Jake's POV

Later that night we made our way to the family house. I'd been surprised that Martha had told Chris about the dinner, but I hadn't thought much of it. Martha had a relationship with Chris, even though it wasn't quite like I or Gabe did. She loved teasing him about his weight. She hadn't liked him the first time she met him owing to the kind of company I kept. But once she learned he was my tutor and saw how shy he was, she liked him immediately. My friends were too forward, so Chris was unique.

She'd enquired about him weeks after she'd met him. He was unusual and stood out. But then I was going out with his sister and was just getting to know him, so I told her he was just my tutor, and the kind of person I didn't want to be associated with. She'd seemed disappointed. She'd been hoping he was my friend; at least he'd be a positive influence.

When we officially started dating Martha didn't at first seem happy about my sexual orientation, especially because that meant no grandchildren, unless we adopted. She said she was happy it was with Chris though. It took a short while for her to accept that I was into guys, and once she did, she liked Chris even more. But of course she didn't want him to see that she liked him very much.

When we got to the family house we were a bit late. Shannon had taken her time bathing and getting dressed. You would swear she was going to meet a guy, and the only guy at the house was my dad.

I suggested going up the stairs to the main door by myself using the crutches, but Chris would not let me. He insisted on taking me up there himself. Chris was toned, but he wasn't exactly strong. I actually held on for dear life when he turned the wheelchair against the stairs and continued to mount them using the back wheels one by one. We made it to the top and I was impressed.

Chris knocked and we waited. The door opened shortly. Martha was excited to see us.

"Thank you for inviting us", I said as we were ushered in.

Martha released a quiet laugh. "I didn't invite you".

I turned my head to look at Chris who was behind me. "Don't tell me we invited ourselves", I said.

"You didn't, I did", I heard a familiar voice. It was a voice I was used to hearing every other day on the phone. It couldn't be...

"Hi bro", the person said. Gabe walked into my line of view. He looked almost like me, except that he had the lighter shades of everything.

I looked tanned, he looked a bit pale. I had pink lips and his were a very light shade of pink. I had darker facial hair and his was lighter. Our natural hair color was dirty blonde, and mine had been darker than his. Of course we weren't identical, but you could tell were siblings. It was amazing considering the circumstances, but we looked like relatives from our mother's side of the family. They obviously had really strong genes.

I felt like standing up, but I knew I couldn't just do it. I looked at Chris.

"You were in on this?" I asked.

"I was following orders. Your brother is very scary", Chris said.

"Yeah, as scary as a bunny!" I said.

"Bunnies have teeth. They bite", he said.

"I see you still like bickering", Gabe said looking from me to Chris.

He shut me up. I had no idea what to say. Chris had an annoying love for either correcting me or making sure he won an argument. He usually did, mostly because I forgot what we were arguing about, and his passion turned me on.

"It's nice to see you bro!" Gabe said excitedly.

I smiled widely. I couldn't believe he was there in the flesh. He hadn't told me anything, the little devil. I was genuinely excited that he was back. Though I didn't like telling him, I missed him.

"It's nice to see you too!"

We did our secret handshake, which was a little hard since I was wheelchair-bound.

Gabe crossed his arms and looked at Chris.

"Come here you!" he said.

He hugged Chris and messed up his hair, just like an older brother would do to his little brother. He wouldn't do that with me though. We would fight until both our hair was messed up.

"Who's this beautiful lady?" he asked looking at Shannon.

"This is Shannon. Shannon, meet my brother Gabe. Shannon is my nurse, the one I told you about"

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you", Gabe offering his hand for Shannon to shake.

"It's nice to meet you too. I wonder what it is you've heard", Shannon said shaking Gabe's hand.

"Oh, just that you are quite a chef", Gabe said.

Shannon smiled shyly. I didn't miss Martha rolling her eyes. It seemed she didn't like competition.

"Where's Sam?" I asked.

"The last time I checked she was in the bathroom. She isn't feeling quite well", Gabe replied.

"She got airsick?" Chris asked.

"Something like that", Gabe said. He seemed evasive in his answer.

A few minutes later we were all seated in the dining room. Dad and Sam joined us. Sam did look sick, but she still looked as dazzling. She was a bit of a tomboy. She spotted a blonde pixie cut, had very pronounced cheekbones with sweet yet dangerous big brown eyes and an aura of hidden mischief within her. She had a lovely smile too, but could become scary when she was serious.

