I parallel park my tiny Honda Civic in the space in front of our house, leaving the driveway for my sister Amy's minivan. These days, it's pretty unusual for adult children to stay living with their parents like this, but the Peterson family loves being together. The four of us kids have stuck together even more since Mom died.
My Dad still owns the giant house where we grew up. He converted the third floor into an apartment when my sister got married and told them to stay until they got their feet under them. They've got a separate entrance and everything. She and her husband have pretty good jobs--she's a nurse and he's a teacher like our mother was--but it's hard to let go of having family so close.
I spend a lot of time watching her kids while she's at work. Between me and my brother Dan, my sister never has to use daycare. I guess that's going to change now that I've landed myself such a cool job. I pull my arms to my chest and hug myself, reminding myself that this is all real and not some fantasy I dreamed up.
I grab the bags of groceries from the back and pick up the growlers of beer. I practically dance inside and shout to Dan that I'm home and I'm making wings.
"Sweet! That must mean you got the gig, hey sis?" Dan is a year older than me, but he still lives with Dad, too. He sells commercial appliances, and he really knows his stuff. As I cook, I fill him in on the renovation and assure him I'll be placing an order as soon as Dad gets the bid sent over. Between our dad working in construction, my brother Ryan working as a mechanic, and my sister working as a nurse, there isn't much we need to look for outside our immediate family. Dad's brother's an electrician, and one of his sons is a plumber, so we've got our bases covered. My family all looks out for each other, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Amy comes floating in the door with my nephews. She pecks my cheek as she pours a glass of beer. She takes a sip and her eyes go wide. "This is really good, Al. What is this?"
"Undead Unicorn," I tell her. "It'll go great with the wings if you can wait ten minutes and not drink it all." I flick her with a dishtowel I've got slung over my shoulder and tell my siblings about my new job. "I have complete independence over all of it," I gush. "Whatever I want to cook. I'm my own boss. Sort of. I mean I guess Mr. Stag is my boss-boss, but he told me to do what I think is best."
"Mr. Stag?" My brother teases me, but my sister raises an eyebrow.
"Which Stag?" she asks. "We went to high school with them."
I shake my head. "I never went to school with anyone named Stag. I'd remember them, trust me. But my boss is Tim."
She sighs. "Ah, Tim Stag. Do you know his full name is Timber?"
She runs for the bookshelves in the living room where my dad has kept every book we've ever owned. She slides out her old yearbook. Amy is the oldest, so I guess that would put her around my boss's age. "Here," she says, sliding the book across the counter.
There he is glaring up from the page, looking as intense then as he did today. Dark hair, unreadable grey eyes. Chiseled jaw line. "That's him," I say.
"Timber Stag," my brother chimes in. "Who names their kid Timber?"
Amy flips the pages and we find Thatcher Stag in my brother Ryan's year. "I swear there was another one," she says. "Maybe he went to a magnet school or something? Anyway, spill it, Al. Does he still look this good?"
I nod and tell her about wanting to jump his bones in the kitchen. "Gross, Alice. Come on!" my brother feigns disgust and leaves the room with his beer, but Amy leans across the counter while I finish making dinner.
"And Aim, he smells ah-maze-ing. Not that I spent all day sniffing him, but I caught a whiff. And it was nice."
She nods, looking dreamily at the picture. "He was always sort of standoffish in school. Super serious. I remember him just always being…intense."
"He'd have to be, to build such a successful law practice at his age. Everyone at the office is super driven." I start to tell her about meeting the staff at lunch. "Oh! The third brother is Ty. He plays hockey. My new friend Juniper is going to be his attorney. She was telling me how she was excited that Tim assigned her to be his brother's new lawyer."
My sister laughs when I tell her Juniper suggested I try crew. She pulls out her phone and looks up the rowing team here in Pittsburgh. "Look how fit everyone is," Amy says. "Maybe you should sign up to make them lunch after their workout."
"Very funny, Aim. I'll have you know I keep in shape chasing your sons around." I pause then, remembering that I'm not going to be able to watch them during the day anymore. "Speaking of, we're going to have to talk about my schedule." I start to carry the platters of food to the table as the back door opens and my dad walks in to the kitchen.
"There's my pumpkin patch," says Dad as my nephews swarm around his legs. He plants a kiss on each of us. Amy texts her husband, Doug, to come down for dinner. The seven of us dig in and I smile, thinking how fortunate I am.
Dad and I talk about the renovation and how something like that should only take a few weeks if he lights the right fire under his crew. "Which I will, Pumpkin, don't you worry about that." He tells me that as soon as he can get permits in place, he can get started. "If budget really is no issue, that is," he winks.
My brother and my nephews begin bickering about the newest Ninjago movie and I just feel so content looking around at my family. Our lives are so different now than they might have been if my mother hadn't gotten sick. But even as she was dying, she always told us we needed to stick together, to help each other.
I'm reminded again how I'm leaving my sister high and dry for childcare. I hadn't been expecting the job to begin right away, and I know it's not so easy to just find two daycare spaces with no notice. "Hey Aim," I say, whispering across the table. "What will you do with Ethan and Eli? Mr. Stag was pretty serious about me starting right away."
She furrows her brow. "Well, I don't work again until Friday. That gives me a few days to make calls. Honestly, Al, I don't want you to worry about it. I knew you'd be job hunting when you finished school. I really should have had a plan in place by now." Her husband, Doug, starts helping us brainstorm stopgap childcare options until they can find a place for the boys. They wonder aloud if he should cancel his commitment to teach summer school, but Amy shakes her head.
"Really, it's only for a few more months," she says. "Ethan starts kindergarten in the fall. God, I can't believe he's going to school already."
As they all start to reminisce about my precocious older nephew, my mind slips back to my new job and all the recipes I want to put in place. If I really work hard this week, I'm pretty sure I can get to where I'll be mostly in my office on Friday except for serving and cleaning up lunch. "Hey, Aim, I bet I can bring the boys with me on Friday," I tell her. "I'll just be doing admin stuff by then and they can play in my office when I'm serving lunch."
She looks at me with a severe sort of scowl.
"What?" I say. "They were desperate to have me there. I'll just let someone know I might have the boys this one time."
She frowns, and says, "I somehow can't see Tim Stag feeling excited about a pair of rambunctious boys running around his law firm, Alice. How about we save that for a last resort."
Nodding, I start to clean up, thoughts of meals for the staff racing through my mind.