Me: No surprise since I taste so good
Unknown number: I’ll see you soon
Me: No
Unknown number: I didn’t ask
Me: And the answer is still NO
Me: Leave me alone
I shut off my phone and put it back in my purse. Once I finish the salad, I return to the living room to straighten it out.
I’m in the middle of pulling the playpen into a corner when Devin comes out with Ruby in his arms. She’s in nothing but a diaper. She has tears in her eyes and continues to whine.
“Hey, Cor,” Devin says.
“Hi.” I turn my back and continue my task, eager to finish so we can eat, and I can return to my quiet, tidy apartment.
“Did you give her a bath?” Mom wheels herself to my brother and caresses Ruby’s chubby leg.
“Not yet.” Of course, he didn’t, but I know what’s coming next.
“Maybe Cori can do it after we eat,” Mom suggests.
“Cori will not,” I say with a lot more attitude than needed. “I have work to do.”
“She’s your niece.” I don’t answer my brother. Devin is not worth my energy, so for my mom’s sake, I clean up the livingroom and vacuum the floor before I return to the kitchen to help her get dinner on the table.
As if he has a radar, Dad walks through the door once the table is set and the food is on it. Like he always does when he comes home, he kisses Mom’s cheek and opens his arms for me.
I wrap my arms around his thick frame and he kisses the top of my head like he’s been doing since I was a child.
“Hi, Daddy,” I say.
“My favorite daughter.” He kisses both my cheeks, then I wait for it. “I don’t know what smells better. The food, you, or your mom.” I roll my eyes at him.
“Well, it’s not me,” Mom says. “Cori’s the one who wears all the good-smelling lotions. I smell like onions.”
“Cori has money for expensive lotions?” Devin asks. “That’s not a necessity.”
His last words make the hairs on my body itch. That was my father’s refrain after the accident. If it wasn’t a necessity, we didn’t buy it, even though I was working two jobs to save money to attend the New England School of Design. It was my dream, but after my mother’s injury, it started to slip away.
“Cori has a job, so she has money for whatever the hell she wants,” I snap. “When you get one, you can do the same. Until then, shut up about what I buy.”
“Cori, is all that attitude necessary?” Mom shakes her head in anger.
I don’t respond. I won’t. I’ve already given Devin too much attention and energy, and I know he’s only fishing about my financial situation. He’s too stupid to know that things have changed, and it will be a cold day in hell before anyone dictates how I spend my hard-earned money.
“Let’s eat,” Daddy says, thankfullyignoring my brother.
Like always, once dinner is done, the men sit down, and I’m left cleaning. By this time, Mom is tired, and the dishes fall to me. Fine. I’ll do it as fast as I can and get the hell out of here.
Devin sits in the middle of the living room while Ruby makes a mess with the toys I had just cleaned up.
“Mom, do you need me to do anything else before I go?” I ask.
“Leaving already?” Mom sounds disappointed. “Can you help me in and out of the shower?”
