My own mother went against the grain by running the jewelry business with my father. Her sisters and her aunts gave her endless grief, but Mother stood firm and said she was perfectly capable of managing a business and a family. Eventually, they left her alone. The moment I turned eighteen and graduated high school, they set their sights on me.
And haven’t let up since.
At least I have cousins who are in the same predicament. They all feel the same way I do. We’re too young for marriage. None of my female cousins are in serious relationships at the moment. They were too busy going to college first before starting their careers. I dabbled in college classes, not sure of what I wanted to do. Definitely didn’t want to be a business or finance major like my brother.
Eventually I dropped out and threw myself completely into the family business. What’s the point of going to college and majoring in something that interests me when I know I’m going to end up working at the jewelry store for the rest of my days?
“Amelia, where’s your young man today?” This comes from Aunt Angela, who most likely knows where my supposed young man is.
I take an extra long time to chew my green beans as a stall tactic.
“Didn’t you hear?” I ask once I’ve swallowed. Aunt Angela lifts her head, frowning at me.
“Hear what?” she asks.
“We broke up.” I shove turkey in my mouth to prevent myself from saying anything else. There’s no need to air all of my dirty little secrets at the dinner table during Thanksgiving.
Aunt Angela sucks in a surprised gasp while everyone else at the table keeps eating, their heads down. As if they don’t want to make eye contact with anyone, least of all me. “No. When did this happen? How did I miss this? Are you all right? You must be devastated. You two were so close. Inseparable! You lived together. I thought for sure you’d be married soon.”
“Angela,” my mother says to her younger sister. “Please. I told you about the break up when it happened.”
“And when did it happen?” Angela asks, turning on my mother. “I don’t remember you telling me—surely I would!”
They get in an argument about keeping each other informed and I ignore them, stuffing more food in my mouth, grabbing for a second roll when the basket gets passed around. I’m not one to eat my feelings, but pretty sure today calls for it.
“I’m so sorry, Amelia.” My aunt aims this comment directly at me, so I lift my head, my gaze meeting hers. There’s so much sympathy on her face, I almost feel bad that she feels bad, which is silly. “I must’ve forgot your mother telling me. I would never bring it up on purpose, especially now in front of everyone.”
I believe her. That’s more my aunt Marsha’s style, who’s a spiteful old cow who loves to get back at my mother—her younger sister by barely a year—in any way possible. They’ve had jealousy issues since birth.
“It’s okay,” I say, offering her a wan smile. “I’ve pretty much recovered.”
“Oh, I hope so.” Her expression turns hard, her lips thinning into a straight line. “I never did like him much.”
I’m surprised. I thought everyone in my family adored him. I talked him up so much, never revealing what a jerk he could be towards me. “You didn’t?”
“No. He could be rather—arrogant,” she says. “I never was quite sure if he actually cared about you, or cared more about the idea of you.”
I frown. What exactly is she talking about?
“I always believed he was in love with her,” my mother says with a frown.
“Not enough to marry her though.” This comes from Aunt Marsha.
“Marsha, please,” my mother snaps.
Ah, family fun during Thanksgiving.
My brother, Palmer, clears his throat, raising a hand to silence everyone, which works. It’s impressive, how Palmer has such complete control over our family with just a clearing of his throat or holding up his hand. They ignore me every chance they can get.
“I have an announcement,” Palmer says, his deep, rich voice causing all of them to swivel their heads in his direction. He sits on the other end of the table, the complete opposite of where our father is sitting.
One day Palmer will be in charge of this family, and he knows it.
“What is it, dear?” Mother asks, her expression a mixture of excitement and curiosity.
I frown at him, wondering what the hell he’s doing. He’s been pretty quiet lately. Not around much. Shuttling in and out of the store like a man whose feet are on fire. Busy is the name of his game.
Palmer smiles, his gaze sweeping over every single one of us, drawing out the moment, I’m sure. He’s always been dramatic, especially when he was a little kid. He hasn’t changed much. “I’ve met someone.”
Mother clasps her hands together in front of her chest, her eyes dancing with delight. “Oh, Palmer. Really? Where is she? Who is she? Where did you meet? Why isn’t she here right now?”
Palmer laughs, his cheeks turning ruddy. Please, he’s not embarrassed. He’s eating this up. “Her name is Cassie. We met at the Sweet Dreams Café. We were both waiting for our coffee order and it turns out we get the same thing. She grabbed mine and we argued over it, until she noticed that my name was written on the cup.”
“How romantic!” Aunt Angela exclaims. “Sounds like a rom com!”
I want to roll my eyes but keep myself restrained. Figures my brother would fall in love with a woman via a meet cute moment.
Palmer laughs, looking pleased. “Somehow I convinced her to give me her phone number and we started chatting. Then we met for coffee. Lunch. Dinners. We’ve been pretty much together for the last three months.”
That sneaky dog. He didn’t tell anyone about it either.
“Why haven’t you brought her around if you’ve been seeing her for this long?” Mother seems hurt. I suppose she is. She lives for this sort of thing. Meddling in our business, in our relationships. She’s supportive, don’t get me wrong, but she also tries her hardest to be an active participant in our lives.
Sometimes too active.
Palmer’s expression turns sheepish. “If you want me to be truthful, I wanted to make sure Cassie and I were solid before I brought her around for the introduction. I saw how you all jumped on Amelia and her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend,” he corrects at the last second.
At least he had the decency not to say his name.
“Darling, we would never interfere,” Mother says, her expression reminding me of a sweet angel.
It’s a bit of a lie, though. As soon as Cassie comes around, Mother will sink her claws into her and never let her go. I make it sound evil and nefarious when it’s really not. My mother can just be…clingy sometimes. She wants what’s best for us, but she’s also relentless.
“Sure,” Palmer says with an easygoing smile. “I wanted to have her over for dessert later—”
“Yes! Have her come over right now!” Mother encourages.
“She’ll get here around five or so,” Palmer says. “Can’t wait for you all to meet Cassie.”
I frown, realization dawning. “Wait a minute. Does she work at Noteworthy?”