Day 20: Homecoming (pt 2)

"So I've been thinking."

"That's new," Zenia teased.

Zander rolled his eyes, elbowing his sister. "I'm being serious," he said. "I'm gonna look for a job here. Stop with all the traveling. Settle down."

Zenia raised an eyebrow at her brother, but he was focused on the living room, where they parents were decorating the tree. The siblings (and Zenia's husband) were in the kitchen, fixing up some of the older ornaments. "I wanna be here for Mom," Zander said. "Help her out."

"I don't think Mom would want you quit something you love though. And she had Dad still. She'd want you to be happy." Zenia said.

"Yeah, I know," Zander said. He sighed, turning to face his sister. "Dad's getting worse," he sighed. "I don't want to miss anymore time with him. With both of them."

"Yeah," Zenia agreed.

"I can help people here," he went on. "Zombiphobia still exists. Racism, poverty. All I care about is helping people as much as I can. Do you think they'll let me move back in?"

"Of course," Zenia said. "Mom is such a sap. She'll probably even do your laundry."

Zander chuckled, rolling his eyes. He grabbed another ornament from the box, a snowman with a picture of Zander and Zenia in it from right before Zenia went to college. Zander smiled, nudging his sister. "Look how much cuter I am than you," he said.

"God, what happened?" Zenia mused, laughing.

Zander glared, grabbing his wipe again to start cleaning it off. "Anyway, I wanted you help to convince Mom and Dad, in case they decided to protest."

"My help?"

"And Jack's," Zander said, drawing the attention of the man across from him. "I kind of need a job before I can propose this idea, or at least options. And I'm open to suggestions."

"Doesn't your mom own that community center?" Jack asked.

"We're not allowed to work there," Zenia said. "Mother hath strictly forbid it."

Jack chuckled, shaking his head. "Okay, well you could try this cool new thing called the internet."

"Wow, okay, I don't recall asking for your sarcasm."

"I mean, I doubt you'd want to, but I could use an assistant for a while," Jack said. "It's really boring though."

"It's better than—" Zander stopped as Addison walked into the kitchen, a wide smile on her face.

"What do you guys want for lunch?" she asked. "We were thinking going out or ordering in."

"What if we got subs?" Jack asked.

Addison grinned at him. "This is why I love you, Jack. You're like the son I never had."

"Mom!"

She giggled and left the kitchen, heading back to her husband.