Last weekend was my brother's birthday. He lives an hour away from me with his little family of three, so I decided to spend the weekend at his house. Their only daughter's name is Sydney, and she's almost nineteen. I drove down friday with plans to head home Sunday. The party was on Saturday, so the plan was to have dinner and watch a movie Friday. They always did movie nights on Friday and I was happy to join their crew.
My sister-in-law, Jade, made a delicious Italian dinner, and after eating far too much lasagna and tiramisu I was ready to lounge. I plopped down on a recliner, but my niece stopped me before I got settled.
"That's dad's spot, uncle Jack!"
I sighed dramatically and cracked a smile before slowly standing up.
"My apologies, Syd. Are there any open seats left or is it standing room only?"
"Well, there's one available seat, but it's in the V.I.P. area so it'll cost you extra this close to showtime!"
"Oh yeah? How much? And where is this expensive seat located?"
Her light green eyes sparkled as she held back her laughter.
"The seat is on the chaise lounge next to your favorite person in the world. And it costs, umm, after fees and everything...200 dollars!"
"Wow," I said to her, pretending to actually consider her silly proposal.
"I spent 200 bucks on a V.I.P. seat a couple months ago in Vegas at Robby's bachelor party, but that included drinks and a lap dance! Can I at least expect a back massage if I pay for the spot?"
"Oh my gosh, uncle Jack! I suppose I could give you a back rub if that's what you want. The show starts in 30 minutes! I'm going to put my pajamas on. Don't be late!"
She turned and walked out of the den. I thought back to that night. Robby is my best friend. We were at the Palomino Club. I stretched the truth when telling my niece how much I spent. It actually cost $800 just to get a bottle of Don Julio 1942 and our own V.I.P. booth near the stage.
I walked to the bedroom I was staying in to get my stuff organized and put on some comfortable clothes. I'd packed my favorite pajamas. They are soft cotton tapered pants with red and white stripes. They look ridiculous, but they are the most comfortable item of clothing I own. The whole family got matching sets two years ago for Christmas from my parents. I changed into the pants, put an old t-shirt on, and put my other clothes away in the dresser.
There were some random clothing items already in there, including a set of pajamas that match mine. There was a matching top for them too. I looked at the tag and saw size XS. The top was definitely too small to belong to my sister-in-law, so I determined they were Sydney's. I thought it would be fun to wear matching pajamas, so I walked across the basement to Syd's room and knocked.
She opened the door wearing just her leggings and a black and white Calvin Klein bra. I held the red and white pajamas out to her.
"Wanna be twins?"
She laughed and took them from me.
"I grew out of these two years ago!"
I pretended to think hard about something.
"Jeez, I guess I'll just keep my $200 then. This doesn't seem very V.I.P."
"If you actually give me $200, you are more than welcome to pick my outfit for me. But I know you won't."
