Page 7 of All Our Nevers

The family resemblance between Amelia and Nolan is even more obvious than the one between me and Andy. They’re both tall for their respective genders, with the exact same medium-brown curls and olive-tan skin. The vast difference comes from their personalities: cold and cutting versus warm and jocular.

When I finally reach the table, Nolan is the first one to bellow, “Owen! Great to see you man.” His arms extend wide, pulling me into a bear hug, squeezing the air out of my lungs.

“H-hey Nolan,” I wheeze. “You too.”

“I got you a PBR,” he says, gesturing to the cans on the table. “Hope that’s cool.”

“Yeah, that’s great. Thanks.”

A new song clicks onto the jukebox—something old time-y I don’t recognize. I take the only open seat at the table despite its proximity to the devil herself.

“Shocked you would deign to drink PBR with us lowly plebeians,” Amelia sneers from my right.

I ignore her, instead looking across the table to Andy and his fiancée. “Hey, guys. Good to see you.”

“Hi!” Sophie says, jumping to her feet. “Here, I have to give you a hug.”

Andy manages a feeble, “Hey, thanks for coming,” as Sophie moves around the table to grab me around the waist. I fight to focus on Sophie’s genuine excitement so I don’t spiral about the tone of my brother’s voice.

He wanted me to be here today, right?

I mean, he made me his best man. Nobody made him do that. He could have picked Nolan instead. He definitely must want me here.

Still, even though it’s been more than a year of working to actively repair the relationship I fractured when we were younger, I can tell we’re not totally there yet. And it fucking sucks.

“You’re right on time,” Sophie says, obliviously cheerful as she retakes her seat. “We just started to brainstorm party locations. We haven’t even decided if we want to go somewhere other than Boston yet.”

It’s a small opening, but it’s something. A chance to show that I care about Andy and his happiness and this party, and I’m willing to be as involved in his life as he’ll let me.

“What about Cape Cod?” I suggest. “We used to go down there in the summer when we were kids and it was great, and I know for a fact there are tons of vacation rentals.”

“Dude, that sounds perfect!” Nolan’s enthusiasm is immediately maxed out. “We can go down for a weekend and just drink and swim and tan and drink and stuff. It’ll be so much fun.”

“You said drink twice,” Amelia says.

Nolan uses his middle finger to scratch his nose.

“I like that,” Sophie says, then turns to her right. “But whatever you want, Andy.”

“I want whatever you want.”

“Well, I want whatever you want.”

“Okay, yeah, yeah, we get it,” Amelia says. “You both just want to crawl up each other’s assholes for a weekend. I, for one, love the Cape. I could get a ton of summer-y swimsuit content while we’re there.”

I can’t contain my scoff, and the sound flips a switch in her.

“Oh sorry, Owen. Did you have something to say?”

“I was just wondering if you could maybe not make everything about you, but I already have my answer.”

Amelia’s full body spins towards me, more than ready for the fight. “Content creation is my job, dickwad. Get over yourself.”

I shrug. “We each contribute to society in our own way, I guess.”

“Yeah, remind me how you contribute to society again? Defending billionaires who got caught insider trading?”

“I work in mergers and acquisitions, Amelia. It’s not criminal court.”