Evan

He threw his baseball glove down on the floor and slammed the front door shut behind him. His long walk home from the ballpark in the Houston heat had left him thirsty for something to drink, but also for revenge against his sister, Kae. She was supposed to pick him up from the park, but once again she had avoided her responsibilities. No matter. He had taken the longer route home in hopes of securing his revenge and it had paid off. She had been at her boyfriend Kyle’s house—which was forbidden—instead of picking him up like their mom had instructed her to when she borrowed the car. The only question was which thirst to quench first.

First a drink, then revenge.

Upon entering the kitchen, the first thing he noticed was the empty lemonade pitcher on the kitchen counter. Next to it sat the murder weapon, a glass with a single bit of lemon pulp clinging to the side. Closer examination revealed lip balm on the rim confirming his suspicions. His sister had done him dirty twice in one day. Payback was going to be extra sweet.

Evan yelled upstairs, “Kae! You knew that last glass of lemonade was mine!” No response. “Kae!”

His dad, Jim, came in from the garden arms smeared with dirt and dripping sweat. “Your mom drank it, so let’s see what else we got.” He opened the refrigerator, his towering frame blocking Evan’s view inside.

“Hmm…Looks like our choices are diet soda, diet soda, or oh, wait for it…diet soda.”

Evan grabbed a cup out of the cabinet. “Water it is.”

Dad closed the refrigerator. “Agreed.”

Kae skulked in directly towards the empty pitcher. “Evan, did you drink all the lemonade?”

She had some nerve. He slammed the cup down on the counter. “What happened to picking me up at the park? When Mom said you could use the car, you agreed.”

“Oh yea…” Kae said dismissively, pulling her phone out. “I guess my phone was on silent.” She tilted her head with an “I don’t give a shit” smile.

His mom, Ying, came into the kitchen and slapped her garden gloves on the counter, her long black hair in a ponytail and glowing with sweat from yardwork. “Kae, it’s your turn to make the lemonade. We’re all hot and thirsty. Get to it.”

“Kyle’s coming over, so I don’t have time right now,” Kae said, calmly, before adding a little insurance to her attempt to sidestep responsibilities. “We have to study for finals.”

Delight and vengeance pulled a smile across Evan’s face. “Hmm, that’s funny, I just figured you had already studied with Kyle. I mean, why else would you ignore my texts? When I just so happened to walk past his house…” Evan paused. As expected Kae’s head whipped around. Her face desperate, eyes pleading, but no quarter would be given. “And Mom, guess whose car was parked at Kyle’s house?”

Mom had by this point popped the top on a diet soda and was only half paying attention to the conversation. “Whose?”

“Yours.”

Mom’s face hardened. Her brows creased. “You took my car to Kyle’s house? Kyle’s house?”

Dad, sensing the pressure building, opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then ducked out the back door, not bothering to fill his glass of ice with water. Even he avoided Mom in situations like these.

Mom’s Thai accent started to filter through into her words as her voice grew louder, a sure sign she was close to losing it. “You said you were going to the store. You lied to me!” Evan took an instinctive step back so he wouldn’t get burned by the fire he had lit. “You’re lucky I even let you have a boyfriend. When I was your age, I couldn’t talk to boys.” Mom’s accent thickened, a sure sign that it was too late for Kae, death was in the air. “And this, this is how you repay my trust!” Mom slammed her soda down on the counter as a few choice curse words in Thai slipped out. Why hadn’t he learned more Thai for moments like this?

Kae glared at Evan before returning to her attention to Mom. “Mom, all I did was drop off a book. That’s it and then I came home.”

“You’re grounded for three weeks. Hold on. Was his mom home?” Before Kae could answer, Mom turned her withering focus to Evan. “Was his mom home?”

This is what the Caesars of old must have felt like. It was quite a rush to hold another’s life in your hands. Thumbs up or down, Evan could easily tack several weeks on to her sentence. He could ground her for the entire summer break if he played his cards right. Kae’s eyes widened as she realized her fate was now hanging precariously in his hands. She mouthed an unintelligible threat, but it was pointless; he held the power now. Lucky for her, he wasn’t a dick. He would be a merciful Caesar. “Yeah, I think I saw a car there.” Kae let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief.

Mom’s expression didn’t change. “You’re still grounded. Kyle’s not coming over.” She picked up her soda and headed for the back door, judgement made, sentence handed out.

But Kae wasn’t a soft little flower easily stomped by another’s boot. She was Mom’s child and every bit as tough. She knew her mom’s weakness and wasn’t afraid to use it.

