If We Kiss by Vail Rachel

Author:Vail, Rachel [Vail, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: 2012-06-11T22:00:00+00:00

twenty-three

MY FATHER STARTED driving me nuts as soon as I got to his house the day before Thanksgiving, and by Saturday afternoon was showing no sign of letting up at all. Any time I flopped down to rest briefly between chores, he peppered me with questions: How’s your mother? What’s she up to these days? Has she fixed the flooding in the basement of that house yet? (Always “that house.”) So who’s this new friend your mother has?

It took all the way until Friday afternoon to get to that one, the money question. Mom’s new “friend.”

I shrugged.

“I have a new friend,” ABC said.

“Lucky you,” I said. I actually do like my half brother, and if he weren’t four years old I would swear he knew he was helping me out, deflecting attention. “Tell me about your friend, ABC.”

“O-tay.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Actually, I have nineteen friends. Because there are nineteen children in my tlass and I am friends with all nineteen, including, of tourse, myself.”

I love that all his Cs sound like Ts. “That’s awesome, ABC. Good for you.”

He snuggled next to me on the couch. He was warm. This, right here, I decided, this is as much cuteness and love—as much boy—as I could possibly need in this life. He was solid and soft and wearing overalls and a white turtleneck. I was completely fulfilled. So what if Tess still hadn’t called me back?

“You’re not me,” ABC told me.

“No,” I said, thinking, unfortunately. If I were you I would be sweet and innocent and good and loved. I’d have nineteen friends instead of zero.

“And I’m not you,” he said, looking up at me with eyes bigger than his head. “So you don’t know what I’m thinking right now.”

I gave him a little tickle on his ribs. “You’re thinking how much you love me, I bet.”

“No,” he said, wiggling away slightly. “I’m not.”

Dad chuckled.

I sighed. “So what are you thinking, you little stinker?” Could he tell I loved him so much? I guess not really. He’s not me, either.

“I don’t have to tell you.”

“No.” I put my face down in his hair and smelled him, sweet and sweaty. “You don’t.”

He leaned against me again. “But I’ll tell you anyway. I was thinking about when my teacher called me Alexander on the first day. Isn’t that funny?”

“Well,” I said. “That is your name.”

Frown. “No. My name is ABC.”

“Those are your initials,” I told him, sweetly. “ABC stands for the great and fabulous Alexander Brian Collins.”

He kicked me.

“Ouch!”

“No!”

“Ow!”

More kicks, and some punches. “ABC is my really name!”

“I was just . . .”

He head butted me in the stomach. “You doody-dum-dum!”

“Suzie,” Dad yelled. “Can’t you control him?”

Suzie glared at Dad and scooped up ABC, who really started screaming. “Can’t you . . .” Suzie started, but stopped herself, sucking in on her lips. ABC reared his head up and slammed it into her chin. She winced and started making an F sound.

This was something new.

But before she could get any further

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