My weekend could be made into 500 words if I wanted. It spanned three days thanks to the Memorial Day holiday, but time felt short, like a match or firework. From Friday night to Tuesday morning, my girl and I spent our free time like so:
Friday Night
Friday night, we went to Sarah's. Sarah is Melani's childhood friend of 20 years now. I suggested a while back we throw an anniversary party. We ate dinner and watched The Last of Us'. It was the 5th episode, Endure and Survive.
Saturday Afternoon
My Saturday's are marked by the Twitter Space I host for my crypto community. Funny I didn't see the merit back then.
Melani and I went for a walk later. We took some dramatic portraits during golden hour.
Sunday Morning
We ran errands in the morning. We are much more hydrated since buying a bottom-loading water cooler. We are also more tired from buying and lugging around more 5 gallon jugs.
I skipped breakfast, but lunch made up for it tenfold. I feasted on 2 double cheeseburgers and multiple chicken nuggets from McDonald's.
The bounty didn't stop there. I spent almost $100 on about 15 different books from Savers. I thought my good day would continue with my brother coming over soon.
Sunday Afternoon
Sunday afternoon took a turn I hadn't planned for. From my experience playing competitive shooters, things seldom take the unexpected turn you expected. My brother Jadyah showed up as planned.
But I didn't anticipate he would bring Lex.
We tried to hang out, but it was hard to connect. They couldn't stop kissing every few minutes. Later that evening, we all went out to eat at a place with a large menu so everyone could find something. I ordered chicken strips and onion rings, with a Korean chicken bao bun as an appetizer. Since we offered to cover dinner, they went ahead and ordered both an appetizer and a full entrée.
Lesson learned. Assume your company will pick lobster.
Dinner took so long getting to the table, my brother ended up missing his 9 PM bus. He stayed the night at our place, but instead of spending time with us, he was glued to a FaceTime call with her.
I wasn't pleased.
Monday Morning
Monday morning shines through the window. Imagine the birds' falling silent when I hear she has to come back. He forgot his wallet and headphones or some other nonsense. We spent the morning with him, the record might show. Since she was on the phone the whole drive to us, the record would be incomplete to omit her.
I don't mind that my brother likes someone or that she came back the next day. It's how things went.
She pulled up with a plan so flaky I'm surprised it didn't snow. Originally, Lex was 'just dropping something off'. It evolved from 'hanging for a few' into 'her brother's birthday is today but he chose to hang out with friends, so can she stay with us?'
I gracefully declined the opportunity to put her out. While it was not in my plan for my brother to saddle with love all weekend, he must know that I'm the Taylor Swift of blogging. His lack of social etiquette and gaffes are the lifeblood of my rambling anecdotes.
All told, I had gratitude to express for the chance to share a decent anime production, Radiant.
Monday Afternoon
Lex lingers long enough to tag along with us to Melani's family cookout. Her dad hosted us at his mother's place, a home in the family for generations.
I didn't enjoy watching my brother here either. The kissing had yet to stop. What's more, my brother seemed unaware. He asked Melani's brother Zach a question. He didn't bother to listen for the reply. The status quo ensued. My brother and his girl continued their cute pecking, inseparable as they are.
I found a sigh of relief when my brother let everyone know he had to leave for his bus.
My Thoughts on This Past Weekend
I have to talk to him. He overstepped.
I want him to come back. I do. But she’s not family. I don’t feel obligated to host her.
While I'm grateful for the free time, books and seeing my brother, a lot happened that I did not appreciate. It seems the older you get, the more things stay the same. Your younger brother, the baby of the family, will continue to act like a boy until you address him as a man.
I hope next time he's willing to understand that I cannot bring him around if him and his girl are going to order apps for themselves but leave most of their dinner entrees. My boy ate his plate, sure, but we almost insisted she take home the majority of her pasta which she did not intend to take.
I do not have a good impression of this young lady, in part because of the graceless way my brother invited her to my father's birthday dinner. That anecdote isn't very interesting, but my brother's willingness to fib about her, sneak her into the house after midnight, and not sleep in his bed alone under my mom's roof -after she asked the young lady to stay in the guest room-communicates plenty.
He's got a lot to learn.
I'm afraid expressing too much disapproval will force them together but she at least is not coming on our family trip next month. We're traveling for my brother's birthday. I pray she doesn't slither in here some kind of way.
I end this recap somewhat relieved that I was able to express this somewhere free of validation. I know what I do and do not appreciate. An uninvited, unexpected +1 numbers high on that list of unwelcome surprises.
There’s room in my life for my brother. There’s not room for confusion disguised as company.
