" i was so blinded by you
the way that you love me
and all it takes from me "
Jo Wyatt comes from a family of dedicated hockey fans living in Plymouth, Michigan, home of the National Team...
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— PLYMOUTH, MICHIGAN —
⟶ 5:30 PM
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" My family finishes singing and I clap happily, celebrating as my younger brother, Eli, blows out the candles on his birthday cake. Today is his fourteenth birthday, so all day we've been doing whatever he wants; we started out the day having lunch at Five Guys since Eli never wakes up before eleven o'clock, then we picked up a few of his hockey friends and headed to an amusement park for a few hours, and after that Dad took them to get milkshakes while Mom and I came home to prepare dinner and make his birthday cake.
We just finished our dinner of steak, baked potatoes, man n' cheese, and green beans, per Eli's request, and are now cutting into the double chocolate chocolate cake I made earlier. "Mmm, compliments to the chef," my dad nods his head in my direction with a thumbs up. I bow dramatically with a mouth full of the rich dessert. Any time I get the chance to cook or bake I take it gladly: birthday cakes, dinner for friends, or just because I have nothing else to do. I don't know why, but for some reason I find the process calming.
"Nah, mines crunchy, I think you put a few too many egg shells in it," Liam jokes while continuing to shovel fork fulls into his mouth. My parents roll their eyes at my twin's lame attempt at belittling my baking. It's not unusual for Liam and I to give each other crap, it's actually expected of the two of us at this point. As twins we've always been compared to each other which has only resulted in this constant competition of wanting to catch the other off guard just for the chance of embarrassing them. It's not out of hate or envy, it's mostly because we know we are each clever enough to fire back without getting our feelings hurt. The real issue is when we're not talking, that's when you should be worried because that's when you know something's wrong, so when you enter the Wyatt house you better be prepared to either listen and deal with the ribbing or be prepared to jump in.
I shake my head, "Only your piece, I know they're your favorite," I reply without missing a beat.
Eli sits his fork down next to his empty plate with a big smile on his face, a sign that he definitely wants something. Thanks to her mom-senses, Mom notices immediately that something's up, "What do you want?" she asks, assuming by his expression that she isn't going to happy with whatever his request is.
"Well, I was just wondering, you know since it's my birthday," he says, emphasizing the part about it being his birthday, "If Jo and Liam could take me to the rink a few hours? For my birthday." The giant smile returns to his face, but now it's not just him begging Mom and Dad, Liam and I join his effort by doing our own forms of guilt-tripping. If there's ever a time you're considering going to the rink, you should probably be prepared to see at least one of the Wyatt's there. Whether it's Eli, Liam, or Dad, one of them can almost always be found skating across the ice, and sometimes my friends and I even go out there if we have the opportunity.
