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“I don’t understand. Why did they fire you?”
The fork clattered against the ceramic plate. Frustration boiled my blood, but I didn’t raise my voice.
“I was not fired. Laid off. There’s a difference.”
Mom and Dad sat around me on the dark, rectangular table; their aged faces basked in orange light. The kitchen was unique because half of its walls were made of glass. As a result, itgleamed with light even though it was five in the evening. The whole house was always filled with sunshine and I preferred it for that reason. It contrasted against my gloomy apartment. The change in scenery did nothing to ease my mood.
Dad gave me a doubtful look that made me grind my teeth together.
“You did something wrong if they got rid of you and not the newer hires.”
I shoved the doubt away. “I’ll find something else.”
My mother swiveled in her chair to talk to Dad. “Maybe it was because she took so many days off for that girl.”
Bored, I looked up from my plate to glare at her. Her tactics were as subtle as a flying brick. It took me years to understand them.
“You know her name—Jessica. She’s only been my best friend since I was thirteen. And no, it wasn’t because of that.”
“Maybe if you weren’t spending so much time helping her, your life wouldn’t be such a mess.”
“Tom!”
The snappy commenttook me off guard. I could feel Dad’s disappointment rolling from him like heat lamp.
Both of them took to Ben very well. He was a hotshot lawyer with a good salary, successful, handsome. He was everything they wanted for me. It was plain from the look on Dad’s face he thought I would never find someone like him again.
“I don’t regret helping my best friend.”
“That girl was always a bad influence. I never liked that you hung around her so much.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“She used you to help herself. How is she helping you now?”
The beef stir-fry was subject to my rage. I stabbed the food and popped it into my mouth. “She is setting me up on a date.”
“Well, it’s the least she can do after destroying your relationship.”
“She destroyed nothing!”
“You were engaged, and now you’re not. And I still don’t understand why—”
“I broke up with Ben. I will not rehash it. Get over it.”
“Don’t raise your voice like that. It’s not our fault you went into art instead of applying to dental school.”
“Waste of money.” Mom muttered under her breath.
It felt like a gut punch. The air vanished from my chest.
“Twenty grand a year, and what did it amount to?”
“Stop it, Dad.”
“For you to make as much as a guidance counselor!”
