CADEN

Laughing at Wyatt, I dip into my car.

Dev walks by my hood, so of course I have to honk and make him flip out. He nearly jumps out of his skin, pulling his headphones off, eyes huge as he searches for the culprit.

“Oh hey man!” Walking to my window, he waits for me to roll it down and leans in. “I thought you had a piece-of-shit Toyota.”

“Modest Toyota that helped me save money for Med school. Get it right. Where ya comin’ from?”

“Starting my shift. We missed you at baseball again last night. It was so dope!”

“Don’t rub it in.”

Scanning the dashboard, Dev whistles. “Whose sweet ride is this?”

“My dad’s, but someday I’ll get my own. Alternator broke on the Toyota. For now it’s repair it ’til it dies.” Sliding an admiring hand over the dashboard I admit, “Don’t mind if it stays locked up in that shop for good. I’ll just borrow this for a while longer, start making payments.” I chuckle at the idea. “There is no way Dad would part with this baby. And nobody in our family gets a free ride, pun intended.”

“My parents make me earn every penny. What does he do for a living? Mafia?”

“Nice! Yeah sure, he’s mafia. No, he’s a music producer.” Turning on the playlist I’d listened to on the way here, I watch Dev’s expression as he recognizes my cousin Gabriel’s voice.

“Oh, no way. He worked on this song with your cousin?”

“The whole album, yeah. And the last, and the debut one, too.”

Dev is nodding to the beat with this amazing grin on his face. “Hey, you never talk much about your family. I mean, everyone knows who they are.”

“Who all of them are?” I smirk, razzing him.

“You know what I mean. The famous ones! But you don’t say much.” His expression softens. “Thanks for letting me in, man. I appreciate it. I wanna be friends.”

Staring at his unguarded expression I nod. “Cool.”

He taps the door and starts for the hospital, but pauses in front of my hood, raising his voice to be heard. “I take it you got thrown out again?”

“Yep!”

He waves the whole problem away as he whistles on his stroll toward the start of a new shift, lucky bastard.

On the drive home, I chew on what he just said to me: Thanks for letting me in.

There are so many of us Cockers we were born with built-in friends. I have four brothers and sisters, two of each, and on top of that, we’ve got twelve cousins. All grew up in Atlanta, save for Sofia Sol. And I’m counting Ben even though he was raised an hour north—it was close enough that he was around through all of my youth. Hasn’t been showing his face lately, though.

Dialing my brother, Max picks up on the first ring. “Hey Caden, what’s up?”

“You have any friends outside of our family?”

“Outside of Natalie, not really.”

“I didn’t think so.”

“You’re my best friend. Always have been.”

I turn down Gabriel’s song. “Same.”

“Why?”

“Curious. What about Samantha and Lexi?”

“You know they’ve got each other. And Zoe lives with them now. Three Musketeers. Oh, wait, Samantha has that guy Logan.”

My head bobs at recalling her dancer friend. “Oh, right. How could I forget him?”

“Why are you asking? Think we need to know more people?” There’s a smile in his voice. “Aren’t we crowded enough?”

Twisting the steering wheel, I launch myself onto Ponce. “A guy at the hospital, another second-year, just said something about how I’m closed off. I’ve been working with these people for years now. Said he wants to be my friend. Felt weird.”

“Good weird or bad?”

Pausing at a red light I reluctantly admit, “Good, I guess.”

Max laughs. “Awww, Caden made a friend!”

I chuckle, “Shut it.”

“Is he into you?”

“Some people want more than my body, Max.”

“Who?”

On a laugh I begin to explain, “He married his high school sweetheart as soon as they were legal, and they’re nuts about each other. I know more about him than he does about me. But he’s always been asking if I’ll join groups going out for food, drinks, field trips, and the latest was a midnight baseball league.”

“You serious? I want to do that!”

As I drive by Krispy Kreme and scan to see if the donuts are hot right now, I sigh at the neon sign and decide to keep driving. I like my abs too much to throw them aside for a two-minute treat.

“I can’t afford to slack off, Max.”

“Don’t tell Mom that.”

“She’d give me the speech she gave Dad years back.”

We say it at the same time, “You must have balance, Jason!”

Smiling at the memory, I turn my wheel sharply in a U-turn. “You know what? I’m going to take that advice. Think I’ll drop by the gardens today. You wanna go?”

“Botanical Gardens?”

“Is there another one?”

Humming to himself like he’s counting out the tasks he has yet to complete, Max considers my proposition. “I really have to edit these scenes. I had a good idea on what I wanted, but when I woke up and saw my work, it was all wrong. Too heavy-handed.”

“You’ll have a clearer head if you step away.”

“You’re right. Sure, I’ll meet you there.”

Straightening with surprise, I ride the seat a little higher. “Let’s do this! How long is it gonna take you?”

“Fifteen minutes once I get in the car. I’ve gotta save the program, slip on some pants and head out.”

As I turn right on Monroe, I frown, “You edit naked?”

“I’ve got a shirt on.”

Violently shaking my head to clear this image from my memory banks forever, I shout, “Never heard you say that! See you there.”

His laughter abruptly vanishes as I end the call.