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“True enough,” he says finally. “But only because you don’t call a lot.”
“I text you all the time,” I argue.
“But you don’t call. And you certainly don’t ask me for favors.”
He’s right. I don’t.
“Why?”
My answer is immediate. “I am the big brother. The one who should be doling out favors. Not the other way around.”
I can admit that only because Evie has made it crystal clear she thinks the idea is a load of crap. That my ego gets in the way of admitting as much.
“You’re ridiculous,” Enzo agrees with her. “I got lucky. And if I can’t share that good fortune with my family, what the hell good is it? This money means crap without you guys, and you know it.”
I do.
“Well, I’m calling you now.”
“I’m glad.” I can hear his smile through the phone. “And I have an idea.”
“What is it?” I ask.
“A surprise. For Evie. I just remembered something she told me once.”
“Tell me what to do.”
“Do you remember that breakfast place we went to every summer that Mom and Dad could actually get away for vacation? The one on the pier?”
“In Avalon? Yeah, I think it was called Pier 86 or something.”
“Eighty-nine,” he corrects me.
“No, 86. Because it was on 86th street.”
“It was 89. I remember thinking it was almost 90. So 89th Street.”
Back to arguing. It’s almost comforting.
“Whatever. What’s your point?”
“That’s where you’re going.”
“Avalon?”
It’s a nice enough town on the Jersey Shore. And the breakfast place had pretty good eggs and bacon, from what I can remember. But I was thinking of something a little more . . . special. I could have rented a place at the shore, or even in New England . . . it’s been a long time since I’ve been to Newport, which was my first thought before I called Enzo.
“Trust me,” he says.
“Always.” I pause. “Thanks, Enz.”
“Anytime,” my brother says, clearly happy that I called to ask for a favor. Finally.
“Now go get Evie and I’ll call you in a bit. You’re lucky I’m relatively free this morning.”
“And if you weren’t?” I tease my brother.
Enzo sighs. “You know damn well it wouldn’t have mattered. I’ll talk to you later.”
