you.”
“Is doing his best in the life he was dealt and he, along with all his other hypothetical siblings, is doing pretty well considering where he used to be. And, if this hypothetical-you were to tell your imaginary-scenario-siblings your secret, in the world where you had one, I’m sure that they’d accept you for who you are, hypothetically.”
“Thank you, Michael. I’m sure hypothetical me would appreciate hearing that,” Gob sniffled with a smile.
“I’m sure he wou-” Once again, Michael’s lungs were constricted as his brother hugged him. “Hey, buddy, can you-can you hug a little less tight?” Gob made a sound acknowledging Michael’s statement but Michael wasn’t sure if he actually heard him or if he just didn’t fully comprehend what he was doing because he only squeezed tighter, sobbing into Michael’s shoulder.
“There I go,” Gob joked through his tears. “Crying like a little girl. And, over hypothetical me, of all people!”
“You sure are, pal,” Michael said through gasps for air, patting Gob on the back a couple times. They really needed to have an intervention about these hugs.
As Michael waited for the appropriate time to try and wrangle his way out of the hug, he noticed a man walking out to a car from another one of the doors leading out back. It was far enough away that he had to squint but it was close enough for him to believe he recognized the man.
“Gob! Gob, let go!” Michael whispered trying to pull himself away from his brother. Within the escape, he lost sight of the man for a moment and he was desperately trying to maneuver his way out to confirm whether he’d actually seen what he’d seen.
“Geez, Michael,” Gob complained, releasing his brother. “If you don’t like hugs, you can just say so!” Gob said, wiping away his remaining tears before crossing his arms.
“No, this isn’t about the hug, Gob…Although, if you could be a little less aggressive about it I-” Gob furrowed his brow, narrowing his eyes. Michael recentered his thoughts. “Not the time-Just- Gob, look!”
“If it says gullible over there, I’m going to be very angry, Michae-”
Taking matters into his own hands, Michael grabbed Gob’s face and turned it towards the man who was now getting into his car.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be seeing here,” Gob said through a squished face before turning his head back and swatting Michael’s hand away.
“Well, if you’d looked sooner, maybe you would!”
The sound of a car engine made them both turn and Michael began scrambling towards a nearby bush. Gob, confused, begrudgingly joined Michael, who had been attempting to discreetly wave him over.
“Watch him when he drives by.”
“Why?”
“Just watch!”
The two men crouched behind the bush, waiting for the car to drive their way. And, as it rumbled towards them, Gob focused in on the man in the car, which he found harder than it should’ve been as his eyes wandered to the air freshener hanging from the rear view mirror, which reminded him that he forgot to buy laundry detergent before he’d left and he’d need to buy more when he got home- Right, focus. He joined Michael in watching the man once more, doing his best not to wander again.
“It’s a little hard to see,” Gob quietly griped.
“My point stands.”
“Whatever.” Gob squinted, the car growing closer and closer. Just before the man would’ve become out of view, a sliver of white light flashed across his face and Gob’s stomach sank.
“Oh my god.”
“It’s him, right?”
“Oh my god,” Gob repeated more slowly this time. He fell from his crouch to sitting directly on the dusty sidewalk.
“Do you think…I mean, why else would J. Walter Weatherman be here?” Michael’s eyes were trained on the car of the infamous man as it rolled out of the parking lot to who knows where. Gob dragged his hands through his hair and down his face.
“Maybe…Maybe he’s just in town to see dad,” Gob desperately reasoned with himself through shaky hands. “They were friends, right? Maybe he’s just come to see him.”
“You have to admit it’s suspicious, though,” Michael maintained. “And, he’s faked his death before so it wouldn’t surprise me if...” Turning around and facing the sight of his fretful brother, Michael softened. “Or maybe, he’s just…coming to see him,” he conceded.
“Maybe,” Gob unconvincingly agreed. “Maybe.”
…
“Are you sure it was him?” Lindsay challenged in disbelief.
“Absolutely. Gob saw him, too,” Micheal assured, looking over to his brother, to which Gob nodded, keeping eye contact with the floor.
“I knew it. I fucking knew it.”
“We don’t know he’s faking it,” Gob argued, more with himself than with Lindsay. Lindsay looked at Michael with a raised eyebrow. Michael sighed.
