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“It wouldn’t have changed anything.”
“But I could have been there for her final moments.”
“She wasn’t there for her own final moments. She was unconscious. I fell asleep on the floor, leaning on Papa’s leg. He was asleep on the armchair. None of us were ‘there’ for her last moments, Tal.”
I didn’t know that.
“Is this the real reason you came back to Florida?”
“Not…entirely.”
“Archer is the man for you,” she states, her voice firm. “He was in love with you and offering you the kind of life you dreamed of before Mama died. You can’t control everything. Embrace the unknown, Tal. Live a little while you still can.”
“But Papa—”
“He’s fine. I’m fine. Do you know who’s not fine? You are not fine. I refuse to let you ruin your love life because of some misplaced sense of duty.”
“I hate how right you sound,” I tell her, wadding the spent tissue in my hand.
“I want you to be happy too. And Papa is delusional.”
“Actually, at brunch, he told me to go back to Ohio and settle down with Archer.” I roll my eyes.
“Finally gave up on you and Brandon, huh?”
I laugh, startled by the sound. I haven’t laughed since before I left Ohio.
“When I find The One, I’m not going to resist when he offers me a gorgeous townhouse with a dream kitchen, that’s for damn sure.” She sighs. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”
Part of me knows that, but the resistance within is strong. I’ve carried the guilt over missing saying goodbye to Mama for so many years it’s like a pet on the end of a chain, and that chain is attached to a shackle around my ankle. I want to be free…I just don’t know how.
“I should go to bed. I have a long day tomorrow.” I give my sister a wan smile.
“You need to stop punishing yourself.” She is sounding wiser by the moment. “You own your business. You call the shots. You have a home here with me, no matter what. You’ll never be homeless. And you have Archer if you decide he’s who you want. If you draw a line and take off this weekend to, oh, say, go to Vivian and Nate’s wedding, there’s nothing wrong with that. If Brandon fires you for it, then fuck him. But not literally.”
She makes an ew face that squeezes another thin laugh from my chest. Then she lifts the tissue box and hands me a cream-colored envelope. “The wedding invitation arrived yesterday. I was trying to decide whether to tell you or not. You’ve been so sad, and I didn’t want to make you sadder.”
“Impossible.” I tear open the invitation. The heavy cream card stock matches the envelope, the bold purple trim reminding me of Vivian. I hand her a smaller envelope and card. “You’re invited as my plus-one.”
“‘Bring Lis. We’d love to have her,’” she reads. “That’s so nice.” She loses her smile when she hands the card back to me. “Go without me. I have a feeling you’ll be busy begging the man you love to forgive you for leaving him.”
“What about the work I’m doing with Lotus Leaf?” I ask, clinging to the unreasonable sense of duty Lis mentioned a few minutes ago.
“I suggest you prioritize. You can either stay here and work for Brandon in an attempt to prove yourself to the one man who doesn’t deserve your consideration, or…”
“Or?” I prompt when she doesn’t continue.
“Or you can enjoy your life. You don’t have to prove anything to the people who love you. Papa, Archer, and I already know you’re perfect.”
Archer
I plunk Benji’s tux onto his kitchen countertop, announcing myself with, “I’m here. Thanks to me you have a tux to wear to the wedding!”
He appears from the direction of his office, happy as ever, completely unaffected by my terse tone. He doesn’t rile as easily as when we were kids, and now that he has Cris, he’s almost bulletproof.
Annoying.
“Thanks, bro.” He claps my back. “Last-minute best men, aren’t we?”
