let's light up the sky ☆

Chapter 6

Work had been going well for a few days. After three straight days of learning my way around the shop with Aaron, I was finally going to have two days off. I was hoping to spend some time catching up on my practices. Unfortunately, Mom was right about how I would feel after my shifts. I've had sprains that ached less than my feet when I finally had the chance to let them rest.

After a big rush, I waited on the curb for Mom so we could go home and get the guest room in order. Mom already texted me the notice, but she felt compelled to tell me again in the car. I kept my annoyed sigh to myself.

"... when you get inside, start moving everything out of his room. We can knock this out in an hour."

"Yes, ma'am," I replied.

"Anoush," she scolded. She was quiet, but her tone was there. "I know you're ready to relax, but this is for your brother."

I resisted the urge to argue. This isn't the first time Armen's been benched for an injury. He got around the house just fine when he sat out half a season in high school for a pulled muscle. Mom's a worry wart, though, so I have no room to argue here. She'll never take "no" for an answer when she's in Mama Bear mode.

As soon as we got home, I at least did myself a favor and changed into comfortable clothes. I stepped into Armen's room and grabbed things that he would need downstairs.

"Incoming!" I shouted over the balcony as I threw over the comforter and the pillows for Mom to catch. He left his old small TV here for his visits, so I carried it down myself. Mom and I worked quickly to get it ready before we decided to be lazy together for the rest of the evening.

Her phone rang in the middle of our work in the room. She called out Armen's name and kept their call brief.

"Is he on the way now?" I asked, not looking up from my side of the fitted sheet as I was struggling to keep both corners down.

"Not yet. He's catching the first flight out of O'Hare tomorrow once he gets the clearance from his physician."

I'm glad I've never had any injuries too far from home. The worst was the time that I was sore on a three hour bus ride back to school after a color guard competition. I don't blame Armen at all for wanting to come back and relax with us, because I'd probably do the same. We both know that Mom would lose sleep if he decided to wait out the rest of his recovery in Chicago.

The guest bedroom was simply-decorated, but we worked hard to make it comfortable. Aunt Anahit and her husband used it last time when they visited last year around Christmas time. Mom and I finished setting up the room and turned the A/C on high so he could have the room as cold as he likes. At first we wanted to close the door. Maggie heard the rumbling of the A/C turning on and took the liberty of curling up on top of the freshly-made bed.

We hoped he wouldn't completely abandon it and try to power up the steps to get to his actual room instead.

—

"Anoush! Don't be mean!"

I couldn't help but laugh while Mom was yelling at me. She didn't think my "Welcome Home, Peg-Leg" sign to greet Armen with at the airport was very funny. I would be failing my job as the annoying little sister if I didn't find a way to make fun of my brother's misfortune. There would always be more chances to do that later.

Mom and I were on our way to pick him up at LAX. Dad was pretty upset about missing him, but he had an important meeting with their management team about the upcoming tour. He promised Mom that he would find a way to make it up to him later, even though she thought that was unnecessary. It was also going to be a simple trip. Afterwards, we could take a nap dealing with Los Angeles International at 9 am on a Thursday morning.

We hit a bout of rush hour traffic on I-5, but what else is new? I was playing valet for Mom in the passenger seat. I kept occasional tabs on the status of Armen's flight so that he wouldn't need to wait too long for us. The stressed silence of Mom trying to navigate traffic was cut out every once in a while by a song that we both liked. It was a moment like this that made me grateful Mom isn't a road-rager.

"It's delayed by ten minutes now," I sighed out after checking the flight tracker again. We had just finally started moving again and making decent progress to the airport. Mom swore under her breath, briefly tightened the steering wheel, and let go with a sigh. "Are you okay?" I whispered. I could understand Mom's worry about wanting him home, but I needed to know that it wasn't anything I said.

"Anoush... I'm not upset at you, this is... a lot all at once."

"I know. I totally get it. I don't think he'll be mad if we're late."

Mom and I sat through the rest of the drive in silence. We almost never fight but I hate when things get close to it. I felt like I shouldn't have said anything.

Mom snaked through the new wave of traffic at the entrance of the airport and found the closest parking lot. I almost stepped out, but she stopped me in my tracks. "Hey, Anoush? Are we good?"

"What do you mean?"

Mom took a deep breath and brushed her hair out of her face. "I didn't mean to seem like I was mad at you earlier, I promise. You've been kinda quiet for a few minutes and I wanna check on you before we see Armen."

I nodded slowly. "I'm fine, yeah. I just thought that... you were so stressed out trying to get here so I didn't wanna annoy you anymore."

Mom turned to me with misty eyes and reached over for a hug. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry. You could never annoy me." She held me for a solid 30 seconds in total silence. After the life she had with her sister Lilit, Mom does everything she can to keep things peaceful with us. I've never seen her lose her temper – not at Dad, not at Armen even when he went through his teenage dirtbag phase, and not at me. "Do you think you can forgive me?"

I smiled and chuckled. "Is that even a question?"

"It never hurts to ask."

I looked back and nodded. "Then it's a yes." A single tear finally let go, and Mom wiped it off my cheek with her thumb. If no one else, I can rely on her to dry my tears no matter where they come from.

A text ding interrupted our moment. "Just landed," from Armen. "Ready to go catch him?"

I fake scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Sure, not like we can send him back."

Mom reached over and pinched me before I completely got out of the car. "Shut up, you know you love him."

I had to dodge a few hundred businessmen in suits, exhausted red-eye passengers, and paparazzi trying to catch the blurriest and worst-quality photo of Olivia Rodrigo. Mom and I checked the arrivals board every time we walked by one to be sure we were going to the correct terminal. My 5'4" stature betrayed me as I struggled to look above everyone in front of me at the welcome gate outside the terminal hall.

"Armenik!" Mom shouted, slipping out one of his many childhood nicknames.

There was enough of a break in the crowd so that we could get a clear view of him. Unlike me, Armen got lucky and inherited Mom's height. He stood above almost everyone else around him, even though he was hobbling through the entrance on his crutches. I recognized his curly coal-black hair pinned back into a ponytail. An airline employee followed behind him with a cart carrying his bags. He spotted Mom waving at him and his entire face lit up in a smile.

Mom teared up again and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "I missed you, sweetheart," she muttered when she pulled back and gently touched his cheek.

"I missed you too, mama." He then turned towards me and reached out a hand to roughly ruffle my hair. "You too, I guess."

I took a fake swing at him, making him lift one of his crutches to protect himself. Mom rolled her eyes and took his suitcase from the cart behind us. "I'm not gonna have to put up with five weeks of this, am I?"

"No!" Armen and I shouted together, even as he tried to put me in a headlock.

"Just for the first week or so," I continued.

"And as soon as this damn ankle of mine is better."

Mom sighed and, although she hasn't gone to church in years, stuck out three fingers and made a desperate sign of the cross. "Let's get you two home before you get us arrested here."