Chapter 2
CASSIA
“I love it!”
I pulled my phone away from my ear and put it on speaker so I could save at least a portion of my hearing for later use.
It admittedly made me smile when my client couldn’t quit squealing with excitement.
I could hear the video I’d sent her a few minutes ago playing in the background, but the volume paled in comparison to her screeching.
“I’m going to tell everyone that you’re the most fabulous person on the planet! ”
“I appreciate that,” I assured my client.
She was high-maintenance and bubbly, but she’d been a joy to work for.
Of course, having her happy reaction to tack onto my resume made me giddy, too, so that made her exuberance a lot easier to handle.
“If you could also throw in that I’m a freelance video editor, I’d appreciate that too. ”
“I will! And your name is gonna be front and center on all of our marketing, but you know that already.”
I smiled when I remembered the amount of zeros next to that line in the contract but tamped down that joy to say, “I’m just happy that I got to work with you.”
“This won’t be the only time. Just wait! I’ve gotta go. My driver is here, and he gets testy when I’m running late and ask him to speed.”
“Instead of risking your life, just make a grand entrance.”
“I like that. Toodles!”
I hit the button to end the call and flopped back onto the cushion with a sigh.
Ivy was staring at my phone like it had just insulted her.
I grimaced before I voiced what she must be thinking.
“She’s a lot to take in, isn’t she?” Of course, Ivy didn’t respond, so I added, “That job just paid for your freshman and sophomore years at the college of your choice, little bug. You’re welcome. ”
I could have sworn Ivy rolled her eyes before she turned back to the TV. I couldn’t figure out what she found so fascinating about this channel, but it kept her amused and wasn’t full of mindless garbage like many others geared toward children her age.
Her fascination with cars and motorcycles might come in handy someday. Of course, since she was only two, we had some time before we could trust her with routine maintenance. Until then, I’d just have to get used to the sound of machinery in the background of my life.
When the front door opened, I was surprised, but I relaxed when I heard the beep of the alarm panel being reset. Seconds later, Erisa walked around the corner. She looked so devastated that I hopped off the couch and rushed to her.
“What’s wrong?”
“I got laid off!” she said, her eyes filling with tears.
I knew now wasn’t the time to remind her how much she hated her job. Instead, I rested my arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. I gave her a squeeze, steering her toward the kitchen. “Let’s sit down for a mug of tea, and you can tell me what happened.”
“I’ve never been unemployed before,” Erisa sniffed. “I’ve been working since I was a kid.”
I also didn’t think it would be wise to mention that she got her first job less than ten years ago when she was hired as a hostess at a restaurant my parents frequented. It was a part-time job that only scheduled her for about ten hours each weekend, but it was employment, so she was mostly right.
“We’ll update your resume and post it everywhere. You’ll have a new job before you know it,” I assured her.
“How am I going to pay my bills?”
Erisa’s bills consisted of a shopping habit that skewed toward designer clothes and handbags, but not much else.
Since she shared the house with Iliana, Ivy, and myself, the family trust handled the essentials.
It wasn’t like she was going to be without water or power, but that was another thing I decided not to mention.
Obviously, I was used to my sister’s dramatics. Ivy, on the other hand, was a newbie. Watching her aunt cry upset her.
“And now I’m upsetting the baby,” Erisa wailed as Ivy started squalling.
“Start the water, and I’ll settle her down.
” I let Erisa go and hurried over to pick Ivy up.
It was almost time for her nap, so she was already cranky, but seeing Erisa so upset had pushed her over the edge.
I bounced her in my arms, patting her back.
When she lifted her head, I pointed at the television and said, “Oh, look! It’s that guy with the sexy tattooed forearms doing a thing with the thing! Isn’t that cool, Ivy-Bug?”
Ivy looked at the screen and squealed with happiness, even with tears still wet on her cheeks. I wiped them away with my thumb, kissed her forehead, and put her down on the couch. Once she was snuggled under her favorite blanket, I walked into the kitchen to get the scoop from my sister.
