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And the last thing I want to be is the catalyst for all this – and the work she’s put in - to come tumbling down.
No complaining, Emma.
“So, who are these Penmaynes, anyway?” I ask her. “In this big old mansion?”
“They are a very famous family,” Mom says. “They’re very powerful and very, very rich.”
“How rich?”
Mom leans down to me conspiratorially.
“Billionaires,” she whispers. “Not just millionaires, but actual billionaires. Waylen Penmayne runs one of the biggest media companies in the world. TV stations and newspapers; the whole lot.”
“Oh, wow.”
“They’re a big family too,” Mom continues. “I think there are seven brothers running around in there.”
“Seven brothers?”
“Yes,” she replies. “And all around your age as well, so be careful. You better stay away from them, Emma. This family has a scary reputation, and I wouldn’t want to be on their bad side. Our new employer is apparently a woman of sharp mind and a strict oversight into everything that goes on behind that wall.”
“Seven brothers are a lot of boys,” I muse aloud.
“Don’t try to make them friends,” Mom warns. “I know you can get...passionateat times. God knows you love to express yourself, Emma, but just keep away from the Penmaynes. We don’t need to start messing around with them and risking it all.”
“Is that all you think of me?” I ask her, getting worked up. “Wildly passionate? I’m not dumb, Mom. I wouldn’t even want to be friends with these crazy rich people, anyway. I wouldn’t want to be friends with seven rich, spoiled boys.”
Mom sighs.
“Sorry, Emma,” she says gently. “You’re not dumb. And I don’t just think of you as passionate, it’s just that you can really get your mind fixated on things, you know that. But you are also the most loyal person I know. And you’re so, so patient. And you’re resilient, especially through all the tough times we’ve had. Quietly resilient. Those are the things I love most about you.”
I blush and look back down at the dirt. The compliments are too much for my teenage mind to take in.
“Thanks, Mom.”
I shuffle around her so that I can get a serious view of the mansion through the iron gates. It’s a bit hard to see through the bars, so I stick my head up close and peer through.
Yep, these people certainly know they’re rich.
I wonder how they view life from their ivory tower. Do they think of how to survive every passing day? Do they count their pennies before they go to the store?
High walls surround the complex. There’s so much security going on here. I can spot a few guards armed with guns in serious-looking dark uniforms patrolling around the grounds. The mansion itself rises up like something from colonial times. It has white columns that support the portico. The building is made of dark red brick.
Seven brothers in a mansion that’s this big and grand. What a concept...
The Penmaynes are in their own world - so separate from the normal everyday troubles of Mom and me and even the rest of normal America.
I guess none of them in there have ever had to think about where their next meal is coming from.
None of them have ever had to fit everything they own into one bag and move across states just for a new job, and spend their whole day endlessly worry about losing that job.
“It’s time, Emma.”
Beside me, Mom rings the security intercom.
I turn to look at her as she presses the button. There’s no going back now.
Yeah, it’s time to start a whole new chapter of our lives. A new job. A new place to live. A new start.
