Jeff Cobble was thankful to finally be home. It had been a long day. But as he turned the doorknob and stepped inside, he felt all the stress and anxiety leave him. It was almost dinner time, and what he felt now more than anything else was hungry. He just wanted to microwave some leftovers and crash on the living room couch.
Normally, that wouldn't have been an option. His parents were sticklers about always eating the evening meal at the dinner table with the whole family, or at least, the family that still lived at home. But his mom and dad were on an anniversary cruise and wouldn't be back until sometime next week. Until then, it was just him and his oldest sister, Abby.
Jeff had three older siblings. The oldest was his brother, Andrew, who was seen as the golden child. He had become the successful one, with a lucrative job, trophy wife, large home, and lots of expensive toys.
Abby was born a year after Andrew. She had been the smart one, and had been on track to be just as successful as Andrew, if not more so. But she had been swept up in a torrid love affair that led to an ill advised marriage. To no one's surprise, it ended in divorce, and Abby found herself adrift without any educational or job prospects. Her life had stalled, and her parents had allowed her to see refuge back at home until she could get back on her feet.
Jeff's other sister, Jenny, was still in college, and having the time of her life. She still had two years to go, but she was making the most of them. She loved to party, which her sorority did plenty of.
That left Jeff, who was seen by everyone as the baby of the family, a fact they reminded him of constantly. He had recently turned eighteen and wanted to be seen as an adult, but knew it was unlikely to ever happen. He was a senior in high school, and everything was currently going his way. He got good grades, was popular, had a part time job, and best of all, had a smoking hot redhead named Heather for a girlfriend. In his social circle, he was seen as the man, envied by classmates and peers. But at home, he was the baby, the runt, the one who got told what to do whenever an older sibling was around.
Jeff pulled out leftover meatloaf and stuck it in the microwave. He heard his sister call from somewhere in their house, "Is that you brat?"
Brat was Abby's affectionate nickname for him. She said it was because their parents let Jeff get away with anything and everything. Jeff disagreed, he'd gotten in trouble plenty with them, but that wouldn't ever stop Abby from calling him that.
"It's me!" Jeff yelled back. "Just got home. You want me to microwave you anything?"
He heard a muffled response as his sister moved through the house. It was a big house. It had to be to hold all six of them. It wasn't a mansion, and they had to double up if they all came home for holidays or special occasions, but it suited their needs. Instead of asking her to repeat herself, Jeff waited, assuming she was making her way to the kitchen.
A few seconds later, his 23 year old sister walked in. Jeff tried not to judge as he took in her appearance. She was still wearing her pajamas, the ones she had worn the day before, and possibly the day before that. Her hair was disheveled, and she looked tired, even though she had probably been in bed all day with a bottle of wine. Before he could stop himself, the words were out of his mouth. "Another productive day of moping I see."
Abby punched her baby brother in the arm. Hard. "Shut up! I don't need you kicking me while I'm down."
"Ow! Hey, sorry. I'm just saying you've got to get back out there and live your life. Get a job. Go out on a date. There's plenty of fish in the sea and you should have no problem landing one."
"Why do you say that?"
"You know why. You're super talented and..."
His sister arched her eyebrow. "And?"
He vaguely gestured at her buxom hourglass figure that was mostly hidden behind baggy pajamas.
"Are you saying I'm pretty?"
Jeff blanched. "I said no such thing. What I am saying is that you won't look like this forever, so best make the most of it." He sniffed the air between them and noted, "But you might want to shower. I can smell you from here, and that stench lowers your chances significantly."
She swiped at him again, but this time he dodged. The microwave began beeping, and Abby opened the door and grabbed the plate of warmed meatloaf. "Thanks for making me food, brat."
"Those are my leftovers!"
"I asked you to make me something," she argued.
"When?"
"When I was coming to the kitchen!"
"I couldn't hear you," he protested. He tried to grab the plate, but she retreated. "That's the last of the meatloaf! Give it!"
"You'll just have to eat the rest of the casserole then, brat, cause you're not getting this. It's the price for my silence."
"What silence?"