Martha served dinner shortly. Gabe and Sam dazzled us with stories about their adventures in Japan as we ate. Dad didn't say much, I noticed.

After the main course Martha asked if everyone was keen on dessert. I was about to shout an emphatic yes when Gabe asked Martha to sit. Apparently he had something important to say. I knew it wasn't the sentence, 'I'm happy to be home'. He'd let us fill up our stomachs, it was something serious.

We all gave him our attention.

Gabe smiled. "I am proud and happy to announce that Sam and I are engaged. I popped the question a couple of days ago and she said yes", he said.

I got so excited I actually let out a squeal.

"Congratulations you two, that is wonderful news!" I said.

The word congratulations soon flowed around the table. Even dad was excited. Martha kept hugging Gabe.

It was really amazing that they were engaged. I wasn't happy that he hadn't told me he planned on proposing, but I let it go. He seemed so happy. They both did. They had been dating since high school; Samantha Jankowski was my brother's high school sweetheart. She'd stolen his heart and never returned it. They'd weathered high school and wicked girls, college and weird professors. She'd elected to move with him to Japan, showing how committed she was to their relationship. They'd been together for 10 years and they were still going strong. And now they were engaged to be married!

I caught a glimpse of Sam showing the engagement ring to Shannon. It impressed Shannon because she couldn't stop looking at it.

"This is great!" I said to Chris.

"I know, right? Those two deserve it, they are amazing together", he said.

"Guys, one more sec, I am not done", Gabe said.

We all quieted down. I wondered what he could say that would top that, but I soon found out.

He smiled widely. He opened his mouth, but seemingly overwhelmed with happiness, couldn't utter the words. He breathed louder. He was like a little kid.

"Any day now, I want dessert", I said.

"Okay okay!" he said. "My fiancée and I are expecting a child. Sam is pregnant", he said.

My jaw dropped. There was silence. It wasn't something anyone had expected. If I could get up without having to use crutches, I would have. Dad got up and walked to where Gabe was.

"I don't think I even need to tell you how happy and proud I am right now. Well done son!" dad said while nodding to himself. He hugged Gabe, then his future daughter-in-law.

Martha praised the lovebirds in Spanish. It was no secret she loved kids. She hugged Sam first and then Gabe.

"I suddenly feel like I should hug people", Chris said and we all laughed.

He hugged Sam and she held him in her arms. It was no secret Sam liked Chris. She liked him more than me. If we fought she took his side, even if she didn't know the details.

"You are going to make a wonderful mother", Chris said.

"After she's dropped the baby once or twice", I said.

Sam narrowed her eyes at me, but she laughed.

"Congratulations Sam .No wonder you were in the bathroom when we got here", I said. "Airsick huh?" I said to Gabe.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to spoil the surprise".

"Morning sickness?" Shannon asked Sam.

She nodded. "I don't even know why they call it morning sickness. It happens any time".

"I have something for that, a family secret. Morning sickness won't bother you again", Martha said.

I said congratulations to Gabe and how proud I was of him. Making a baby wasn't really hard work, but I was proud he had done so when he was mature and could afford one. And he was ecstatic about it; you could see by the way he was unable to contain his happiness. He was bringing a small human into the world. He would be responsible for him/her for a lot of years. It was something scary, but he was excited about it. I was excited about being an uncle.

I didn't think about a baby of my own. I wasn't ready for that. After my own experience with my mom, I didn't want to cross that bridge yet. I almost thought I had when 6 years ago a girl claimed to be pregnant with my child. At first I hadn't believed her, but when the doctor confirmed it I felt like literally running away and never going back. I hadn't been ready to raise a child. But it turned out the girl was lying, she wasn't pregnant. I was happy about it, more so because the pregnancy had been her way of making sure I got married to her. I escaped a death sentence.

"We found out two days after I proposed that Sam was expecting. My fiancée says she doesn't want to be pregnant on her wedding day, so you have ample time to buy wedding presents. I'd say in 7 months, but then I'm going to be told about post baby fat" Gabe said mocking his fiancée.

"I don't want to look like a bear on my wedding day", Sam said firmly.

"Are you expecting one or 5 babies?" I asked her.

"Just one, but I am not going to be pregnant on my wedding day, unless it's tomorrow", she said.

"We could go to court", I said.

"Keep talking and I'll throw this salt shaker at you", she said.

"Hormones?" I asked chuckling.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", Gabe warned me.