“Gob did make the point that he might just be in town to see dad before he’s gone.”
“Bullshit,” Lindsay scoffed, flopping down onto her bed. “Dad’s pretending he’s dying to teach us…some sort of lesson.”
“We don’t know that!” Gob repeated with more emphasis.
“Why are you defending him?” Lindsay retorted. “He hates you!” Gob froze, a torn expression taking hold of his face.
“Lindsay!” Michael lectured.
“What? Mom hates me, Dad hates Gob, this is all established!” Gob covered his face with his hands and sank to the ground.
“I thought we all knew this by now!” Lindsay defensively maintained.
“I know, Linds-Lindsay. I es-esp-specially know that dad h-hates me,” Gob spat. “But, at least y-you didn’t ever-ver have to compete f-for love. You didn-didn’t get it-it-it…it shoved in your f-face that y-your y-younger brother w-would always be b-better than y-you…” Gob stalled, visibly shaking now. “I just w-w-was hoping-…Not that I…I don’t…”
“What? You were hoping dad truly wasn’t an awful person? That maybe he’d be honest for once in his life? That-that maybe he’d bring some sort of happy ending, some closure with a little speech? Apologize? Stop living in denial and grow up!”
“Lindsay, please,” Michael begged.
Gob continued to stutter incoherently, his mouth failing to formulate his thoughts. Subconsciously, he had begun shaking his head as he choked on his words and rocked back and forth.
“You want your parents to love you? Join the fucking party because-”
“Everyone, shut up!” Michael shouted, sending the room into an eerie silence. Lindsay’s mouth was pressed into a tight line and Gob swallowed the last of his words as he whimpered softly. “Listen, I do think that Weatherman being in town is suspicious and there probably is a scheme going on. Sorry, Gob…” Lindsay proudly crossed her arms at the validation. “But, I do agree with Gob on the fact that we technically don’t know.” Gob, still rocking slightly, looked up at his brother with tear stained cheeks. “We know he’s in town and we know what that probably means but we need to be sure that something fishy is going on before we say anything so we don’t end up looking like fools. I’m assuming we’re going to call dad out on this, right?” The two siblings nodded. “I get it, we’re all mad. We’ve all been traumatized by our parents in varying ways. Clearly we all have…unresolved issues here. But, who should we be directing our anger at here? Scheme or not, tearing us apart is what mom and dad are always trying to do and I think we’ve all been trying to not let them affect us like they used to. We all agree here that mom and dad are awful people.” Gob and Lindsay watched intently, making sounds of agreement. “Well, let’s not let them get in our way anymore! We’re our own people. Our own mentally unstable, damaged people but that doesn't mean we have to let them have a hold on us.”
“You’re right, Michael. I…” Lindsay turned to Gob, who was deescalating from his previous state. “I’m sorry, Gob. That was rude of me.”
“It’s-s alright,” Gob swallowed. “I-I’m sorry, t-too. I just was h-holding out hope that I-I-I hadn’t gotten set up in an-another one of dad’s p-plans. I w-wasn’t trying to-”
“No, I get it. I mean, like, Michael said. We’re all upset by this.”
“Right,” Michael affirmed. “We’re meeting with him tomorrow at 2 p.m. How about we meet tomorrow morning and discuss how we plan to attack this.”
“I’m in!” Lindsay emitted determinedly.
“M-me too,” Gob decided through a stuffy nose.
“Perfect. See you all in the morning then,” Michael declared, offering a hand to his brother, who gladly took it, and helping him to his feet.
They were going to do this. And, then, they were going to be done with their horrible, horrible family.
…
“Okay, so what’s the least revenge-y way we can do this, then?” Tony, who’d been filled in on the situation at the start of their meeting, uttered disappointedly.
“I think calmly stating and calling him out on how we know what he’s planning is the way to go,” Michael offered. “Even better if we can point out Weatherman before the plan takes place. And even if we don’t, asking him questions about his ‘condition’ will be sure to catch him in a lie and it’ll probably be substantial enough evidence for us to call him out. Then, we cut contact. Simple as that.”
“No offense but that idea is really boring,” Gob interjected as he spun himself around in circles in his chair. “I still think my idea of us infiltrating the hospital through the art of illusion and foiling dad’s scheme is the plan we should go with.” Tony adamantly nodded in agreement.