“I’ll tell him, but you know Kyle was coming over so we could study calculus, he was going to help me with differential equations. But it’s alright if I get a…B,” Kae said with defeat in her voice. But it was all an act. Evan knew it. Deep down, his mom knew it. Kae knew everyone knew it, but it made no difference. Few things mattered more to Mom than her children’s academic success. She wouldn’t risk it. The pain on her face was almost enjoyable to watch as two core concepts went to war with each other deep within. The remnants of her own socially caged upbringing fought for dominance over her need for her children’s success. Not to mention her need to brag on her straight-A daughter with her sisters. Evan was, after all, far from a straight-A student.

“Fine! Make the lemonade and vacuum the downstairs before Kyle comes over.” Mom stormed out of the kitchen. “But that bedroom door better stay open!”

Kae turned on Evan, fire in her eyes. “Why? Why did you—”

“Don’t ghost me. You know you were supposed to pick me up. Your little act doesn’t work on me, and you know I hate walking under the underpass. Homeless people hang out there. There were these people lurking there today. What if I got stabbed?”

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Kae fumed. “You’re such a chicken shit. No one gets stabbed here. This is the suburbs.”

Easy for her to say because she wasn’t the one who had to walk. Evan huffed in amusement on his way out of the kitchen. “I am going to my room, and I expect a glass of fresh lemonade in there shortly.”

Kae squinted. “You little shit there’s no way I’m—

Evan conjured the most disgustingly smug smile he could. “You really should be nicer to me. You and I both know nobody was home…so, about that fresh glass of lemonade…” Evan clapped twice as if summoning a butler. “Chop. Chop.”

Kae’s lips curled in. She jabbed a finger at him but said nothing. She knew she was beaten. “Fine!”

Jim

Jim marveled at the straight rows of tomatoes and peppers he and Ying had planted. Normally at this point he’d crack open a cold beer and relax, but he had a paper to write. To make lieutenant in the Houston Police Department, you had to have a degree and that was the plan. The plan Ying had worked out for him, the plan that was beating him down, one day at a time.

He leaned over to pull out a small weed they missed when they had cleaned up the beds when he heard a footstep behind the fence of their backyard. “Hello?” He stepped on the edge of the wooden planter for a better view over the fence but saw nothing. Living near a greenbelt meant plenty of wild animals, but this sounded like footsteps. “Hello? Anyone there?” Maybe he imagined it.

When he stepped down, Ying came back into the backyard with a cloud still over her head. She was extremely loving, but sometimes, like this exact moment, it was too extreme, even for him. “Don’t you think you are being just a little harsh?”

Ying started to pick up garden tools. “Are you kidding me? So help me god if she gets pregnant, you’ll be booking me for a murder.”

He shifted uneasily, better to get things off his chest while she was focused on Kae. This way he was part of the solution. “So, I’ve been thinking. With things being a little crazy right now, maybe I should take off the summer semester.”

Ying stopped her march towards the garden shed to look at him “Giving up on the plan already? I thought you wanted to be a lieutenant?”

The dream of starting his own general contracting business drifted into his head. He was tired of being a police officer, tired of the risk, the politics, of having half the people thanking him for his service and the other half looking at him like he was the villain. But he wasn’t ready to discuss it with her yet. He would be, at some point, soon, he kept telling himself. Just not right now. “I’m not giving up. But I think I’m needed more here right now, that’s all.” He said, bending the truth more than a little.

“Hmm well, maybe this family needs a lieutenant and not a sergeant.” She bent over to pick up the final trowel lying in the far corner of the bed. “Plus, you know we could use the money.”

She was always so worried about their financial stability, even though both of them were employed and doing well. “Well, maybe you need it more than this family does.”

Ying shot back.“This was your idea, don’t get upset with me.”

Maybe now wasn’t the time to bring this up, better turn this back to Kae while he has her focus. “Well, it was all fine and good before Kae started acting like a teenager and Evan’s grades continued to drop. Those two are always fighting, too. I was just thinking maybe we’d spend more quality family time together this summer. Hell, even just having dinner together a few nights a week or going to a baseball game as a family.”

“Don’t worry, I'll take care of it. You just worry about work and school.”

Jim eyed her with suspicion. This was his chance to make his point without having to have a big debate. “Both of these require a delicate hand and well…you don’t exactly have a delicate mode.”

“And just what are you trying to imply?”

“Bull in a China shop?” He laughed.

Ying narrowed her eyes trying to feign being upset, but a smile started to form. “I’ll show you delicate!” she yelled, as she started to throw everything she could get her hands on at him.

