Page 19 of Family Affair

Chapter 5

Cade arrived at his parents’ house an hour before the party. It was a calculated move to check in with his parents when they were at their busiest to avoid prolonged interaction. He planned to hang around for a short time afterwards and quietly leave in the middle of the party.

Pulling up at the back of the house, he found three cars already parked there next to the caterers’ vans. Alex and Dan. The third car he didn’t recognize but figured it could only belong to Ross, a sleek number with black rims and custom body paint.

He got out and walked to the door. Before he had a chance to reach for the handle, it opened half-way and an annoying voice rasped from within, “Ah, Clarice. You’re near, but not near enough. Closer, please. Clo-ser.”

“You don’t need to sound like Hannibal Lecter to creep me out, Ross,” Cade called him out. “Your regular voice does the trick.”

“I want to seeeee youuu… ”

Cade took hold of the handle and pushed the door open all the way. "Still juvenile as fuck.”

Ross stepped back and leaned against the wall, crossing his legs at the ankles encased in snakeskin cowboy boots. Ostentatious as all get out, but on Ross they looked good and added just the right amount of flare to his otherwise basic getup of dark jeans and a t-shirt.

He cocked an eyebrow at Cade. “Still same old bubba, repressed and anal retentive. Your sex life must be as exciting as hummus.”

“Ross, you haven’t seem me in what, two years, and the first thing you wanna hear about is my sex life?”

“No, I don’t want to hear about it. I hate hummus.”

Cade shut the door against the heat. His back had gotten sweaty, and the dress shirt now clung unpleasantly to his skin adding to the discomfort of talking to his sibling.

“So you’re back.” Ross’s eyes assessed Cade in the darkened space of the entryway. “Surprise. And what interesting timing.”

“What’s wrong with my timing? Last I checked, the 4th of July is still a national holiday,” Cade said, non-committal.

“Never mattered to you before.”

Cade arched his eyebrows. “I wasn’t free to take off before. They frown at that sort of behavior for active duty personnel.”

Ross didn’t appear appeased. “You’ve been discharged for months. You could’ve come any time.”

“Keeping tabs on me, I see.” Cade smiled thinly. “I was busy adjusting to civilian life. It’s a hard adjustment.”

“You’re so full of shit, Cade, it’s fascinating. Maybe I should learn more about you.”

Cade chuckled, surprising Ross with his amusement. “Careful, Ross. Some things you can’t unlearn.”

“Doesn't hurt to be aware. Maybe I can crack your Pornhub password and steal your frequent viewer points.”

Cade gave him a look, knowing well and good that he hadn't visited a porn site in years, much less set up a profile on one. “I’m sure you can earn your own points if you apply yourself.”

Dan came up from behind Ross.

“Hey. You forgot the old rule: ignorenotengage. You used to teach us that.” Shouldering Ross aside, he enveloped Cade in a tight hug smothering him in a cloud of rich cologne. “Glad you’re here.”

The tension eased out of Cade. He hugged Dan back. “Hey, Dan. What’s up.”

“Aw, how cute,” Ross intoned in a nasal voice. “Are the two of you going to kiss?”

“Stuff it, Ross,” Cade said, tired of his theatrics, and allowed Dan to steer him in the direction of the kitchen.

“A surprise to see you here,” Dan said with mild reproach. “You’ve been told, haven’t you?”

“Of course he has.” Ross followed them to the kitchen. “Who blabbed family business to you?”

Cade shrugged. “It sure wasn’t you.”