Abby gave her brother a sly grin. "About your little sleep over last night."
Jeff's mouth fell open, and his face went red. His girlfriend, Heather, had pretended to go home last night, but then had snuck into his room and stayed until morning.
"How did you..."
Abby laughed. "Are you kidding me? You don't sleep in a soundproof room, dummy. I could hear your girlfriend's moans all through the house. For a little brat, you must be doing something right."
"I'm bigger than you are!"
"And I can still put you in a headlock you can't get out of," Abby warned with a smile.
And that was the last that Jeff saw of the meatloaf. As he scanned the fridge for more leftovers, he appreciated the normal interaction he and his sister still had. That was something. He would have liked to tell her about his long day. He should tell someone. He texted Heather to see if she could spend the night again. He assumed by his sister's chill response that he could get by with another sleepover with his girlfriend. But then he thought about how his sister had heard them have sex. That was so embarrassing. Why did Abby have to tell him that?
His phone dinged. His girlfriend reminded him that she was studying tonight, and told him that he should be doing the same. They had a big test tomorrow, and she was right, he should be studying. It was his worst subject. The test was like a quarter of his grade or something. But he absolutely would have preferred to get laid. Try as he might, he could not change her mind, but she did promise to come over first thing in the morning. That was something at least. Maybe she'd give him a morning bj. And since he was wishing, why not a million dollars too.
He could call up a friend to come over, but he was tired, and he really should get some studying done. First though, he plopped down with the rest of the casserole and turned on the television. He absent mindedly shoveled the food into his mouth while watching a movie that wasn't that great. When he was done eating, he reclined on the sofa, and scanned his textbook for twenty minutes. That was the most studying he could manage, and then he resumed the movie. When it ended, he started another one, but only got halfway through before he was fast asleep.
A few time zones away on a large cruise ship, Jeff's parents were very much awake. Ned and Vickie Cobble were happily celebrating twenty five years of marriage on a cruise that catered to their every whim. Even though they were both in their late forties, they were still up for everything, and mostly in shape enough to do it. Victoria was anyway, Ned had developed more of a dad bod in recent years. But that didn't stop them both from snorkeling, parasailing, dancing, and taking in the sights at every port they stopped at. Neither stressed about their careers, and just got lost in each other for the last several days. They didn't even miss the kids.
They also made plenty of time for sex. That was supposed to be a given on an anniversary. But their pace had taken its toll on Jeff's libido. He couldn't keep up with his wife, which was ironic, because he had been the one with the high sex drive most of their marriage. But that particular night, Ned had another reason to not be in the mood. Around the time Jeff was falling asleep, Ned was overindulging at the buffet. They took in a show the cruise offered, and by the time they got back to their room, Ned was ready for unconsciousness.
His wife, however, was ready for lovin'. While Ned plopped onto the bed, his wife put on her most risque lingerie she had worn so far. She liked to keep getting racier every day just to keep her husband on his toes. She was worried she might wear him out though. Something about the ocean air made her sexually insatiable.
When she came back into the room, Ned was fast asleep. She tried to wake him up, but to no avail. She sighed. As she snuggled in next to him, she vowed to start the next morning off with a bang. In so many ways for their family, it did.
The sun was just making its appearance when Ned stirred. The first thing that he noticed was that the boat had stopped. He could not feel the thrum of the engine he had become accustomed to. They must have made an unexpected stop. But he couldn't hear the waves splashing against the boat either.
His half lidded eyes shot wide open as his mind fully awakened. His wife wasn't next to him. He wasn't even on a bed. He was reclining on a sofa. It was a familiar sofa, in a familiar room. These weren't the clothes he had gone to bed in. He sat up and looked all around. There was no doubt about it. He was not on the boat. He was in his house. Was he dreaming? It all felt so real. He pinched himself. He growled at the pain, but his voice sounded off.
Ned stood up. That's when he noticed something else. He had morning wood. That was a rarity these days. He used to get them every day when he was younger. Now that he thought about it, he felt younger. He felt great. He didn't feel any aches and pains from sleeping on the couch. He felt like he was, like he was...