We all had lasting effects from that night–as if we didn’t have enough lingering from our childhood–but Erisa’s damage was a total shift in personality.
The woman who was once a force to be reckoned with now broke apart as easily as a shelf from Temu.
Iliana and I had physical changes that would never go away, but Erisa’s roll of the dice resulted in emotional instability.
That isn’t what the neurologist called her emotional outbursts, of course, but that was my diagnosis.
Thankfully, Ivy had come out unscathed as far as her cognitive abilities went, but we had a team of specialists on the roster to ensure no lingering effects hindered her growth.
Children were much more resilient than adults–Ivy was proof of that–and she didn’t have nearly the level of long-term damage we did.
By the time I got to the kitchen, the electric kettle was ready.
Erisa was pouring water into her favorite mug while my tea steeped in a glass held by my favorite podstakannik.
My sisters and I drank coffee in the mornings like our father had, but we drank tea at any other time, just like our mother.
The hutch in the dining room held our mother’s tea sets–elaborate cups and saucers that she’d collected during her travels with our dad–but we only used those on holidays and special occasions.
Iliana and Erisa had their own collection of mugs, but I preferred to drink my tea in a glass.
My collection of holders sat in the hutch alongside our mom’s finery.
“Sorry about earlier. I’m feeling a little calmer now,” Erisa said as she carried our tea to the table.
I closed my eyes as I inhaled the scent of my favorite blend before I added cream and a little honey.
Once Erisa was finished with the containers, she slid them across the table toward me.
“Yes, I got laid off, but that job was chipping away at my soul. I hated going to work every day. It’s not like I’m going to starve, especially since you’re the one that does all the shopping and cooking. ”
“Well, now that you’re not working, maybe . . .”
“I thought you loved Ivy and would do anything to protect her,” Erisa interrupted.
“You have a point there. Maybe you should just take over the grocery shopping and leave the cooking to me.”
“I’d like to find a job that lets me use my degree.”
“Why do you have to work for someone else, Ris? You’ve got the funds to start a small boutique.”
“In Dallas, where they’re a dime a dozen? I might have the funds to start one, but not to keep one afloat when there’s so much competition I’ll never break even.”
“That’s a good point. Maybe you could open one in a suburb nearby. The drive would suck, but . . .”
“That’s an option,” Erisa interrupted before she took a sip of her tea. She hummed with satisfaction. “This is exactly what I needed to calm me down.”
“You’re going to be more stressed than usual, so I think you should call your doctor and make an appointment to see if he might like to up your dosage at least for a while,” I suggested. “Stress is bad for a normal person’s heart, but for people like us, it’s much worse.”
“I’ll make an appointment on the app,” Erisa said as she picked up her phone.
I was relieved she was taking my suggestion.
There was never any way to know how she’d accept an idea–whether she’d be offended or open to it was always a risk, but one I was willing to take for the sake of her health. “Have you talked to Iliana yet?”
“She’s being evasive,” I complained. I thought about it for a second. “And she’s acting weird.”
“She is weird.” I rolled my eyes at the big-sister complaint, and Erisa laughed. “You’re weird, too, you know.”
“You’re the queen of weird.”
“I’m sorry I upset Ivy.” When I just shrugged, Erisa smiled. “How did your client like your work?”
“She was so excited that she reached decibels detrimental to the human ear.”
Erisa burst out laughing. “Wanna go shopping to take my mind off my troubles?”
“God, no!” I blurted. I cleared my throat before I said, “Ivy’s down for a nap, and you know how she gets when we change her schedule.”
“And I know how she gets when we’re shopping,” Erisa mumbled. “Have you looked into the muzzle and harness idea yet?”
“No, and I’m not going to. Googling anything like that about children would hopefully put a person on a watch list–and rightly so.”
“She bit the sales lady!” Erisa exclaimed.
“The woman was a snotty bitch, and she deserved it!” I said in Ivy’s defense. “She’s lucky I didn’t bite her.”
“Ivy must get her hatred of shopping from your and Ivan’s DNA, because you know how much Regina loved to go with me.”
