Meant For You

forty-one.

Nola Scott

Mom, Dad, Kayce, Brooks, and I stepped into the third apartment today with a lady from the front desk behind us. "Have a look around, guys," she says. We look around the two-bedroom apartment with more space than Brooks and Kayce need. It's the best one out of the three I'd say. "Nice-sized bedrooms," Brooks says, stepping inside of one of two. "Oh yeah, this one will be mine." He wags his brows.

Mom smiles. "Look at this bathroom, B. Nice and spacious." Brooks peeks in there and smiles at Mom. "You're right. It's good right?" he asks. "I like it," mom says. The three of us exit the room and we look around the rest of the apartment. The living area is spacious and the kitchen is modernized. White countertops, white cabinets, and gas stove. The floors are vinyl and the walls are also white.

"What do you think Kayc?" my dad asks his toughest client. "It's okay," he replies, looking around. "Yeah, it's okay," Brooks adds. There he goes, hopping on the Kayce bandwagon. He's liked and then unliked the past two apartments too. "Wanna see something else?" Dad asks. "Probably," Kayce shrugs.

I roll my eyes. You'd think he was looking for his dream home with the way he's making this decision. Mom frowns. Dad talks to the front desk lady as we walk out. "What didn't you like about it?" I ask Kayce. He shrugs again. "Didn't speak to me." He cannot be serious. "We'll find something, Kayce," Mom says, rubbing his back. "I have practice at five," he mumbles, looking at his watch.

"I know. I'm sorry this was your dad's only day off this week," mom tells him. "That's fine, mom. I just want this to be the first and last day we look." Brooks walks backward in front of him. "It will be, Kayce. We're gonna find something, brother." My eyes widen when he's about to bump into a potted plant on the sidewalk. "Brooks wat-"

"Quiet, Nola," Kayce says quickly. Two seconds later, Brooks trips and falls on his ass. Kayc's lips turn up a bit but he doesn't smile completely. "Brooks!" mom says, rushing to him. Dad turns around, brows furrowed. "What the hell, Brooks?" I can't help but laugh as my brother wipes dirt off of himself. "I'm fine," he groans. "Next apartment, let's move on."

**

At the next apartment complex, Kayce stayed with Dad while Mom, Brooks, and I looked around together. "Ooo, I like this room better than the last. No carpet is always better, Brooks," Mom says. Unlike the other apartment, this one was furnished so you could visualize yourself living here a little better. "It's nioceee, oh mom, look at this crap!" Brooks lifts some kind of glass decor showing it to her. "Put that down!" Mom whispers and shouts at him.

He frowns but listens. "What if you break it and they force us to rent out the apartment?" Mom tells him. He rolls his eyes playfully. "Please. That's ridiculous," he replies. "You never know," she shrugs. He shakes his head and wraps his arm around her shoulder as we step out into the living area. It's about as spacious as the last, very modern again.

"I like this one," Brooks whispers to Mom. "Same," she whispers back. We've decided to keep quiet about our opinions until Kayce says something first. He's the one the apartment is for mostly. Brooks lets go of Mom and plops down on the couch. "Ahhhh. I could get used to this," he says, throwing his head back. "It's comfy." Kayce and Dad step out of the other bedroom and glance around the kitchen and living area.

"What do you think, brother?" Brooks asks from the couch. We all focus on my oldest, youngest brother. His opinion matters the most right now. "It's nice. I like it," he says. We all let out a sigh of relief, I'm sure, and he makes a face. "You're hard to shop for, baby," mom says then. Kayce scoffs. "Right. What was the price on this one, Dad?" Dad pulls out his phone. "$1,950. Not bad. Cheaper than the last and better. I like this location more too. You like it, B?"