Family Ties Read Online Free PDF

signaled to the waitress and ordered a platter of extra spicy hot wings, potato skins, and mozzarella sticks. This was fine with me; I needed the comfort food.
     
    “So have you banged that hot roommate yet?”
     
    Paul glanced at his watch, reached into his wallet, and handed me a ten-dollar bill.  “You win.”
     
    “What’s that for?” Max asked.
     
    I replied, “I bet Paul it would take you less than five minutes to say something douchey.”
     
    “I told him at least ten,” Paul chimed in, “but you are obviously in rare form tonight.”
     
    Max shot Paul an incredulous look. “Like you haven’t wondered the same thing.”
     
    “I haven’t.” Paul shrugged.
     
    “Whatever,” Max said, dismissing Paul. “I want to know. You been making any conjugal visits to the bedroom down the hall?”
     
    “Man, Chloe and I are just friends.  I’m not trying to go there.”
     
    “Go where?”
     
    “Getting into a relationship with my roommate.”
     
    “Who said anything about a relationship?  I just want to know why you haven’t tried to tap that.”
     
    “Because Chloe isn’t the type of girl you get with just for sex.  She’s smart, funny, got a lot going for her. Too classy.”
     
    I glanced up from my drink to find both Paul and Max were staring at me.
     
”What?” I asked innocently.
     
    Max replied, “You sound like you want to marry the damn girl.”
     
    “What are you talking about?”
     
    “I was just wondering why you haven’t tried to get a taste and you start waxing poetic.  Next thing you know you’ll be comparing her eyes to stars and her smile to the sun, Shakespeare.”
     
    “All I’m saying is she’s not some girl you just hook up with.  Besides that, we live together. Let’s say we do start something and it doesn’t work out, then we have no choice but to see each other every day and that could be weird.”
     
    I looked to Paul for confirmation and, as usual, he looked like he understood perfectly where I was coming from.  Surprisingly so did Max as he nodded his head.
     
    “Yeah. Also, even though it would be nice having live-in booty, it would definitely cramp your style if you decided to sample elsewhere.” 
     
    I was wrong. Max still didn’t get it.  Paul and I looked at him then at each other as Max dug into the plate of hot wings the waitress sat before us. We couldn’t help but laugh.
     
    “What?” Max asked. Hot sauce dripped from his chin.
    ***
    Hail, hail the gang’s all here.  Well, almost. 
     
    All the Murphy children and their children were present at Sunday dinner the next night—all except Charlotte.  I couldn’t help but notice how many times my mother’s eyes darted towards the front door, hoping to see Charlotte standing there, perhaps apologizing for being late.  It never happened. 
     
    In fact, everyone seemed quite intent on not mentioning my sister’s name.  This was unusual for a family so close, a family that discussed their problems and worked together to resolve them.  I think deep down everyone was in a bit of denial and chalking it up to normal college behavior. They could do that, but I couldn’t after seeing Charlotte for myself.  Seeing that glazed over look in her eyes and her drastic physical transformation made it hard to say that what she was doing was a phase or college experimentation.  There was no way I would bring up my fears to my parents, at least not yet.  I wanted to try and reach out to Charlotte once more.
     
    Dinner was pretty uneventful.  The food was delicious and plentiful.  My parents looked like little kids on Christmas morning. Nothing warmed their hearts more than seeing their children healthy and happy and under one roof.  After coffee, I told my parents that I needed to go. I had a busy Monday planned and wanted to get home early to prepare.
     
    With tears in her eyes my mother told me she understood and squeezed me hard in a long hug.  Unlike when I had arrived the