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“Drawer under the stove,” she said, looking up from where she was cutting shelf liner to fit the cabinet she was working on.
I set to work putting the pots and pans away and kept an eye on her. Cory seemed way more into measuring and cutting white shelf liner with purple flowers on it than necessary.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I’m working on the cabinets,” she said.
“Smart ass,” I rolled my eyes. “I mean what’s going on besides that? You’ve got something on your mind. I can tell.”
“Sometimes I can’t believe it’s real. I think I’ll wake up and still be back there with Gregory, making myself smaller, waiting for him to go ahead and kill me,” she said, frowning. “The fact that I’m free, that I’m safe and I get to have a real life, that that wasn’t the end of everything for me. Sometimes it feels like a dream.”
“It’s not a dream. You’ve worked too damn hard to make it happen. Two years ago, think about where you were. You got out of a really bad relationship, started over from scratch. You went to school, got your license, and worked your way into a job you love. Now you’ve got a great new place to live. That you earned all by yourself, despite repeated efforts by your successful and adoring big brother to help you out along the way. You’ve turned your whole life around, Cory. I swear to God, you’re the strongest person I know.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes bright. “I don’t own my own mega-successful business or have a fancy car or a side hustle as a professor like some people.”
“You’re teasing me, and that’s fine. Baby sisters are supposed to be annoying as hell. But I mean it. I didn’t have shitty choices or a bad, dangerous situation to get out of. Nobody beat me down body and spirit till I didn’t know which way was up. If I had, I wouldn’t be where I am today. I didn’t have to overcome anything to get where I am.”
“Um, except the death of our parents and trying to raise me. That was just no problem, right?” Cory quipped.
“You were never a problem. Dad was a problem, but you know that story.”
“I don’t think I know the half of it, because of you protecting me.”
“I did the best I could at the time. There’s a lot I’d do differently if I could go back, knowing what I know now,” I admitted.
“Yeah, no shit, me, too,” she snorted.
“Well, way to ruin my Hallmark moment there. I’m confessing that I’m not perfect, I made mistakes. I gave you too much freedom too soon, let you move in with your boyfriend even when I didn’t trust him.”
“Okay, one, you’re not all-knowing God. Two, I was eighteen, so you weren’t letting me do anything, because there wasn’t any stopping me. And three, you never trusted any guy I ever went out with. Not that any of them were that great.”
“Well, apart from being insulted by the first point—when you should acknowledge that your big brother is all knowing and all seeing—I agree with the last part. I chalked it up to the idea that I probably wouldn’t like anybody you dated, so anything I thought was disrespectful or bossy about him, I figured I just felt threatened because you’d always looked up to me.”
“So, you’re saying you thought it was your ego and not a red flag?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“Not to screw up your Hallmark moment again, but I made mistakes too. I thought that I needed to just gain more experience in being part of a couple.”“That’s just bullshit,” I cut in.
“Okay, easy, tiger,” she said. “The point is, I’ve done a lot of work the last couple of years with my therapist and on my own and repairing my friendships and stuff. I’m ready to try again, with someone new,” she said, taking a big breath, expectant, maybe a little apprehensive of how I’d react.
“You’ve met someone,” I said, keeping my voice quiet, even, neutral. I wanted her to know she could be honest with me. Last time, she’d been afraid I’d be disappointed if I knew how bad things were with Gregory and she kept it to herself. One of the things her therapist had told me in a joint session, was that I had to be more open, less judgmental. So, I didn’t even clench my fists at the thought.
“I’ve met someone, yes,” she said, and she smiled. Cory smiled so much I saw her dimples. Those dimples always got me right in the heart.
High alert, I thought, as something like fight or flight adrenaline coursed through me, imaginary sirens going off in my head. She shook her head at me.
“This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”
“I’m trying, Cor. I just want you to be safe. You’ve come so far and I’m so proud of you. And I’m so scared it could all go off the rails if another guy treated you that way.”
“I know, and I love you for it, but you have to trust me, Aaron. I’ve learned a lot from that relationship and all the therapy. I’ve learned to trustmyself.I won’t fall into that kind of trap again, and if I got involved with someone who had some of the same behaviors, I know how to address that, how to set a boundary and then cut ties when I need to. I’m stronger and smarter now, and I deserve a chance to trust myself and find someone who makes me happy.” She said it with such confidence, such calmness.
I reached out and hugged her. “You are so much smarter than me, kid. I know you have your shit together, and it was never your fault to start with. My fear about this is my problem, not yours. There is nothing more important to me than your happiness. And if you want to start seeing this guy---” I trailed off when she pulled back and gave me a look, “This guy that you arealready seeing, then I want you to have fun and be very safe and know you can tell me anything. I won’t threaten violence or act like an idiot about it. I learned the hard way that it wasn’t helpful, that it kept you from telling me stuff because you didn’t want me to end up in jail. I like to think I’m a little smarter now, too,” I said.
“Thanks,” she replied.
“So, when do I get to meet him?”
