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My phone begins ringing, so I pick it up and look at the name on the screen. It’s Linus, my younger brother. I press the green button to answer it and bring the phone to my ear. “Hello there, brother.”
“Wow. I’m shocked you answered. I figured you’d still be sleeping this late.” Linus knows I’m notorious for drinking and partying when I’m home. Mainly because my being home means that I’m not working.
“No, I had a lot to get done this morning.”
“Really? What were you doing?”
“I’m at the house.” Sometimes, my brother can’t remember anything of importance. Why would it surprise him that I moved from across the city to a bigger house? It doesn’t directly affect him, so maybe that’s why he doesn’t remember. Linus tends to only care about what’s circling his own world, so to speak.
“Oh, fuck. I forgot about that. Mind if I swing by?”
“No, go right on ahead. I’m out back by the pool. You hungry?”
“I mean, I could eat.” Linus chuckles, and I put him on speaker while texting my personal chef, Marsala.
“I’ll get Marsala to make us something. When do you think you’ll get here?”
“Probably twenty minutes or so.”
“All right, I’ll see you then.”
I hang up the phone with my brother and immediately switch to my text message app.
Ambros
Linus will be here in about twenty minutes. Is there anything you can throw together for lunch?
Marsala
What do you think about garides saganaki?
I could really go for some shrimp right now.
Ambros
That sounds great. Thank you.
Marsala
Of course. I’ll start on that. I’ll make some pasta salad and souvlaki too.
I put my phone down and lean back, baking in the sun until my brother arrives. It’s nearing thirty minutes by the time Linus ends up getting here. I should have told Marsala it would be thirty minutes. My brother’s constantly running late. If he somehow manages to run on time, something must be wrong.
Linus walks out through my massive open-concept living area and takes a seat on the empty lounge chair beside me. “This place is awesome. Was it designed like this before you got here?”
“No, I had an interior designer come in and add everything. You know, I don’t know how to do any of that shit. If I did it myself, all the renovations would be done for nothing. I would’ve made a mockery of all the work they did.”
“I’m sure it would have looked fine, but your designer did a very good job.” Linus motions toward the outdoor furniture. The lounge chairs we’re on are white wicker with deep blue and white pillows that lay against the back. There’s about a ten-foot coffee table between the lounge chairs and the custom-made couch I had designed for this porch area. The couch has a cream base, but the cushions on the top and bottom are a lighter blue. The couch has small accent pillows on every seat, which tie in the deep blue on the lounge chairs, with white running through the pillows as well. Meanwhile, the coffee table pulls everything together with various blues and whites, as well as a sand color.
“This is nothing. The interior blows my mind. I don’t think I’ve ever spent my money in a better way.”
“I can think of one way to spend your money better.” Linus flashes me a mischievous grin.
“Not everyone has to pay for that, brother. Maybe if you up your game a little bit, you might be able to get it for free.” I paid for a high-class escort one time just to try it out. It wasn’t anything it was cracked up to be.
“You’re feeling a bit confrontational today. For once, you and our father have something in common.” There’s not one ounce of playfulness in his voice.
“What’s going on?”
