"Well, here he is ladies and gentlemen. The one and only- Isaac Hanson!" I opened one eye when this name was announced and looked at the TV. I saw my oldest brother, now 26-years-old, walking onto the set of The Tonight Show to greet its host, Carson Daly. I remembered the days when we, as a band, went through the same routine. But those times were ages ago, long forgotton by nearly everyone. MTV has since gone bankrupt, leaving Daly jobless until Jay Leno suffered a mass heartattack, thus NBC drafted him as the show's host. I groaned and resituated myself on the couch, now giving my full attention to the television. "Man, it's been a while since I saw you last. How're you makin' out with the new album and everything?" Carson asked my brother from behind the infamous Tonight Show desk. "I'm doin' all right, Carson. Things are going well, thanks," he smiled his most artificial. I scowled. "Now how are the brothers doin'? What've they been up to?" Carson was treading on thin ice. "Oh, well, ya know, they're doing their own thing now and I'm doing my own thing," Isaac was vague but did not faulter. I scowled again at his response and turned the TV off. The house was silent with Lynn already in bed, it was my que to join her there. I slowly stood up and turned to the open livingroom window with intentions to close it, but a face suddenly appeared before me. "Mac, why aren't you at home?" I was angry with my youngest brother but quickly pulled him inside. The 12-year-old stood before me, red in the face and out of breath. "Dad's having another episode. Can't I please stay with you tonight?" his brown eyes were sad. He knew I always gave in, "Yeah, okay, but only for tonight. You can bunk on the couch here." Mac smiled, "Thanks." I playfully ruffled his hair, "You know where the blankets and stuff are. Get some sleep." I began to walk towards my bedroom, leaving him behind on his own. "Hey, Zac?" he brought me to a hault. I turned to face him, "Yeah?" Mac bit his lower lip in hesitation but then answered, "I love you." I felt my heart melt, not even able to recall the last time I heard those words from a brother. "I love you, too, Mac."
"Who were you talking to?" Lynn asked, sitting in bed, reading glasses on, endulged in an old Danielle Steel novel. "Mac's spending another night with us," I told her, undressing myself and throwing my clothes aside. She put her book down and took her glasses off, "Things are rough at home again?" I sighed, climbing in bed beside her, "I don't know and I don't want to think about it." She glanced at me and shrugged, then turned off the light. We settled back, not speaking for a moment or two. I was prepared for yet another night of aimless drifting, but Lynn soon spoke, disrupting my thoughts. She shifted onto her side to face me, allowing her hand to rest on my stomach, "When is this going to happen?" The dull bedroom light caught the reflection of the stone of the engagement ring she wore which I had given her. I looked away, "...I don't know." Those words seemed to be the answer I gave her most often. "What's changed in you? You're not the same to me anymore," she came closer, running her hand up and down my chest. "I think I know what you're trying to say, and I wish you wouldn't always question it. You know I love you, Lynn," I said. She didn't reply at first, but moved on top of me in a straddling position. "Then prove it."
I groaned and rolled over to Lynn's side of the bed, groping for her until realizing she wasn't where I assumed. "Hey," she stood at the closet sheding her formal wear. "Where have you been?" I groggily wanted to know, lifting my head from the pillow. "It's Sunday, Zac. I was at church," she said, bluntly. "What are you going to church for...," I grumbled and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. "I go to church to pray," she told me simply. "Not like praying ever did any good," I snorted. "Where's Mac?" "I took him home after church," she said. I opened my mouth, planning to show my negativity towards her church affairs but thought twice and went into the bathroom without a word.
