I stare at my name on the contract, watching as the black ink dries on the page. The background noise of the restaurant fades out as I look at the papers on the table. My brother Tim sits across from me, grinning from ear to ear. "Welcome home, little brother," he says, rising to fold me into a hug.

Well, he doesn't really fold around me. I'm probably twice the size of him now, and I remind him of this. "You can barely get your arms around me these days, dude." But not even a ...