"I'll get dessert", Martha said clearing and leaving the table.

Everyone started speaking all at the same time such that I couldn't hear who said what. I looked at Sam and she looked at me. I smiled smugly and she gave me a closed lip smile. She was like Rose, I liked working her up.

"If the child you are carrying is born with Asian eyes I'll deport you to Russia", I said.

"Poland, dummy", she corrected. "And you can't deport me. I am American".

"So there's a possibility?" I asked.

She chuckled.

"Are you happy?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded.

"I'm happy too. I am going to be an uncle", I said.

"I'm actually worried about that last part", she said smiling.

Martha served dessert, chocolate-mint bars. I looked at my serving and looked at Shannon. She smiled, indicating that I could eat. We ate while a good conversation flowed.

"Would you like to have a baby?" I whispered jokingly to Chris who was sitting next to me.

He looked at me. "You do know I don't have a uterus or eggs, right?" he said.

"I know, sadly. We'd make a very beautiful baby", I said.

"We would", he said.

"How about we have a party?" I asked loudly. Everyone stopped talking. "Nothing big, just a small gathering; an informal engagement and welcome home party. This is great news, we should celebrate".

Gabe looked at Sam. "What do you think?"

"It seems like a great idea. It'll be an easy way to tell my friends. I don't feel like telling them one by one", she said.

"We could have it tomorrow, at the apartment...if Chris doesn't mind of course", I said.

"I don't mind", Chris said.

"Isn't tomorrow too soon? Gabe and Sam need to rest", dad said.

"They can rest during the day, it'll be at night", I said.

"How about on Saturday? Most people are free on a Saturday", Chris said.

"I suppose Saturday could work", I said.

"And we'll have more time to plan it properly, order snack platters and drinks, invite people", Gabe said.

"Just family and friends", Sam reminded us.

"Of course", I said grinning at her. "We'll invite your family and friends, and Gabe's friends".

"Baby, make sure you supervise everything", Sam said to Gabe.

Chris laughed at me. "She can't even trust you with a guest list".

"Pssh, she doesn't know I've changed. You would, right baby?" I said.

He nodded, and I almost kissed him.

"We could start planning now", I said. "I'm on..." I said, but Sam interrupted.

"You are on...hmm... what can you not mess up? Music?" she said.

There was laughter around the table.

"Oh wow", I said.

"Need I remind you of Chris's graduation party where you ordered the drinks and forgot the food?" Sam asked.

I rolled my eyes. "That wasn't my fault".

"And it wasn't your fault he found out about it when it was supposed to be a surprise?" she asked.

I had to back out or she would reveal even more things I had messed up. I wasn't that terrible at organizing parties. I just got distracted...by a lot of things.

"Fine, I'll be on music", I said.

"Chris, please supervise. I will not listen to reggae music", Sam said.

"I don't listen to reggae music!" I said.

Sam smirked.

"I could be in charge of snacks and drinks. I already know quite a few delis in town that make amazing platters", Shannon chipped in.

"I could help you select the drinks", I said.

"It's a pity you won't be drinking any", she said.

I stared at her.

"What? It's a party!" I said.

"So? Your leg still needs to heal", she said.

"But...but I've stayed clean for over a month. Just one glass of wine, or a beer, or whatever", I said.

She took a deep breath. "Just one, alcohol isn't good for your bone".

"Thank you", I said.

"That's settled. Shannon you are in charge of food and drinks", Sam said. "Baby, you can compile the guest list and invite people", she said to Gabe.

"What do you want to do Chris?" she asked.

"I'll just supervise Jake", he said.

I looked at him and frowned. "You don't need to supervise me".

"I know I don't, but let's just pretend I do", he said, his voice lowered.

I smiled, wanting again to kiss him but knowing I was prohibited.

"Looks like there's nothing left", Sam said.

"Yay! Bring on the party!" I said excitedly.

*

Saturday couldn't come sooner. I was really excited about the party. I loved spending time with Chris and Shannon, but I longed for a larger group to interact with. I was a social person, and seeing the same people every time got boring. I was excited to have other people at the apartment for just a night. The good thing was it would be people I already knew and liked, so it wouldn't be uncomfortable. For me, that is. Chris seemed agitated. It could be that Sam had asked him to supervise me and he didn't know how to, or it was the looming party.

On Friday evening we sat in the living area discussing the party and how exciting it was going to be. It was Shannon, Chris and I in the living area, but Chris was barely saying anything.

