its all in the family

"I'M SORRY!" Amanda's words echoed through the empty house. Asa guessed they were having a fight. He hadn't meant to set her off. He knew she was busy with getting her lesson plans set from the music department. Yes, he knew she'd be teaching at two different middle schools, every day. She would have no office. No real place to call her own. It was going to be tuff. But didn't she want to see Rosie on the weekends? And there had to be time for Pearl too. It just didn't feel right.

He went to the kitchen to take the dishes out of the dishwasher. He saw Derrick sneak a sip of juice out of the bottle in the fridge. Both stared at each other as if they neither wanted to be a part of Amanda's fit. Perhaps, it was a good thing, there were no kids in the house at the moment.

Just then the doorbell rang. It could be someone selling magazines. Anyone to save him from this, would be a nice thing, he thought. But it was a kid. Teenager. Maybe Derrick's age.

He rattled off Amanda's address.

"Yes, Amanda lives here." Asa nodded. Derrick edged in for a look. His Spanish accent was thick. Asa thought maybe he should speak some Spanish then, but the teenager grinned ever so pleasant.

"This is where my sister lives, correct?"

"What?" Derrick looked at Asa. "Who are you?"

"I'm Max." He shook Derrick's hand then.

"Max? I'm..I'm Amanda's brother." Derrick told him.

"Then I'm your brother." He wasn't selling anything,

"Amanda, you better get down here." Asa told her.

"What for?" Amanda was just in her tank and pajama bottoms. She came down to the livingroom and saw the dark haired teenager standing there with a suitcase.

"I'm looking for our Dad, is he here?" Max stared at her. Amanda stared at Asa as if he needed to do something about this.