Old Orchard

Annabelle

I crane my neck from time to time, making sure that Carla is still sitting with the same two guys and listening to the comics on stage.

Annabelle: Carla ordered a diet coke and rum and is flirting with two guys.

Craig: Nothing with her anymore should amaze me. What are you doing?

Annabelle: Sitting her sipping water while I watch her... Twilight Zone? Right?

Craig: I would have to say so.

An hour later, the competition is done, and Carla is still sitting at the same table, except the girl comic from the stage has joined them. I thought she was the funniest and should have beaten the skinny nerdy guy who just made dumb sexual computer jokes all night. I tap on my kindle app reader and start reading an old book to pass the time. The bar is almost empty besides Carla's group and a group in the back corner. Half an hour later, the chair from across me pulls out, and I say, "ready to go?" When I look up, I see not Carla, but I see Luke staring at me. "Oh hey, I thought you were my sister," I say, clicking my phone to sleep mode.

"Nope, just me" he cocks his head to the side and puts his hand on the back of his neck, rubbing it a little bit. "Um... You guys are not twenty-one years old, though, I mean, right?" He asks, looking up at me.

"No, we are not," I say, shaking my head back and forth. We would be turning nineteen years old two days after the Fourth of July. This was another reason I was guessing my mom wanted to take a spur-of-the-moment trip out to Old Orchard for the Fourth. "I will grab her. Sorry" I stand and push my chair back in and head over to my sister. This would now be the second time I have to drag her away from some random guy this summer. Walking up to her, I can see her pick is cuter than Ben from New Jersey but still does not come close to what Logan from back home looks like. I am guessing she is throwing herself at random guys to try to get over him, but I am just guessing since she will not talk to me about it. My sister walks up, pushing a piece of paper in the guy's front pocket, which must be the only move she knows. She does not follow me this time, though; instead, she starts a mini make-out session in a bar at one-thirty in the morning. I have to yank her away from him.

Getting her off the pier, I can tell she cannot walk straight, and I know she is feeling pretty good. I should have brought the car instead of walking tonight.

We are only a block away from the pier when a truck pulls up to us. "I can give you a ride" I look over to see Luke in the driver's seat.

"I can get her home from here," I say as Carla slumps forward, and I try to catch her, which makes it nearly impossible to walk. Hearing the truck being put in park and the driver's side door shut, I know Luke is walking over to help. We get her in the truck, and I tell Luke to turn at the next right when his blinker is already on. Of course, he would already know where my grandmother lived. He pulls up and helps me get Carla onto the front porch; while I unlock the door, she starts muttering "Logan" over and over.

"Logan? I thought that was Oliver in there?" Luke says while his eyebrows go up.

"It is a long story. One I do not know yet," I say while trying to guide my drunk sister to the couch, which is directly in the middle of the living room since we are planning on painting it in the morning. I walk to the back bedroom to let Frasier out.

"Hey buddy," I hear Luke saying to him. I walk out of my room, grabbing my sweatshirt getting ready for Frasier's nightly walk. "You are taking him for a walk?" Luke asks, and I nod my head slipping into my sweatshirt over my sister's black tank top that shows my form very well. At the start of the night, I was grateful Luke saw me dressed up instead of in running clothes but then started feeling self-conscious. Walking over to Carla, I see that she is already asleep; I grab the blanket on top of the couch, throw it over her, and kiss her on her forehead. I write on an envelope letting her know that I'm taking Frasier for a walk and that I have my phone with me. I prop this up on her cellphone, knowing that this is the first thing she will grab if she wakes up. I walk behind Luke to the front door locking the front door, and I expect him to jump in his truck but instead, he starts walking with me.

"She is not usually like that," I say, feeling embarrassed for my sister.

"What is she like usually?" He asks, matching my shorter strides.

"Well, she used to be this control freak of a person," I say, laughing a little "She was the valedictorian of our class and always had school assignments done three days before they were due, not to mention heaven forbid she go to a high school party with me... And then we graduated went on this road trip to Maine, and I have been surprised ever since. I thought I knew her, and now I just have all these questions...." I do not know why I am telling Luke all of this, but I had not been able to talk to my parents because they would probably think I was lying about it. We walk a block in silence.

"Interesting" is what he says finally. Great, he thinks I am still stuck in high school drama or finds me not interesting at all. I had a theory that if someone responds with a one-word response, they do not care to hear what you are talking about.

"I know it is stupid," I say, wishing Frasier would already do his business so I can turn around and head to the cottage.

"Have you tried talking to her?" he asks.

Looking down at Frasier, I see he is smelling everything instead of going to the bathroom. I would walk a block on most nights, and he would be done. Tonight he has not done anything, and we have already walked down two blocks. "Yes. Two times and it is weird, you know, I didn't even know anything was wrong with Carla until this trip. I would not have known anything had been going on with her, and I just feel selfish. Plus, you know they say having a twin, you are more connected with them instead of a normal sibling." I say this last part trying to lighten the conversation a little. He looks over at me, and I am trying to read his expression, which is too hard with the darkness surrounding us.

He starts to say something right as my phone rings, and he starts walking ahead of me a little more, giving me some privacy. I fish my phone out of my pocket to see a picture of Craig from our senior skip day come up. I wish he could have waited to call me. I want to talk to Luke on this walk. For the rest of the walk, we walk in silence, not feeling like either of us has to fill it with words. As we approach his truck, I can feel a tornado starting in my stomach, wishing I had gone one more block farther before turning around. I am just opening the screen door when Luke says, "I do not think you are selfish. Caring... But not selfish." I thank my sister mentally for dragging me to the bar with her tonight. With that, he gets in his truck and pulls away.

I called Craig back to let him know what had happened and that we were both safe and ready for bed. I do not tell him about Luke not wanting to pop this bubble. I had started with Luke and I both in it.