Concealed

Rhonda stayed until my parents got back from meeting with their investor. I couldn’t believe she actually called Cameron on my phone. I was embarrassed beyond words. He seemed to have been a good sport about it. I definitely wouldn’t be apologizing, though; not after he took part in the teasing.

“I’ve heard of the first publisher,” Rhonda said as we sat at the kitchen table, a basket of strawberries between us. “They’re pretty strict on who they accept so don’t get your hopes up.”

“I don’t anymore,” I assured her.

“As for the other two, we’ll go about it like normal.” She bit into a strawberry just as the front door opened. “So, this Cameron. Tell me about him.”

I toyed with Minnie’s leash as she licked my mom’s face.

“I dunno,” I shrugged. “He seems like a nice guy.” I laughed. “He gave me that list yesterday by inviting me in. He got Minnie a bone from PetSmart so he’s officially her number one favorite person after me.”

Rhonda laughed. Jim glared at me as he walked out the front door and I looked down. She put a comforting hand on my arm.

“I should probably get to the office,” she said, packing everything up.

“Thanks for staying,” I said, embarrassed.

She hugged me tightly. “Of course. I’m always here for you; you know that.”

“Likewise,” I nodded.

It was nearing dinner time and I offered to cook. Jim stormed back into the house and narrowed his eyes at me.

“What have I done this time?” I asked wearily.

“Stop throwing yourself at our neighbor,” he snapped. “You’re embarrassing us.”

“Jim,” my mom snapped, too. “Leave her alone. She’s not throwing herself at anyone.”

“That’s right; stick up for the delicate little girl.”

I glared as he went upstairs. I went back to chopping up the potatoes, putting more force into it than was necessary. My mom sighed and started seasoning the steaks.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“How’d the meeting go?” I asked, changing the subject before I started to cry.

“It went well,” she said. “He’s happy that we’re making our quota each month. He showed us the reviews on Yelp.” She shook her head. “All the ones when Jim has been out among the customers have been poor. We’ll have to keep him in the office and the kitchen. That’s all right, though. He does better there, anyway.” She cleared her throat. “He asked about you.”

“Not interested,” I said immediately.

“Oh, come on,” Mom said. “He’s a nice guy!”

“That may be, but he also stares. And Minnie doesn’t like him,” I reminded her.

She flinched at the memory. The first time we met James Carter, he came to the house for dinner. As we had done with Cameron, we waited until he was comfortable before introducing Minnie. She nearly bit him and I had to put her in the downstairs bathroom until after he left.

James was nice but we had nothing in common except he was close to my age.

“I still can’t believe she did that,” Mom said.

“At least he doesn’t hold it against us,” I said and she nodded. “What specials are you going to do this month?”

“Your steaks,” she said immediately and I flushed in pride. “If you would come to the kitchens, you could show them how to make it better than me.”

I shook my head. “No, Mom.”

She slammed her knife down and I sighed.

“You can’t let your brother dictate where you go and don’t go!” she snapped and Minnie whined. She ignored her. “You are both grown adults! I lost you once because you let him control you! I’m not going to do it again! You have as much right to walk into those kitchens as- Amanda!”

The last thing I remember was my knife cutting into my hand and Minnie jumping on me.

-

When I opened my eyes, I was still on the kitchen floor. Minnie was on my legs, her head turned to something. My head was in my mom’s lap and I groaned.

“I’m sorry,” we said in unison.

“You don’t need to apologize,” she said, brushing hair out of my face. “It was my fault. I shouldn’t have said all that. I just wish-” She stopped and sighed. “How are you feeling?”

I took a minute to do a mental inventory.

“My back hurts,” I said. “So does my head a little. And my hand….”

I looked at it and groaned again. There was a cut there. Dad walked in with a Band Aid and smiled a little at me.

“Hey there,” he said. “I was just about to put this on for ya.”

“Why is Minnie-?”