“That plan is so vague! Plus, we can’t foil a plan we don’t even know the details of!” Lindsay maintained, dismissing their plan for what was now the third time since it was originally suggested and shot down.
“Okay, well, can we at least admit it’s the coolest plan then?” Gob bartered.
“Guys, please. Can we focus? We need to decide on something.”
“Well, somebody come up with something good, then!” Lindsay grumbled.
The room fell into silence as everyone tried to think of anything better than what they already had.
“I got nothing,” Lindsay yielded.
“Does that mean we get to use my plan, then?” Gob pleaded.
“No!” Michael and Lindsay shouted in unison.
“Fine, whatever. I guess we’re doing Michael’s boring plan, then.”
“It’s the most respectful way, I feel. Also, the least likely to end in chaos.” Gob just rolled his eyes at that and glanced over at Tony, who shared a similar look that showed agreement on there being a problem with the lack of flair. “Not sure we needed a whole meeting for this, Michael. No offense.” Michael was the one rolling his eyes now.
“Well, however unnecessary it may have been, we have a plan and that’s all that matters. We needed to catch Tony up on everything anyway. Speaking of, I forgot to mention: Tony,” Michael began, turning towards the man. “You’ll have to wait outside the room if you come with us.”
“I expected so,” Tony nodded, understandingly. Michael averted his eyes as he noticed Gob discreetly reaching his hand for Tony’s; he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
“Are we telling Buster?” Lindsay asked.
“I guess we’ll have to since he’ll be there. We can’t just start spouting off this stuff without telling him,” Michael replied.
“Are you sure he’ll be able to handle it?” Gob postulated, now sitting in the chair backwards and lightly turning back and forth.
“Well, it’ll be easier for him to learn beforehand than it would be on the spot.”
“Fair point, fair point.”
“So, just to review things, we’re going to get there, tell Buster, then go in the room, question him, catch him in his lie and then call him out?” Lindsay parroted.
“Mhmm,” Michael confirmed.
“I can’t believe your dad is faking that he’s dying to what?…teach you a lesson?…Also, what even is the lesson?” Tony asked, still processing the whole thing.
“I mean, he once pretended he hit the guy with his car while we were on the way to the store to teach us that you always leave a note when the milk is out so you never really know until it’s over,” Michael responded frankly.
“You said that way too casually, man.”
“I mean, they technically worked,” Gob offered. “I always leave a note so…”
“You do always leave a note, Gob, and it’s very helpful for whenever we need to know to buy more milk but at what cost?” Gob just shrugged.
“So, you two live together?” Lindsay probed, Michael lightly elbowing her to her silent protest. It seemed she, as opposed to Michael, was adamant on getting them to admit that they were dating. Gob and Tony both turned to Lindsay, wide-eyed.
“Uhh,” Tony said, once again looking to Gob for what he wanted to say.
“Rent is, uh, expensive. New York is, um…financially, ya know…yeah.” Lindsay just nodded, not commenting further.
“Anyway,” Michael interjected. “I think all we can really do now is wait.”
“Oh, yeah, about that,” Gob began, now spinning around in his chair again, one leg up on the chair. “Why’d you have to choose such an early time to meet? It’s barely 9 a.m. now and we’re already done planning.” Michael sighed, which apparently, Lindsay found to be funny.
“It’s good to have extra time so-” Michael retorted dryly before being cut off by Lindsay.
“Yeah, Michael,” Lindsay added, nodding at Gob, communicating some sort of silent plan. “I mean, planning to meet around noon or something would give us time and not make it so we have to wait for as long as we have to now.”
Michael stared at the two flatly as they giggled to themselves. He looked over to Tony who was watching silently in amusement.
“Y-yeah, Michael,” Gob started, mimicking his sister, infectious laughter bubbling through him. “And another thing-“
“Message received,” Michael exhaled, recognizing his sibling’s attempt at pushing his buttons before turning to the group as a whole. “I suppose we’re done here so I’ll see you all in a couple hours.”
“A couple means two, Michael. We have, like, five hours,” Lindsay pointed out with a smirk, to which Gob nodded, giggling to himself.
“Okay, I’m done being ganged up on,” Michael surrendered. “See you guys, later.”
