I Do Until I Don't

Chapter 5

 Every time Melanie wakes up from a night spent drinking, she talks like Donald Duck for twenty minutes. The first few times it happened, Julia and I thought that she was going crazy. It didn't help that Melanie refused to tell us that she had been drinking. Dad and Mom hate alcohol, and she felt ashamed of admitting that she loved wine and beer and tequila and whiskey and all the other kinds of alcohol. One time, Julia and I decided to follow her and that's how we found out that our sister didn't, in fact, go to the library every Saturday night but at clubs. It's only when she started to date Nia that she stopped going every Saturday.

"I'm never drinking again," Melanie vows when I open the curtains of her room. Nia is doing her morning jog, leaving Melanie alone in their room. Julia is in the kitchen, making breakfast, forcing me to do the Waking Up The Kraken duty.

"Of course," I assure my sister even though I know she'll probably go out drinking tomorrow night.

Melanie rolls in her bed, getting tangled up in the white sheets of her bed. I grab the pillow from under her face and hit her with it.

"Get up, sis."

Melanie grabs the pillow from my hands, her eyes still closed, and groans.

"Come on!" I insist. "We have an appointment in two hours."

Melanie groans again and covers her face under the covers.

"Mel! Let's go. We'll be late." Mélanie waves me off. "Melanie Viviane Martin, we're doing an hors d'oeuvre tasting at one of the fanciest places in Miami. Let's go!" I pull on the covers and whisper in her ears. "Juju made bacon and eggs."

Melanie cheers and rolls out of the bed.

"Alright, alright." She scratches the top of her head as she walks to the bathroom. She almost trips on her feet when she turns around and points at me. "The bacon better be crispy and red all the way."

I cross my heart. "Sister promise."

Melanie smiles and shuts the door behind her. When I hear her turning on the water of the shower, I yell, "Juju! We have about fifteen minutes to buy bacon and cook it."

*****

Melanie chose a French restaurant to cater her wedding. She says it's a good way to represent our French heritage even though no one in my family speaks French besides Mom. The only words I know in French are oui, non and je veux coucher avec toi. My cousin told me it means please, but I'm not really sure she was telling the truth.

"So," my father starts, taking a napkin and placing it on his shirt, "did you know that, in 2009, Florida produced 818 million pounds of watermelons?"

People say I look like Dad, but that's only because he has lots of hair like me and golden eyes and a round face. I'm not psychologically like him, though. He's the smartest person alive. I swear. I'm just normal smart. And he's super rational while I believe in magic. But he's my father and he's the coolest man on earth. Even more than Alex. And that says a lot.

"Do you hear that?" Julia asks, looking all around the empty restaurant. "That was my brain cells dying of stupidity."

Mel and I look at each other and try not to laugh.

"I think it's fascinating," Mom says, opening the menu, clearly trying to hide a smile. Mom has straight brown hair like Julia and brown eyes like Mel. She's small and always so excited about everything. I think that's why Melanie almost never lets her participate in the wedding planning; Mom will just take over and it will end up being her wedding.

"You see, kids," Dad continues, "that's why you have to get married fast, you always someone who has your back." He leans in and tries to kiss mom, but she turns around at the last second.