I barely stifle a sigh, looking down at my plate now, my appetite gone.
Still on her tangent about how wonderful the girl I chased off is, Bri says, “You know what she said to me? One day I came home and she looked so tired, I felt bad. So I told her, you know, you don’t have to clean while you’re here. I’m only paying you to watch the boys, that’s really all you have to do. And do you know what she said to me?”
“What’d she say?” I murmur, since clearly I’m expected to.
“She told me she didn’t mind doing it, because after I worked all day long, she wanted me to be able to come home and relax and enjoy my family. Can you believe that? Girls her age just don’t care like that,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m gonna call her one more time, but if I can’t get a hold of her, I might go over to her house.”
“Bri, she’s just a fucking babysitter,” Theo snaps.
Bri looks up in surprise, since of course she doesn’t know why Alyssa’s a sore subject for him, or why he’d object to checking on her. “She’s a wonderful babysitter. Weren’t you just listening? That’s not what babysitters are usually like, especially ones her age, working for peanuts.”
“We’ll find another good sitter,” he states. “We’re not going to stalk the poor girl. Maybe she did get another babysitting job making more money and she’s just too uncomfortable to tell you that. You know Alyssa’s not good with confrontation. You’re not gonna show up at her house and put her in that position. That’s crazy.”
“I’m not trying to make her uncomfortable,” Bri says defensively. “I just don’t want to lose her. If someone else offered her more, maybe we can match it. If we can save money for a car you don’t even need, we can pay a little more money to make sure our babies are in good hands when we’re not here.”
“Jesus Christ,” he says, shoving his chair back and storming away from the table.
“Where are you going?” Bri demands as he heads toward the house.
He doesn’t even mumble some made-up answer, just stomps inside without a word like the child he is.
Shaking her head, Bri says, “He’s so testy lately.”
She freezes, her own eyes widening in surprise, like it just occurred to her who she’s complaining about him to. I’m the last person she wants to gripe to about that asshole, since she knows I already don’t like him.
Quickly, she adds, “But he’s been under a lot of stress at work—that’s probably what it is. And money is tight, but it’s nothing to worry about.”
Picking up my fork and spearing a couple pieces of macaroni, I say, not for the first time, “Why don’t you let me help you out?”
“No,” she says firmly, shaking her head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering. Doesn’t have to be a regular thing,” I tell her, since I know an objection she’s made before is she doesn’t want to feel like some kind of charity case. “It’s family helping family, simple as that. I could give you a couple thousand dollars, just enough to give you some breathing room. Make an extra house payment, put a little in your checking account so you have some padding, maybe put a bit into the savings account for the boys. You’d be less stressed, and I wouldn’t miss it. It’s just sitting in my savings account right now, accumulating a few coins every month. I’d rather give it to you.”
If she accepted, I wouldn’t actually have to take the money out of savings; I’d just take it out of the $5,000 in emergency cash I keep on hand at the house in case I ever need money when the bank’s closed.
Only thing I don’t like about giving Bri money is that I know it’s ultimately just going to wind up in Theo’s miserable hands. If I do give Bri the money to pay her bills, she’ll just put the money she would have used toward getting that spoiled son of a bitch the car he wants.
Still, I can’t stand watching my sister carry so much stress when I know I could help.
Shaking her head, she tells me, “There’s just so much lately. I’m so tired. I’m working more than I ever have and I never see the boys. Daycare isn’t cheap and I feel like I can’t even get him interested in spending time alone together, even if Alyssa hadn’t vanished.” She shakes her head, sighing. “Be glad you’re single with no one else’s wants and needs to have to take into account. Sometimes I envy you that,” she says with forced lightness.
“Yeah,” I murmur, not terribly convincing even to my own ears. “I’m living the dream.”