First by M. Sembera

Augustus Carrick Caffrey V, that’s what they named me. First, that’s what they call me. Now, you might be wondering, being the fifth from a line of proud Irishmen, why I’m known by first. Well, I’m the first Augustus, in our family, to grace this world with blonde hair, not red. First born out of a set of twins, Wren, my sister, was born twenty minutes after. She’s always been the stubborn one, takes after our dad. I was the first to talk and walk between us. I’m also the first out all five Augustus Caffrey’s to go to college and have no plans to run the family’s bar. That’s really more my sister’s thing, always has been. Told you, she takes after our dad. Anyway, the truth of it is, my cousin, Tansy, is the one who called me First, first and it stuck.

I sometimes wish she hadn’t been the one to get it started. I can’t help but think of her every time someone says my name. First cousins, only a few months apart, we grew up close. Our moms are sisters by adoption and they couldn’t be more opposite from each other. While my mom is insanely in love with my dad, her mom is, last I heard, working on husband number seven. Don’t get me wrong, my mom can get crazy when the situation calls for it, but Aunt Silvia is unstable in every aspect of her life. Tansy mostly stayed with our grandparents, but spent every summer with us. She and Wren never really got along, because my sister is mean as hell and has been for as long as I can remember. We bonded over books and joined forces against my sister’s torments as often as possible. We were close, until we got a little too curious with each other one summer night and she ended up going to live with her dad in Michigan.

Because, coincidentally, the girl who gave me my name, was also my first.