Living, or Something Like It

My plane left at nine in the morning. Billy came over to wish me off.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Car. Your mom made me promise I wouldn’t mention it.’ I shrugged it off. “I’m going to miss you, man. You’re my best friend. Now, all I have are Tessa and Mar to keep me company.” Billy’s girlfriend, Tessa, Marissa’s best friend, was standing with the two of us, sniffling tearfully. She sort of completed our little group. I hugged her, and kissed her hair.
“I’ll miss you, Carmen. You’re a good friend. Come visit whenever you can.”
“You know I will, Tess.” I told her, hoping it wouldn’t be too long before I saw them again. My mom drove me to the airport and gave me a stiff goodbye. I didn’t mind, I knew she was trying her hardest not to break down before I left. I could see it in her eyes that she didn’t want me to go.
“Bye, Ma. I love you.” I told her, “Kiss Lauren for me when you get home.” She nodded and kissed me on the cheek. I arrived in Vermont a few hours later to find not a single member of my family waiting for me to arrive. I sighed. This was how it would be. See, Luna and I were the only kids my parents had together. They’d only been divorced a few months when my dad married Linda. I was fairly certain I’d have to be on my own while I was there. I got my suitcase from baggage and claimed a bench in the airport lobby. I cracked open a book and waited. It only took about forty-five minutes for someone to show up.
“Car! Car, oh my God!” It was Luna. And holy shit, she was pregnant. Again. Which, would be the reason Jon called her a whore, only the baby they sent her away for conceiving was stillborn. That was two years ago, and here we are now. However, she was my sister, and she was beautiful. And she was glowing, from the pregnancy, I guess. Aren’t pregnant chicks supposed to ‘glow’? I think they are. Either way, she looked great. I smiled and stood up and embraced her. I kissed her cheek and placed my hand on her stomach.
“Something you forgot to mention?” I asked. She laughed nervously. Her hair was a deep, deep red now, and she’d had her eyebrow pierced since the last time I’d seen her.
“Well, hun, I thought you might have gotten mad at me, and when I found out you were coming, I just thought I’d surprise you!” She said all this with a smile, a real one. Real smiles from Luna only happened around me. “Well, it’s a girl! Just so you know. And, by the way, if Dad didn’t mention, Linda’s got a bun in her oven, too. For the millionth time. She’s having a boy, she found out last week.” Yeah, if I didn’t mention, I have a lot of stop-brothers and sisters. My dad and Linda have like eight kids. Not kidding. There’s the oldest, who is like thirteen, his name is Jeremy; Kat, who is eleven; then Alison, who is nine; the twins, David and Ethan, who are seven; Jessie, she’s five; Angelo, who is three; and Cara, who is about eighteen months. And now there is another boy on the way. Awesome. As you can see, my dad and step-mom wasted no time reproducing. They’re like fucking rabbits or something. Needless to say, the house is huge. Luna and I each have our own rooms, as do Jeremy and Angelo, for now. Kat and Ali share, the twins share, and Jessie and Cara share. Seriously though, that’s pretty good for a family this big.

When I got to the house, I barely recognized any of the kids. I hadn’t been up to visit since before the last baby was born, so they didn’t recognize me much, either. I hugged them all, because come on, their my family and I love them.
“Carmen! Hi sweetie,” Linda chirped, “come in, sit down! How are you? How was the trip?” She looked about the same as Luna did, stomach-wise. Despite having so many damn kids, Linda was seriously skinny, and the baby in her belly protruded from her body in a really nasty way. I mean, Luna was thin, but Linda was like the size of a thirteen year old boy before puberty. She sat me down at the kitchen table and bustled back over to the stove. She came back with a plate of steaming lasagna. Love being Italian, by the way. The food is fucking fantastic. I ate slowly, savoring the taste. Linda made a mean red gravy. I watched my brothers and sisters weave around one another, running throughout the house screeching and giggling. I smiled. I could get used to this chaos. I finished my food and put all my things away in my upstairs bedroom. I had a window seat in my room, which made me grin. I’ve always wanted one of those. I had brought a suitcase completely full of books, and I was looking forward to reading them on that window seat. My dad had put in a brand new bookshelf for me, which I was grateful for. He did try to be a good father to Luna and I, but we were old enough to understand he had other responsibilities. I sat on my bed and took out my phone. I had a couple new messages, but I ignored them and dialed Marissa’s number. She picked up on the second ring.
“Hey!” Mar smiled when she spoke, and it was always noticeable.
“Hey, babe. I just wanted to let you know I made it to my dad’s house and everything. My sister’s knocked up again! And, so is my step-mom!” I said, mockingly cheerful.
“Luna is having a baby? Wow! God, what is she having? When?”
“It’s a girl, and, uh, like three months? Four? She looks great,” I said, “Linda does, too. She’s having another boy.”
“ I can’t believe she’s having another one, that’s like, what, nine kids?” She laughed slightly.
“Yeah, he’ll be the ninth. Eleventh in general, counting Luna and me. We’re going to have two screaming babies in the house at the same time, oh joy!” I joked. Mar laughed, her sweet, tinkling laugh.
“Listen, baby, I have to go, but I’ll text you soon, okay?”
“Okay, Mar. Bye.” We hung up and I smiled. She really was just, well, wonderful. It was then that I started to feel actually sad that I had left her. I looked at the clock on my wall. It was getting late. I grabbed my book off my dresser and changed into my bed clothes and hopped into bed to read for a while. I drifted off to sleep ten minutes later.

I woke up at nine the next morning to find the house empty. The kids were at school or the babysitters, and everyone else was at work. Linda had left a note telling me there was food in the fridge and all that shit. I noticed my dad had left me a car, my car, according to the note; the keys were sitting on the kitchen counter. I ran back upstairs and changed, then ran out to my car. It was in pretty good condition. It was a red 1998 Camry. Not bad for about two days notice that I was coming and would need a car. I remembered there was a little coffee shop in town from the last time I was visiting, so I decided I would go get myself some breakfast. I walked in, pondering what I wanted. That was when I saw her. She had long, wild red hair and her legs stretched for miles under the table. She was sipping a musky pink drink and nibbling on a muffin top while reading from a book she had propped up on the table. I wanted her so fiercely, I could barely comprehend it. She was lovely and terrible at the same time. She answered her phone, and when I heard her voice, it only made the wanting worse. It was husky and sexy, and her laugh was throaty and I loved it. I wanted to know everything about her; her name, her goals, her life-story, I wanted everything about her. I just stood in the opening of the café, staring at her. I was trying to get up the nerve to sit with her, just to go talk to her, when she looked up at me and smiled. I grinned and started to walk over to her when someone shoved right past me and went to her side, kissing her loudly. My heart sunk. This perfect girl had a boyfriend. I should have assumed so, I mean, how could she not? She smiled at this guy and grabbed his hand from across the table. He picked her book up and closed it, not even saving the page and helped himself to her muffin. Her smile faltered as she took her book back and leafed through it, searching for her lost page. Her boy took it back again, laughing at her anger, and that was when I left. I wasn’t hungry anymore.