Then there was Dan, Ben's immediate elder sibling, the black sheep of the family, whom Jeff hadn't hesitated to discipline in the severest manner. Ben recalled those sessions where Jeff would be so furious, roaring like a lion and Dan would belligerently stand his ground and get beaten to a pulp as Jeff had been freaking big, even as a young adult. It was his big, no-nonsense, eldest brother that had probably made him close to his mother and never got into trouble. Dan had gotten into trouble and endured the consequences from Jeff enough for all of them.
Until Dan found football anyway; by some stroke of luck at age 26, a German scout decided he was crazy talented and so processed his papers and took him overseas. He played for a club at Finland and was successful even though he wasn't outstanding. When they spoke on phone he sounded subdued and far from the hot headed young man he'd been, Ben was happy for him.
"Ben!"
