“Geez, what’s the matter with you? You don’t call me without a reason. I’m worried.” I hear her sigh. “But I’ll meet you at the Pancake House on Diversey in thirty.”
“Great. See you there.”
I getto the place first and grab a booth at the back. This place is a hole in the wall. My sister is so damn cheap. She’s drawn to these places with the deals of All You Can Eat for $5.99. I scan the menu and order two coffees with cream. I don’t have to wait long. I watch as my little sister walks in the door looking like something the cat dragged in. I have to chuckle at her disheveled appearance. “You look awesome, baby sis.”
“Shut it, bro. I had a rough night.”
“I can see that. Anyone I know?” My sister loves to frequent dance clubs with her college girlfriends. I’ve walked into her place when she’s had a guy in bed on more than one occasion. I shiver at the memories. That’s the kind of shit a big brother can’tunsee.
“No.” She looks around the place. “You ordered a vat of coffee, right?”
“Right.”
Moments later, our waitress approaches with a large carafe of coffee and a tiny pitcher of cream. “We’re going to need another carafe and a lot more cream,” my sister grumbles.
The waitress nods. “Can I take your order?” she asks sweetly. “I’ll bring more coffee and cream with the food. Sound good?”
“Whatever. I’ll take the All-You-Can-Eat special with bacon instead of sausage. Wheat toast. Butter on the side. Cheese on my potatoes.”
“Hungry, sis?”
“Shut it,” she growls again.
“I’ll have the breakfast burrito, please. Substitute egg whites, and I’d like fruit instead of hash browns. I’d also like a bagel with cream cheese and turkey sausage instead of pork.” I smile at the server, and she smiles back. She can’t be more than twenty-one, but she’s looking at me like I’m lunch. “That’ll be it. Thanks,” I add at the end.
“You sicken me,” Perri moans. “Egg whites? Turkey sausage? Fruit instead of potatoes? What have you done with my brother, the carnivore?”
“I’m right here. However, I ate a bunch of junk yesterday. I feel puffy.”
“Puffy?” she snickers. “You feelpuffy?”
“I do. We got food from Mama Mabel’s and?—”
“Oh, God. I love their food. It’s super affordable, too. We should have eaten there, damn it. The breakfast there is to. Die. For.”
It’s notthataffordable. Breakfast at Mama Mabel’s is noted, though. “Maybe next time.”
She sucks down one cup of coffee and is well into her second when she says, “Spit it out. What’s going on? Why am I here?”
I take a deep breath. “I need advice.”
Choking on her last gulp of coffee, she squeaks, “You? You need advicefrom me?”
I nod. “I do. It’s about a woman.”
Choking again, a little less this time, Perri sets her cup of coffee down. “Say what?”
“A woman. I need advice. I’m in over my head.”
“Am I dreaming? Is this a dream or just an out-of-body experience? Who’s the girl?”
“Her name is MacKenzie.”
“The jewelry maker?”
I nod. Of course, she would remember that.
“I knew it. I told you. I told you to call me about it. You’ve been avoiding me.”
