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“I know; you guys make me wish I had a sibling. It sucks to be the only child,” she groaned, and I laughed.
“It sucks to be parentless, but my brother filled that void quickly.” I thought of the way it had just been my brother and I for the past twelve years.
Our parents passed away in a car accident, and we didn’t have any aunts or uncles or grandparents to move in with, so we were sent off to a foster home because my brother was a few years away from legally being able to be my guardian.
Two years later, when he was seventeen, he joined the Marine Corps so that he could provide for me and pay for my tuition. It had been a lot of weight that he had taken upon himself, and sometimes I hated my parents for dying, but my brother always made sure that I was taken care off.
The first few years were difficult to navigate because he wasn’t around as often; his job was demanding, and he was also studying for his degree because he wanted to become a Marine officer.
At the age of just twenty-one, he became an officer, and he had stories about how he had to train the younger ones. He almost convinced me to join the Marines as well, but then I watched The Proposal; Sandra Bullock was such a sexy badass, and I knew my career was in the office.
“I want your brother to be my daddy too.” She lifted her eyebrows, and disgust took over my expression as I pushed her away, but she held onto my arm as she laughed. “I’m joking, Brooke, don’t abandon me.”
“You say whatever comes to mind, don’t you?” I laughed, and she giggled, her short hair bobbing as she nodded.
“I’m sorry! I’ll buy you a Frappuccino cupcake at the cafe,” she offered as we stood outside the cafe.
“Deal.” We entered the cafe, and I watched Marie as she ordered our meal and drinks for us.
Marie was so beautiful; her small frame and short hair always caught people’s attention everywhere we went; and I was the taller friend with a bit more flesh than she had, but with her, I always felt just as beautiful.
“Ooh, we should go shop for an outfit,” she suggested, and I shook my head.
“Absolutely not,” I said as I placed my bag on the bench before we sat down in the booth by the window, and I tried my best to stop the ideas that were forming in her head.
“I mean, we’re now unemployed adults who just finished college. Don’t you think we should thank ourselves with a trip to the club? Just this once, Brooke.” She raised her finger, and I shook my head.
“My brother would kill me if he found me at a club.”
“He can come with,” she suggested, and I laughed.
“No.”
“Come on, what if he’s my future husband?” she argued, and I shook my head.
“He doesn’t want to get married,” I told her, and she gasped.
“What? Nobody will carry the Taylor name after you?”
“Many other people are named Taylor,” I said as I thanked the waiter who brought our drinks, and she told us that our food will be ready in a few minutes.
“No, but I mean Brandon’s lineage, it ends with you?”
“What if I have children?” I asked her, and she looked at me for a second before she burst out laughing.
“Brooke, whew,” she breathed out, as she continued laughing. “You hate children!”
“No, I don’t; I dislike a few,” I shrugged, and it honestly was because of the trauma my brother and I had had to deal with at the foster home. Oh, it was so terrible!
“Name a few characteristics kids have that you don’t like,” she said, and I rolled my eyes as I lifted my fingers, telling her all the things I hated about kids.
“I can’t deal with snotty noses, constant crying, shouting, screaming, fighting, entitlement, disrespect, coughing, spitting, drool, among other things.”
“Brooke, all children do that,” she looked surprised at my list as if she didn’t know.
“No, teenagers don’t,” I shrugged, and she scoffed.
“Have you ever met someone who gave birth to a teenager?”
