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I slide into the chair across from him. “What?” I ask, not one trace of interest coloring my tone.
“I lost another tooth yesterday!” Theo grins wide, proudly showing off the gap in the center of his mouth.
“And then! Andthen!A FAIRY came!” Ellen pipes up, determined to not let her older brother hog the spotlight.
“For real! I got a whole five dollars!” Theo tacks on.
“Wow,” I deadpan. “Inflation really is hitting everyone these days.”
Charlie clears his throat, attempting to make it sound like a lighthearted chuckle. “So, Dom. How’s the Big Apple treating you? Still climbing the old corporate ladder?”
I lean back, crossing my arms over the overcoat I haven’t bothered to remove. “There’s not much left to climb, unless I decide to murder my own father.”
My mother jumps in, immediately sensing the danger of an awkward silence. “Oh, but surely you want a break from working so hard all the time. How long are you staying? We’d love to have you over for dinner, you haven’t been in town for a decade. Doesn’t that sound insane? Adecade, for goodness’ sake.”
“I’m not sure yet,” I hedge. “Depends how my business works out.”
“Well, you simply have to make time to see us all again before you leave,” she insists. “Have you even told Shiloh you’re here?”
At the mention of my sister, my fingers clench involuntarily. “She knows.”
“Oh, you’ve spoken to her? How is she? We haven’t caught up in ages, these two little ones keep us busy beyond belief. Is everything good with her?”
I arch an eyebrow, stunned thatIshould be the one around this table being asked about Shiloh’s wellbeing. Our parents live barely five miles from their eldest daughter, but apparently that’s too much of a distance to keep tabs on her life. “She’s a little stressed actually. That ridiculous Halloween Ball-thing lost its sponsor and now she’s nervous her school is gonna miss out on funding.”
“Damn,” Charlie sighs. “That place is so important to her. And she adores the Ball, she must be devastated.”
I snort. “Yeah, she seemed really cut up about it when she called to beg me for the cash.”
The table falls silent again, Charlie’s brows lowering in a deep frown. “Shiloh asked you for money?”
“Sure did. She was clearly hoping for a bailout from her dear, long-lost brother. I told her just where to stick her charity case.”
My mother’s eyes widen comically as Charlie’s lips flatten into a grimace. “Dominic! That’s your sister you’re talking about.”
“Step sister,” I correct her automatically. “If you can even call her that. We’re practically strangers to each other. She may as well have called any random dude on Wall Street for a handout.”
The pair of them just gape at me for a moment, as if I’d just told them I was on a mission to bring Hitler back from the dead. The tension is broken by Ellen tugging impatiently on my mother’s sleeve. “Mommy, is Shiloh coming for pancakes too?”
“I hope so, my love,” Mother simpers. “I think she’s just running a little late.”
Right on cue, that infernal bell above the door chimes again. I glance up and there she is. Shiloh stands frozen in the doorway, her wide eyes locked on our charming little gathering.
Well, this should be interesting.
Shiloh’s expression slowly morphs from shock to something harder, more guarded, as she approaches our table with measured steps.
“Well, isn’t this a surprise?” she says as she reaches the chair beside mine, her greeting dripping with false cheer. “The prodigal son returns.”
My mother beams, apparently determined to ignore the thick tension. “Shiloh, my love. We were just talking about you.”
Shiloh slides into the chair beside mine, scraping it across the floor in her effort to leave a wide berth between us. “Hey Viv, hey dad,” she says warmly before turning to the kids. “Hey there, little munchkins, what’s crackalackin’?”
Theo and Ellen launch immediately into excited chatter about anything and everything they can think of to say to the older sister they seem to see almost as little as I do. I watch in silence as Shiloh nods enthusiastically, playing the role of the big sister perfectly as she peppers the conversation with the appropriateoh, cool’s andno way’s.
It grates on my nerves to no end.
“So,” I interject when there’s finally a blissful lull. “Nice of you to grace us with your presence. I would think you’d be too busy with planning the costume party of the century, or whatever.”
