Page 20 of Family Affair

They found Alex in the kitchen, two drinks in each hand. He offered one to Cade, whiskey neat from the looks of it. It wasn’t lunchtime yet, but today Cade was on board with starting early.

“What’s with the irritated face?” Alex smirked at him. “Could it be Ross? He’s such a breath of fresh air.”

“Do you find his tone patronizing?Whydoes he feel like sharing his opinion about me?” Ross addressed Cade, but didn’t wait for his response before turning to Alex. “You aren’t the head of my family.Daddy.”

“Iama dad,” Alex said, contrite.

“Not ours, thank fuck!” Dan muttered.

“Why? Because ours is such a paragon of fatherhood? I don’t use Little Ricky’s face for a punching bag.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Someone give this deserving member a Father of the Year award.”

“Shut up and drink.” Alex motioned for everyone to raise their glasses.

Cade hesitated. Getting drunk with his brothers didn’t always make for fun memories. Nevertheless, he raised his glass, and they clinked hard.

“To the unexpected reunion, fuckers,” Alex said, “for they are few and far between.”

They drank in silence and looked at one another.

Cade looked, too, and his breath hitched from an onslaught of sharp grief that caught him unawares. There should have been five of them. It had been seventeen years, yet time could never make it right. His eyes watered and he swiped at them pretending it was from the whiskey.

Their father walked in and halted when he saw them clustered together.

“What did I just interrupt?”

“Nothing, Father,” Ross didn’t miss a beat. “You interrupted absolutely nothing.”

Rick gave Ross a dismissive glance. His liquid sherry eyes fastened on Cade. “Cade,” was all he said in acknowledgement.

Cade inclined his head. “Morning, Father. Happy Independence Day.”

“Same to you. Of all the years, you chose this one to turn up. What a coincidence.”

“That’s what everyone keeps telling me.”

Rick’s expression, never sunny to begin with, turned downright gloomy, but whatever he was going to say remained unsaid for his mother quietly entered the kitchen at this moment.

“Oh, Cade. Hello, dear.” That was his mother’s greeting for a son she hadn’t seen in several years.

He hadn’t expected more, and so he remained unperturbed.

“Mother.”

She turned to Rick. “I was looking for you. I just got word the band will be delayed.” She started speaking to his father about the band hang up and other party action items that needed attention.

Dan opened the fridge and rummaged inside. “Is there anything to eat here?”

Ross groaned out loud. Alex rolled his eyes.

Maureen stopped talking and fixed her large clear eyes on her youngest. “Really, Dan. The caterers are setting up refreshments as we speak. If you could hold it for another hour.”

“But I haven’t had breakfast. I’m starving.”

Dan was always starving. At six foot four in his stockinged feet, their baby brother topped them all, which, Cade knew, brought him no small amount of satisfaction.

Dan pulled out an egg carton and flipped it open finding only one egg inside. He tried to lift it out but it was stuck in there pretty well, and after several clumsy attempts to grasp the smooth shell with his fingers, Dan managed to break it. The slimy stringy white pooled into his hand, coating his fingers.