“M-much-mu-mu-mmm-mu-” Gob was trying to shout ‘much later’ but had gotten tongue tied in the excitement of the moment. Michael probably got the idea, though.
Continuing on his way back to his room, Michael shook his head and laughed incredulously to himself at his siblings’ behavior. They could be a pain sometimes. He was gonna miss them when this was all over.
…
Lindsay, Michael and Gob sat in the chairs outside their dad’s hospital room, anxiously awaiting for the time when they’d be allowed to enter to arrive. Tony had gone to the bathroom and had been gone about a minute at this point. Buster had yet to show up but their mother assured them he’d be there with his two officers soon enough. Speaking of their mother, she was sitting across from them all, watching them both attently and without care. How she pulled off both is a mystery.
The four of them were filled with nervous energy. Gob was tapping rhythms into his chair and intermittently making sounds that implied he was holding back tears. Michael was fidgeting slightly in his chair, adjusting in his seat every so often. Lindsay seemed the most calm but Michael wasn’t so sure that that wasn’t just a mask she’d gotten awfully good at putting on when it was needed.
Michael checked his watch: 1:57 p.m. It felt like the minutes were crawling by, especially with nothing to occupy them other than their thoughts.
“Mother!” they heard Buster call from down the hall, catching their mom’s attention. She took one last look at the three of them before excusing herself to go over to her youngest son. Michael and Gob, peered down at their little brother but Lindsay seemed occupied with something coming from the other direction.
“Is that him?” she said, the two men immediately turning and looking over in the other direction. Spotting what looked to be a doctor and who they quickly recognized to be J. Walter Weatherman, they quickly busied themselves, trying to not look suspicious.
“The surgical mask obscures his face a little but that’s absolutely him,” Michael confirmed.
“He’s faking it. He’s fucking-faking it,” Gob said shakily.
“Let’s go,” Lindsay said, standing up from her chair.
“What?” Michael responded, confused.
“Before he gets in there! Let’s go!”
“But it’s not 2 p.m. yet!” Michael protested looking at his watch. “What about the plan? Buster?”
“Come on!” Lindsay said, grabbing both her brother’s wrists and dragging them out of their seats. Michael just barely caught sight of Weatherman beginning to sprint towards them.
“Get the door!” Lindsay shouted at Gob, who quickly began fumbling with the handle.
“There’s no lock!”
“What are you all-” their dad began strongly before clearing his throat. “What are you all doing?” he repeated in a weaker voice.
“Just hold the door shut!” she cried.
“Oka-Aaaay!” Gob yelped at the feeling of the door being slammed into, as he pressed his body back up against it.
“Let the doctor in,” their father said, a slight hint of worry in his voice.
“We know that’s not a doctor, dad. That’s J. Walter Weartherman. Now, I don’t know what kind of lesson you were expecting to teach us-”
“There’s no lesson,” their dad smiled innocently, eerily calm for the current situation. “I just wanted to see my-” He paused to hack, wheezing to get his breath back. “I, ahem, I wanted to see my children one last time after they’d left.” His voice turned bitter as he spoke.
“Come on, dad, just tell us what we’re supposed to learn so we can get this over with.”
“Do you not believe your father?” George Sr. lamented to the three. He then directed his attention towards his oldest son who was desperately trying to keep the door from opening. “Gob? Of all of them, I didn’t think you’d be the one to believe such silly things.”
“What?” Gob whimpered through teary eyes.
“Open the door, Gob. Show your dad you’re not completely useless before it’s too late.” Gob stared at him in disbelief before squeezing his eyes shut in protest to his feelings.
“Stop talking, stop talking, stop talking…” Gob repeated to himself softly.
“You know, dad, this is why none of us actually wanted to come see you,” Michael barked.
“Gob, open the door!” their father enunciated, beginning to lose the weakened-affect he’d been using. Gob vigorously shook his head through his closed eyes.
“No! You’re lying!”
“You were a shitty dad to all of us and we’re done!” Lindsay accused through tears of her own. “You won’t be seeing any of us ever agai-”
…
The Bluth siblings sat in the lobby of the hospital as they waited for the police to arrive. Gob had finally begun to calm down and was almost no longer hyperventilating through tears thanks to Tony’s efforts. Lindsay was crying softly herself, braiding and unbraiding a small bunch of her hair to keep her mind occupied. Lucille, on the other side of the lobby, was comforting Buster as best she could under ‘no touching’ law. Michael, sitting inbetween his two siblings, just felt numb.
