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After brushing my teeth and washing the smell of booze and travel off my body, I shut off the water, toweled myself dry, grabbed a pair of boxers from the drawer, and climbed into bed after putting them on.
I was just about asleep when I heard a knock at the door. “Go away!” I shouted. “I told you we’d go out on the boat tomorrow.”
“It’s Dein. Open up, you fucking loser.”
I got out of bed, stalked over to the door, and wrenched it open. “I’m a fucking loser? Guess who I met this weekend. Never mind, you’ll never guess becauseyou’venever met her.”
He pushed me out of his way, came inside, and shut the door behind him. “What are you rambling on about?” he asked as he walked over to the bedside table, picked up the remote that controlled the blinds, and opened them. I yanked it from his hand and closed them.
“As I told Mother and your children—at least two of them since that’s all who live with you—Uncle Spider is not available for boat rides, jet skiing, whining, bitching, and most importantly, answering anyone’s questions until tomorrow.Now, get out!”
“What was that remark about only two of my children living with me?”
“You know exactly what it was about.” I pushed him. “I told you to get out.”
The door flew open, and my father walked in. “What’s all this shouting about?” he bellowed.
“I was just telling Dein how nice it was to meet his eldest daughter.” I glared at my brother. “Danielle.”
“What are you talking about?” my father demanded.
“As if you don’t know. Give me a fucking break.”
When I spun around and my eyes met my brother’s, I could tell by the look on his face that my father actually didn’t know.
“Dein got Susan Sweeney pregnant. If you don’t remember her name, look her up. She was on the Olympic Ski Team at the same time I was. Everyone wondered why she suddenly dropped out of the competition. Come to find out—surprise, surprise—it was because my asshole brother knocked her up, then left her in the gutter. Maybe not the gutter, since he also gave her enough cash to keep the kid a secret.”
“Deiniol? Is this true?” I heard my mother’s voice say as she joined the three of us in my bedroom.
“Since this hasabsolutelynothing to do with me, would the three of you mind leaving so I can get some rest, please?”
My father pointed at me with his index finger. “I’ll deal withyoulater. Come on, Dein. Let’s hear your side of the story.”
“Fuck,” I seethed, walking into my closet. I grabbed a pair of shorts, a shirt, and a pair of shoes, dressing as I returned to the bedroom. Coming here had been a terrible idea. The only reason I did was because I thought they’d already left for New York. I had a place of my own, not that I was there very often. It was up the road a ways, on Jupiter Island. I’d inherited it from my grandfather, something Dein never got over. I couldn’t help it if the old man liked me better, mainly because I wasn’t an asshole.
I was on my way down the stairs when I realized my car was parked at the airport in Miami. “Fuck,” I said out loud. By the time I drove from here to there, picked it up, then made my way back to Jupiter, it would be mid-afternoon. And while I’d slept on the plane, I needed a hell of a lot more rest. I turned around, went back to my room, and closed and locked the door—for the second time—hoping everyone would leave me the hell alone.
I must’ve gotten my wish, because when I opened my eyes and checked the time, I saw it was almost seven at night. There was no good reason to get up now. I rolled over and went back to sleep.
When I woke again, it was because someone was pounding on my door. Actually, they were knocking, which meant it was probably my niece. Or my mother.
I got out of bed, plucked my robe from the closet, and opened the door. “Hello, Coryn,” I said, motioning for her to come inside.
“I can’t go out on the boat today.”
“You can’t? Is that why you woke me at”—I squinted at the clock—“eight in the morning? Just to tell me that?”
“We’re leaving.”
“Who is?”
“Daddy, Mommy, Steffan, and me. We’re going to myothergrandparents’ house for Christmas.”
I’d known Dein’s wife’s family my entire life since their place in Lake Placid was a few doors down from ours. “I’m sure you’ll be able to come over and hang out with us too.”
Coryn shook her head slowly. “Grandpa said we couldn’t.”
“Grandpa said you couldn’t come for Christmas? I don’t believe you.”
