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“Ugh, just don’t show up and don’t even bother with giving an excuse,” she said.
“I wish! If I wouldn’t hear about it every day until the next dinner then I’d stay home, believe me,” I said. I reached over Jerry and picked up the tv remote. I clicked it on and glanced at the time again. I had to leave in an hour.
“When is the last time you saw them?” she asked.
“I don’t know, don’t care either,” I muttered.
“Ow, shit, fuck!” V yelled. I sat up, scaring Jerry with how fast I moved. Part of me hoped she’d gotten an injury that she needed me to drive her to the hospital for, then I was immediately guilty for having that fervent hope.
“Are you okay? Did you fly off of the treadmill?” I asked.
“I’m fine, no I wasn’t on the treadmill. I dropped a weight,” she said.
“Is it serious?” I asked, holding my breath.
V laughed. “You’re horrible, you know that? I’m fine,” she said. “I should probably get off of the phone though before I do get seriously injured. Let me know if you need backup.”
We ended the call and I glanced behind the couch at Jerry’s bowls next to the wrap around counter. “Oh, why didn’t you tell me there was no food, bud?” I scratched behind his ears and he purred out a meow before stretching to the other side of the couch so that I could get up.
I fed Jerry and gave into the inevitable to start getting ready for dinner. By the time I was showered and dressed, it was time to leave. On the drive to my parents’ house, I played calming jazz and tried to root myself in my happy place. But, one can always count on the hectic Miami traffic to blow that Zen to hell.
I got to my parents’ gated community near Wynwood. It was filled with mansions and the gate was always a process to get through. Mostly because my dad had to make sure every person was exactly who security claimed them to be before granting access. I idled at the gate house while the security officer called my dad and did the usual runaround.
“Alright miss, you can go through,” the guard finally said and lifted the metal bar for me. I drove through and soon pulled into my parents’ long drive. The house was an old Georgian style mansion.
My brother and sister were already at the house. Jess’s sleek white Mercedes was parked behind my mom’s, which was the same make and model, only painted red. My brother Casey’s sporty BMW was parked behind Jess. I’m sure when they got to the gate my dad let them right in. I stayed within the comfortable enclosure of my trusty Honda Civic and took a few deep breaths. Then I saw the front door of the house open and Jess stepped out.
She and I looked like twins that were separated by four years. We had our dad’s dark red hair and height. We had our mom’s brown eyes and facial features, high cheekbones, a prim nose, and fair skin. Even though we looked alike, I always thought Jess was prettier than me. She stepped down to the driveway and walked towards me. She had a graceful and practiced stride from nearly twenty-five years of ballet. Jess owned her own studio for ages seven through seventeen. She also helped choreograph and train the Miami City Ballet. Jess had always seemed otherworldly and beautiful to me. She, though, hardly saw me in the same way.
Jess walked to my car and tapped on the window. She tossed her hands out as if asking me, “what the fuck?” I stifled my sigh, turned off the car, and got out.
“How long were you going to sit in the car?” she asked. “Everyone’s ready to eat inside,” she added.
“What about drinks?” I asked. I followed her at a much slower pace towards the front door. “And hi, by the way,” I said. Of course, she ignored me.
“We had them already, you should know to come at least a half hour early by now. You know how Dad is with his dinner schedule,” she said. “Anyways, I’m glad I caught you. I wanted to remind you about Mom’s birthday brunch this coming Saturday. It’s at ten.”
“Oh, right. Yeah that’s on my calendar, I haven’t forgotten.” We walked up the few steps to the red painted front door. The columns on either side were a pristine white. The brick of the house looked to have just been pressure cleaned too. I had half a mind to take a fistful of dirt from the garden and smear it on the house.
“How are you, anyway?” I asked. Jess pushed the door open and we stepped into the foyer. My mother’s new maid was on standby, waiting for my purse. I smiled at her, having forgotten her name, and handed her my bag. “Thank you,” I murmured.
“I’m busy as usual. You know me,” Jess said dismissively. She turned into the formal living room where my brother’s boisterous voice echoed against the walls. He must’ve been telling a joke, Mom and Dad were laughing as he stood in front of them. Casey was tall, like our dad. He had our mom’s tan skin and dark brown hair but Dad’s blue eyes. He’d always been handsome, athletic and my parents’ pride and joy.
“My god, Naomi. I forgot what you looked like,” Mom said. She stood up from the couch and crossed the room to give me a hug.
“Nao, I didn’t know you were coming!” my dad, Roth, stood up as well but didn’t make any moves to hug me or anything.
“Yeah Dad, I said I would make it tonight and you let me in through the gate,” I said. He chuckled.
“How’s our repeat college student?” Casey said. I ignored him.
“Mom, what’s the maid’s name again?” I asked.
“It’s Nancy but don’t get attached to her. I’m firing her at the end of the week, I don’t think she does well here,” she whispered.
“I’d offer you a drink, Nao but it’s about time for dinner,” Dad said. We all walked to the dining room which was attached to the kitchen by an archway. The table was set and Nancy was putting a serving spoon into the bowl of quinoa.
“Thank you Nancy,” Mom said with unnecessary emphasis on Nancy’s name. I sat down beside Jess, across from Casey while Dad and Mom sat at either end of the table. I glanced at the food, my mom was still in a health nut phase. There was quinoa, roasted summer veggies, and a glazed fish of some sort.