"Baby, are you okay?" I cut into Shannon's comments about a certain deli's food.

Chris gave me a small smile. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You are just quiet", I said.

He shook his head. "It's nothing".

Shannon excused herself to go to her room. I watched her disappear and I turned to Chris.

"You can tell me now", I said.

"How did you know?" he asked, admitting that there was something he wasn't telling me.

"I just know you. Out with it", he said.

"I'm not supposed to tell you", he said.

"Chris, tell me. What is it?" I asked firmly.

He shifted slightly on his seat. "Gabe wants to invite your mom to the party", he said clearly.

My jaw tightened involuntarily for a second. "Why does he want to do something like that?!"

"Because she is his mom and deserves to know her son is engaged", Chris said gently.

"She is going to ruin everything!" I shouted.

Shannon walked in then. She resumed the position she had adopted earlier, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. She didn't enquire about the noise that had suddenly been generated in her absence.

I turned away from Chris, looking straight ahead. I had been excited about the party, but that excitement was slowly being extinguished. I didn't want to see my mom. I didn't hate her; I just did not want to see her, especially at a party. What if she arrived at the party doused to her eyeballs with whatever drug she was snorting? She would ruin everything. Even if she came sober, I couldn't be in the same room as her. I couldn't watch her force a smile. I hadn't told Gabe about the drugs and I had no intention of doing so. But I had to find a way of stopping him from inviting her. If he wanted to tell her he was engaged and expecting a baby, why didn't he go tell her at her apartment?

"Excuse me", I said.

I wheeled myself towards the bedroom. It had been a job and a half turning the wheelchair and Chris had tried to help me, but I'd dismissed him. I made it to the bedroom intact. Luckily the door was open, so I pushed myself into the room and closed the door. I picked up my phone from my lap and dialed Gabe's number. Before I could press the 'call' button, the door opened.

"Whoa! You can't call him", Chris said rushing to grab my phone. He successfully did.

"Why not?" I asked, frowning.

"Because I wasn't supposed to tell you", he said.

"So?" I asked. I knew what he was getting at, but I desperately needed to stop Gabe from inviting our mother.

"So you can't call him!" Chris said as if it was the most obvious thing. "He doesn't intend on inviting her without talking to you about it, so just wait for him to tell you".

I sighed, the urgency leaving my system. "Why did he tell you first?" I asked.

"Because he wanted to know if it was a good idea", I said

I narrowed my eyes. "I hope you told him it isn't".

Chris didn't say anything.

"Chris, you know very well I don't want to see her, especially not at a time when I'm supposed to be enjoying myself!" I said.

"I didn't tell him it was a good idea. I told him he should talk to you about it", Chris said desperately.

"Well if he invites her, he better have his party somewhere else, and not bother inviting me!" I said.

"I shouldn't have told you", Chris regretted himself.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you are already worked up. The moment Gabe opens his mouth you'll shut him down!" he said.

"Did you see any scenario that didn't end up with me being worked up? Because I don't. It's okay seeing Melanie White in small doses. I've already seen enough of her; I don't want her in my apartment!"

There was a knock on the door. Chris went to open and in came Gabe. Perfect!

"Hey you two. Morning, day and night? Is there a time you rest?" he asked walking towards me. I knew what he was implying and I would have been amused any other day, just not that day.

"If you are inviting your mom to the party you better start looking for a new venue", I said coolly.

He looked at Chris and Chris gave him a sheepish look.

"I never said I am inviting her. I just thought..." he said.

"You thought you could change my mind about inviting her? It's not going to happen. But it's your party, do whatever you want, just leave me out of it", I said.

"It won't be same without you, you know that", he said.

"Well then choose. Me or her? It's that simple", I said.

Gabe shook his head.

"Oh, that's it? Go ahead, invite her", I said trying to leave the room. Needless to say, it wasn't that simple.

Gabe put his hand on the armrest of my wheelchair, stopping my movements.

"Why are you so worked up? I thought things were going well between you and mom. I'm not expecting you to be friends, but I thought things were better", he said.

I looked up at him. "Better does not mean I want to see her every day!" I said through gritted teeth.

"Jake..." he started but I cut in.

"She didn't try committing suicide with you in her womb so you'll never understand how I feel. She had probably tried to abort me before and failed", I said.

