Food, Cats, and Being Lazy

On Saturday, my house was almost empty. My mom was busy in the office planning her next candle-selling party. My dad was golfing. Phillip was at a friend’s house. And Paige was upstairs getting ready to go to whatever cool people thing she had planned for the day.

So that meant I got to watch TV in the living room. Usually, I preferred my bedroom. But only because there was always someone in the living room. But the TV was bigger. So I settled on Food Network and decided it was about time I learn how to make my own sea salt caramels.

Then the doorbell rang and interrupted my learning experience. Since Paige didn’t come running down the stairs like usual, I figured it wasn’t for her. So I got up to get it. And Vincent was standing on my front porch.

“Hey,” he said with a bright smile.

“Hi,” I grumbled. I let him into the house. “Paige is upstairs.”

“Oh, alright. We were planning on going to the movies. Want to join us?”

“It’s okay. Really. I’m sure Paige doesn’t want me there.”

“Who cares? I’m paying. I get to say who comes.” I shook my head and grimaced. Sitting in a dark room watching them make out was the last thing I wanted to do.

“It’s fine. I’d rather stay home by myself than listen to her complain about me the whole time.”

“I only complain about you because you annoy me,” she said, coming down the stairs behind me.

“I’m paying. I get to say who comes,” he repeated. She got to the bottom of the stairs and sneered at him.

“Seriously? Why do you want to hang out with my sister all of a sudden?”

“She’s my friend.” She laughed, but he didn’t crack a smile.

“You’re joking, right? You and Piper?” He nodded.

“She has good taste in music. And she likes cats. I’m a cat person too.” She laughed again and turned on the stairs.

“Well, I’m not going if she is, so make your choice.” She headed back up the stairs, and he watched her go. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his jaw was set tight like he was mad. But then he looked at me and nodded toward the door.

“C’mon,” he decided.

“It’s fine. Go with Paige. She’ll never forgive you,” I told him.

“We can rent something.”

“It’s fine.”

“Then come help me pick something out.” He opened the door and strolled out.

“Oh—okay.” I hurried after him and shut the door. His crappy gray Honda was sitting in our driveway, probably leaking oil. My mom would have a tantrum about it. He climbed into the driver’s seat, and I climbed in beside him. “You don’t have to hang out with me, Vincent. It’s really okay,” I told him as he got the car started.

“Don’t worry about it. I told you we’d hang out, so we are.”

“Paige is going to be mad at us.” He shrugged and backed out of the driveway.

“She’ll get over it.” I sighed.

“Easy for you to say. You don’t have to live with her.” Then he just laughed.

When we got to the video store, we got out, and I followed him in anxiously. The guy behind the counter went to school with us, so Vincent told me to pick something while they talked. He didn’t seem embarrassed by me, but it was probably something easy to explain off. I was just his girlfriend’s little sister. So he was just being nice.

I wandered the aisles for a bit, unsure of what I should get. Eventually, I settled on a classic. Superstar. It was funny, and Vincent seemed like the kind of person who’d appreciate it. It would annoy the hell out of Paige, though.

So I got the case and carried it back to Vincent at the counter. He slid it over to his friend without looking at it. Then he paid, and we took it back to the car to go home. Once we got in through the front door, Paige came rushing down the stairs before Vincent even got it shut. I hurried into the living room to avoid them.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped.

“I went to get a movie. Is that okay with you, or should I have asked for permission first?”

“I thought you left to take her to the movies!”

“Well, obviously I didn’t. We got a rental. You can stop yelling at me now.”

“Why do you want to hang out with her so bad? I know it’s not because you’re both cat people. That’s the stupidest excuse I’ve ever heard!”

“What is your deal with her? What did she do to make you hate her so much?”

“She annoys me, Vincent. All she does is talk about cats and food and the stupid stuff she sees on TV.”

“I think you might actually be the problem, Paige. You’re so goddamn superficial that you can’t even be seen with your own flesh and blood. She probably really looks up to you, and you can’t handle her because what? You don’t like how she dresses? Just like how you were with me? Changed my whole wardrobe before you agreed to go out with me?”

“All you wore were skater shirts, Vincent. You don’t even skate.” I could tell this fight was getting personal, and I just wanted to hide in my room, but Paige was still on the stairs. I knew if I tried to leave, she’d just turn all her anger on me. So I sunk into the couch cushions and pulled a pillow over my lap to pretend I was invisible.

“Who says?” Vincent snapped. “You?” She huffed with another snotty tone.

“You didn’t even own a skateboard.”

“Because I broke it. When I broke my fucking leg.” She grumbled almost silently. He was winning this fight, and there was nothing Paige hated more than losing an argument.

“Go hang out with her by yourself then if she’s so special. Don’t talk to me.” She stomped back up the stairs, and I was so deep in the couch cushions I might drown. I was pretty sure my cheeks were bright red when Vincent joined me in the living room.

“Hey, Superstar,” he said, finally pulling the DVD out of the bag. “Awesome. I love this movie.” He went to go stick it into the DVD player. I nodded slowly from my couch nest.

“I thought you might be the type to appreciate it.” He started the movie and then plopped down on the other side of the couch. I really couldn’t wait for this hang-out to be over. It was mortifying.

“Sorry you had to hear all that,” he said quietly once it got going.

“It’s cool. I hear it all the time.”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“For the record, I don’t look up to her. Not anymore.” I could see him nod from the corner of my eye.

“I wouldn’t either.”

There was something sad in the way he said it. I knew they loved each other once because they’d always been attached at the face. But now I wasn’t so sure. Then I couldn’t figure out why he was still with her at all. Maybe they didn't really like each other. They didn't act like it.