“Did you really have to tap out THAT quick?” Mia asked, incredulously.
“Yeah, really. When she pulls my arms apart like that, she can use her back muscles for it, while using her thigh muscles to press my elbows inwards. Your back and thighs have damn strong muscles, since they hold the majority of your bodyweight upright the whole day. The only thing I have to counter that, are the few muscle strains in the crook of my arm. Doesn’t matter how much time I spend doing curls, they’ll never get as strong as her back or thighs. If she hadn’t stopped when I tapped out, she would’ve at least overextended my elbows, if not dislocated or broken them. Either way, I would have had a hard time using them for a while, and they would’ve been almost useless for keeping her restrained.”
“Yeah, I get that, Dude.” Jack suddenly threw in. “But can we talk about the real important stuff? How can you bury your face in your own sister’s fun bags without batting an eye!?”
While I looked at him almost stunned, Mia snorted with laughter. Nora and Mr. Miller, however, looked quite disappointed at their son.
“Fun bags? Really?” I asked, in a deadpan voice. “You know, Jack, one of these days you’ll meet a very special woman. One who will like you enough to let you lose your virginity with her. And once that happened, you’ll realize that they’re just breasts, and finally be able to look her in the face for the first time.”
“What are you...” he tried to say, but I could barely hear him over the sound of laughter from both of our sisters.
“Look, I told you yesterday that this isn’t for fun. This is about teaching them how to defend themselves against an assault. And don’t forget, you’re Mia’s partner. So, unless you want to spend the day thinking about burying your face in your sister’s ‘fun bags’, I suggest you get your head straight.” I told him seriously. “Or try it this way. If one of your teammates collapses on the field, you’re gonna refuse to try CPR just so your other teammates won’t tease you about ‘kissing another Dude’? You’re just gonna stand aside and watch him die, because you can’t stop sexualizing everything?”
“That’s completely different!” He protested.
“No, it’s really not. That’s your little sister.” I said in a demanding tone, pointing at Mia. “If you manage to help her now, it’ll save her later. If you have to, just imagine her as an A-sexual mannequin with marshmallow stuffing.”
Now Nora and Mr. Miller joined the laughter filling the gym, and Jack seemed to resolve himself. I supervised Jack and his father ‘attacking’ their girls, and then instructed all three of the girls to spend the rest of the time trying to get out from under their partners. An hour later, we packed up and made our drive back to the Miller house. As I got ready to leave, after turning them over to the other guy from the Firm who had watchduty, Nora called out to me.
“Tim! Wait! We have to ask you something.” I stopped and watched Nora and her husband walking up to me while holding hands. “What are your plans for the Holidays?”
“Uh ... watching a few movies, eating something, and then going to bed. Why?” I answered, and noticed her smile widen.
“We had a little talk with Mia and Jacky about the situation, and, while we do appreciate you and your colleagues looking after us, we would prefer to share our Holidays with someone who is not a complete stranger. So, if we have to share our house with someone, we’d like it to be you. Given you don’t have any prior engagements, of course.” she explained, while Mr. Miller had a particularly neutral facial expression.
“Oh! Yes, sure. No problem.” I noticed Ava frowning a little. I don’t know what she thought would happen, but she must have known that I was anything but eager to spend the Holidays with her and the family.
“Perfect!” Nora commented happily.
“Well then, have a nice weekend. I’ll be back Monday morning to pick up Mia.” I said, and after Ava bid her farewells too, we made our way to the car.
The drive home was quiet again. Ava had by now completely lost the merriness from the jokes we cracked at Jack’s expense, and fully embraced a somber mood. It was only after we had arrived home, taken our showers, and were grating parmesan cheese over the lasagna when she spoke again.
“You’re not coming home for Christmas?” She sounded genuinely sad about it.
“No.”
“Can’t you, like, tell Mia’s parents that you changed your mind?”
“Ava, I don’t care about Christmas in the first place, if I’m being honest. But even then, I’m not eager to spend my free days with you people. This is actually convenient for me, since I sure as hell can use the extra hours. So, I’m sorry, but I’ll drop you off at the house on Tuesday, so I can use Wednesday to prepare some things.”
I didn’t mention that I wasn’t sure whether I would let her come back after the Holidays were over.
“Aren’t you, like, loaded as hell? You make almost as much as Dad does! Why would you need extra hours?” she protested in a pleading voice, completely ignoring the part about me not wanting to be with the family. “Why do you have to work over the Holidays?”
“Because your father just emptied my bank account.” I told her, matter of fact, causing her mouth to fall open. “With Claire being jobless and the shit with Golden Boy, they’re broke. But the nineteen-thousand dollars for his college tuition are due, and If they don’t pay within the next two weeks, he’ll have to stay home and lose his scholarship. So, Aaron decided to use my money instead. I mean, I am pissed about it ... but even I have to admit that the scholarship was a good argument.”
Ava just stared at me for a moment before looking at the kitchen counter. Her face was neutral in the beginning, but the longer she stood there, the more her expression morphed into one displaying utter confusion. It wasn’t until I placed the lasagna in the oven, that she found her voice again.
“But ... that doesn’t make sense.” she said it so quietly, I could barely hear it.
“Why?”
“I just checked on all that for my own college admission next year. He doesn’t have to pay the full amount right away.” She stunned me.
“What!?” Now I was the one who’s mouth stood open.
“Every college I looked at offers an installment plan after making a down payment. He just has to be all paid up before the exams start.”
“You’re joking.” I said, and she shook her head. “SON OF A BITCH!”
I stormed into my bedroom and turned my PC on, Ava immediately on my heels trying to calm me down by continuously apologizing, even though I had no idea why she would apologize. A quick web-search pointed me to Logan’s college’s website, which confirmed what Ava had just told me. A down payment of twelve-hundred Dollars, and a twenty-five dollar fee to get on the installment plan. Even if he missed a payment, it would only be another twenty-five dollar administrative charge to deal with it, but as long as he was all paid up before the exam season started, he would be good. The first payment would be covered by his scholarship money, and, as I already pointed out during the talk with Aaron, half a year is more than enough time to apply for grants, loans, or get a fucking job!
“Tim, I’m sorry! Please don’t be mad!” Ava pleaded again.
“Calm down, Ava. Not your fault. I don’t make a habit of shooting the messenger.” I reassured her in an exhausted sigh, and could see the relief on her face. “Did he at least give your birthday money back, like I told him?” The way she blinked at me in surprise told me, this was the first time she heard about that. “Well, you’ve been here the entire time since we had that talk, so he’ll hopefully give it to you when you go back for Christmas. I just thought he’d at least tell you.” I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. “Listen ... Could you go check on the oven? It should be time to take the foil off, so the cheese can get some color. And put the garlic bread in while you’re at it.”