"Dad, what's the budget?"
Dylan tipped his head back and asked, his whole face lit up.
Mom and Dad traded a smile.
Then they answered him.
"Pick whatever you want!"
"Whoa!"
"Best parents ever, love you guys!"
Dylan cupped their faces in his hands and kissed them over and over.
When he came around to me,
the excitement on his face got even brighter.
He didn't kiss me.
Instead he asked, "Sis, which model do you think I should get?"
I shook my head. "No idea."
"Come on, give me your opinion."
"I've never looked into it."
"Son, don't put your sister on the spot. All she's got eyes for is textbooks and problem sets. What would she know about cars?"
"She probably can't even tell the brake from the gas pedal."
Mom and Dad laughed behind their hands.
Dylan shrugged. "It's not that bad, is it?"
"Your sister's a bookworm, plain and simple."
"Never mind her. Let's go."
They cheerfully led Dylan toward the door.
I couldn't stop myself from calling after them.
"Mom, Dad."
"I graduated too."
"Dylan's getting a gift."
"Don't I get one?"
Before, I never once asked them for a gift.
If they gave me something, I took it.
If they didn't, I didn't mind.
But usually they bought it for Dylan, and when Dylan didn't like it, they'd hand it off to me with that fake little smile.
Mom and Dad turned around and looked at me.
There was a flicker of impatience in their eyes.
"What does a girl need a gift for?"
"And you still haven't found a job since you graduated. Buying you a car would be pointless anyway."
"Your brother landed a good job."
"He needs a good car to keep up appearances."
"So stop getting in the way!"
"Get yourself ready and let's go."
"You're coming to help your brother pick out a car."
I froze.
Dylan and I graduated at the same time, just from different colleges.
Several top companies had been trying to recruit me at a high salary.
The best offer came with no internship required and a first-year salary of ninety thousand dollars.
Starting the second year, a twenty percent raise every year.
But my mentor kept urging me.
With my ability,
I shouldn't just go work some job.
I should put what I'd learned to use where it mattered.
At first I wanted Mom and Dad to help me decide.
But they never had time to hear me finish a single sentence.
It was the most important decision of my life.
And they had no part in it.
Because at the time they were busy taking Dylan to the hospital for a checkup.
All because he'd coughed a couple of times.
If it had been me, even if I'd coughed up blood,
they would have just told me to drink more hot water.
