Gathering

My brothers reluctantly got ready for lunch with some of our other relatives. I would find myself alongside my brothers eating lunch with random people who I had never met before, all to celebrate a wedding for my cousin. Familiar faces all came to greet me, but soon enough unfamiliar faces came up to me claiming to have been there for my birth. 

I’ve never seen you before nor heard of you. I would think to myself. 

At first, it wasn’t too bad, free food and a couple of cans of soda were enough to keep me invested in these engagements. My brothers would goof off hoping to be able to sneak some cans of soda home but as I started getting older my family was getting fewer and fewer invitations to these gatherings. The last gathering, we had gone to before we stopped altogether was the most memorable. It was in a restaurant in the downtown area of my hometown and the parking lot was full. My father asked me to look after my brothers and stepped away to engage in conversations with his friends. 

What was I supposed to do? I sat there alongside my brothers waiting for something to happen. We didn’t have any phones, nor did we know any other kids at the restaurants. We sat down at our white table and after the event was over and I finished eating I still had an empty feeling inside. Why was I even here? I don’t even want to be here, and I don’t know anyone. After this, I decided to no longer tag along with my father to go to events with his friends and opt to stay home with my mother.