Missing Piece

Chapter Thirty-Six

Melanie

"I can't believe you brought Mom that," Pilar's angry growls make me abandon the board game I was playing with Marcy and look at her. I raise a brow in question and in answer she just gestures wildly to my dear husband.

My eyes land on my spouse, who is currently helping my mum by chopping up the tomatoes.

He's looking damn cute in that yellow apron. He's got that concentrated look on his face as he's cutting up those tomatoes with unmatched precision. My mum says something, and he dips his head back, letting out a laugh.

So handsome. I could stare at him whole day.

Wait a second.

That lying piece of tomato.

He told me that cutting tomatoes makes him feel uneasy. And here he is, chopping the tomatoes like he's a gold winner at 'tomato cutting Olympics'.

"You do realize what a grave mistake you've committed right?" Pilar's question brings my attention back to her.

She looks frenzied as her talons I mean her hands dig into my shoulders and she shakes me frantically, back and forth, back and forth. I try to shake her hands off when I start to feel dizzy, but she doesn't budge instead she begins to shake me more fervently.

I feel my insides rearranging.

"If you wanted to bring her a gift, you could've just bought a gum or a candy, but noooooo," she drags out the last word in a very dramatic way, "you had to bring her the perfect embodiment of perfect child. You wanna be demoted from your position as a favorite child, be my guest. But don't go around dragging me down with you. I'm already her least favorite and now because of you I'm dropped to a 4."

She finally stops shaking me and I ask her in daze, "A 4?"

"Apple." Marcy comments and giggles to herself at her joke.

"Nice one." Pilar compliments her twin before moving her green eyes back to me.

"Yeah Mel. Your boytoy at 1, then at 2 my twin, at 3 you, and last at 4, me", she says exasperatedly.

Her eyes continue to send glares at the sight of Mom fawning over Benji. "Just look at them. He's already secured his position as number one child. Poor Marcy. She has no idea she's got replaced. How are you gonna look into her eyes and tell her that she no longer holds the position of favorite child? Huh? Huh? Tell me, Mel. Tell me."

This kid has totally lost her mind.

"I'm happy at number 2." Marcy chimes in. "I'm honored to lose to Ben. He's amazing," I watch my sister as she looks at Benji with star eyes, already smitten by him.

I move my gaze back to my youngest sister. "Mom doesn't have favorites, Pila."

"Oh, yeah?" She challenges. Then she looks over her shoulder and yells. "Hey mom, where's my banana pie?"

"I made apple pie." Mom replies without even cutting a glance at us. "You know Marcy wanted apple pie."

"See." Pila says, tilting her head and pointing to Marcy, "favorite child. Oops. Ex-favorite child."

"Are you still on about that?" Marcy asks her in disbelief. "Mom made banana pie last time, so it was my turn to choose."

"No, it wasn't your turn. It was Mel's," she outs her twin.

"What??!!" I look at Marcy accusingly. "You lied to me."

"Oops," she smiles sheepishly and jabs Pila with her elbow. "Thanks for that."