Page 45 of On My Side
All of my siblings are at dinner, including Alex via FaceTime; she’s currently propped against a bottle of Chianti. It’s not rare for random friends to join us on Sundays; sometimes it’s Josh’s cousins, other times Will is able to make it, or Millie’s best friend, Poppy. But Finn, Izzy’s best friend, hasn’t missed a Sunday dinner since he was eight years old and moved into the house next door. That is, until he chose a college out of state.
“You excited to go back to Oregon?” I ask him. Finn’s starting his sophomore year at the University of Oregon, where he’s studying marine biology.
He looks at me, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “I miss class and the work I get to do, but I do get homesick.”
“Ask him about his girlfriend,” Izzy whispers, peeking around him.
“You have a girlfriend?” I ask.
Poor Finn is more flustered than I’ve ever seen him, and that’s saying something. “I… no. It was… no. We…no.”
Izzy snickers, and nudges him with her shoulder. “You’re doing great, Finny.”
He scowls at her. “One day I’m not coming back.”
“Your boundaries are valid,” my youngest sister responds serenely, taking his plate and spooning baked ziti onto it. “How are you feeling about vegetables today?”
“The same way I feel about you harassing me over a non-existent girlfriend,” he grumbles.
“Gotcha,” she nods.
After dinner, Nic and I are on dish duty.
“So,” she says. “You’re acting weird,”
I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. “Am not.”
“Are too. You’re less smiley than usual.”
Shit. Am I? I mentally berate myself for this, though maybe nobody else noticed. Nic is annoyingly observant and can tell the slightest shift in the way someone behaves, even if she can’t quite tell what it means.
“It’s that time of year again. Preparing for the start of school is exhausting.” I make sure to tack on an extra-wattage smile at the end.
“Hmm,” she says skeptically, and I wait for her to continue. She doesn’t.
I guess that’s that.
Once I’m back at the table, I pull out my phone.
Ren
hey, was just wondering when you were free to discuss piper’s lessons for when school starts?
“Spoons?” Leo says hopefully, slamming his hands on the table.
“No,” Nic growls at the same time Kat exclaims, “Yes!”
Nic glares at Kat. “No. We can only play during holidays. That’s literally the written law on the fridge.”
“It’s a useless rule,” Kat argues.
“It’s arulebecause you gave me a black eye two years ago,” Nic shoots back. “Because you lose what little humanity you have while playing and are certifiably a wild animal.”
My phone dings and I look at it.
Audrey
probably not anytime soon. we’re really busy preparing for school. sorry.