“Bulls throw better than that!” Jim egged her on, dodging gloves and a trowel until she scored a hit with a three-pronged hand tiller.

“Ow!” He yelped, rubbing the dent in his arm. “You could have cut me.”

“Serves you right.” Ying laughed, as she walked over and gave him a kiss on his arm where a prong had dug in. “Sorry. Is that better?”

Footsteps again came from right behind the fence. Jim quickly stepped up on the planter to see over, but again no one was there. Weird. He grabbed his arm feigning pain. “I don’t know, that really hurt, I probably need another one just to be safe.”

“Go and study first, then you can have more than another kiss.”

“Why wait? We could just go shower and—”

“After you finish your paper.”

Always hard core. Jim rolled his eyes. “Oh my god, you’re impossible.”

Evan

Later that day Evan sprawled out on the couch in the living room next to Zarg, an oversized grey greyhound busily taking up most of the space. Whenever someone sat on the couch, Zarg commenced a series of stretches and rolls and always ended up an inch or two closer every time he moved. These positioning maneuvers would continue until the petting started, or he was half laying on his target. If non-petting behavior persisted a cold wet nose would be administered with a firm push into whatever warm skin was exposed. Further lack of petting meant vocal protests consisting of whines, whimpers, and mini howls of disgust. This usually did the trick, but his final defense was incessant probing with the previously mentioned nose until pets were provided as required.

Evan, now Zarg’s target, was immersed in his new video game, when Zarg had at this point, twist-stretched his way halfway onto Evan’s lap and was well within striking range. With one final incredulous whimper, Zarg struck with a hard wet nose sending Evan to his video game demise. “Damn it, Zarg!” Evan grunted as the doorbell rang.

Kae yelled from upstairs. “Evan, can you let Kyle in?”

Evan ignored her, choosing to stroke a grateful Zarg on his head and started a new game.

Her voice rose, “Evan! Can you let Kyle in?”

“What?” Evan responded, mocking deafness. It was important that when he did things for her it came at a cost to ensure she would reserve his services for only the most crucial moments. Training a sister takes years of consistency.

“Can you let Kyle in?” she said, escalating the irritation in her voice. “Did you not hear the doorbell?”

“I’m not your doorman, you know,” Evan snapped. “Maybe if you were actually ready when he got here for once—”

“I am in the bathroom.”

“So, get out of the bathroom.”

“I am still getting dressed. I know you’re just sitting on the couch playing your stupid game. Can you just pause it for two seconds?”

“Zarg is laying across my lap. I’m in dog jail.”

“Come on! I am still putting clothes on.”

“Ugh, fine,” Evan yelled back. He scratched Zarg behind the ears. He looked up at Evan with pleading eyes. “Sorry buddy, this is on Kae.” He slid and twisted his way under a less than pleased Zarg until he freed himself. Zarg flopped his head down throwing pitiful eyes at Evan.

Evan opened the front door to find Kyle looking at his phone. Evan liked Kyle, maybe better than Kae. They had similar tastes in video games and their conversations didn’t end in threats, but mostly he wasn’t an asshole like Kae’s last boyfriend.

Kyle nodded. “Hey Evan, Kae here?”

“Yeah, she’s upstairs crapping her guts out.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah man, even Zarg couldn’t take it, he had to come downstairs. Of course, with a nose like his I am sure he gets all the gory details, if you know what I mean.” Evan held back a smile trying to make its way on this face. “While you are waiting for her IBS to clear, check out this new game I got. We can run some multiplayer if you want.”

“Yeah, alright.”

“But hey, you didn’t hear about her IBS from me, okay? As far as you know, she’s just getting ready.”

“Not a word,” Kyle promised stepping in. When Evan turned to shut the front door, a man straight out of a Lord of the Rings movie stood there. His epic brown beard covered most of a torn muddy shirt. His shoulder was black and bloodied.

The man gibbered rapidly in a foreign language while Evan and Kyle stared at him in total confusion.

Evan asked, “Uu, do you speak English?” The man smelled of mud and marsh, but surprisingly Evan wasn’t freaked out. If anything, the man was intriguing. He talked faster, waving his arms around, getting visibly frustrated.

Evan turned to Kyle. “Thoughts?”

Kyle shrugged. “Eh, no.”

Evan sighed. “Do you speak English?”

The man spoke some more before throwing up his arms and grunted in frustration. Then he walked in.

Shocked, Kyle and Evan just stepped aside. The intruder headed for Mom’s fancy blue couch in the front room and sat down. He immediately started to examine it, rubbing the soft fabric and squishing the cushions.

Kyle said, “Brah, did he just walk in and sit on your couch?”