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Frustration takes hold of me. She acts like it’s so bad to be poor, but I guess because we grew up in wealth that to her it’s worse than anything else. She doesn’t know the daily struggles of a single mother, or a broke college kid who doesn’t have rich parents to cover their bills and tuition. I didn’t realize how privileged I was until I was cut off from my inheritance. Poor people are no different from us.
She pours herself a small shot of the cheap liquor before downing it. “You don’t belong here. I get it. Link was horrible, but he came by for Sunday dinner hoping to see you. He was in tears, realizing the mistake he made.”
I roll my eyes at the last part. Those are crocodile tears. He does that every time he fucks up and as soon as I let my guard down, he goes back to doing the same shit. “You’re no better than the people who are here and now I’m one of them.”
Before, I didn’t know what it was like to go without. I didn’t know the struggles of poor people because I was one of those people who was oblivious to the real world. Being rejected from my own family was eye-opening for me, and maybe she’s right, I don’t belong here, but at the same time I’m not going to look down on these people.
I point to Crystal, one of the waitresses.
“You see that older lady, she busts her ass here every day to pay for her daughter’s disability. Her daughter has a heart problem.” I exhale, exhausted by this conversation. I should be excited about tonight, not feeling sour because of my sister’s closed-minded views. “So, tell me how I don’t belong here? These people have the same problems as the rich. They are no different from us.”
She crosses her arms and rolls her eyes. “If money is not an issue, why are you trying to get a fake fiancé to trick Mom?”
“Because I want to pay Mother back for all the stuff she has done for me. You will never know, but at one point, Mom was a single parent raising me until she met your father. You know what? Never mind.” She will never understand what I’m saying, and she doesn’t want to understand.
I get up from the table, but Sophia places her hand on mine. “I’m sorry, sit back down, please.” She plays with the ends of her hair. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Did you find a new suitor to be your fake fiancé?”
I’m so glad she changed the subject. My sister didn’t mean anything by her words about poor people, she’s just ignorant of a lot of things, and she’s the baby of the family. My parents sheltered her from a lot of things. For fuck’s sake, they had her believe that Storks dropped babies off until she was fourteen years old. They didn’t even allow her to go to college right out of high school, instead they arranged for her to be married to Tate. His family owns an oil company, and they are multimillionaires. In fact, he just became CEO of his family’s oil company. It’s common to do arrange marriages among the elite. Fortunately for me, I’m picking my own suiter.
“I received an invitation to the American Billionaire Club, so I hope to meet a suitor there.”
Her eyes widen and a smile stretches across her face. “He’s going to be a billionaire! Mother will love that!”
“I’m hoping so.”
“Hopefully it will work out because I sure miss you at Sunday dinners.” She sighs. “Every time I try to have a conversation about you, Mom talks about how you are a disappointment to the family and how you don’t exist anymore.”
Her words sting and I want to cry. All I want is for my mother to love me as much as she loves Sophia and Jimmy. She always treated me like I was less than. As if I wasn’t good enough for her. I always suspected it was because my father passed away when I was five and I was a constant reminder of him. Reminder of the love she lost. She was so stricken with grief that she wouldn’t get out of bed for a long time; her twin sister, Jasmine, had to care for me.
When I don’t respond, Sophia places her hands on mine again, but I remove it quickly. I don’t want her to see how hurt I am, and she has a lot of pressure on her with being a new parent.
“How’s Tate doing?”
They have been married for two years now, but I never liked him. He’s such an asshole to her, always acting cocky and thinking he can’t be touched.
Worry clouds her pupils and she shakes her head. “He’s drinking more than usual, and sometimes he doesn’t come home.”
I tuck my hair behind my ear, grab the neck of the bottle on the table, and pour her another shot.
“Do you think he’s cheating?”
“I don’t know, but if he is, I’m not going to leave him. I’m not like you, Poppy. I can’t be a disappointment like the way Mom views you. And, since I don’t work and we have a child, I’m stuck, and no man would want me.”
“You’re young, Sophia. And you’re gorgeous. Do you know how many heads you turn when you walk into a room? If a man wants you, he’ll accept Bailey,” I say. “You deserve happiness.” Here it is, I’m giving advice that I should be taking. I deserve to have love, but life doesn’t work that way.
“Yeah, but I care more about Mother accepting me than going against her wishes. I see how it affects you, and I can’t do it. I think…” She taps her fingers on the table as she thinks. “You were brave and stupid to leave Link, but I think you should have had another guy lined up to marry before you broke up with him.” She tilts her head. “Like a backup plan.”
I laugh and in some weird way, her idea isn’t half bad. I love my kid sister.
My boss, Tony, comes up to our table with his hands on his hips, then he strokes his beer belly. When his eyes land on my sister’s tits, he licks his lips. The guy is a total sleazeball.
“Are you over twenty-one?” he asks her.
Sophia looks at him in disgust, then she says, “Wh—”
“Are you still selling coke to your customers?” I snap.
Annoyance clouds his face, and he throws his hands in the air. “Fair enough. Your break is over. Get back to work.”
