In The Blood

Cerise

(Tim)

I raised an eyebrow at him, having been unaware that naming my hometown was a requirement to sit at this table. "Originally, Nederland, Texas."

"Oh, OK." The man seemed satisfied with that answer and sat back, the woman now going, "Dear, that that was a bit unnecessary."

The New Orleans woman titled her head at me ask I generously cheesed my spaghetti. "You and Sawyer related at all?"

"We're brothers," I answered, being reminded of my original indignations. "Well, me and him. And Taylor, Casey, and I are the Foust family. Apparently, me and Casey are biological brothers too," I said loudly, glaring at Sawyer.

"Wha?" Austin grunted, fork loaded with green beans paused two inches from his mouth. "Sawyer and—what, Tim?" A green bean fell back onto his plate.

"I told you that but you misunderstood," Sawyer maintained.

"Yes, Austin, in a bizarre twist of events, I've somehow stumbled upon my biological family completely by chance. Stay tuned. I may end up related to you next."

"He's adopted," Taylor tried to explain to the others.

"And it was a best-kept secret from me that I was adopted right alongside my biological half brother." I glared at him, trying to slurp up a rapidly-melting ice cream cone. It was a losing battle, really. "And someone never bothered to tell me about that."

"Tim, honestly, most of this is coming to me as news too," Casey grunted at me, chocolate ice cream running down his lip, cheek, chin, and hand. "I don't remember much of this."

"Uh-huh," I said skeptically, working on my spaghetti.

"I don't," he said again, trying to wipe his face with an already soggy napkin. "The only one that's been truly withholding information around here was Mom."

"Honey, some of this I didn't know. I only know what Ann told me, and Ann only knew what Robin told her. I only knew you existed and happened to be the one that suggested checking on Kirk," Mom said.

"Curtis," Sawyer corrected, playing with his napkin.

"My mistake," Mom said. "Sorry. Like I said, don't know the whole story."

Austin finally just stuck his fork ins mouth without any green beans on it. "Robin? Ann? Kirk or Curtis?" He let it hang out of the corner of his mouth.

"Hi, Robin," Chance greeted the New Orleans lady, then nodded at the Mississippi couple. "Ann and Kirk or Curtis? Which is it? I'm Chance. These are my friends." He patted my and Austin's shoulder.

He scratched his head. "Actually, it's Kenneth, nickname Curly." He patted his mostly bald scalp. "Used to have the curliest hair you ever saw."

"I'm—," his wife started to say, Kirstie, Scott, and Mitch coming over to us.

"Hi!" Scott said cheerfully. "Hey, y'all, they got soft-serve ice cream. Everybody needs to get some. It is so good!"

"Got some and it's the fastest-melting ice cream I've ever eaten. Tried to eat anyway," Casey said, only succeeding in spreading it around his face with the napkin.

I stared at him, trying to figure out how he got it above his eyebrow. I tapped at my own and he tried to go after it.

"I'm Scott," Scott introduced himself, then gestured to Kirstie and Mitch, each with a cup of ice cream. "My friends Kirstie and Mitch."

"Curly and Ann," Chance tried to introduce the others. "Robin with the flower shirt."

"I'm Sherry," the New Orleans lady corrected. "Curly and Barbara over there."