Sweetheart

40 - Part 1

Aaron
Halloween 2018

I'm sitting on my bed with my legs crossed and my eyes closed, letting my sister finish painting the skull on my face.

I sigh through my nose, bored. "Jenny, come on. We're gonna be late," I complain.

"I'm almost done, dude. Be patient," she replies, spreading some more product on my eyelids. "You have to be pretty for the ladies."

"Jenny, I am pretty already. Let's go, come on," I insist, opening an eye and nearly being blinded by her makeup brush. "Ouch, Jane! That hurt!"

She gasps. "Why would you open your eyes while I'm putting makeup on them, dumbass!" she shouts back. Then, she sighs. "I'm done, anyway. We can go, Your Boring Highness."

I get up, making her laugh a little. "What?" I ask her, annoyed. I look into the mirror, admiring the artwork on my face. She's always been talented.

"You're short," she giggles.

I glare at her. "I'm 5'8. I'm not short. Plus, I still have to grow up. You'll see in two years how tall I'll become."

"Can't wait to see that, big bro."

"You'll see, you'll see."

Jenny is dressed up as a witch, but the makeup she's wearing makes her look so much older. We make our way downstairs where our parents are sitting on the couch, watching the TV together.

Mom turns to us and smiles. "Oh, you two. You look amazing!" she compliments us.

Even Dad seems to like our costumes. "She's right, you do look good. Did you do the makeup, Jenny?" he asks, fixing the arm wrapped around my mom's shoulders. She's resting her head on his shoulder, and he's stroking her arm with his hand. I hide a smile. I hope I can find this kind of love one day.

"Yeah," Jenny replies, getting shy.

"She did an amazing job, didn't she?" I add, ruffling her hair with my hand.

"Aaron! It took me an hour to do my hair!" she yelps, but then laughs along with us. "We gotta go."

"Yep. I'm taking your car, Mom," I tell her, picking up the keys.

Both my parents get up from the couch, following us to the door. "Be careful, okay? Drive slowly and don't drink anything. We'll wait up for you," Mom says, still standing close to Dad.

"Aaron, keep an eye on your sister, but have a little fun. You've been studying too much lately," he tells me, patting me on my shoulder.

"All right. Go on, I know you want to take pictures, so let's just be done with it," I tell my parents, and as expected they both pull out their phones.

"Can I climb on your back? Please please please!" Jenny begs me, giving me puppy eyes.

I roll my eyes. "Just for tonight. You're too old for this," I yield, crouching down a little to help her climb up. "One, two, three— Oh, f..."— Mom glares at me — "freak. Oh, freak. Where's all this weight coming from."

"My boobs," she replies, adjusting her legs around my waist while I fix my hands on her thighs.

"What boobs?"

She smacks my head, making me laugh. "Kids, come on," Mom scolds us, although smiling. "Say cheese!"

We both smile at the camera, then take a picture where we're looking at each other. When Mom shows us the picture we both can't refrain from admitting that it's a wholesome image. The complicity between me and my sister is irreplaceable.