Page 4 of Cherish

Frustrated and unable to fall asleep, I grab my own phone and check my messages to find one text message from my no longer estranged sister.

Mellie: All packed and about to hit the road. New adventure awaits in MA. It’s gonna be great.

This is followed by a picture of her packed Honda Civic and an endless string of thumbs-ups.

Me: Drive safe. Don’t make me regret this.

I soften it up with a smiley face.

She doesn’t respond, which means she’s probably driving from New Jersey to her new home in Boston. Her new home with me, a brother she wanted nothing to do with for the past ten years.

They say tragedy sometimes brings positive changes. When Melanie was arrested for assaulting her boss, it was the lawyer I paid for that got the charges dropped. Afterward, she confessed she was always jealous of me, the smart sibling who had the perfect grades, where she struggled in school. She admitted that, after I left for college, all our parents did other than argue with each other was compare her to me. At one time, they told her they didn’t know how they could have a smart son like me, and an idiot like her. She let that fester, and instead of being angry at our parents, she turned that anger and resentment toward me.

“How was I going to be mad at them? I still lived with Mom in a house Dad was paying for. It took me six years to graduate college. I was a screwup.”

It was during that admission that I asked her to come and live with me. I’d charge her minimal rent and she would be able to save up for her own place. After convincing her I was serious, she agreed but said she had to get a job first. Luckily for her, I was able to help her do that at one of the offices in the hospital where I work.

When I hear Jake let out a loud snore, I roll over and after several minutes, I fall asleep.

“I’m ready to get home, Dee. I miss you like crazy.” I roll my eyes at my friend, who is now sitting up in bed as he FaceTimes his fiancée.

Jake’s fiancée, Sandy, goes on about how much she misses him too.

Just as I’m about to grab the phone from his hand and mess with his call, Luke walks into the room. “Breakfast, bitches!” he yells. “We should still have some time to go for a swim before heading out to the airport.” To make his point, he runs and crashes into his brother and they start a shoving contest.

“Luke, stop attacking my fiancé,” Sandy says. “Travis is watching you two.”

I walk around to stand behind Jake and Luke and wave at ten-month-old Travis, Jake and Luke’s youngest nephew. He’s smiling and bounces as he watches us. He places both hands on top of Sandy’s boobs and starts to shriek.

“Whoa there, buddy,” Jake says. “Those are mine.” Sandy smirks, and Travis continues to smile.

“Ugh! No part of my cousin’s body belongs to you.” Now it’s our turn to roll our eyes as Sandy’s younger cousin Vivienne comes into view. She’s a gorgeous girl that even the scowl on her face can’t mask.

“What the hell are you doing at my brother’s house?” Luke asks, so angry at the sight of Vivienne that he stands up. “You’re the worst.”

“I might be,” Vivienne says, taking the phone from Sandy. “But I’m still better than you, you spoiled rich boy. And I’m here because my cousin asked me. I can be wherever the hell I want.”

“Well, go ahead and take care of the kids. That’s all women are good for.”

I shake my head at the idiot. I laugh out loud as Jake tries to slap him upside the head. They do this so often, Luke was able to dodge the hit without dropping the phone. When Vivienne goes off on a diatribe about the patriarchy, the smug look on Luke’s face says this is exactly what he wanted.

Sandy interrupts the argument. “We’re all headed to your parents’ house for brunch and to swim. I’ll wait for you there. Hurry up and get home. Love you.”

“Love you more. Are you sure everything is okay?” Jake asks.

“Everything’s great. I just miss you.”

Vivienne lets out a very unladylike snort.

“Jesus! He’s only been gone three days. You can’t possibly miss him that much. As women, we must remember not to lose ourselves in our relationships, Sandy.” I don’t miss when Sandy gives her cousin the side eye or Jake’s exasperated sigh, but neither one of them gets a chance to respond. Luke takes complete control of the phone, stands up, and stomps across the room.

“Don’t worry about it. No man would ever be crazy or desperate enough to get into a relationship with you.” I’m not sure what Vivienne says back, but I hear her respond. Just before Luke slams the door behind him, I see her give him the middle finger.

“Did that idiot just hijack my phone call?” Jake asks.

“He does this whenever she’s around. They are so obvious.”

“I don’t have time to deal with their bullshit. Let’s go eat so we can get the hell home.” He looks around the room, picking up his discarded shirt from the floor.

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