I sighed loudly. “Anything that included spending money was Regina’s favorite hobby.”
“Is it bad that I don’t miss her at all?” Erisa asked.
“It’s probably worse that the only time I think about her is when someone else mentions her name.”
“I still miss Ivan.”
“Me too,” I whispered, tears filling my eyes.
“I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have brought this up,” Erisa hurried to say as she reached across the table to put her hand on my arm.
“No, it’s good to remember him. I think about him all the time. When one of you mentions him, it makes me feel better knowing that I’m not the only one who misses him.”
“You’re not, I promise,” Erisa assured me. She squeezed my arm gently before she said, “I’m going out for a while. Want me to bring something home for dinner?”
“Since you hurt my feelings, I think you should patch them up with SweetFire Chicken and some rangoons.”
“I’ll do that.”
“Text Iliana and see if you can get her to open up. She’s obviously hiding something from me.”
“I’ll open the lines of communication with the offer of food.”
“I’m always more open to discussion when you bribe me with food.”
“I know. I’ve been using that tactic for years.”
◆◆◆
MEMPHIS
“Thanks for coming with me.”
Scarlet bumped my shoulder with hers and said, “I’m just doing it so I can get paid for an exclusive interview with a prominent tabloid.”
I looped my arm around her shoulders before I pulled her close. “As if our family doesn’t have enough shit going on, huh?”
“He’s gonna be okay, right?” Scarlet asked.
“Harley’s gonna have to work to get better, but since he’s behind bars right now, at least we know he’s safe.”
“And everyone else is too.”
“I’m not as worried about Harley as I am Loyal.”
“He’s not taking this well at all.”
I slowly shook my head. “I think Mom and Dad are handling it better than he is. I don’t get the twin thing, but I know they’ve always been thick as thieves, and now it’s like Loyal has lost his right hand.”
Scarlet reached up and took my hand that was resting on her shoulder. She squeezed it gently before she asked, “Remember when we were kids and couldn’t wait to grow up?”
“What the hell were we thinking? We had it good.”
“I know, right? Playing outside until dinner was ready and then going right back out to play until it got too dark to see.”
“And then we’d go into the garage and hang out until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer,” I reminded her with a soft laugh.
Scarlet laughed too. “How many times do you think Mom and Dad carried us home from the shop and put us in bed covered in dirt and grease and God knows what else?”
“Enough to make us sit here and reminisce about how great things were.”
“I wonder if Harley’s thinking about those days,” Scarlet said sadly.
“My guess is that he’s more worried about the future right now.”
“You might have a kid, Mem.”
“I know.” We were both quiet for a few minutes before I said, “If I do have a daughter, you know what I’m going to make sure happens?”
“What?”
“That she plays outside until it’s too dark to see, and then comes to hang out in the shop with me until she can’t keep her eyes open and I carry her to her bed and tuck her in.”
“I plan to do that with my kids someday.”
When the door opened, Scarlet and I sat still and watched our friend Jewel walk into the room. She held my future in her hand–a piece of paper inside the folder she carried. I tensed when I realized I didn’t know what I wanted the outcome to be.
One one hand, I wasn’t ready to be a father, but on the other, I knew that I was up to the task because of the examples I’d been given growing up. No, having a kid right now wasn’t ideal, but was there ever a perfect time? Probably not.
Hearing the young woman’s story about what her family members endured as children and adults made me realize just how lucky my brothers, sisters, and cousins have been our whole lives.
When I was a kid, my biggest fear was that there was a boogeyman in my closet who was going to sneak out and eat me during the night. All it took to banish that fear was a few words from my dad before he opened the door and showed me everything was okay.
I never had to worry about where my next meal was going to come from.
The only time I worried about food was when I didn’t get into the house quick enough and missed out on one of the cookies Gamma had just baked.
Even then, I didn’t really miss out because she always had more baking in the oven to replace them.
I knew I could fight the boogeyman and replenish the cookies when the plate was empty. Even though there was so much more to parenting than those simple moments, they were a start.
I could tell from the look on Jewel’s face that I was about to have to learn everything else parenting required.