Watching their father get…He shook the thought of his mind. He didn’t want to think about what he’d seen.
They were right; their father was faking it. Apparently, the plan was that, just as their dad was about to tell them his final words, he would begin to die and the doctor, J. Walter Weatherman, would go to try and help their father before getting his arm shot off, which would end in their father “dying” since no one would be able to save him. But, without Weatherman in the room and the plan still being in action, whoever it was that was hiding outside the window to shoot off the fake arm shot in the window and hit their father instead. Weatherman tried to run off but literally ran into Tony, who was returning from the bathroom, and, in the kerfuffle, ended up face planting on the floor and knocking himself out with enough time to be arrested. Buster’s officers apprehended him once he was identified to be a part of the plan. He told them everything. Whoever actually shot their father was yet to be found.
Actual doctors ran in at the clamor and the three of the Bluth siblings were ushered out, horrified at the sight of their father laying there, lifeless. Well, not quite. He was in critical condition but he hadn’t actually died, thank god…At least, not yet.
Michael had no idea how to feel. None of them did. There were so many emotions overwhelming them all at once. Anger, grief, horror. Michael didn’t even want to entertain the thought that this was still all a part of one of his dad’s lessons. His body was rejecting emotion entirely. There were too many things to process and he felt nothing but the weight of them that was compressing his entire body.
“Lucille Bluth?”
They all looked up to see a doctor holding a clipboard.
“Yes?” Lucille answered.
“I have news about your husband. It looks like he’s gonna live.”
“Looks like or actually is?” Michael questioned, knowing better than to take any doctor’s words at face value. You never know.
“He is going to live,” the doctor confirmed, furrowing his brow at the odd question. The family let out a sigh of relief. “Would you like to go see him?”
“Of course,” Lucille answered, standing up, Buster following her close behind. Looking around, though, she noticed no one else was moving with her.
“Hurry up or he’ll die of old age before we get up there,” she quipped, perhaps a little insensitively.
“Mom, did you know?” Gob asked.
“…What?” she gasped.
“Were you in on dad’s plan?” She stood there, saying nothing. Even Buster looked over in shock at their mother’s telling silence.
“Listen,” she finally answered. “You all just abandoned us and it was incredibly ungrateful for…all we’ve done for you so-”
“Come on,” Gob seethed, taking Tony’s hand, the man readily following him and shooting a glare at Lucille. She turned to Michael and Lindsay, who, after a moment of hesitation, stood up and trailed behind Gob and Tony.
“I expected you out of all of them to do the right thing, Michael,” Lucille commented as Michael walked past.
“I am.”
Michael was proud of himself for coming up with that line on the spot.
…
They all decided they’d stay an extra day in town; moving over to a different hotel in case their parents tried to find them. None of them were in the mood for dealing with the stress of maneuvering through an airport after the day’s events.
Piling into one room, they spent the rest of the day watching movies silently, aside from the occasional comment or two. Lindsay didn’t even try to call Gob out on the fact that he was visibly cuddling and intertwined with Tony, which she thinks really isn’t evident of just-friend behavior. They all just wanted to turn their brains off and let the movies distract them from their all-too-active brains.
They spent the next day doing much of the same. But, as the day went on, they each slowly gained back their voices and began talking and joking around again. They tried discussing family matters a couple times but it usually trailed off. A little too soon, perhaps. It was nice having each other to talk with, though. Michael wondered if they would’ve had a lot more times like this throughout their life if it wasn’t for their parents.
As the day came to a close, they began packing their bags for the flights the following day. They were planning on all heading to the airport together in the morning even though Michael’s flight wasn’t until later in the afternoon. But, he didn’t mind since “early is on time” anyway and that meant less stress about being late for his flight. He also just wanted to postpone leaving behind his siblings for as long as he could.
“I’m gonna miss you guys,” Michael voiced his thoughts.
“Yeah, I wish we didn’t have to leave so soon. I forgot how nice it can be when we get along,” Lindsay agreed.
