“Oh! The house. See it, you want?” I cringed at my Yoda-like delivery. I’ve always envied those people who are naturally cool. Coolness seems to ooze out of their pores and float around them like a giant, shiny aura. Everything seems to come easily to them; they joke and laugh and exist in the world with a kind of comfortable ease that I’ve never had. For the most part my life feels like I’m lugging around a giant cactus. It prickles, it hurts, and very often, it itches. And right now, I was desperately trying not to scratch my head, where a nervous, psychosomatic itch had formed.

“I mean unless you don’t want to show me aro—”

“No!” I cut him off, way too enthusiastically. I quickly tried to adjust, stating less eagerly this time, “Noooo, it’s cool. I mean, sure, whatever.”

We heard the toilet flush, and both turned as Lisa walked out, wiping her wet hands on her shirt as she went. I glanced at Jake as he gave a small, pride-filled smile. I got that. Pride for the small things that others take for granted because for them, it’s a given. Nothing is ever a given with kids like Zac and Lisa. In fact, you could say that the only given is that nothing ever is.

Jake and I watched as Lisa sat down next to Zac on the sofa. He was busy lining all the TV remotes up next to him in a perfect, straight line. Small to big. “You think they’ll be okay there for a while?” I asked.

“It’s not like we’re going far.” He raised a brow to me in query, and I nodded.

“Hey, guys, why don’t you watch Teen Titans?” I called out to Lisa and Zac, who were sitting side by side on the couch now.

“I LOOVVE Teen Titans!” Lisa jumped up enthusiastically and knocked one of the remotes off the couch. Zac glared at her.

“They are supposed to be in a line!” he scolded. I lurched forward, ready to step in and diffuse the situation, when Lisa picked the remote up and carefully put it back. I exhaled relief when Zac looked at it and nodded, as if acknowledging that all was now right in his world again.

“Right, let the tour begin, I guess.” I walked up the stairs that led to the second level. Why anyone needed a house built on three levels was really beyond me. Why anyone needed three lounges, two dining rooms, and six bedrooms was also beyond my grasp.

“Most of our furniture hasn’t arrived from Joburg yet, so you could say we’re embracing minimalism,” I said, staring into the hollow space in front of us.