Neglected Niece pt 1

Madison stared at the long row of suburban houses stretched in front of him on the street as he drove his truck past dozens of cars parked anywhere from right up to the curb all the way to practically the middle of the road. He was not fond of this aspect of suburban life. He preferred the big city and swore he would never settle down in a place like this.

He used to assume his older sister was the same but he was proven wrong about nine years ago when she married her current husband and moved in with him in his suburban home. Madison had been to visit his sister and her new family only a couple of times but now he was coming over to stay for nearly a month. The catch was that no one was going to be home but him. He was house-sitting while his sister and her family went on an extended vacation.

Madison thanked his luck that he was able to see the house numbers from the street as there was no other way he was going to be able to tell his sister’s house apart from the line of factory printed duplicates.

When he finally got to the address he lamented the sight of 2 vehicles blocking the double driveway, forcing him to have to park in the street like the heathens he had passed along the way.

He used his cell phone to let his sister know he had arrived before exiting the truck and trotting up to the door to ring the bell. “Who is it?” a young male voice responded through the speaker next to the door. There was a small screen with a young boy trying not to giggle.

“It’s your uncle Maddie,” he answered. “Go get Katrina.”

“Mom, some weirdo is here for you!” the boy ran off away from the camera. Madison was left starting at an empty living room couch for a long moment before he saw a teenaged girl sit down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table.

“Hey, can you get “Kat for me?” he asked through the intercom, startling her. She nearly dropped her cell phone she had been obsessing over.

“Miss Katrina?” she shouted at the kitchen before scurrying off, leaving Madison to watch and empty room again.

Finally the front door opened and his sister Katrina was there to greet him. She smiled when she saw him and opened her arms for a hug. He hugged her back. “You have some weird kids,” he joked.

“Which ones did you meet? They didn’t open the door did they? I’ve told them to be wary of strangers.”

“They just answered the com, and I’m not a stranger,” he grumbled.

“I’ve told them not to do that too. It stops me from being able to answer it in the kitchen. Which one was it?”

“Well…” Madison did not know how to tell her two sons apart. Stuart was the older one at 9 and his brother was 8. They both looked like little copies of Katrina with shiny blonde hair, if she had a bowl cut. “Who was that girl?” he tried to change the subject.

“Oh, was it Mindy who answered. I’ll have to kick her ass for that later. She’s always making my life miserable.”

“I know you were months along with Stuart when you and James tied the knot, but there is no way you have a teenaged daughter already.”

“Mindy is James’s daughter. She used to live with her mother until financial issues forced us to take her in. Honestly, I wish James would just pay her bitch of a mother enough to take the little tramp back.”

“I take it you don’t like her,” Madison chuckled.

“Would you like taking care of your spouse’s ex’s kids?”

“Was James married to her?”

“No, but an ex-girlfriend is still an ex.”

“And Mindy is a reminder of that?”

“And she’s a goddamn handful. She keeps asking me to drive her to school, or make lunch for her, or buy school supplies for her.”

“Don’t you do all that for Stuart and Andy?” Madison raised a confused eyebrow.

“Yes, but they are my kids. Why should I do any of those things for someone else’s kid?”

“Okay, what does James say when she asks for things?”

“He says ask Kat,” Katrina admitted.

“Have you told him you want him to handle his own daughter?”

“Well he makes all the money while I just stay at home with the kids. I would feel bad refusing his request.”

“So instead of getting upset at your husband for dumping the task of raising his daughter on you, instead you get mad at her for existing and needing things all ch*ldren need and you feel bad for turning down your husband but don’t feel bad refusing to do what he asks.”

“You don’t have to put it like that,” Katrina grumbled. “If you look at it objectively I may look like I’m being unfair but as family you should care more about me than her.”

Madison blinked at her, waiting for her to say she was joking. She just admitted she knew she was being unfair but did not care and expected him to side with her. It was true he had never met Mindy and siding with her would seem awkward but he also did not want to meet someone for the first time and introduce himself as the stranger there to back up his bitch sister in neglecting her.

“You look tired,” Katrina noticed her brother’s half closed eyes. He had been on the road for several hours. Being tired was an inevitability.

“A little,” he admitted. “Where will I be staying?”

“You can sleep in my and James’s bed while we’re gone. Unfortunately Mindy is occupying the guest room.”

“Wait, her father does not have a room for her here?” Madison was concerned.

“Maybe I wasn’t clear, her father does nothing for her but shirk her onto me,” Katrina explained. “Giving her the guest room is almost too good for her.”

“But you should’ve turned it into a room for her, not just left it as a room she is borrowing,” Madison argued.

“This is why I did not want to invite you,” Katrina grumbled. “If it weren’t for the fact that we can’t trust Mindy with the house on her own we would not have needed you at all. Her mother really tried to screw up our vacation.”

“Wait, you want me to baby-sit her? You aren’t taking her with you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is my vacation with my family.”

“What does James think?”

“He didn’t pay for an extra plane ticket, so I assume he’s fine leaving her behind. Of course, saying ‘you take care of it’ could’ve meant he expected me to buy her a ticket with our joint account but when I said I was getting you to watch the house he was fine with it.”

“Maybe he thought that was all I was gonna do… as did I!” Madison was having trouble keeping from losing his temper.

“She is old enough to baby-sit other kids. You don’t have to do anything for her. Just make sure she does not wreck the house.”

“More concerned with the house than the goddamned family,” Madison muttered to himself as he carried his bags inside. Katrina pretended not to hear him and instead smiled while calling her two sons to the living room to greet their uncle.

Both boys came running into the living room at the same time. Although a year apart they looked like twins to Madison. He still could not tell which one was Stuart and which was Andy. At the same time the boys were latching onto him, hugging his waist and expressing their excitement at seeing him for the first time in over a year, Madison saw Mindy return to her spot on the couch. She was careful not to put her feet up this time.

She looked nothing like her father James and obviously not like Katrina. She had black hair that fell to her shoulders and thick eyeliner that reminded Madison of the emo/goth trend from his school days. Her outfit was home-ware though, a thin sweater and leggings, so he was not sure if she really did fall into that category but he would not have been surprised to learn she did.

“Is James still at work?” he looked around the room.

Stuart and Andy did not take kindly to him looking above their heads and ignoring them. They kicked at his legs to get his attention. He patted each of their bowl cut heads before walking forward to get away from them. They could not stand their ground in front of him and had to separate to let him through.

Mindy only looked up from her phone when she noticed a weight on the couch next to her. She stared at Madison, expecting him to say something but he just crossed his arms and closed his eyes to rest. Mindy looked at Katrina uncomfortably. She scrunched her shoulders as much as possible to take up less space and give this stranger room.

“Oh no, Maddie, why are you sleeping here?”

“You said I would get your bed after you left on the trip. Where else am I supposed to sleep right now?”

“We’ll be going out to dinner as soon as James gets home. You can rest then. For now, just stay awake.”

Madison laughed sarcastically and just shut his eyes again. Mindy gave Katrina an even more desperate look. “Oh what do you want me to do? Either let him have your bed or you go to your room. Why are you out here anyway? Damn eyesore.”

Mindy did not answer but prepared to stand up. She was stopped by Madison placing a hand on her shoulder. She was so shocked she nearly dropped her phone. “I promise I’m not as bad as my sister,” he mumbled without opening his eyes.