He takes a moment, finishing off what’s left of his glass before handing it to me. I empty his old ice in the sink. Filling up his glass and one for myself with ice, I grab the whiskey and fill them both up two fingers worth. Coming around the bar I place his drink beside him as I take the seat beside him.
“How is the clinic coming along, son?” He inquires.
I brighten up at the question. “It’s going great! I’m working on a new project to help spay and neuter stray animals to try and help with the growing population problem we’ve been having with—”
“Yes, great, great” He says as he stands and walks toward everyone who is now entering the room. “Sugar plum!” He beams as he makes his way over to my sister.Of course.
It’s hard not to be a little bitter when you’ve spent most of your life being pushed aside. The distance that I’ve tried to get from my family isn’t inspired by one singular blow up. It was something that happened slowly over time.
Little by little, my parents stripped away my confidence. I don’t even know if they realised they’ve done it.
I wear my mask well.
I can’t even truly pinpoint exactly when I started to put it on. I’ve worn it for so long, it’s just second nature now. With the almost nine year age difference between Chloe and I, there was a big adjustment when she came home. As she got older, she was treated like the little princess she still thinks she is. I grew more irritated because the older she got, the brattier she became. Then, she started blaming me for shit she did. Like when she’d break shit after sneaking home trashed? It was always my fault. I was blamed for not looking after her. I had my own shit I had to deal with. I didn't need to deal with a bratty teenager either.
I see both my parents beaming at Chloe and talking to that Dimitri guy she brought with her. I don’t get what the big deal about this dude is. This isn’t the first guy that she’s brought to a family dinner.
Everyone finally sits down, and a minute later, the staff appear, bringing in the first course. The meal goes by smoothly. The conversation is easy, and I finally get to finish talking about my plans for the spay/neuter clinic I want to attach to my vet office. My mother goes into excited party planner mode, offering to host a charity event to help get donations for the expansion. I try to turn her down, explaining that I have a plan on how to get the funds already.
“Oh, nonsense sweetheart. It would be my absolute pleasure to put this together.” She says as she pulls out her phone and begins texting people to get the ball rolling.
I should clarify that my parents aren’t the worst.
They try, they do. It's just sometimes they miss the mark a smidge. I’m grateful for her offering it, but I wasn’t asking for money. I just wanted to share the news of my accomplished vet clinic. It’s something I’ve built from the ground up, on my own. I’m very proud of how I turned things around for myself.
The dessert is just being served when Chloe clears her throat. I look over at her, and she’s looking a bit nervous, which is odd. She’s normally very lively during family dinner. The ones I’ve made it to, at least.
“I wanted to take a moment to say something before we dig into dessert.” She starts, “I thought we could wait until after everything is done, but I just am so excited to share this news.” She’s smiling now, and glances over at Donald, taking his hand.
“Mom, Daddy… we’re going to be having a baby!” She says with the biggest smile on her face. My jaw drops. That wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I quickly glance over to my parents to gauge their reactions. My dad’s face is pale, and my mom has this open-mouthed stare going on, like a fish. I smirk, expecting a negative reaction from them.
Their perfect princess, knocked up. I’m sure that wasn’t part of their plans for her.
My mom shakes the shock off her face then matches the expression on Chloe’s face.
“I’m going to be a Grandma!” She screeches, before getting up and circling the table to hug my sister and Dennis. Dad clears his throat and gets up, following. Shaking Dale’s hand. Everyone exchanges pleasantries and congratulations. My mom begins going on about what they need to do to prepare for the baby. Then Chloe turns and makes eye contact with me.
“Well big brother, what do you think? You’re going to be an uncle!”
I know she’s excited, and I try to act like I’m happy for her. I do. But she can see through my fake smile. “Congrats to you and Dane, brat.”
She scoffs, placing her hands on her hips. Here we go.
“His name is Dalton! You know this, and you’re just playing rude by not using the correct name! Don’t think I can’t see your fake enthusiasm as anything but jealousy!” A little stomping motion follows the outburst. I said congratulations and she turned it around to me being jealous? Far from it.
I laugh, “Jealousy? Okay Chlo, whatever you need to think to make you feel better about yourself. We all know you’re thriving on being the centre of attention with this news.” I shake my head and toss back the rest of my drink. Standing, I place my napkin on the table and make my way to my parents. I kiss my mom on the cheek and shake my dads hand. “I’m just going to get going, I have surgery early in the morning. It was a great dinner. I’ll see everyone here next week.”
I turn to my sister and sigh, “Really. Congratulations.” She glares at me before grumbling a thank you. I put on my fake smile and then turn to the father-to-be and say “Deke.” Giving him a nod, I continue. “Good luck with everything but especially dealing with my sister.”
I turn on my heels and make my way out of the room as I hear the screech of my sister telling me Dean’s real name. I couldn’t care less, but all the power to him for not only putting up with my sister, but with the added pregnancy hormones as well. I know as I’m walking out of the house my mother will be blowing up my phone tomorrow. She will defusethe situation here, and then in the morning, scold me for how I “handled the wonderful news.”
The drive home is quick, and I pass the time by blasting mind numbing music. I pull up to my house. It’s a small property, but I’ve put a lot of work into it. I turned the old barn into my clinic, and with the spay/neuter clinic I have planned to build, it’ll make a great attachment.
The little farm style house isn’t much but growing up with an extravagant home taught me that I am content with something smaller. The outside still needs a bit of TLC, but after having to replace the shingles this summer, everything else is going to be on the back burner a bit until I can finalise the plans for the clinic expansion.
I walk through the front door and toss my keys and wallet in the bowl I keep on my entry table. Making sure the door is locked, I head upstairs to my bedroom. The master bedroom is located at the back of the hall. It’s a decent size, but I’m pretty minimalist when it comes to my room. I have my king sized bed and a dresser that holds all my clothes, and off to the right is my en-suite. I make my way in there, turn on the shower and strip out of my clothes while the water warms.
Placing my hands on the sink, I look at myself in the mirror. The dark circles under my eyes that are permanent fixtures at this point. I slept like shit last night, just like every other night since I was eighteen. The night terrors come and go, but with the stress of the work, they’ve been coming more frequently. Taking a deep breath, I step into the shower. I release a deep groan as the steaming water rolls down my body. My tense muscles instantly relax, and I reach over, grabbing the body wash and lathering up. I quickly wash my hair and exfoliate my face-guys can take care of their skin properly too. Turning off the shower I drag myself out and dry off quickly. I don’t bother with putting on clothing as I crawl in between the sheets, laying on my back and staring at the ceiling. I turn my head to the side to check what time it is. Eleven thirty. Ugh, six a.m. is going to come quickly. I throw my hand over my face.
