My Brother and His Wife

Originally for a Figment.com contest. What happens when a brother brings home his new wife for the holidays? Find out.

Journal Entry:

December 25th, 2010

Being an FBI agent, it is hard to get together with the entire family, especially when my brother is an agent as well. However, one time I make sure I do get together with them is Christmas. During this time of the year my family gets together and enjoys each other’s company.  This Christmas, however, would be different.  My brother would be bringing his new wife.  They had met overseas and were married before he came home.  This would be the first time he had been home in two years and made a wise decision to bring her with him.

My whole family looked forward to meeting the girl called Azzura.  She was from the country called Serenity Kingdom, a country that broke away from Iceland three years ago.  They broke away because the group of people that formed the Kingdom was constantly being harassed.

As I would find out later, Azzura's first trip to the US started out pretty well; the flight was long but comfortable. However, before long, things started to go amiss.  To begin with, once she landed, she had to go through customs, nothing different there.  The American customs officer, however, believed her to have lied about her identity on her passport.  Only after a few dozen calls to the embassy and a vigorous polygraph exam was she allowed to enter the country.  Soon after, she arrived at our house.  As soon as she got out of the car, my family realized that my brother might not know her as well as he thinks he does.

“Mom, dad, Jake, this is Azzura,” my brother introduced us.  I looked at Azzura and back at my brother.  Azzura had a dazed look on her face. 

“Nice to meet you, Azzura,” I told her.  Mom and Dad also exchanged a few words with her and welcomed the couple inside.  My brother went straight up to his old room to put his belongings away.  Azzura sat down on the couch.

“So Azzura, how do you like it in the US so far?” I asked her.

“Not too bad. It is very pretty.  I had a couple issues with Customs though.”

“Really, that’s odd,” I reassured her that the customs officer just a mistake.  With that, my brother returned and led her on a tour of the house.  So far everything had been good; Azzura is a beautiful and nice girl with sky blue eyes. Other than the dazed look about her, I understand what my brother had so often told me about her.  Little did I know that my first impression about her was wrong.

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On Christmas Eve, the entire family gathered at my grandparents’ house for a dinner and then a subsequent celebration for the holiday.  Azzura’s initial meeting with the family went fairly similar to her meeting with me and my parents.  She spoke English very well and I think the whole family liked her.  We sat down for dinner around the table and started passing everything around.  Azzura sat next to my brother on one side and me on the other.  My grandmother asked her what Christmas was like in Serenity Kingdom.

“Um… It’s kind of like here, we usually have family gatherings, but we don’t receive as many presents,” she answered, the words flowing from her mouth without any nervousness.

“Really… I thought your group were stuck up snobs always trying to outdo each other,” my uncle said he laughed and so did some of the family.  No one was sure why my uncle had said this, and at this point, I wasn’t too happy with my uncle. I also knew that my brother and Azzura wouldn’t be happy either.  Azzura was not used to being made fun of, and started to shake. Where she came from, it was a capital offense to make fun of each other and anyone who did was banished from the kingdom.

“If we were such stuck up snobs, I wouldn’t be here now. I would be too good for you!” she screamed and ran out of the house, crying.  My brother and I ran out after her, my brother for comfort, me for protection from any criminals that might be in the area.  As we ran out the door, I could hear my mom yelling at her brother for his comment. 

 My brother had already caught up to his wife, who was a block away from the house. I stayed back, keeping an eye around for any problems.  Being an FBI agent and knowing we were in a really bad part of town, I felt it better to keep an eye out for trouble while my brother comforted his wife.

I heard something from behind me. Turning around, I found a homeless guy with a knife creeping up behind me.  Before he could attack, I kicked the knife out of his hand and drew the gun on my hip from its holster and pointed it straight at him.  My brother and his wife were now aware of the situation and he grabbed her protectively. “What an idiot,” his wife said, visibly shaking.

“Be quiet, Azzura,” I said to her.  My brother took out his phone and called the police while I kept my gun pointed at the man.  It only took a few moments for them to get there.  They asked for my gun permit and I showed them my FBI badge.  They soon thanked me and informed us that they had been looking for this man for a long time.

Azzura, instead of being quiet, started yapping away crazily.  “The police are here, the police are here, we all need to run for our life," she said as she tried to reach for my gun.  My brother pulled her back as the rest of us looked at her in shock, for the officers had just put the mugger in the back of their cruiser.   The officers and I exchanged a nod and they got back into the car and drove off.

We walked back to the house of our grandparents where our parents waited for us.  “We were held up by a crazy lunatic,” Azzura said, “It was so cool.”  My brother and I looked at her and then at each other, confused.

Once we arrived home, we took her up to the bedroom and sat her down.  My brother started, “So, who are you exactly?”  he asked.

Azzura took a minute to answer.  When she did it came out slowly, “Well… I, uh, I’m the daughter of a drug dealer.”  My brother’s jaw dropped, his job as an FBI detective was to hunt down and arrest drug dealers.  That is also why he was out of the country for the past two years, he was undercover, waiting for the leading drug dealers to meet in Serenity Kingdom, so he could arrest them.

“So that's why you grabbed for my gun, to try to attack the police.  You are just too used to attacking anybody who comes after you. Are you a drug dealer, too, then?” I asked her.

“No, but I am used to being held up, and leaning about drugs and how they are excellent for your system.”  My brother looked like he wanted to rip his heart out.

“So you’re a liar,” he said with tears forming in his eyes.  “You said you were completely clean.  I don't even know if Azzura is your real name!”  It was his turn to run out of the room.  It finally made sense why she was detained at customs.  I kept an eye on Azzura to see if she felt happy for what she did to my brother.  I could see regret in her eyes.  He was in love with her, but it was going to take a lot to repair the relationship.  But if anyone could do it, she could.

 Her determination for a good husband brought her to my brother and they both knew it would help them back together.  She knew that once he was back in the country for a while, he would soften up and would be open to fixing their relationship.  For now, though, she is lying low and waiting for the right moment.

Author's Note

Let me know what you think!

Reviews

[Marie]

I don't know whawt to think. This story certainly took a turn. I would never have guessed that Azzura was mixed up in drugs...but family is family...

I don't know if you've written anything else or not, but I would like to see it.