A Reason To Grow

2. Careena

Two

Careena

“Where’s the man of the hour?” I yell, swaggering into the bright interior of Sky’s Restaurant. My family is easy to spot. Mom and Dad sit at the head of the table—two Caucasians surrounded by a sea of multi-ethnic children.

“I was just enjoying the peace and quiet.” Lisa rolls her eyes. She’s two years younger than me, but she acts ten years older. A silky black top and loose white slacks drape her slim figure. She looks like a million bucks—it wouldn’t surprise me if her clothes amounted to that much.

“I love you too, Lees.” I turn my smile on Juan. “You can't imagine how hard it was to keep your tour with Paradyme a secret. I’m so excited I can't sit still.”

Juan shrugs and sinks lower in his seat like he’ll disappear under the table any minute. His shiny black hair is longer than is trendy, and he wears it in a tiny ponytail. I’m sure Mom sneaks into his room at night with a pair of scissors waiting for the courage to cut that thing off.

Juan’s expression is bored at best. I wonder if he’s acting moody because he’ll miss us. He’s only eighteen-years-old. Mom and Dad adopted him when he was twelve so it’s been less than ten years since he joined our family. It was hard to be myself around my family at first. Maybe that’s true for him too.

“Hey, Car.” Sam waves at us, his pale blue eyes sparkling like silver stars. His broad shoulders strain against a grey T-shirt, and he flashes a wide smile. He and Tanner look the most like Mom and Dad’s biological children, though we’re all adopted.

Dad clears his throat and adjusts his thick glasses. His turquoise blue eyes hold a permanent twinkle that brightens as his gaze flicks on his children. “Now that we’re all here, I’d like to say a few words.”

“Can’t we order first?” Micah groans. He wraps a hand over his waist. The bright green of his football jersey hurts my eyes. He’s the ‘popular’ kid at his school. With his handsome features, smooth brown skin and hazel eyes, it’s easy to tell why. “I think my stomach is gonna cave in.”

“Micah…” Lisa slants him a glare. “Dad’s talking.”

“It’s fine.” Dad flags a waitress down. The sleeve of his shirt inches back, revealing his tattoos. While Mom wears her tats proudly, Dad always covers his. “We’d like to order now, please.”

The waitress is a small woman with skin darker than midnight and long, gorgeous eyelashes. Her eyes skim our faces as we give the orders. It’s obvious that she’s trying to figure us out, but she remains polite and asks no personal questions.

When she’s gone, Dad stands. “As you all know, Juan was given a wonderful opportunity to tour with a music group.”

“Paradyme is a hip hop artist, Dad.” I arch both eyebrows. “Not a group.”

“Right.” Dad nods at me in a way that says he doesn’t appreciate my interruption. “He’ll be gone for six months so we want to send him off right and wish him a long and fruitful musical career.”

“Here, here!” Mom grabs her glass of watermelon juice and hefts it into the air. My eyes follow the line of the rose tattoo on her arm, past her portly side and chubby cheeks to her blue eyes.

Mom was the one who convinced Dad to adopt me after he’d vowed that Tanner, Lisa, and Sam would be it. The adoption agency recommended my siblings to them, but my case was a little different.

I grew up in the foster system. Mom worked at the childcare center as a volunteer nurse. She fascinated me. I had never met anyone so kind. I would follow her around and cry every time she left. The day she announced I was going home with her was the best of my life.

“Let’s enjoy each other’s company and treasure each moment until Juan returns,” Dad says.

We grab our glasses and raise them, echoing Mom’s cheer of, “Here! Here!”

I sip my orange juice and spy on Sam over the rim of the cup. His crutches rest against the back of the empty chair beside him. He catches me looking and raises both eyebrows. “What?”

“How’s Rochelle?”

“Rochelle is the girl who drives Sam home every night, right?” Lisa leans over me. “The one with the scandal—” Juan pins her with a look and the words shrivel in Lisa’s mouth. “I mean… ah, forget it.”

“She’s fine.” Sam shrugs. “She’s stubborn. Like the two of you.”

“Me?” I gasp. “I am the most easy-going person you’ll ever meet.”

