Page 17 of Unforgettable

“We are moving to California!” she erupted excitedly.

The generous bite of chicken I’d stabbed with my fork hovered midair in front of my mouth. I couldn’t say anything. I sat there silently, expecting something more than that or for them to elaborate.

“Congratulations?” The question in my voice wasn’t intentional, but it was there, nonetheless.

“Aren’t you excited or surprised?” my father asked.

Adam chuckled and set his fork on his plate. “Why would she be excited?You twoare moving. We aren’t going anywhere.”

“You knew about this?” I asked Adam.

His only response was a shrug. I wasn’t surprised the little shit hadn’t informed me of the somewhat important development.

“Yes, you’re right. But we thought you might be excited for us.”

I gulped and looked at the liquor cabinet in the corner of the room that seemed to be calling my name. I wasn’t an alcoholic, and I didn’t depend on it in my everyday life.Butduring the odd family dinner, it made it all a little more manageable and kept me from getting the itch to stab a fork in my eye that seemed to creep up every time one of my parents spoke.

“That’s great. When are you moving?” I asked.

“The movers will be here in three days.”

My head whipped around to my father, who spoke like it was nothing of importance. He took another bite of food and smiled at me like it was any other normal day.

“Hold on. Like three days from now?” I asked, looking back and forth at both of them, hoping I was being punked.

“Yes, they’ll be here on Wednesday and then this house will close on Friday,” Mom said.

“When were you planning on telling me this? You’ve already sold this house.”

Adam sat silently beside me, casually eating his green beans. His lack of snide comments made me even more concerned.

“Tonight.”

“Adam, what are you going to do? Where are you going to live?”

My brother, who was ten years younger than me, was a few years out of high school and hadn’t kept a steady job since he was sixteen. He wasn’t interested in college—junior college or a university—and trade or technical school was also apparently out of the picture.

I’d tried to help him find a job several times, but they all turned out the same. I’d receive a call no more than a month later with another excuse on why it just wasn’t “the right fit.”

“Honestly, we thought he could stay with you for a while,” Mom said.

“What?” I said flatly.

“At least until he can get on his feet. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind putting up with your little brother for a few days.”

“Did you know this was their plan?” I directed my question to Adam and held up my hand to my mother when she tried to interject on his behalf.

Adam sighed and finally put down his fork. “I planned to stay with a buddy, but when they mentioned the idea of me living with you, it sounded like a better option. It’ll be temporary until I can figure something else out.”

I laughed a dry, humorless laugh. “Mom, and no offense, bro,” I said to Adam, who waved me off. “But it’s going to take way more than a couple of days for Adam to find a job, save up enough money to afford a place on his own and then move into said place. It may be a month if we’re lucky, but likely longer than that.”

She shrugged like it wasn’t any concern of hers. They were leaving, and as I watched them both stare at their plates, pushing food around but not eating, I realized that it was their plan all along. They planned to only tell me at the last possible minute so that I had no choice but to let Adam live with me because they both knew I wouldn’t let my little brother be homeless.

Yes, he was a fucking pest and had no motivation, but he was my pest.

And I should have known something like that would happen sooner rather than later. Dad had retired a few months before, and Mom was getting anxious about traveling—or so she said. So, my surprise turned into contempt and anger. Their behavior was usual, and I should have suspected it, but I was angry at myself for not doing more to be proactive. I should have seen it coming.

No longer in the mood to act cordial or pleasant, I put my cloth napkin on the table and stood from the uncomfortable wooden chair. “Adam, start packing tonight. You can move in sometime before the movers get here. If you need help moving the bigger stuff, let me know, and I’ll have one of the guys help you. We can talk about specifics after you move in.”

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