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‘ Red, ’ Fred replies. ‘ White, ’ Jenny shouts out. ‘ Blue, ’ Teresa said. ‘ Green, ’ Bella says.

‘ The correct answer is green. ’ Cassandra says.

Bella claps her hands together and takes a list of questions.

‘ When was my first kiss? ’ Bella asks the question and bites her lower lip.

‘ At 12? ’ Barbara asks uncertainly. ‘ At 14, ’ Shawn says. ‘ At 11, ’ Cassandra replies. ‘ At 13, ’ I say. ‘ At 15, ’ Jenny shouts. ‘ I know he was at the school prom. ’

Bella closes with flyers and smiles embarrassedly.

‘ The correct answer is 15. ’ Bella says.

‘ And I knew, I knew! ’ Jenny repeated cheerfully. ‘ That kiss was with a guy before Jake. ’

I see Bella's embarrassment and, to get the subject across, I suggest we take a photo together. Jenny puts the question sheets on the couch, picks up her phone, and turns on the front-facing camera. We get as close to each other as we can so we can get in front of the lens. And we take crazy pictures, we get about ten of them, and only one of them is where we all look good.

Fred went to change after Jenny spilled wine on him. When he returned, I noticed one inscription on his T-shirt: «Smile as often as Ellen Shaw's guests».

‘ That's… ’ I interrupt halfway through.

Fred noticed my gaze, which was directed at his T-shirt.

‘ Oh, it's on NBC. ’ He began to explain. ‘ It's a comedy show. ’

‘ The Ellen DeGeneres Show! ’

His eyes lit up.

This is a funny show where the famous TV host Ellen DeGeneres invites famous personalities – actors, singers, athletes – into her studio and embarrasses them. The show is full of jokes, pranks, and various tasks that the stars must perform.

‘ I love this show! ’ I say.

‘ Your favorite episode? ’ he leaned forward, a twinkle in his eye.

‘ Oh, I won't say. Probably the one with the «Hot Questions» segment for Kris Jenner. ’

‘ I love it when Ellen scares the guests. ’ he says.

‘ Yeah, it's funny, ’ I say.

The time flew by so quickly, and when I glanced at the clock, the hand was showing eleven at night. I said goodbye to everyone at the party, and headed for the exit. Bella walked me into the hallway and gave me one last hug. I felt warm inside.

Today I have a free day, so I decided to go to my parents' house. They live in another part of New York City. So I had to take transportation to get there. A cab was already in front of my house. It takes about thirty minutes to get from me to our house. When I entered the house I heard nothing; only silence, as if no one was home. I slammed the door and saw my brother Dale, running toward me.

‘ Jake, you came! ’ Dale yells.

The nanny follows her brother.

‘ Susan, isn't it? ’ I turn my gaze to her.

‘ Yes, ’ she answers. ‘ And you must be Jake? ’

‘ Yeah, ’ I nod.

My older brother Mike comes out of his room, and pulls his headphones out of his ears.

‘ When did you come in? ’ Mike asks. His eyes were not happy, and he had his arms crossed over his chest.

‘ Just now, ’ I say.

Mike puts on his headphones and goes back to his room. I was about to go upstairs when I heard the front door click. I turned around and saw my mom walk in the house. She was wearing dark pants and a white blouse.

‘ Can I assume that you're back from work, ’ I ask her.

She casts her gaze up the stair.

‘ Yes, just finished the day's work. ’

And asks me a counter question:

‘ When did you get here? Why didn't you call? ’

‘ I arrived about fifteen minutes ago. I wanted to surprise you, ’ I say, wearing a little smile.

Mom is the person who really knows what I want. She is the calmest and most caring person in our family. But her concern for my education makes her go against me going to auditions.

‘ Have you seen your brothers? ’ mom asks.

‘ Yes, they are sitting in their rooms, ’ I say.

Then I turn my head and see the babysitter getting ready to go home. She walked up to my mom and said she was all done. She picked up her purse from the coat rack and walked out.

‘ Susan is a good babysitter! ’ she says, looking at the door, which had closed seconds before her words.

In fact, if my mother had started her career as a writer, she wouldn't be against my going to auditions, but would support me in doing so; she would know that it was also a job, not just a dream.

We pass the kitchen and turn toward the hall; we have family pictures hanging along the wall. I stopped in the middle of this wall and directed my gaze to one photo I treasured, which was taken in Time Square, it was the day I read a sonnet by the Shakespeare in the middle of the square, and gathered a small number of people, among whom was the owner of the theater through the time in which I was performing.

Mom put her hand on my shoulder and said:

‘ I thought that's where you'd go. ’

‘ This picture means a lot to me, ’ I answer.

‘ That's why it hangs here, ’ mom said, looking at the picture.

In the next picture I see our oldest sister, Hailey, who is now twenty-three. After Hailey got married, she and her husband Roger went to live in Venice, and next to her is a picture of another sister, Candice. Candice is a year younger than Hailey. She lives in London and last came to visit us at Christmas.

I looked away at an even less valuable photo.

‘ Look, ’ I said, pointing my finger at the photo.

This picture was taken after our little brother was born. The picture is of our family. Dad is holding his tiny brother in his arms; Mom is hugging Dad with one arm, and Mike and I with the other arm.

‘ Yes, I remember that day very vividly, ’ mom remembers, almost bursting into tears.

‘ Yes, I remember that day, too, ’ I said with a smile.

We simultaneously take our eyes off the wall where our pictures are hanging, and move into the hall. Mom starts looking for the TV remote. And then she says: