The last thing I wanted to hear this morning was my cell phone. I had purposefully NOT set my alarm with the hope of getting to sleep in after being in my office until the wee hours of the morning. But no, someone thought it was best that they wake me up at… I reached blindly for my phone, taking note of both the caller ID and the time on the glowing screen.
"Phoebe, it is 4 am on the west coast, if you have forgotten. Furthermore, I didn't climb into my comfortable and warm bed until after 2." I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and heard my sister let out an embarrassed giggle.
"Oh SHOOT!" I had to smile at her emphasis on not using an expletive. "I'm so sorry T! I didn't even consider the time difference!" She sounded somewhat deflated.
"It's okay P, what gives? 7 am is still early for you as well. So what is so pressing that you had to get up and call your favorite older brother this early?" I stretched and stifled a yawn, Phoebe didn't say anything. "Come on kiddo, what gives?" I absentmindedly ran a hand through my hair as I sat up. My bedroom was still dark, the only light coming from the soft glow of Seattle outside my window.
"I'm at JFK with Kyle. Can you come pick us up at SEATAC at 9:45?" Phoebe's words all ran together.
"What? Why?" I shook my head, trying to wake up fully and wrap my brain around what she just said.
"Oh Teddy!" Phoebe's squeal made me cringe. "Kyle proposed! LAST NIGHT! And of course I said yes! We want to tell Mommy and Daddy in person!" Slowly what she was telling me sunk in. I wanted to be ecstatic for my younger sister. She and Kyle had met in high school and now were both seniors at Columbia University. I wanted to congratulate her, but I felt my jaw clench automatically and had to shake my head.
"Phoebe…" I started to speak, hating the sound of my own voice. She sighed.
"Oh T, please don't go all Mr. Grey on me." I took a deep breath at the use of our family reference. Mom and Phoebe used it to describe my father's and I's business/no-nonsense tone of voice. "Please T, just be happy for me, for us. I'll deal with Daddy when I get home. Don't you dare tell a soul!" I swallowed the lump in my throat. She always seemed to put me in situations like this. "THEODORE! ANSWER ME!" She sounded on the verge of an adult temper tantrum.
"Why didn't you call Ava?" My voice softened. Our cousin was always up for schemes like this, covert operations against our parents were her specialty - most of the time the plans were Ava's creations. I heard Phoebe snort and I could picture her rolling her blue eyes at me.
"Seriously Teddy? I just told you I wanted to keep this quiet! If I called Ava I just as well call and do an interview with the Seattle Times!" I had to chuckle as she did have a point. "You're my favorite older brother!"
"Your only older brother…" I mumbled, but felt a smile creeping up on me.
"Come on T! Please!? I'm begging you. I'll treat you to Duke's when I'm in town. Just the two of us…please?" She had brought my favorite food into the mix and it got serious.
"Fine, I'll make up something to clear my schedule for the day. I'll be waiting at SEATAC by 9." I laughed. "You really didn't need to throw Duke's into the mix, I would have done it without the promise of delicious clam chowder." Giggling overlapped the last part of my sentence.
"Thank you Teddy, thank you! We will see you in a few hours! I LOVE YOU T!" The grin that was creeping up a few moments ago was now plastered all across my face. Hearing the happiness in my sister's voice I couldn't hold it back.
"Love you too P." I waited for her to end the call before tossing my phone onto the bed. It looked to be a very eventful day.