“My job is busy.”
“Mom gets upset when you miss the biweekly family dinner. Dad does, too, but he won’t say anything because he’s a human clam.” Kimmy sounded serious, which was not her usual default setting.
“You know I was out of town, and before that I was sick.”
“Before that, you were at an event. And before that? Blah, blah. That’s a pattern of avoidance, in case you didn’t notice.”
This was true enough. He was tired of feeling like he didn’t belong, while forcing a smile through Stefanie’s endless teasing. The relief when he’d missed the first dinner, and then the second, and so on, had been enough to overwhelm the guilt he felt from staying away.
“I’m worried about you,” Kimmy said. “You don’t have any life.” At least she’d let the family thing go, although he wasn’t sure this was an improvement.
He was going to say he had Roger, but decided that didn’t negate her point.
“You haven’t gone on vacation in years,” she added.
“I was in Edmonton last week.”
“Did you see anything besides the inside of a conference room?”
“I drove by the legislature building.”
“Wow, living life to its fullest.”
“It’swork.” He ran his finger along his collar, not liking this discussion and itching to join Valerie as she debated some point with Ricky.
“Correct, you’re an employee. For money. Not a friend, or a member of the family. It’s like you forget there’s a difference.”
That stung, but he rallied. “I have a job I like, with a boss who appreciates me. I also get paid well. It’s natural to put more into what I do.”
“Just because you’ve basically hit the golden trifecta of employment doesn’t make it impervious to critique,” she said.
His phone beeped with another call. “I have to go. Bye, Kimmy.”
“The anniversary, Nico. It’s important.”
“I’ll send some ideas.” There, he could contribute but keep his distance from Stefanie’s digs.
“Send them to both of us. Me and Steffy.”
“Fine.” At least if he kept it to email he could delete the messages when Stefanie started inevitably being Stefanie. The phone beeped again.
“Thank you.” She paused. “Hey.”
“What?”
“Like it or not, a good job is only a job, but we’ll always be your family. I love you.”
She disconnected. Kimmy had no patience for the drawn-out farewells that their mother and Stefanie deemed necessary, a trait Nico appreciated, especially with Penny Badgerton-Willis waiting on the other line.
“Where are you?” she demanded when he picked up. Roger’s sister was Malcolm’s only daughter and eldest child, the self-proclaimed matriarch of the family, and a woman unused to hearing the wordno.
“Helping set up for today.” Roger frequently told him it wasn’t hisjob to deal with Penny, but Nico considered protecting Roger’s peace of mind as part of his role. Sometimes, that meant from his own family.
“Is the planner there? I want to talk to her.”
“I can pass on a message.” Running interference from Penny was the least he could do as Valerie finished setting up.
“Never mind. I still can’t believe we’re doing this gauche pass-around thing, like some low-rent suburban Christmas office party,” Penny said. “A formal meal is the correct way to honor my father.”
