Chapter 6 - The Sister Who Came Back Different
I met Chloe at a coffee shop two days later.
She arrived early.
That alone was unusual.
She didn’t hug me.
She didn’t pretend nothing had happened.
“I lied on my résumé.”
“I know.”
“I lied to Mom about paying bills.”
“I know.”
“I told them you were taking advantage of them.”
I looked at her.
“That one I didn’t know.”
She stared at her coffee.
“I wanted them to think I was doing better than you.”
“Why?”
Her answer came quickly.
“Because Grandma believed in you.”
I hadn’t expected that.
“She believed in you too.”
“Not the same way.”
“She knew I worked hard.”
“She knew you were going somewhere.”
Chloe finally looked at me.
“And I hated that.”
I said nothing.
“Every time someone praised you, I felt smaller.”
“So you tried to make me smaller.”
“Yes.”
It was the first completely honest thing Chloe had said to me in years.
“I’m sorry.”
I studied her.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are we here?”
“Because I applied for six jobs.”
“That’s good.”
“I used the real résumé.”
“Better.”
“Two rejected me. Three haven’t answered.”
“And the sixth?”
“Interview Tuesday.”
A small smile appeared.
“Junior marketing assistant. Small outdoor company.”
“Do you want advice?”
She nodded.
“Don’t lie.”
Chloe laughed despite herself.
“Anything else?”
“Don’t talk about me.”
Her smile faded.
“Right.”
“Go in as Chloe Bennett. Not Emma Bennett’s sister.”
She nodded.
“Okay.”
“And pay your own phone bill.”
She actually laughed.
“I canceled the ridiculous plan.”
“Good.”
Then she became serious.
“Dad still thinks you should give him the contract.”
“I know.”
“Mom told him to stop.”
That surprised me.
“She did?”
“They’ve been fighting.”
“I don’t want them fighting over me.”
“They’re not.”
Chloe looked toward the window.
“They’re fighting because Mom finally looked at the bank statements.”
I waited.
“She knows how much you paid.”
“How much?”
“All of it.”
Chloe swallowed.
“Dad thought some of the money was coming from me.”
I nearly smiled at the absurdity.
“Of course he did.”
“Mom wants to apologize.”
“She already did.”
“No. Properly.”
I looked at Chloe.
“I’m not ready.”
“She knows.”
That evening, I checked out of the hotel.
Not to return home.
I had signed a lease on a condo overlooking Lake Union.
Two bedrooms.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
A kitchen nobody could tell me I didn’t belong in.
I placed Grandma Evelyn’s photograph on the bookshelf.
My phone rang.
Chloe.
“How did the interview go?” I asked.
“You remembered?”
“Of course.”
A pause.
“They offered me the job.”
I smiled.
“Congratulations.”
“Salary is terrible.”
“Welcome to starting at the bottom.”
“I think I need a cheaper apartment.”
“Probably.”
“Emma?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for not fixing it for me.”
That mattered more than she knew.
Six weeks later, Mom asked to meet.
This time Dad came too.
We met at my condo.
Dad stood awkwardly near the window.
Mom placed an envelope on the table.
“What’s this?”
“Money.”
“For?”
“Everything you paid while you lived with us.”
I pushed it back.
“I don’t want repayment.”
Dad finally spoke.
“You should take it.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because I need to admit it wasn’t mine.”
That was the closest thing to an apology I had ever heard from my father.
Then he took a breath.
“I withdrew the consulting proposal.”
“I know.”
“I shouldn’t have submitted it.”
“No.”
“I thought…”
He stopped.
“What?”
Dad looked at me.
“I thought your success belonged to us somehow.”
“It doesn’t.”
“I know that now.”
Mom wiped her eyes.
“We were proud of Chloe because we understood what she was doing.”
I waited.
“And you?”
She shook her head.
“You became so successful that we couldn’t understand it, so we convinced ourselves it wasn’t real.”
“That wasn’t my fault.”
“No.”
She reached across the table but stopped before touching my hand.
“Can we start over?”
I looked at both of them.
“No.”
Mom’s face fell.
Then I continued.
May you like
“But we can start from here.”
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