Chapter 4
Jake
Morning chores are complete and I sit in the kitchen I grew up in to eat a quick lunch before I go back out for the afternoon tasks.
The house sits quiet and sometimes I still think that any time Dad will walk into the kitchen with his boisterous voice and crack some sort of awful joke that will make me groan.
It’s amazing how it’s been so many years since he passed let alone how many years it’s been since he was loud and well enough to crack awful jokes.
I didn’t realize how much I would miss them.
If I had, I would have groaned a little less.
Suddenly, my silence is broken when my little sister and her daughter come bouncing in through the front door.
Amelia is almost ten years younger than me but by the time our dad got sick she had just had Cami, her boyfriend had left her to be a single mom and she was doing night school to become a nurse.
I always assumed that’s why the Doc called me to come home and take care of Dad.
Cami walks in ahead of my sister, a perpetual frown on her face. Her deep brown hair matches her eyes and is just a few shades lighter than my sister’s. Thanks to the genes of her father, wherever he may be, her skin is a gorgeous golden color, as if she’s always got the perfect tan.
“Hey, Uncle Jake,” Cami says. Ever since she turned thirteen her voice constantly sounds like she’s on the verge of a sigh. “Tell mom I don’t need a babysitter.” She rolls her eyes and I bite my lip to stifle my laugh. Lord knows I don’t want to be in the middle of this.
“We’ve been over this Cami.” Amelia puts her hand on her hip and I wonder sometimes if she even realizes how much Cami mirrors her.
“I’m not bringing you here to be babysat by your uncle, I’m bringing you here to help him out.
You could use a little more responsibility.
” They roll their eyes simultaneously and I almost can’t hold in the laughter anymore.
I stand to take my empty plate over to the sink and Amelia comes and gives me a hug. She kisses my cheek and then complains, “Ugh, you need to shave your face.” It’s something she says every time but it’ll never happen.
“It’s nice to see you too Amelia,” I say.
“Passing your offspring onto me huh?” I say it with a straight face but they both know I’m joking.
Ever since I moved back and I saw the shit my sister was dealing with between college and a deadbeat dad, I told her that both she and Cami were welcome here anytime.
Amelia lowers her voice, “Listen, I have a longer shift today and I just need to know she’s somewhere she won’t get in trouble.
I won’t get off until after ten tonight so I can pick her up around eleven if that’s ok?
” Her face scrunches into a grimace and I swear she’s holding her breath waiting for me to respond.
“That’s silly, just let her stay here tonight.
She can help me with Henrietta in the morning.
” I raise my voice on that last part and can see Cami perk up at the table.
Henrietta is Cami’s weak spot. She’s all sullen and sass until that damn goat is mentioned and then it’s like she’s eight years old again.
“I don’t know if she’d want to stay here, since she doesn’t want to have a babysitter or help with the farm chores,” Amelia puts on the worst sarcastic voice but Cami takes the bait.
“No, mom I take it back, I really do want to stay here. I’m happy to help Uncle Jake, I mean he is getting old I bet he does need help.”
“Ouch.” I thought we were on the same side.
My sister does not bite her lip in order to keep her laughter at bay.
In fact, she doubles over in absurd belly laughs that end up making her snort before she’s finished.
“Thanks kid, I needed that,” she says once she finally catches her breath.
Cami’s only answer is a smile. Well, I guess if dragging me through the mud helps them to get along I’ll deal with the tire tracks on my back.
“Alright, well since that’s settled I gotta get to work.
” She puts her hand up in a wave as she walks back out the way she came, leaving me with Cami.
Before I can utter a word Cami jumps up from her seat at the table and heads towards the back door.
I follow her outside and watch her trot over to Henrietta’s pen.
She knows by now how to get inside the pen and Henrietta bleats as she runs over to her person.
You’d think that me, the person who feeds her everyday and built the pen she calls home, would be her person but nope.
There’s something special between the two of them and hey, who am I to get in the way of that.
I got Henrietta shortly after dad died, his goat sadly passed not long after he did.
Cami was probably two or three at the time, hobbling around outside the pen.
I was terrified to let her in with Henrietta but at some point while I had my back turned she had snuck inside.
Admittedly, it took me a while to realize that I didn’t know where Cami was.
By the time I found her she was curled up beside Henrietta, sleeping on her swollen belly.
I knew then that I was playing second fiddle.