I stepped into the house. My day could not have been worse. I set my box of things down onto the floor of my apartment and took off my shoes. It was my third layoff in two years. The companies in Syracuse, NY were all packing up and leaving. It was a crushing blow to my morale as I walked deeper into the apartment. I can see my wife gathering her things for work. She looked up at me surprised at my coming home so early in the morning.
"Again?"
"Yeah, Grace. Again." I groaned as I walked into the kitchen and leaned on the counter. "At least this time, the company was still there and didn't just lay us all off with a locked door."
"Jesus Christ, Conner." Grace said as she stuffed folders into her bag. "We have bills coming up. I don't even know what to say."
I looked over at her, "Are you serious? You're acting like this is my fault."
"No. Of course not." She said coldly. "Nothing is ever your fault."
I looked over into the living room and can see my niece sitting on the couch watching television. I turned to Grace, "Why is Ally here?"
"She is here because my sister needed someone to watch her." Grace said as she threw her work bag over her shoulder and went into the hallway to grab the handle of her suitcase.
"She's eighteen." I said in as low of a whisper as I could. "Why does an eighteen year old need someone to watch them?"
Grace stood there with a grimace on her face. She was a lovely woman. We had fallen madly in love when we were teenagers. Nothing could have kept our hands off of each other. Every chance I got, I would have my hands on her amazingly large breasts. Every chance I could, I would have my fingers deep in her pussy. We fucked like animals, all day and every day we could. Yet with age, with marriage, with my employment difficulties, it has put a strain on our marriage and our sex life especially. "Conner, she got in trouble at school. Ally was caught fighting with a few girls and she got suspended for a week. Since Amanda and I are going to Arizona for a work conference, guess who gets to make sure that trouble over there doesn't get to enjoy this week off from school?"
"I guess me."
She nodded. Her gray-blue eyes twinkled whenever she made that 'you should know your place' look. "There you go. I left money on the counter for pizza and wings for the both of you. I also left contact numbers in case there is an emergency. So, unless you're dying or Ally is dying...don't call me. I will text whenever I get a free chance."
"Ok."
Grace grabbed her things once more are started out the apartment. "I hope you are looking at the classifieds for work. I can't be the only one that contributes around here."
Before I could kiss her or tell her the obligatory 'I love you', she shut the door to the apartment and left me. I turned around, dumbstruck and hurt from this morning's layoff, I walked into the living room where my niece was sitting and sat near her on my couch. Ally was a lovely young girl. She had dirty blonde hair that was wavy at the ends. Her eyes like the women in my wife's family sparkled with a gray-blue. She was soft in all her features and a pleasure to look at. Ally sat in a pair of yoga pants and a Nirvana t-shirt that was tight fitting enough to show off her blossoming bosom. Ally must have felt my gaze; she turned to look at me and smiled. The gloss on her lips made them look succulent.
"You ok?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"What happened out there with you and Aunt Grace?"
I leaned back into the couch and looked over at the television. She had been watching something on a cooking channel. I turned to her, "I haven't been able to get a job where the company lasts for more than a few months after they hire me. Businesses are just packing up and leaving. Soon, there will be nothing but retail jobs around here."
"That sucks."
"Yeah," I said. "So...how tall were you again?"
Ally offered me a puzzled look and thought about it for a second. "I think five foot one?"
"So, how the hell did tiny you get into a fight with a bunch of girls?"
Ally scoffed. "What my mother didn't tell anyone is that I was defending Mary. These girls have been picking on her for days now. They were truly being pieces of shit. These girls think just because they came from the city, they can be all tough and shit in the suburbs. Mary got kicked around in the girls' bathroom when she went to school a period before me. I got into the bathroom just in time and didn't think twice."
I smiled, "I would have done the same."
"Exactly. Family!" Ally exclaimed as she sat there with her hands wide open to express her point. "I wasn't going to let people kick my sister around!"
"So..." I said as I got up from the couch and went into the kitchen to grab two beers. "How did you fair?"
"It was a four on one, Uncle Conner." Ally said. "I got one pretty good in the ribs. The second one caught a fist to the face. The third I kicked between her legs and the fourth clocked me in the gut. After that, it was like a rugby scrum."
I laughed and walked back to the couch. I handed her a beer. Ally looked at me with a questionable look on her face. "Come on, I know you drank before. Stop trying to be an angel in front of me."
Ally smiled and took the beer. She twisted off the top and held the bottle out. I tapped the end of my bottle onto hers. She smiled and said, "Cheers."
I took a sip from my beer as did she. "So, what was the home front like after all this?"
"Mom was pretty pissed off. Since dad had run off, she has been a complete bitch. This business trip with Aunt Grace was supposed to be a mini-vacation away from me and Mary."
"Why isn't Mary here?"
"She is with grandma."
I nodded and took another sip of beer.
"Uncle Conner, can I ask you something?"
I nodded.
"Why is Aunt Grace so mean to you?"
I sighed. "Things aren't well with me and your aunt. It hasn't been for a while. It has been one argument after another. Mostly because of money, but there are times where I think your aunt just hates the shit out of me."
Ally tilted her head, "No. You're awesome."
"Thanks."