The Brother I Never Had 

Then he swaggered out just like that, leaving my friends breathless with admiration. He was just that type.

He came through for me kind of, maybe, maybe not… well to be honest no, he wasn’t really an actual brother, just sort of make-believe, imaginary, I guess.

I didn’t have a flesh-and-blood brother; I only had sisters. Five of them. I was smack in the middle, parked in a perpetual swirling dinner table conversation about school productions, clothing sales, and Yahadus tests, given the choice between beating and joining. I couldn’t beat them, of course, so I tried to join.

Pretty unsuccessfully. I had little to contribute, and mostly I added to the hysteria by saying things that didn’t fit right and they laughed.