“Excuse me a minute.” Tanner stands and trots to the window. I stare at him in confusion and wait for him to return. He takes his time, pulling out his chair and brushing his shirt.

I frown. “What happened just now?”

“I was checking outside to see if pigs were flying.”

I crumple my napkin and toss it at his head. “I hope you don’t write comedy because your jokes are a little flat.”

Tanner grins. He’s a famous author with books that’ll be turned into a movie. He doesn’t need to write a comedy. “I’ll take that into consideration.”

Our meal arrives. In usual Richards’ fashion, we devour everything in sight. Even Lisa tucks into her food and leaves nothing in her plate. I laugh at her when she leans over and licks the dish until it looks shiny and new.

“What?” She dimples. “I can’t act like this when I’m closing a deal.”

As an investment banker, my sister rubs elbows with the insanely wealthy. She travels often and returns home ten times richer every time. Lisa’s success is the reason I’m satisfied following my small-town dreams and getting paid peanuts for doing what I love.

She has everything, but it came with a price. She’s battled misogyny, s****l harassment, and gender bias. The coldness inherent in her personality grew worse from her experience in the corporate arena.

I’m proud of her, even if our personalities clash often and I find her annoying most of the time.

After we pay for the meal, everyone drives to the airport. Fifteen minutes later, we crowd Juan in a group hug. We won’t see him for six months. It could be the light, but I swear I see tears glistening in Juan’s eyes when we pull back.

“Have a good time,” Dad says. “Be safe.”

Mom cups his cheeks, weeping. “Call me as soon as you get there and, if you feel even the least bit uncomfortable, you send me a text. I’ll have your ticket home ready as soon as possible.”

“He’ll be fine.” Micah offers his palm for a high-five. “I’m not jealous.”

“See yah, twerp.” I pull on his ponytail. “Remember to get me my signature. I’ll be waiting.”

“No promises.” Juan’s dark eyes glitter. “Take care of yourself, sis.”

He waves to everyone and heads into the boarding room. Mom collapses on Dad’s chest. He rubs her shoulder and mutters soothing words to her. Micah sniffs and mumbles about having something in his eye. Sam and Tanner wear sober expressions.

“Come on, people?” I yell. “He’s not going away to war. It’s freaking Paradyme! This is huge!”

“It’s a fantastic opportunity,” Lisa adds.

“Thank you for trying to cheer your mother up, girls.” Dad sighs. “But I think she needs a minute. Sam, can you take Micah back to school?”

“Sure thing.”

“Tanner,” I push out my bottom lip and sidle over to my brother, “can I ride back with you?”

He glances at Lisa. “Lees, you riding with us?”

“There’s room in our van,” Dad says.

“No thanks.” Lisa turns her nose up at the thought. She’s been offering to buy Mom and Dad a new vehicle for years but they wouldn’t budge. I don’t think she’s set a foot in their jalopy since she left for college.

“Alright, kids.” Mom waves. “Drive safe.”

We climb into Tanner’s rental. My phone vibrates while we’re on the road. It’s a message from Arthur delivering the information that he promised. I turn to Tanner and show him the address. “Think you can take me there instead of the studio?”

“Sure.” He flicks his indicator. “You meeting someone?”

“My landlord is kicking me out of the building so I’m meeting my new neighbor to convince him to share the space.”

“What?” Lisa snaps to attention. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It happened this morning.” I shrug. “And I didn’t want to destroy the mood.”

“They can’t kick you out on such short notice. Email your lease. I’ll let my lawyers go over it.”

Tanner squirms. “If it’s money you need—”

“I’m fine.” I have to stop my siblings from getting worked up or the next thing I know, they’ll don black clothes, storm Arthur’s house and beat him up the way we were all planning to do when we found out a crooked pastor was the one who put Sam on crutches. “Thanks for the ride.”

“Wait.” Tanner shuts the engine down. “You want us to stay here until you’re done?”

“I don’t know how long it will take.”

“What if this guy is a psycho?”

“I’ll be fine.” I slam the door and run up the stairs before they can follow me.