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She remembered that growing up. They normally had a few weeks or months before things were set up for them to move to another country. They got to truly travel or take vacations. Maybe those were the fun things they did as a kid, but they were few and far between too.
“It’s going to be so nice to have the three of us together again tonight. Are you sure Wesley is okay with not seeing you until tomorrow night when he meets everyone?”
She frowned. “Ivy. Wesley doesn’t control my life and I don’t his. We’ve been dating about two months at this point. We don’t see each other every day and I don’t live with him. I don’t even spend that many nights at his house.”
“How come?” Ivy asked. “I would be if I had a guy that great.”
“You aren’t me and I’m not you. We all have to figure out our relationships with how it works for us.”
“Is it because Wesley’s wife died?” Ivy asked.
“No,” she said. “It’s what I said. I don’t jump that fast. It’s only been a few months. I think your biggest problem was you haven’t been on your own so you wanted to get out and used men for that.”
“That’s mean,” Ivy said, pouting.
“I think it’s the truth. You were looking for me to help you. Save you. Fix you. I’m not sure the word and not trying to be mean. You’re the one that wanted Dad’s attention more than the rest of us too. Maybe now that you’re out from under a roof where someone is trying to parent you, you’ll think differently about men.”
“I don’t know,” Ivy said. “I doubt it. I still think it’s mean what you said, but there might be some truth to it. Look, they are coming in now.”
Ivy always changed the subject when she didn’t want to talk about herself or anything that might be considered faults or flaws. Jasmine supposed she got it to a point.
“There she is,” she said, gripping Ivy’s hand. She saw the moment her older sister noticed them, the smile filling her face and her walking faster as she pulled a bag.
“She doesn’t look green,” Ivy said. “She looks happy.”
“She does,” she said, going into Dahlia’s arms. “Oh my God, you made it and don’t look sick.”
“The power of medicine,” Dahlia said. “They have these wonderful anti-nausea drugs that your doctor will give you now.”
“Dahlia,” Ivy said almost screeching, then hugging the two of them together. “I’ve missed you.”
“I see that, brat,” Dahlia said. She’d forgotten that nickname for her youngest sister. She supposed Ivy was a brat back then. “And now Jasmine gets to live with you.”
“She’s not home enough,” Ivy said. “She’s with her boyfriend.”
“I can’t wait to meet this boyfriend,” Dahlia said. “Are we meeting him tonight?”
“No,” she said. It was six now. She’d worked today while Ivy finished unpacking and making herself comfortable in the apartment. “He’s got things to do. It’s going to be a busy weekend for him. He’s going to meet us for dinner tomorrow. He’ll meet everyone at once.”
“Wish I could stay longer,” Dahlia said. “But these were the only flights I could get. I’m leaving Sunday earlier than I wanted.”
“I’m just glad you could make it,” she said. “Mom and Dad are leaving Sunday too. They won’t be here until tomorrow. They are going back with Chase to New York Sunday and then flying out from there.”
“I’m so happy to have my first weekend here with everyone,” Ivy said. “Then I can focus on finding a job after.”
“I can’t believe you moved without having a job,” Dahlia said.
Dahlia was the most practical of them all. She’d always been that way.
Jasmine liked to be in control. Ivy was almost always out of control. Dahlia colored within the lines and never did much in life to make her feel like she couldn’t take the reins when she wanted.
That meant not making rash decisions like moving to another state without a job.
But Ivy had family as her safety net as always.
And a potential job, but Jasmine hadn’t said anything yet to her younger sister about the conversation she’d had with Lily a few weeks ago.
She was playing it by ear. She wanted to see what her sister’s thoughts were. There was the fear that if Jasmine brought it up, Ivy would take it even if it wasn’t what she wanted. She’d rather see what her sister thought of for her career now than take something because it was there.
