A Little More Than Convenient

|Trent Remington|
A week later, I received a call from my sister, Tara. She, being Tara, was prodding me with questions.
“What have you been up to? When are you gonna get sized for your tux? Did you get the promotion?” she’d asked impatiently.
 “Not much. I don’t know. Yes,” I replied smiling.
There was a pause on the other end. “You got the promotion?”
“Yes,” I replied.
She squealed. “You’re the VP! Whoo! I’m so happy! Anyway, you really need to get fitted. On a brighter note, we should celebrate! No drinking, of course. I want to bring Joel. And Mark, of course.”
“So you want to make it a family thing.”
“Oh, sorry,” she replied.
She thinks it bothers me when she talks about family, since I’m not in a relationship. Ha, showed what she knew.
“It’s fine. I know who I can bring.”
“No Lana,” she said, “and no bimbos.”
I chuckled. “She’s not Lana. And she’s not a bimbo. She’s a perfectly nice girl.”
“What’s her name? Where’d you meet her? Are y’all steady yet?” she hounded me with questions again.
“You’ll meet her tonight,” I replied.
She groaned. “Come on, little brother! Tell me a little something, please!”
“Nope!” I replied, “Look, Tara, I’ve got to go, okay?”
She sighed. “All right. Meet Mark and I at Colton’s tonight. How about seven-ish?”
“That’s fine, but when did we decide on Colton’s?”
“I did,” she replied, “that’s all that matters.”
“Goodbye, Tara!” I retorted.
She tittered. “Bye, little brother.”
I pressed the end button and slipped my phone into my pocket. Then, I left the building and headed to the apartment.
***
When I arrived at the apartment, Carmen was asleep on the couch. Usually, we rode to work together, but she’d slept a little late this morning. She hadn’t slept much the night before, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her up. She called me later and gave me a pretty chewing out, but when I told her why I hadn’t woken her up, she apologized, and got all soft. Sometimes, just sometimes, I swear she’s bipolar.
Carmen was sprawled out on the sofa, pumps still on her feet, briefcase on the floor, purse on her side. She left the office at around three o’clock. Her hours were eight to three, but today, she’d came in at nine. I walked toward her and shook her. She blinked and sat up.
“How long have I been asleep?”
“A couple hours, I suppose,” I replied.
She yawned and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me, unless it’s the bed transition. I’m sorry about earlier. I should get an alarm clock.”
I grinned. “It’s fine, but you need to get dressed. We’re going to eat with my sister.”
“Tara, right?” she asked.
“Right,” I replied.
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll just go take a shower.” She stood up and walked out of the room.
I followed suit and went to my bathroom. I jumped in the shower and washed my hair quickly. After my shower, I dried my hair with a towel, put on deodorant, and splashed on some cologne. I dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt, and jeans. I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my coat and wallet and keys. I was ready in less than fifteen minutes.
When I came out, Carmen was standing by the door, tapping her foot. She was dressed in jeans, a turquoise long-sleeved blouse, and she already had her coat and purse.
“What took so long?” she asked.
I shrugged. “What took so fast?”
“Uh...is that even proper grammar?” she asked, “anyway, I straightened my hair this morning. All I had to was brush it out after my shower, and get dressed.”
I chuckled again. “Let’s go then.”
As we got into my tan Suburban, Carmen asked me if Tara knew about our fake marriage. 
 “No,” I replied, “she doesn’t even know what your name is. I figured I’d tell her tonight.”
“Does the rest of your family know?”
I nodded. “My mom called and I told her. She told Dad and Tristan, but I told her to let me tell Tara. She has a problem with questions.”
“So she’s nosy?” Carmen asked.
“I guess you could say that,” I replied.
When we reached Colton’s, Mark, Tara, and Joel were already there. They had a table in the middle of the restaurant, which kind of bothered me, since I like to eat a little more privately.
We sat down and I introduced everyone. “Tara, Mark, Joel,” I said Joel a little more cutesy, “this is Carmen, Carmen, this is Tara, Mark and Joel.”
They all exchanged hellos.
“So, Carmen, when did y’all meet?” Tara asked.
“Tara,” Mark said.
“No, it’s fine,” Carmen said, grinning, “we met Saturday at the bank.”
Tara raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
I nodded.
The waitress came up and asked what we wanted to drink. I ordered a coke, and so did Carmen.
“So are you guys, like, together?”
“Yeah,” I replied, “we’re married.”
Mark choked on his tea. “Did you say married?”
Carmen nodded. “Yeah, he sure did.”
Tara furrowed her brows. “Erm, Trent, are you sure-I mean, do you-”
“Calm down,” I replied, “I-we love each other.”
“Yay!” Joel exclaimed. “Auntie!”
We all laughed.
“That’s right, Joel,” Tara said, giggling again, “That’s your Aunt Carmen.”
“Auntie!” he said again.
The waitress came back with our drinks and we both ordered steaks. 
 “You sure do like steak, don’t you?” I asked Carmen.
“Yeah, it’s my very favorite food. I could eat it for every meal every day.”
A different waitress sat down a pail of peanuts and rolls. Tara cracked one open, popped the peanut in her mouth, and then tossed it on the floor.
“Mommy!” Joel exclaimed, waving his finger, “That’s a no-no.”
We all laughed again. “No, it’s okay to throw peanuts on the floor at this place, baby.”
“Weally?” he asked.
“Really,” Mark replied.