Page 26 of Give Me a Chance
“To be honest, I would prefer to work on it alone. We can meet Monday morning at 8:30, so I can get you up to speed.”
“OK,” I say, not wanting to push further. Maybe I just need to be patient with her. Maybe she’ll let me in after a while. Our sex is obviously other-worldly.
If she pulls out my wild side, maybe I’ll be able to pull out her romantic one.
“I’m gonna . . . go,” she says.
“Sure. Have a good weekend!”
“You too,” she replies, and it’s better than nothing. This talk was awkward as fuck, but it’s better than the ‘this can’t happen again’ speech.
My phone ringsas soon as I enter my house. Sarah is FaceTiming me.
“Hey, Benji!” I say when an adorable little face fills the screen.
The chubby hand waves to me, letting out a ‘Ha’ sound. My sister’s face appears on the left side of the screen.
“Someone wanted to say hi to his favorite uncle,” Sarah says. “He has something to show you.” She moves the phone away, while Adam, her husband, calls Ben to him. Ben uses his tiny legs to run to his dad. He is wobbly and unstable on his feet, but he gets there in record time, bursting with pride at his accomplishment.
“Woooow, Benji! What was that? You were so fast! Pretty soon, I won’t be able to catch you.” He squeals in his dad’s arms. This little boy has my whole heart.
“Seen that? Keeping up with him just leveled up,” Adam comments.
“Good luck with it.” He gives me an army salute before picking Benji up and walking him to the kitchen.
“A little bit more and I’ll be able to teach him to skate,” I comment.
“Sounds great. He only has six teeth to lose so far,” Sarah deadpans.
“What’s up, Sis?” Me and my sister are close.
Growing up without a father, it was always the three of us. And since our mom worked a lot, we had to have each other’s back more often than not. I’m three years older, so it was my job to take care of her. It’s still weird to see her as a mom. She’s the best mom possible, but she’s still my little sister.
“Nothing much. Just finished with work, while Ben practiced his new skill.” She works from home now, which she loves since she can stay home with Benji. It’s exhausting, but she likes it. “What’s up with you?”
“Just finished work, too. There’s a project I’m excited about, so it’s been pretty good.” I tell her about my proposed project.
“It’s so good to hear you excited about work for a change. You’ve been unhappy for too long.” I offer a polite chuckle, but her words hurt.
I wasn’t even aware of my unhappiness. I wasn’t crazy about work, but I was fine with it. It was a means to an end. I guess everyone saw my feelings before I did.
“How’s dating going? Met anyone worth mentioning?” My sister is a harsh opponent to my dating technique. She believes love happens spontaneously and accidentally, which happened for her and Adam.
Unfortunately, not all of us can bump into our soulmate in Target, after spilling all their groceries. They had a literal meet-cute, and it’s annoying as hell.
“The dates have been bland—as usual. There’s a girl at work I really like, but she wants different things and refuses to give me a chance.”
“Ooo, star-crossed lovers. I love it already.” I groan at her words. Sarah is even more romantic than me. She lives and breathes it. Her and Anne are similar in that sense.
“Don’t get attached to it. Probably won’t go anywhere.” I don’t know why I mentioned it. It isn’t going anywhere. But still, she’s the only thing on my mind.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Mattie. You grow on people. Like a fungus.” A laugh escapes me. That’s sibling love for you.
“Aw, thanks, Sis. I was getting worried I’ve been getting too confident.”
“Means I haven’t been doing my little sister duties.”
We talk for a few more minutes before I send a big kiss to Ben and say goodbye.