I looked up and sighed. She was in guard mode against Jim. He was leaning against the wall, watching with a bored look on his face.

“I finished the steaks,” he announced once my hand was covered. “Is everything done here so we can drain the potatoes before they get too soft?”

He took a step back as my dad glared at him. He pointed out the back door.

“Get the steaks and put them on the table,” Dad snapped.

Jim rolled his eyes and grabbed a plate, going to do as my dad said. When he was gone, I covered my face and began to sob. My mom sighed and helped me sit up, scootching closer so she could put her arms around me.

All I wanted was for Jim to love me. I just wanted us to be like when we were kids: having fun and teasing each other. I didn’t want him to be filled with so much hatred. I did my best to avoid thinking about how it all started or I’d go into another seizure.

“Take this,” Dad said and passed me a Xanax.

“I don’t want to,” I said but took it anyway.

“Are you ready to stand up?” Mom asked.

We all looked at Minnie. I scratched under her chin and she stood up. I put my hands on her back and she immediately stood still, not moving even her tail. With a groan, I used her as my brace to stand up slowly.

“Good brace,” I told her and she licked my hand as I leaned against the counter.

“She did very well,” Mom told me while Dad took care of the rest of the meal.

I smiled proudly at her. “I’ll give her an extra treat tonight.”

“Did Cameron really get her a bone?” Dad asked and I yawned, nodding.

“That was nice of him,” Mom said and winked.

I was too weak to push her so I just rolled my eyes.

“Could it be your favorite artist might have a crush?” Dad joined in on the teasing and I stuck my tongue out at both of them.

We sat at the kitchen table where Jim was already putting the steaks on everyone’s plates. I avoided his eyes, making sure mine weren’t wet anymore. I didn’t want him to see me cry; that just made him laugh at me.

Dinner was quiet but delicious. Despite his anger with me, Jim always cooked my steak as I liked it – well done. It was probably because Mom and Dad would give him hell if he didn’t. The thought made me sad so I focused instead on the potatoes, sighing when they didn’t come out the way I wanted them to.

“They’re delicious,” Dad said before I could speak. “How did things go with Rhonda?”

“She’s going to call the publishers,” I said. “She knows one of them and they’re pretty strict so she said not to keep my hopes up.” Jim scoffed but I did my best to ignore him. “I also got an email today for a new client.”

“That’s great!” Mom said enthusiastically. “What do they do?”

“Sell land,” I answered. “Most of what I’ll be doing is email marketing but that’s okay. I’ll do it while I’m at Java.”

“How much will you be charging?” Dad asked and I smiled to myself.

When I first started being a contractor, I sold my self very short at just five dollars an hour. When he found out, Dad gave me a lecture on knowing my worth and had me do a breakdown of how much I do for each thing I offer. After nearly an hour of arguing, he got me to see that it’s okay to ask for a lot; especially since what I did was so time consuming. I’ve done everything from email marketing to large PowerPoint presentations.

“Twenty an hour,” I answered and he nodded happily. “If I find a buyer for the land, I get 5% of the total profit.”

“Wow,” he said. “That’s better than what I thought they’d do.”

I smiled. “Apparently, my name is out there and the reviews are all good. I told him up front about the issues with my health and he’s fine with it.”

“Good,” Mom said. “You don’t want to work for someone like Mr. Henderson again.”

“Definitely not,” I agreed then yawned again. “I should probably take my medicine and go to bed.”

“Do you need some help to your room?” she asked and I nodded sadly.

She immediately put her fork down and helped me up the stairs. I gave Minnie two treats tonight and she curled up at the foot of my bed. Post-seizures were as exhausting for her as they were for me.

Mom laid out my pajamas and kissed my forehead before leaving, closing the door behind her. My eyes immediately went to my window. Cameron wasn’t in his room so I assumed he was in the studio.

When I was done changing, I got into bed, wincing as my aching joints argued with me. I felt the usual tightness in my chest but the different medications did the job and I drifted off to sleep.