“Well, we’d love to stay longer,” Tony smiled. “But, we have a magic show coming up in a couple days.”
“Yeah,” Gob added. “It’s a big gig too so we want to make sure we have everything prepared.”
“I wish we didn’t all live so far apart, though,” Lindsay lamented. “Maybe I’ll just move up to New York. I’ve always wanted to live there,” Lindsay laughed.
“Heh, yeah, that’d be great,” Gob grinned.
“Oh, okay, so I guess I’ll be all on my own then,” Michael jokingly complained.
“No one said you couldn’t move, too!” Michael smirked, laughing and turning back to the clothing he was folding into his suitcase.
“It would be nice but…”
“But what? We can just move!”
“Well, I don’t want to crowd them two if they were hoping to live a little more separately, first of all. And, two, moving takes a lot of planning.”
“Hey, I’d be psyched to have you guys living nearby. That way I can show you guys my illusions!” Gob gushed. Lindsay groaned. “Hey, I’m a lot better than I used to be!”
“More than a lot,” Tony added. “You’re an incredible magician.” Flustered, Gob blushed and tried to piece together a response that just ended up being a lot of incomplete words and phrases but Tony adamantly listened as if he was reciting Shakespeare. Lindsay decided again she wouldn’t verbally comment on this, not wanting to interrupt the cute moment, but she did give Michael a knowing look, to which he just rolled his eyes.
“Anyway, while it’s a cool idea, I’m not sure it’s feasible,” Michael finally added.
“Where’s your imagination, Michael?” Lindsay beamed.
“Where’s your financial realism?” Lindsay just rolled her eyes.
“Well, you’re always welcome to visit,” Gob offered, shifting to lean up against the wall next to Tony.
“I’ll be sure to,”
“Or, mooove,” Lindsay playfully added.
“Or, move,” Michael conceded, zipping up his bag. “Well, I think I’m done and I should probably get some rest.”
“Sleepover part two?” Gob suggested, Lindsay agreeing.
“Heh, I’m pretty tired, guys. I’m not sure…”
Michael trailed off as he looked at his two siblings giving him their attempts at puppy dog faces; you could at least say, while inherently unconvincing, it was better than their chicken impressions. Sighing, he moved his hands to his pockets and pretended to think, glancing over to Tony at one point, both raising their eyebrows knowingly.
“Mmmmmm, fine.”
Cheering erupted from the two. Gob ran and tackled the Lindsay and Michael, causing Michael to crumble against the bed where Lindsay was sitting and almost trip and fall himself. It was uncomfortable but Michael felt that…No, he still wanted it to end. Michael Bluth wasn’t a hug person. But, he did appreciate the meaning of the gesture.
“Geez, Gob, careful!” Tony laughed.
“Sorry,” Gob squeaked bashfully after finally pulling away from his siblings. Michael tumbled onto the floor, the only thing previously keeping him there being Gob’s arm. “Ack, didn’t mean to-” Gob started, holding out a hand to help his brother up.
“It’s alright, Gob,” Michael voiced, stretching once he’d gotten to his feet. “So, what movie do we want to watch first?
…
It was around midnight and everyone but Michael had fallen asleep by this point. Lindsay was splayed out on the opposite side of the couch and Gob and Tony were curled up on a chair. There were going to be a lot of aching backs in the morning.
The last of the credits crawled off the screen and the TV returned to the home screen displaying their choice of movie, Robots. Too tired to reach for the remote to put on another movie, and also afraid that he’d wake his sleeping guests, he sat there, trying to adjust to the silence.
He was alone with his thoughts again. He was alone with his parents’ words that never left him, even when he was thousands of miles away. But he felt less alone this time with the people who he never truly realized he considered as friends surrounding him.
He was proud of them. Proud of himself, too. They’d all taken a big step. It hurt to think that they’d just go back to their distant worlds and infrequent phone calls until their next big adventure; hopefully one that was less likely to end up being discussed with a therapist.
Michael thought about what Lindsay had said. Yeah, moving was impractical. It was also costly. But, he supposed having his siblings, his friends, around would make it worth it. He thought about it and smiled. And, as he thought, as he smiled, his eyelids grew heavy and his mind grew quiet. Soon enough, he too was asleep, dreaming of their next adventure together.