your sister,” Dad said. “And, Avery, stop tormenting me. A little chili cheese won’t hurt us.”
“Remember that when your heart decides go into cardiac arrest,” I said.
“I can live with that.”
“If you keep eating so much junk, not likely.” Without me, Dad and Ian would eat cheeseburgers and pizza for every meal.
Dad wiped a spot of chili from his chin with a napkin. “I’m going to bed. I have a date with Trisha tomorrow after work, so I won’t be home until late.”
I rolled my eyes at the mention of Trisha. Ian and I still had yet to meet Dad’s latest girlfriend, though I knew it was only a matter of time before she showed up at our dinner table. Dad had this two-month rule: If the relationship lasted more than two months, then he’d bring her home to meet us. I thought the idea was brilliant. It had saved me from putting up with a few nameless women who hadn’t made it past a second date. But honestly, a two-year rule would have made me even happier.
Dad had now been dating Trisha for two months and one week.
“So there’s a lasagna in the freezer,” he continued. “And make sure Ian works on his history paper.”
“I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Ian grumbled.
“Yes, Dad,” I said. Sometimes it seemed as though Dad believed Ian and I were still little kids unable to take care of ourselves. Like we hadn’t been mostly caring for ourselves for four years now.
Dad leaned over and kissed the top of my head. “Okay, I can tell from your tone that you don’t need baby-sitting instructions from your old dad. Good night.”
Once Dad left, I grabbed a washcloth and wiped down the table and counters. I silently recited the names of the bones in my hands as I worked. Distal phalanges, intermediate phalanges, proximal phalanges, metacarpals, carpals. The words had a nice, soothing rhythm in my head as I put everything back in its place, making sure the bowls were stacked neatly and the spoons weren’t toppling over in the drawer. Returning everything to its rightful place, neat and organized, always made me feel calm and in control.
Under a pile of junk mail, I found one of the countless self-help books Dad always bought. The New You: Getting Over Disappointment and Heartache So You Can Find Happiness. I tossed the entire stack, junk mail and the book, into the trash.
“Try not to get into trouble tomorrow,” I told Ian as I turned toward him. “Just because Dad won’t be home doesn’t mean you can go wild. I can’t be called out of work again because you were caught sneaking into the movies.”
“Correction,” Ian said, “I was caught sneaking out, not in.”
“Only because you sneaked into the wrong movie in the first place. Next time I’m telling Dad.”
“You’re a traitor to the sibling oath,” Ian muttered.
I headed back to my room to get ready for bed. As I walked toward my closet, the brochures stacked on the corner of my dresser caught my eye.
“Spend the summer in Costa Rica!” the bold orange letters on the front proclaimed.
I’d read the brochures so many times they were coming apart at the folded edges. It wasn’t a vacation, it was a three week stay on the outskirts of San Jose, volunteering with doctors and humanitarian workers. It was very educational and would look great on my college applications, giving me a little head start on my future career in medicine. It was the experience of a lifetime.
It was also four thousand dollars.
I had over two thousand saved up, after working part time at Diggity Dog House for over a year and saving my birthday money from my grandparents. But I still had a long way to go and with only two months until the program started, I wasn’t feeling confident that I’d get to Costa Rica this summer.
But I had already paid the deposit to reserve my spot, which was non-refundable even if I didn’t manage to save up the rest of the money in time. It had to be this summer, before my senior year. Colleges would be looking at my applications and this trip would go a long way toward securing my acceptances.
The little voice in my head knew I was lying. I could have chosen a similar program much closer to home, but I’d picked this one specifically because it took place in Costa Rica. My eyes moved to the map tacked on the wall over my bed.