A Family Podcast (english)

Chapter 30

Noah

"Oh man, are we really doing this?" I groaned as I watched my siblings load their bags into Dad's car.

After Dad had been absent for weeks again, he came up with the brilliant idea that a short vacation would fix everything. As if it was a good idea to provoke this ticking time bomb that was already on the verge of exploding. I hadn't forgotten that Dad had thrown a glass at me. The twins completely avoided him. We hadn't talked about it anymore, but I was sure that his behavior had hurt them the most. The fact that he still hadn't apologized didn't speak highly of him. I had no idea what Dad expected to gain from this, but at least Susan and Coulder seemed excited about it. Little kids forgave quickly.

Coulder was hyperactive as ever, and I was pretty sure he would fall asleep as soon as we got in the car. That is, if he didn't get sick again, as he always did when he was in the car.

To be honest, I didn't really expect Dad to follow through with this. I had expected him to call in the morning with some excuse, but I was wrong.

"Come on, give it a chance" Taylor said, heaving another bag into the trunk before turning to face me.

I snorted. "That's rich" Taylor had always been closer to Mom than Dad. But in recent years, they had become more distant from each other. Taylor didn't think highly of our father. I had no idea why he made such an effort to hide it.

Taylor sighed. "We haven't been away in ages. The others are really excited"

The others. Taylor always did that. Whenever you asked him why he was doing something he didn't want to, why he ignored something that mattered to him, why he held back, the answer was always the same: The others like this. They can't do this yet. The others need this. It's important for the others.

Taylor used to speak his mind, no matter who liked it or not.

"Stop pretending like you don't have your own opinion" I hissed and went back inside the house to grab my headphones. I tried to convince myself that the vacation would still be enjoyable.

With a sigh, I returned outside. Bozza blasted in my ears with "Eros Center" and I was ready to get in the car and get it over with. But a glimpse of my family made me realize that something wasn't right. The twins, Jackson, and Taylor were all staring at something behind the car. Suspicious, I pulled the headphones out of my ears and walked around the vehicle.

"What's g...?" I started to ask but fell silent when I saw the cause of my siblings' reaction.

A woman. There was a woman next to my dad. Slim. Beautiful. Slightly younger than him, but not by much.

"Who is she?" Jackson asked angrily, glaring at the woman with hatred.

"That's Nicole" Dad said, gently grabbing her elbow and pulling her closer to him. The woman—Nicole—smiled sheepishly, and I swallowed. What was happening right now?

"I was going to introduce her to you all sooner. We met at work. There—" Dad was interrupted by Taylor.

"Now?" Taylor looked at him incredulously. "Dad? You're telling us now?" He gestured at the parking lot, the suitcases, us.

"Well..." Dad stammered. "I didn't have a chance to mention her earlier. But now we have plenty of time to get to know each other. It'll be..." This time, Jackson interrupted Dad.

"She's coming with us?" he exclaimed, astounded.

"Who's coming with us?" We all turned simultaneously as Thea and Susan came out of the house. Coulder also ran out, still completely wound up, but he stopped in confusion when he saw Dad's new girlfriend.