Chapter 2

Mom brought us all to the mall the following morning.

"Sophie's going to work for a big company. She needs clothes she can wear to the office."

Dad's friend had secured an interview, not a job. That distinction didn't seem to matter to my family.

Sophie tried a navy suit priced at $300, a $600 leather tote, and heels that cost $180.

Whenever she looked at a tag, Mom brushed her concerns aside.

"Forget the price. You have to look professional in an office like that."

Dad handed over his card without a pause.

Luke took charge of the bags and asked whether she wanted a new fragrance, too.

Mason knelt in front of Sophie to feel the leather at the back of one of her shoes.

"That's pretty stiff," he told her. "Try a different pair. You don't want your heels rubbed raw on day one."

From a short distance away, I watched my boyfriend take care of her.

He used to be that gentle with me.

Freshman year, I'd put on cheap heels for a date, hoping he'd think I looked good. We were halfway down the riverfront when my feet began to bleed.

Mason helped me onto a bench, hurried to a drugstore, and returned with antiseptic wipes and bandages for the blisters.

"You don't need to hurt yourself to look nice for me, Claire," he'd said, carefully covering the raw spots. "I'd think you were gorgeous if you came in sweatpants."

For my birthday, he gave me an expensive pair of heels. They were the first shoes like that I'd owned that didn't hurt to wear.

Then he met Sophie.

Gradually, the care he'd shown me became something he saved for her.

On the way out, we passed a luggage shop. I stopped at the entrance.

I'd had my suitcase for ten years. A crack in one corner was held together with three layers of transparent packing tape. Two wheels were so worn and uneven that the case fell over if I released the handle.

I picked out the least expensive hard-shell model they had.

The price was a little below $90.

I didn't go to the checkout. I took it to Dad.

"Could I get this?"

I still hadn't quite given up hoping.

They'd spent more than a thousand dollars getting Sophie ready for a position she hadn't been offered yet.

I actually needed a suitcase. Surely $90 wasn't unreasonable.

Maybe what I really needed was some sign, however small, that they had room for me, too.

Dad frowned at it.

"What's wrong with the one you have?"

"It's a decade old. It's cracked down the side, and two wheels hardly turn."

"You can still close it, can't you?" He sighed. "You've finished college, Claire. You need to learn to handle money. You can't replace everything the second it's less than perfect."

Mom joined us and checked the tag.

"Sophie needs her purchases for the interview. We're investing in her future."

She looked at the luggage I was holding.

"You haven't even found a place to work. What do you need a new suitcase for if you aren't going anywhere?"

In their minds, I'd already settled for whatever I could find near home.

Luke chuckled.

"You saw Sophie getting things, and now you want something, too. Everything isn't a contest, Claire."

I gripped the handle harder.

Then I put the suitcase back where I'd found it.

Outside the shop, Sophie had her new tote on her shoulder and a collection of shopping bags at her feet.

"Didn't you buy anything?"

"No."

I glanced at my old canvas bag, worn at the edges after four years of college.

My parents weren't short of money.

They cared about looking successful.

Somehow, spending money on me was always a waste, a bad decision, or something that could wait.

That night, Mom booked a private dining room for our graduation celebration.

A big cake stood in the middle of the table.

I noticed the icing before anything else.

CONGRATULATIONS, SOPHIE! THE FUTURE IS YOURS!

Sophie looked uncomfortable.

"Mom, did they leave Claire's name off by mistake?"

Mom kept reading her menu.

"Claire isn't much of a cake person. She doesn't mind."

I did mind.

I loved cake.

She'd just never bought me one.

During dinner, Dad gave Sophie a recommendation letter he'd printed out.

"Your interview's on Monday. David thinks you'd fit right in with the new project team. Fairmont is nearby, the benefits are great, and you can really build a career there."

Sophie teared up.

"You've done so much for me. What would I do without you?"

Mom leaned over the table and held her hand.

"We're your parents, honey. We'll always be here to help you get started again."

I watched their hands and felt as though I'd sat down at the wrong table.

They looked so close and content that it was hard not to feel like an intrusion.

Dad settled the restaurant bill.

About an hour after we left, I got a notification.

Mom was requesting $43.72 on Venmo.

She hadn't sent a request to anyone else.

Then she posted in our family chat.

You're out of college now, so you need to cover your own expenses.

Starting next month, rent will be $450, plus your portion of groceries and utilities.

You'll also need to pay for your meals when we go out.

I looked at the amount. She'd calculated it right down to the seventy-two cents.

That morning, they'd spent over a thousand dollars on my sister.

That night, I had to reimburse them for celebrating my own graduation.

Without replying, I paid the request.

If they wanted repayment, they could have it. Every last cent.

Two more days, and almost three thousand miles would stand between us.

I would be out.