“I’m home,” I yell, pushing open my parents’ door and walking into their modest, brick ranch.
“We’re outside, sweetheart,” my mom shouts from the screened-in porch that is attached to the back of their house.
I make my way through the living room toward the door, taking in the home I grew up in. It’s like a time capsule of my childhood, just with a little less furniture and some added ramps for my brother’s wheelchair.
As I step onto the deck, my parents stand to meet me, and I notice my dad winces slightly as he gets up from his chair. I’ve worked hard not to feel guilty about the decisions I’ve made, but I can’t help but wonder if I was still living here, if he wouldn’t be hurt.
I set the gift I brought for my younger brother, Cody, on the table and wrap my mom up in a hug first, taking a moment to breathe in her perfume. She smells like peonies, and for the first time in a while, I feel the tension in my shoulders melt away.
“Glad you could make it, sweetheart. You’re all he could talk about,” she whispers in my ear. I giggle to myself, glancing over at Cody.
I turn to find my dad. “You okay?” I ask as he wraps me in a hug.
“Always worrying about us.” He shakes his head. “I’m fine, honey. Just tweaked my back helping this guy into bed the other day.” He nods toward my brother.
“Aren’t you going to tell me hello,” a mechanical voice says through the speakers of the iPad Cody uses to speak.
“It’s always all about you isn’t it,” I tease, flipping around and wrapping my arms around him. I place a kiss on the top of his auburn hair. “Hey, bud. I missed you.”
He laughs, and it’s my favorite sound. Almost six years ago, I never thought I would hear it again, and while it doesn’t sound like it used to, I love his new laugh just as much as I loved the old one. It’s a reminder that I still have my little brother.
He begins to type on the screen, and I wait for his response.
“Fucking liar,” he says. I shake my head.
“Language,” my moms scolds. “Please don’t use that word under my fucking roof.” Cody’s whole body shakes with laughter, and he begins to type again.
“Is that for me?” he asks, using his speech device.
“It sure is. You want to open it?”
He nods his head, and I place the small bag on the tray table connected to his wheelchair. I help him hold the bag, and he pulls the tissue paper out with his left hand, and it falls all over the floor. Reaching in, he pulls out a Funko Pop! figurine of Spiderman hanging from his web. His whole face lights up.
“I didn’t think you had this one yet.”
My mom walks over and looks at the box. “He doesn’t,” she confirms. Cody begins to tap on his screen. “You don’t have to bring him a present every time you come over. I meanthe twenty-three gifts for his twenty-third birthday two weeks ago was plenty.”
“Yes, I do,” I say, smiling at my brother. “Those were birthday gifts. They don’t count.”
“Thank you I love it Dad can you put it on my shelf,” my brother says using his iPad, the sentences coming out as one because he doesn’t use punctuation when he talks.
Standing, my dad nods. He winces again and places his hand on his lower back for support. “You got it, bud.” He takes the box and disappears back into the house.
“So, what’s the plan for today?” I ask.
He begins to type again, and I find an empty chair.
“Marvel movie marathon,” Cody says.
“Sounds perfect. What are we starting with? I guess I’ll let you pick.” His finger swipes on the screen, and I know he’s navigating to the page of saved movies that make it easier to participate in conversations.
“Lunch will be finished around two, and then I made dessert,” my mom explains.
“Iron Man Black Panther Thor,” he says.
I check my watch. “Iron Manis perfect. We’ll have time to watch it before lunch, then I can stay, and we can watch the others after. I cleared my whole schedule just for you.”
Cody’s mouth forms an asymmetrical smile, and he begins to type on the screen again. My mom stands to help him move his wheelchair into the living room. She parks it in front of the TV that hangs over the fireplace, and I curl up in my dad’s worn leather recliner under a blanket then click through the recently watched movies until I findIron Man.
