Sister City

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Jack was coming home for the Fourth. Mom and Dad weren’t thrilled with his past behavior. In fact, they had gone so far as to request that he let them know in advance before he returned home. A harsh punishment for someone in my family, in my humble opinion. I don’t know what happened, and I don’t care. Like Bella, I play the role of Switzerland in my family. I love everyone equally, even Phaedra who has the ability to piss off Gandhi enough to make him slap her.

Personally, I think it had something to do with the years that he spent away from us when he got back from Afghanistan. I didn’t have a problem with him then; I was too young to understand what was happening, but it really affected Mom and Dad. We didn’t see Jack for a super long time. Now that things are better, he comes home for nearly every holiday. I was especially happy to see him, even if it wasn’t a gift-giving holiday, mainly because he had missed my birthday. And Luka’s, I guess, if you're being technical. I was home alone when he walked in the door, flashing a huge smile and waving a handful of paper.

“What’s that?” I asked, leaping up off the couch and running to hug him. “Is it my birthday present?”

“Thanks, Rin. I’m glad to be home. It’s good to see you too.”

“Hi, Jack,” I said dutifully. “Welcome home. It’s good to see you.”

“I brought you something,” he said with pomp.

“Obviously,” I shrieked. “I can see that. But what could it be?” I cried dramatically.

“Now, it’s not every day your young girl turns sixteen,” Jack began slowly, drawing out each word. “It is a serious and somber occasion to be celebrated in the most proper way with the utmost respect.”

“Jack!”

“Okay. Fine. Ruin my fun. They might be tickets.”

“Tickets? I love tickets.”

“I know you do. I thought you might like these particular tickets.”

“To what do these tickets belong?” I continued, drawing the game out.

“These tickets, these six little tickets, are for a ride on a boat.”

I must have looked disappointed because Jack’s smile slipped.

“For a ride on a boat in San Francisco Bay,” he finished quickly.

“That’s really cool,” I said, trying to sound excited.

“Oh. I guess I’ll just tell you since you seem to have lost interest in playing our little game,” he said sadly. “I got tickets for you guys to go on the 4th of July Dinner Dance and Fireworks Cruise in San Francisco.”

“Okay,” I replied slowly. “That’s tonight.”

“You get to cruise around the bay, have an awesome dinner and see a great fireworks show.”

“I got that from the name.”

“There’s live entertainment,” he said slyly.

“Ah ha! I knew there was a twist,” I practically shouted. “Who is it?”

“Nobody you’d be interested in, now that I think about it. Maybe I should give these tickets to someone else. Maybe there’s another cute little gymnast who will want me for an older brother when she finds out I have tickets.”

“Jack,” I screamed. “Tell me. Tell me.”

“If you’re sure you want to know,” he teased.