Dear Jamie (on hold)

4 - groceries

November

On Wednesday, I come home to a kitchen full of groceries.

"Mom, what's with all the food?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Your brother's coming home! He's taking off the rest of the month from school!" she announces, ecstatic as ever.

 "What? Why? Can he even do that?"

"It seems so. He told me he worked something out with his professors." She pauses. "Why don't you seem excited?"

"No, I'm just … surprised is all. It's been a while since he visited last."

"I know! I have so much to do!"

"Uh huh. Well, I'm going to go … read. Do you need help putting things away?"

"No, thank you, dear. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay," I murmur.

I'm in a daze as I walk to my room.

It's not that I don't want to see my brother. I do. I'm just … I don't know -- in a little bit of shock. Not only does my brother rarely come home, but willingly taking off almost an entire month of school? It's just really out of character for him…

Will had just left for Colombia when my father died. Of course, he came home immediately. He told us that he was just going to defer until next semester. When January rolled around, he decided he didn't want to go back at all. After a year of coaxing, my mom finally got him back out of the house. He hasn't visited much since -- or at all, actually. I know it's because he can't stand--

"Isaac! Dinner is ready!"

I decide to shove my thoughts back to into the drawer of all of the other things I'm too weary to think about and have dinner with my mother. 

"When is he coming again?"

"Tomorrow," I sigh. "My mom wants to have dinner on Sunday. So, do you think you can make it?"

Jamie thinks for a moment as if consulting a calendar in her head.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll most likely be working on…" she trails off.

"Working on what?" I ask.

"Oh, uh--"

"Why am I not invited?" Nathan demands.

"Because, Nathaniel -- I've explained this to you several times already."

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to be rejected again," he says.

Jamie snickers as I give my explanation once more. "You are not coming because my mother wants to have a family dinner to welcome my brother home." I stop Nathan before he can interrupt me, "and Jamie is invited because my mom wants to meet her. Andmybrotherdoesn'tlikeyou," I add under my breath.

"What was that?" he looks up.

"Oh, nothing. Believe me, I tried to get her out of this, but it was a lost cause."

"Fine, we'll move on. What's your mom making anyway?" He doesn't seem to be moving on if you ask me.

"I don't know," I answer wearily. "Some type of lasagna, I believe."

"But--"

I silence him with a look.

"Why don't I change the subject?" Jamie speaks up. No one says anything, so she continues. "So, you know that art project I started this week?"