Saturday Story: Rags To Riches

Happy Saturday! Thank you for visiting my blog to read part 9 of my Saturday Story: Rags to Riches. If you missed part 8 last week, you can find it here.

Feel free to let me know what you think by commenting below, and please be sure to come back in two weeks (May 26, 2018) for part 10!

Give your life the green light. It’s A Go!

Amber Green

Rags to Riches: Part 9

To Riches:

Boarding a private jet is exhilarating (especially the first time you do it). I’ll never forget it; I had just received the money that would change our lives forever, so I organized a family trip for a luxurious getaway and chartered a private jet. The day that I announced the windfall of riches to my family was the very day that we departed.

Our transportation via private jet was the first of many lavish experiences that my family members have since experienced (in fact, they’ve kind of grown accustomed to them). The kids had never been so thrilled! (Vacations had always excited them, but this was a whole other level of ‘cool’.) Sitting in those big, leather seats (that are more akin to recliners than regular airline seats), surrounded by good food and drinks, the family slowly processed my good news.

As you can imagine, my parents were so happy, and everyone was in a state of disbelief and shock.

It took some time, but my father and brother had the first real conversation they had had since my brother told my parents about his relationship with Dave. For those of us who do not understand why such a thing hinders relationships between old-school parents and their children, I can’t offer any clarification, but I can tell you that money did not fix the relationship between my brother and father; forcing them to travel together in a luxurious metal tube, flying roughly 41,000 feet above the Earth’s surface didn’t hurt, though.

……

From Rags:

Priscilla and I were hugging our brother in our parents’ laundry room. Chris had just confirmed that he saw us pull away from Dave’s auto repair shop yesterday- after Priscilla and I saw Chris and Dave making out.

“Why didn’t you just tell us?” Priscilla asked, moving away to wipe a couple of tears from her eyes.

“I considered it, but it took me awhile to come to terms with my own life,” Chris admitted.

“So, things with Dave are serious?” I asked quietly, but on a happy note.

Chris smiled, “Yeah,” he blushed. “He’s the only person I’ve ever brought home to Mom and Dad,” he said, lightheartedly. (I contemplated this for a moment, and realized that he was correct. Chris must really love Dave, I thought.)

“Do Dave’s parents know about you?” Priscilla asked.

“They know that Dave is gay, but not that we’re in a relationship,” Chris said. At this, Priscilla and I looked at each other with big-sister joy, then (our eyes the size of dinner plates) we looked (with great affection) at our little brother.

“You’re in a relationship,” I teased Chris, as I tousled his hair.

“He’s a nice guy,” Priscilla said, approvingly.

Chris rolled his eyes at our sibling antics, “I should have been more careful about making out with my boyfriend in public,” he said under his breath, half-joking, half-to-himself (though, I’m sure he used the term ‘boyfriend’ so that we could have another moment to coo over him). Chris took a deep breath and said, “Dave is going to leave, and then I’m going to tell Mom and Dad.”

My breath caught as I looked at Priscilla. Still smiling, we looked at our brother- wanting to support him, but nervous about what our parents’ might say upon hearing the news (I was anxious about our father’s reaction, specifically).

“O-okay,” Priscilla said. “Let me- let me ask Luke if he’ll take the boys to their party. We can sit with you.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“Thanks, guys, but I need to do this alone,” my brother said.

I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, this is the reason why you have siblings- so you don’t have to go through the hard things alone,” Priscilla said.

“Thanks, but that’s okay,” Chris said. We stood quietly for a second.

“Drinks later?” I suggested.

“Yes,” my siblings answered in unison, as we exited the laundry room.

………

Continue reading Rags to Riches: Part 10 here.

*This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

© 2018 Amber Green