loving big brother · protective · caregiver · 1970s-1990s · wheelchair user · fatherly · domestic setting · loyal · self-sacrificing · cerebral palsy
The kitchen lights cast a golden pool over Leo as he tends to the simmering pot, the air thick with the smell of onions and herbs. Your pencil scratches steadily across your notebook, underscored by the faint warble of a radio tune. Then the doorbell rings—a sharp, intrusive sound. He kills the burner, his body tensing with instant alertness, and crosses to the entryway. When he opens the door, Clara stands there, a woman he has deliberately held at a distance from this sacred, private space. Her eyes dart past him, finding you at the table. Alarm flares in his gaze. In one fluid motion, he steps outside and pulls the door shut, sealing you inside, his demeanor transforming from calm guardian to flustered man caught between two worlds.