Adulting Requires Cheesecake (Book 4, Lonstino & Greenwood Series)

Chapter 1 - Twin

MICHAEL

After being absent for three years, I thought I would find things looking differently, but I'm wrong. While driving around Greenwood, I feel right at home and confident that I can find my way, even with my eyes closed. I'm not intending to try it. I'm not stupid.

When I landed yesterday, I rented this car and headed directly to my parents' place in Lonstino. My heart beat so fast in my chest as I approached the place I grew up at. I told no one I was back. Mostly because it wasn't until yesterday that I got a decent signal on my phone. After using my key to enter the house, I found my mom sitting on the couch, with her legs crossed under her, and surrounded by papers stabbed with red ink. I learned from her the habit of holding a red pen between my teeth as I read through my work. That way I don't misplace it whenever I need to sacrifice some words or add new. Four or five empty coffee mugs and even more candy wrappers littered the coffee table in front of her.

"Lewis? Did you bring more coffee by any chance? I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this and I'm afraid I won't be done fixing this mess until late in the evening. I think I wrote it on the shopping list, the coffee I mean."

For not even a moment did she lift her eyes from the papers. Like me, Mom drafts her stories on her laptop, but prefers to print the drafts and edit by hand.

"Hey, Mom," I said.

She didn't react immediately, probably lost in the world of her new story. Then a crease formed on her forehead when it clicked for her that something was different.

"Oh, Michael!" She rushed to squeeze the life out of me, then cupped my face and stared at me. "Wait! What are you doing here? We haven't spoken in weeks! Are you back for good?"

Before I could answer, the front door opened behind me and over Mom's shoulder, I saw my father coming in the house, carrying grocery bags.

"Michael! Welcome back!" He placed the bags on the floor and gave me a hard hug.

"I landed a few hours ago and wanted to stop here first. No one knows I'm back, not even Luke. I'm planning to surprise him tomorrow."

My parents look at each other with relief then beamed at me just like they have been doing since I have a memory. Even though they are only in their fifties, I realized they have aged fast or maybe the image I had of them when I left has been mixed with how I remembered them from my childhood.

My mom, Ximena, is not our biological mother. She came into our lives when Luke and I were six years old. I fell in love with her the moment we met and when she helped us clean a mess we made with cake mix at our uncle's house. She was so different to our biological mother, whose preferred method of raising children was through verbal and physical abuse and then gaslighting us. Once Luke said he was hungry and because she was drunk as usual, he had to repeat himself louder. She grabbed him by the hair, hit him repeatedly, then called him an ungrateful asshole before sending us to bed without food and drink. It was logic we were hungry, it was past dinner time and the only thing we ate on that day was a bowl of cereal. The next day, she asked Luke why he had bruises on his back.

I am who I am today because Ximena and my dad loved me unconditionally. When I said I wanted to travel the world off-road, even though they didn't know the real reason, they were supportive. I tried my best to let them know I was okay whenever I got a signal somewhere. Even if it was a quick email on what I was up to.

Being together at that moment of reunion brought tears of love and gratitude to my eyes. It felt so good to be back home and spending a wonderful evening catching up with my parents during dinner. Luke is an excellent cook, but nothing beats my mom's food and my dad's desserts.