AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’re not kids anymore, you know. We could probably act more mature.”
Mac snorted.
Something about being home made us all act like we had as kids. We fell into our roles—Malcolm, who we call Mac, the older, protective brother; Tyler, the peacemaker and comedian; and me, the baby. I’d hoped Maggie would take on that role, but apparently, you never outgrew your family. Some things didn’t change.
We ran a business together too, and those same roles naturally seeped in over there, as well. Mac was the project supervisor and Tyler handled a lot of the customer service issues. But I didn’t have a specific role. Usually, I was supervised by my father or one of my brothers. Like I could never be trusted on my own. When Maggie was a baby, it was because I was exhausted and needed the extra help.
But she was older now, and if I had a reliable babysitter, maybe it would finally be time to ask for more responsibility. Technically, we were equal partners, but our opinions didn’t hold the same weight. Dad tended to listen to Mac and not Tyler or me.
Mac was the responsible one. It was too soon to ask for more. I needed to make sure Alice was going to work out first. Then I’d feel better about asking for more responsibility. I wanted to manage my own projects. I didn’t want my dad or my brother there to babysit me.
At the end of dinner, Mac grabbed the cake he’d bought from the local baker.
“Oh, what’s the occasion?” Mom asked.
“Your anniversary is coming up, and we’d like to give you your present early.”
“Oh?” Mom asked, exchanging a look with Dad. I think they thought we’d throw them a party because they loved getting together with family and friends. Hopefully, we hadn’t miscalculated.
Mac stood, an envelope in his hands. “You haven’t gone on a vacation in forever. Not since we were kids, and we took those road trips.”
Back then, Dad said we didn’t have the money or time to take away from the business to go on long vacations, so we’d do day or weekend trips. We loved them, but we wanted our parents to have some time off, and my mom had been wanting to travel.
“We already bought the tickets, so there’s no taking them back,” Tyler added.
“Where are we going?” Mom asked.
“Open it.” Mac handed her the envelope.
She opened the flap and pulled out the printed itinerary from the airline and tour company. “A two-week tour of Europe.”
Mom stood to hug Mac. “You’ve never gone, and you’ve always wanted to. It’s time for you two to take some time for yourself.”
“What about the business?” Dad asked, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of so much time away.
The natural leader, Mac, said, “You have the three of us to hold things together. If you ever want to retire, you need to rely on us more. We want to take over the business so you can have more time off.”
“It’s time,” Tyler added.
Mom’s eyes filled with tears, but I wasn’t sure if they were happy tears or not. “I can’t believe we’re finally going to Europe.”
Mom hugged Dad, and seeing how happy she was, Dad seemed reluctant to argue.
“It’s all paid for. All you have to do is enjoy yourselves. We’ll take care of the business and the house.”
Mom stood and hugged Mac, Tyler, and then finally me. “I can’t believe you planned and paid for it all.”
“You deserve it. You’re always taking care of us and the business. You never take any time away.”
She pulled back to see my face. “It’s going to be hard for your father, you know.”
“He needs this the most. He holds on to the business with two hands, even when he has us.”
Mom patted my cheek. “You’re such good boys.”
My parents were great people, loving and supportive. I couldn’t understand how Felicia could walk away from Maggie so easily. I understood wanting a career, but she didn’t want Maggie. I wanted it all, the family and a work-life balance.
Watching Mom hug my dad again made me long for a partner. Not Felicia. I couldn’t love someone who could walk away from her child, but I wanted someone to be on my side. To love me and Maggie.
