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22
Owen
Cooper sits across from me—home from college for twenty-four hours.
We’re going to have to get Mom a bigger dining room table. With the addition of Coco, her family, Meredith, and Cooper home, there isn’t room for all of us.
“How was your date?” Cooper asks, and the entire family goes quiet.
Even little Alice is watching me. Lulabelle is officially my new best friend as she is too entranced with her mother’s spoon to pay any attention to me. Sure, she’s six months old, but I still appreciate her indifference on the subject.
I shrug and scoop a giant portion of mashed potatoes onto my spoon. I can’t offer details if my mouth is full. “Fine,” I say, then shove the bite in.
“You went on another date?” Mom asks. She, like my brothers, knows I like Annie. But unlike the boys, she doesn’t taunt me over it. Still, I’m pretty sure Mom believes it’s a crush and not deep, crazy, unrequited love.
I nod—seeing how my mouth is full.
“A second date with a girl namedBelle,” my sister offers.
“Is she cute?” Cooper asks, one of his brows lifted.
“Not cute enough to get him over Annie,” says Miles—quiet Miles, always on my side Miles.
Traitor.
Let’s talk about his nonexistent dating life for a minute.
I choke, and mashed potatoes poof from my lips, giving Cooper a freckled potato face.
“Ew.” He groans as Alice giggles next to him.
Meredith’s eyes are wide and frozen darting from Cooper back to me.
“Accurate!” Coco points to Miles, ignoring the fact that I just spat all over our brother.
“Ridiculous,” Levi adds.
“Not ridiculous,” Coco scolds him.
“Love is never ridiculous,” Meredith says, giving Levi a small, unintimidating glare.
“Love?” Mom says. “Owen?”
I cough out a small splutter of mashed potatoes again, but this round only reaches the front of my shirt. “Excuse me,” I say and head down the hall to the bathroom. I take my cloth napkin with me, needing some air and space as well as something to clean myself up with.
But I’ve just closed the door when there’s a knock.
“Owen?” It’s Coco. My sweet sister who has a heart of gold and a candor mouth. Our family changed when Coco came home. We were always good, but we became better.
Still, any of my brothers would be happy to give me a minute to process, to think, to be alone. Not Coco.
I open the door to find not only my sister but Meredith and Mom standing there too. Maybe they’re holding an intervention… Nah, Levi would happily have joined had that been the case.
“Ah…” I begin, schooling my face to look fine and confused all at once.
“Owen, did you see the paper?”
Of course I saw the paper. It was the first thing I looked at this morning.
