Joey Wheeler felt like James Bond toting Yugi's prize money around – keeping it out from under his dad's nose – for a whole month after Duelist Kingdom. He'd even had it with him in his jacket when he'd gone to help save Kaiba from the virtual world. Thank God no one had thought to search him or mess with his clothes while he was lying unconscious in that pod.
On a bright Saturday morning in late May, Joey was finally on his way out the door with his fat check stashed under his armpit for the last time. He crept around the livingroom sofa where his no-account dad lay snoring in front of the T.V. and eased the back screen door open and closed with practiced care. Then down the concrete stairs and out the back gate of his apartment complex to his dented old jalopy parked across the street.
Joey slid into the driver's side, careful not to jostle the loose windowpane when he shut himself in. The engine puttered and spat to life. Geez, would his lame-obile even be allowed inside Serenity's ritzy subdivision?
He didn't have his own G.P.S., so Joey had borrowed Téa's yesterday afternoon. He'd watched her enter the address with unabashed fascination.
"Just press 'Recent Places' when you turn it on, and this will be the first one on the list," she'd said with a confident nod. Joey had taken her word for it.
Well, that much went according to plan. But the stupid suction cup wouldn't stick to the windshield without a fight – and five minutes into the trip, just as Joey was merging onto the highway, the G.P.S. slid off the glass and toppled to the floor.
"Aw, nuts! You gotta be kidding me!" Joey cursed the fallen guide. It had come unplugged and everything. There was no way he could reach it without killing himself, so he turned back to the road and concentrated hard on his scant knowledge of the route. Ren had given him directions on the phone the other day...
Joey grew a little pensive thinking about that phone call. Ordinarily, he could pretty much guarantee that his sister would be home alone during the day – which was when he always called her. This was the first time in all the years he'd been calling Serenity that their mother had answered the phone.
"Hello?" she'd said coolly, and Joey's greeting had careened to a halt.
"Hey, Ren, how's it – huh?!"
He'd frozen, waiting with no idea what to say. There was an indefinite silence on the other line. And then Joey offered hesitantly into the receiver: "...Mom?"
Nothing. Joey took a shaky breath. Had she hung up?
Then: "Joey? Are you there?"
Serenity. Joey felt a churning wave of relief mingled with disappointment wash over him.
"Are you okay, Joey?" Serenity asked, anxious. Joey shook himself. He swapped hands on the receiver.
"Hey, Ren!" He forced himself to smile when he talked – Téa'd taught him that one. "Y-yeah, never better! What's up?"
"I'm fine," Serenity said, relieved as well.
Joey couldn't help but ask. "Was that Mom? What's she doin' home, Ren?"
Serenity lowered her voice. "She's leaving for the airport this evening. She stayed home to pack."
"Airport, huh?" Another business trip. Busy packing. What were the odds she'd answer his call?
Joey kept his eyes peeled for what he thought was the right exit. He hated feeling so nervous over visiting his own sister. His mom wouldn't be home – heck, she was probably in another country – and all he had to do was hand Serenity her check, hug her, and go.
Why should he be afraid?
There it was, Exit 121-B. That sounded familiar. It was the only one with a 'B,' anyway. Joey veered into the right lane and ground his whining brakes. Now came the fun part – he had to find some subdivision named after a tree. It'd help if he remembered which tree. And if there weren't ten subdivisions off this exit named after trees.
Joey turned into the first one he saw, called Mulberry Heights. It wasn't gated. Serenity hadn't mentioned a gate. He had to slow to a crawl every ten feet to weather speed bump after speed bump, so he had plenty of time to admire the stately homes on either side of the road. They all looked alike, three stories high with cavernous garages, swimming pools, basketball hoops, sparkling SUVs in the driveways. Joey wondered briefly if Kaiba's mansion was nearby, but he figured it was in a league of its own.
Man, how he'd dreamt of living in a place like this. How great it would be to be able to leave his bike or his basketball on the front porch without it being stolen overnight. How special, to play in his very own backyard without busting his knees on packed dirt and kicking trash out of the way. To grab a snack from a well-stocked pantry without having to kill a couple of roaches first.
He rolled his eyes at himself. Thinking like a ten-year-old or something. He was supposed to be looking for Serenity's place. They really did all look the same, though...what was the house number? 42? 24? Was this even the right subdivision?
Just as he crested the hundredth speed bump, Joey spotted a dark-haired figure standing in a driveway up ahead. She noticed his car at the same time and turned toward it, hesitant. She was wearing dark sunglasses.
Joey cranked his window down. "Serenity!" he called out. A smile spread over her face.
"Joey!"
She stepped out of the way, and he pulled halfway into the driveway. He relieved the engine of its terrible duty and climbed out, scooping her into a hug.
"What's up, sis?" he knuckled the top of her hair affectionately, and she laughed.
"Not much, big bro. I missed you!"
"Yeah, well I missed you more!" Serenity laughed again. Joey glanced up at the house. Big, proud, pale yellow, blue shutters. Like all the rest. He swallowed something he hadn't realized was in his throat. "Is Mom home?" he asked, surprising them both.
"What? Oh, um, no." Serenity ducked out of their hug and followed his gaze. "She's still on her trip."
"Right," said Joey, distant. There was an awkward pause before he jolted back into gear. He slapped his forehead. "What am I doing? The moment we've all been waiting for!"
Serenity watched with delight as Joey reached into his jacket pocket with a flourish and pulled out the Duelist Kingdom prize money. "Ta-da!" he said, bowing low, holding it out to his sister.
She grasped the end of it but didn't lift it out of his hand. "I can't believe it," she said. She lowered her head, and her voice cracked when it came next. "Thank you, Joey."
Joey rubbed his nose. "Aw, don't thank me," he said. "Thank Yugi for that one."
Her head moved at an odd angle, a cross between a shake and a nod.
"He couldn't have done it without you," she said, and a tear ran down her cheek. Joey shrugged. He reached out to pat her shoulder, but she locked her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Slowly but not reluctantly, he returned the hug.
"Shh, it's okay, Ren," Joey whispered. She shook as she cried. They stood there for a while. Joey could hear kids playing in a nearby yard. Sounded like splashes in a pool.
Soon he said, "I gotta go." He loved his sister, but he couldn't stay long in such a place. Serenity, as usual, seemed to intuitively understand. She wiped her nose on her sleeve and pulled away, clutching the crinkled envelope in her other hand like her life depended on it. Her life did depend on it.
"I love you, Joey," she said, smiling behind her thick sunglasses. Joey smiled back.
"Love you, too, Serenity."
Joey kept on smiling as he drove home (maybe not when that tailgating loser blew past him at 90 miles an hour, but the rest of the time for sure). He thought of how generously Yugi had given him all that money, and how humbly Serenity had received it. He was honored to be the middleman.
And boy, was he glad he was officially broke again – now Tristan would have to stop nagging him to use 'just a little bit' of the dough to order a couple of pizzas for the guys. Heck, if Serenity could see again, Joey would give up pizza for life.