Gabe was shocked. He knew the story, but it was the first time those words had been uttered by me. For the past years my relationship with mom had been getting better, but as she relapsed, so did I.

"Something happened. What happened?" he asked. He looked at me and then at Chris. Chris was reluctant to say anything.

"Jake", he said softly.

"Mom is using drugs. I went to see her a few weeks ago. She looked...dead. She had nothing to say to me", I said slowly.

Gabe looked defeated. Despite how mom had treated us, he still cared for her. He'd hoped she'd getter better, that she'd acknowledge her kids and be a mother to them but she was slipping away instead.

"Do you see why now?" I asked. "She can't handle thoughts of us, of me. To her I am worse than the muck she is feeding herself". I looked at Chris. "I will not allow her to make me hate myself. I am not giving up on her, but I need time to come to terms with everything, and throwing her in front of me isn't going to help either of us".

Gabe smiled, which I need not point out was weird for me.

"Why are you smiling?" I asked.

"Because I got you to tell me how you felt. For weeks I've been trying to do that but you've thwarted every attempt. I never intended on inviting mom to the party. I may be on okay terms with her, but I'm not a fan".

"So you played me?" I asked angrily. It was mock anger actually, I wasn't angry about it. It felt good telling Gabe about the drugs. It felt like a burden had been lifted. "Were you in on it?" I asked looking at Chris.

"No, no. I genuinely thought he planned on inviting her. I didn't know", Chris said.

"He's telling the truth", Gabe said. "Not telling you that I was coming back had nearly killed the poor guy. I wasn't going to murder him with this. I gave him enough to work you up before I got here. I knew if I didn't get you angry enough or got you too angry you'd simply leave. And I came in time", Gabe said.

I smiled. "I'm losing my touch, aren't I? I cannot believe you played me and succeeded" I said.

"I just cannot believe you played even me. I believed you. I should have thought it odd when you said you wanted to invite her a week after you said she crept you out. But then, kids do change people", Chris said.

"You said mom creeps you out?" I asked.

"Yeah. The other day I called her and she said some crazy things. She asked how much money I make, how much money one needed to live a happy life. Everything seemed to be about money. It was creepy", Gabe said.

"Maybe she needed money for her next fix", I said.

"Maybe if she's trying to buy for the whole building...She gets enough allowance", Gabe said.

"Well, she does have a dodgy junkie friend. Who knows how many of them she has?" I said.

Gabe stopped any movements and just looked at me. It was as if he had just realized something.

"We need to get her out of there. I know what you said, but drugs can kill her or do more damage. We need to get her away from the influences", he said.

I looked at Chris and he nodded.

"Can we do that some other day? Tomorrow we are having a celebration. Let's focus on that", I said.

"Speaking of the party, Sam asked me to check on the music. She doesn't trust you to pick the right music, and doesn't trust Chris to stand up to you", Gabe said. "And oh Chris, she said to tell you if you heard that part, she loves you very much".

"All you heard was that she doesn't trust you, right baby?" I said looking at Chris.

He chuckled. "I don't know where people get the notion that I can't stand up to you. It seems like someone is spreading lies about me". He was looking at me suspiciously.

I looked around and nodded. "Yeah, it does. When I get my hands on that person..."

"I think I know who that person is", Gabe said smirking at me. "I once heard that on your birthday last year Chris, Jake ..." Gabe said but I interrupted.

"I wonder where you heard that. You weren't there!"

"Oh I wasn't, but someone called me in the middle of the night to specifically tell me that he..." Gabe said but I interrupted.

"Enough. Chris doesn't want to hear it", I said.

"I do!" Chris protested.

"You don't baby. He's just going to lie", I said.

Gabe was going to probably tell Chris an accurate description of a call I had made to him the night of Chris' birthday, in which I told him Chris probably didn't like his birthday gift but wasn't going to say anything because he couldn't stand up to me. His gift, which was a pre-gift and was intended to be a joke, was a teddy bear. He'd seemed okay with it, citing how cute it was. He hadn't told me off for buying him something that could only be useful to a toddler or an awkward teenager.

"I still do", Chris said.

"Baby you don't", I said.

"Still love bickering", Gabe said as a matter-of-fact. "Can I see the list of songs?"

"Uh yeah", I said quickly. I was glad we were changing the subject. "Follow me", I said to Gabe.

"How about I push you instead? At this rate we won't get wherever we are going before sunrise tomorrow", he said.

I gave him a closed-lip smile.

*