I pull away. “You know what he did.”
“I know.” My sister sighs, scrubbing a hand over her face. “That’s who he is, Pops. A meddler. You should have seen him once he realized you actually left. He wanted to go after you right away, but Mom and I convinced him to give you space.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And believe me, he heard it from both of us once you told us what happened.” She softens. “Will you talk to him? Please?”
“Why, so he can tell me again how much of a failure I am?”
“You didn’t fail. Opening night was amazing.”
“We all saw the effort you put into it,” Caroline adds.
“Bret Whittaker is writing a review,” says Julia. “A positive one.”
“Great,” I say hollowly. “It’ll help for two seconds until Jack puts it on the market.”
Julia sighs. “Don’t diminish what you accomplished, okay?”
“Jules, it’s not like when you do something great. It never is.”
Her brow wrinkles. “What do you mean?”
I take another sip of bland coffee. “I—never mind.”
“Tell me.”
Caroline squeezes my hand, a knowing look on her face. “I’ll be downstairs,” she says, pecking Julia on the lips as she stands.
Julia watches her go with a frown. “What is it?”
“I’m not you.”
“I know that,” she says slowly.
I scoot to the headboard, reaching for the mug on the nightstand. I need something to occupy my hands. “No, I mean... I’ve always tried to be more like you. You’re the perfect one, you know? The one our parents are proud of.”
“Poppy—”
“Let me just... I need to get this out.”
She nods.
“You’re the best, Jules.” My throat is thick again. “The coolest, the smartest, the kindest—I mean, seriously. I’ve always wanted to be like you. For Mom and Dad to see my accomplishments like they do yours. The influencing... I know it’s not like being a fancy corporate lawyer, but still. I worked so hard to build that following, that career, even though I know you all think it’s silly.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Julia says softly.
“And then I had Fable, right? And I really wanted Mom and Dad and you to see I could use those skills for other things. That I could be in the restaurant business too. That I fit in with all of you.” I take a deep breath, blinking away tears. “That’s why it hurt so much, knowing Dad couldn’t trust that I knew what I was doing.”
“Poppy,” she says, her voice breaking. “I had no idea you felt that way.”
My lip wobbles. “Yeah.”
“I don’t want you feeling like that.” She looks me in the eyes. “You’re amazing, okay? You’re so creative. You’re driven. I saw everything you created for Fable. I was in the dining room that night, and I tasted the food. You were always brilliant. We were the ones who didn’t see it.”
“Thanks.” I clear my throat. “I thought Jack saw it, too.”
Now, I don’t know. My mind keeps running over what Jessica said to me. Maybe she’s right; maybe Jack truly does look out only for himself. Maybe any connection we made would’ve been severed just as unceremoniously, leaving pieces of my heart scattered a thousand miles away.
