older brother, and at fourteen, that suddenly felt like a job I had no choice but to understand.
So I looked down at her and said,
“I promise, Ness. Never.”
For years afterward, I kept that promise almost automatically.
Aunt Carol gave us a home, but I became the person Vanessa depended on.
I packed lunches when Carol worked early.
I helped Vanessa with homework.
I signed forms when adults forgot.
I attended school meetings.
I scared off boys I didn’t like and reluctantly tolerated the ones I did.
Whenever Vanessa got herself into trouble, she called me.
Whenever she was afraid, she called me.
Whenever she needed someone to tell her everything would somehow be okay, she called me.
And I always answered.
That was why, years later, when my twenty-six-year-old sister called and said,
“Rick, I’m pregnant,”
I nearly dropped my phone.
Before I could respond, she laughed
