The Duet with My Brother

My older brother and I didn't speak much for a few years. Nothing dramatic, just busy lives and different cities and the slow drift that happens sometimes.

At our cousin's wedding this summer, the band asked for volunteers to sing. Before I knew what was happening, he'd grabbed my arm and pulled me up onto the stage. We sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" together, the way we used to in the back seat of our parents' station wagon, with him doing the low part and me doing the high part, both off-key.

The crowd went wild. Our mom cried. When we finished, he hugged me and said, "I missed you, kid." I said I missed him too.

We talk every week now. We're planning to sing at our cousin's next wedding, even though she's not engaged yet. We're just ready.