Chapter 20
Kirsten
Garrett’s palms lift in the air, as though he thinks he might need to defend himself from me. Which he just might. ‘Sorry not to mention it before,’ he says. ‘It was an impulsive thing, a few nights camping at Bear Lake.’
‘Without running it past me?’ I ask. ‘Did you not think I deserved that?’
‘Well, I figured that you’ve got your hands full with that Dylan kid coming to stay and might appreciate the twins not being around.’
Maybe he’s right that it’ll be good to have the twins out of the picture. But Garrett is crap at lying, so I know this has nothing to do with him wanting to make my life easier, and everything to do with him getting what he wants. And I won’t give him the satisfaction.
‘I’m sorry, you can’t this week; the twins have a deadline.’
‘A deadline? Listen to yourself, Kirsten. They’re eight!’
‘Oh, stop being so dramatic. They’re unboxing free toys not working a factory line. And they love it.’
‘Aspen might love it, but Ash gets freaked out. And anyway, they’re both too young to understand the pitfalls. I listened to this podcast the other day …’
‘You mean with all your free time since you lost your job?’ I throw back.
‘Let me guess. Those poor kidfluencers are being exploited by their moms and preyed on by online predators. Their schoolwork is suffering; their mental health is spiraling. They have no time to play, no real friends. In fact, all those overworked, mistreated children have is huge online popularity, heaps of media interest, a pile of free products, higher earnings than most college grads, and a foothold in one of America’s fastest growing industries. How terrible for them.’
Garrett sighs. ‘Look, I’m not saying we should stop doing it completely.’
‘Well, that’s lucky because last time I looked, the kids’ income is the only money we’ve got coming into the household right now.’
‘But it’s not from all three kids, is it? Not really. Maple makes ninety percent of what comes in right now. She’s the one with the big brand deals. The two million subscribers. And she was telling me today about how much she loved the Vegas shoot. It’s Maple who’s smashing it, not the twins.’
I huff in protest. One minute the guy wants to take the twins camping, and the next he’s complaining about them not earning enough.
But this, I can handle. ‘Aspen and Ash are just starting out,’ I explain.
‘And it’s a competitive space. But I’ve shown what I can achieve, haven’t I?
The twins will do just as well as Maple in time. ’
Garrett shakes his head. ‘No, you don’t understand.
I’m not questioning your commitments; I’m just saying that Maple’s success is enough for all of us.
That’s how it started, isn’t it – Mom & Maple – and you’ve both proven how amazing you are at it.
It’s exhausting trying to create content for all three of them, so why don’t you concentrate on managing Maple, and let the twins take a step back? ’
I shake my head. ‘I love my kids equally, and the twins deserve the same opportunities that Maple has enjoyed over the years. You think I’m going to put all my effort and expertise into my eldest daughter’s career and ignore theirs?
Do you really think they’d thank me for that when Maple is famous and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they’re …
what? Park rangers on thirty grand a year like you? ’
‘I’m a big-cat specialist,’ he reminds me tetchily. ‘I had a job lined up at Zion National Park if you remember, but you wanted to stay in Provo. I compromised my career for you.’
I stare into his green eyes, darker now because he’s mad, more sage than honeydew, and consider my response, whether to escalate or de-escalate.
But it’s been a long day, so I choose the latter.
‘Look, I know the internet can feel like a scary place to our generation at times,’ I say, forcing some softness into my voice.
‘But it is the future for our kids. So the best thing we can do is to teach them how to be winners on there. Maple, Aspen and Ash.’
‘But they’re so young.’
‘And kidfluencing is a whole lot less dangerous than ice hockey, or skiing, or camping near bears.’
He narrows his eyes. ‘I’m still taking them camping. It’s all booked.’
I release a long sigh. ‘Fine. I’ll talk to Maddie, try and get an extension on that unboxing video. But make sure you film lots of content while you’re away. Melting marshmallows around a campfire means guaranteed clicks.’