She told me it’d be fun.
She told me I’d have a blast. She
told me she’d pay for all the drinks, and that’s what sold me.
Just to be a pain, I ordered a crown & coke, a scotch on
the rocks, and a pitcher of Bud. If I
was going to be out with her, she was certainly going to pay.
“Why are you being a jerk?” she questioned. “If you didn’t want to come out with me, you
could have just said so.”
“I did,” I reminded her then chugged a frothy mug.
“Well,” she started.
I could tell she’d be easy to beat down this evening, “You’re here with
me now, you might as well have a good time.
Besides, there’s not much else you could be doing.”
I downed my scotch before cutting my eyes to her. “Really?”
I asked. It was rhetorical for
her, but I answered in my head.
I could be at the gym.
Not that I’d been to the gym in months.
I could be at Mark’s playing Halo.
Not that I’m any good at it since I’d started my new job. I could be at the movies. Not that there was anything worth paying $10
a ticket for. I could be at the stadium,
but their losing season didn’t make the trip through the traffic worth the
effort.
I finished my scotch and then slammed the glass down on the
bar. I heard her heave a giant, resigned
sigh. “Fine,” she said, and I was pretty
sure I heard a familiar catch in her voice:
The tears were on their way. “You
don’t have to be here. You can
leave. I’ll pay up, and find my own way
home. I just thought we’d have a fun
time tonight, ya know. Just the two of
us. But never mind.”
“Look,” I said, feeling like the jerk that I really was, “I’m
sorry. It’s just that I’m not used to
this.”
“I know,” she said, sniffling, “That’s why we should do
this. We never get to see each other.”
“I’ve been in college!” I countered.
“And I’ve missed you,” she whined.
“OK,” I said, wondering if it’d be like this for the rest of
our lives, “I’ll stay. Anything you
want. It’s still weird, though,” I said
looking for that last dig, “You’re my baby sister, after all!”
