There were many things that Sharon Hawkins had learned over the years. Most were things that everyone learned at some point or another. Fire burns. Don't stick metal in the microwave. Daddy can't do everything. Things of that nature. There were a few things, though, that she knew one could only learn from her family.
The first fact is that all the important men (She uses the term lightly.) in her life sing in the shower. Daddy liked to sing Blues and '80's music. Adam and her baby brother rapped (Poorly on Virgil's part, as she often told him.) about pretty much everything. Richie, who she now sees as a sort of pseudo-brother, would sing just about anything. Sometimes, Sharon catches herself standing in front of the bathroom door just listening to one of her boys singing.
The second fact is that Richie should never be allowed to fix appliances. Actually, he just shouldn't be allowed near them, alone, for any amount of time. Unlike most people who aren't allowed near appliances, Richie is good with electronics. The problem is that he likes to "modify" things. Richie fixed the toaster once, and now it has the ability to shoot toast into a person's plate. That's all well and good; unless, of course, one has just woken up and is not expecting one's toast to be flung at them.
Fact number three? Do not clean Virgil's room. Sharon has only attempted this once. (She's not sure if it was in a fit of exasperation or insanity, but she won't do it again.) Virgil's room had been filled to bursting with dirty clothes and trash. Sharon had found a pair of boxers that she was certain belonged to Richie. There was some mold on a plate of what might have once been food that she could have sworn she saw moving out of the corner of her eye. She had refused to enter her little brother's room for a week after that, and she now made him clean it, vacuum it and do his own laundry.
The last fact is actually two in one. Virgil and Richie love each other, and neither of them realize it. Sharon couldn't count how many times she had seen one boy stare at the other with a look Sharon could only describe as heartwarming. Richie, she knew, had fallen first. She didn't understand how Virgil could be so dense as to not see it; it was written on everything about Richie! Virgil wasn't quite as obvious as his best friend, but subtle changes in his behavior were enough to tip Sharon off. He would smile around Richie for absolutely no reason or avoid making a joke that, at one time, he'd have never given up. Small things told Sharon all she needed to know.
Sharon shook her head and sighed. She doubted she'd ever understand those two. She picked up a laundry basket and headed upstairs. She collected clothes from Daddy's room, then her own. Music coming from Virgil's door made Sharon pause. Didn't that boy realize how loud that was? She opened the door to tell him to turn it down.
The scene she found was the last she expected. (It seemed Sharon would have to change fact number four.) Virgil and Richie on her brother's bed together was not an uncommon thing. Virgil on top of Richie, pressing their mouths together and grinding their hips together, though, was an image Sharon had hoped to avoid along with the sounds that were coming from Richie. Sharon slowly backed out of the room and closed the door without making a sound. She went back downstairs and into the laundry room to put the clothes in the washer. She would let Virgil and Richie come out to the rest of them on their own time. For now, Sharon just wanted to forget why Virgil had his music up so loud.
