You knew how to handle these things way better than I do. You would’ve known exactly what to say, Dad.
Reluctantly, Charlotte sat down and kept one eye on Savannah, who was rubbing her forehead in slow, circular motions. “So, how are things with Jack?”
Emily blushed and glanced down at her drink. “Good. How about you? Are you really sure you want to spend your summer working? Don’t you want to travel or something?”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, I’m okay. It’s—”
One of her mother’s employees, a short woman with braided hair and piercing dark eyes, materialized. She whispered something into Emily’s ear, prompting Emily to jump to her feet. On her way past, she offered Charlotte an apologetic smile before she disappeared behind the double doors that led into the kitchen. Savannah came into the bakery as Charlotte was about to leave.
She hiked her purse up onto her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
Savannah wrung her fingers together and wouldn’t meet Charlotte’s gaze. “You were right. Med school just isn’t the right fit for me. I was too hasty when I chose it. I have to stop taking online classes. It’s too hard.”
Charlotte counted backward from five and then released a deep breath. “Sav, we talked about this. You can’t keep quitting things because they’re too hard. Anything worth having isn’t going to be easy. And you’re excited about this, remember?”
Savannah made a vague hand gesture. “It’s years of my life, and you know me, I can’t even commit to a TV show, much less a job.”
“So, what are you going to do? Back to random courses online until you choose your next career? That isn’t a way to live, Sav.”
“You don’t understand. Not everyone knows what they want to do right away.”
Charlotte snorted. “You think I knew I wanted to be a teacher? I definitely didn’t, and just because I figured it out pretty quickly, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t hard.”
Savannah frowned. “You just don’t understand.”
Of course, Savannah was going to resort to her classic comeback, never failing to remind Charlotte that she knew better.
Her sister never missed an opportunity to make Charlotte feel small and limited, and sometimes, she had to wonder if it was on purpose or if Savannah really had no idea the kind of effect her words had.
Was her sister really that clueless?
Charlotte straightened her back and pursed her lips. “Yeah, you know what? I really don’t understand. I don’t understand how you’re okay with just wasting your money like this and never committing to anything. How are you ever going to put down roots and settle if you stay on the move?”
Savannah swung her gaze to Charlotte, and her eyes flashed. “Not everyone has to follow your path. There are other ways to do well in life. Not everyone just chooses the first thing that falls into their lap like you did.”
“Pick a path then,” Charlotte snapped with a shake of her head. “And stick to it. Otherwise, just stop dragging us along for the ride. Because this whole schtick is getting old.”
Savannah reeled back as if she’d been slapped, and Charlotte immediately regretted the words. She knew her sister was sensitive and she’d always been on the move and hard to pin down, but it didn’t mean Charlotte wasn’t tired of it. Mostly, Charlotte was tired of getting phone calls from Savannah at all hours of the morning and night because of her sister’s indecisiveness. And she hated seeing how it kept their mom up some nights, muttering to herself.
Without waiting for a response, Charlotte brushed past her sister and onto the street. She stopped in front of the car to put on her glasses and felt Savannah’s glare through the glass windows. Charlotte ignored the churning in her stomach, clenched her hands into fists, and got into the car.
She drove to school with a deathlike grip on the steering wheel.
Hours later, when the afternoon sun was high in the sky, and Charlotte’s shirt clung to her sweaty back, she was wandering around her great-grandparents’ backyard.
With a fence that snaked around the property and neatly trimmed thick foliage, it was one of her favorite places in the world to spend time. It reminded her of lazy Saturday afternoons spent with her nose shoved in a book and the sun warming her face. She remembered how those days had felt endless and how much she looked forward to her weekend sleepovers at her great-grandparents’, where it felt like nothing bad could ever happen.
Especially with a glass of iced tea in hand, just like the one she was holding right now.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement, and her mom’s cousin, Aunt Angie, came out with a tray of mini-sandwiches and quiche. Her mom’s other cousin, Uncle Terry, appeared out of nowhere, and although her aunt tried to hold the tray out of his reach, he cleaned out half of it. While her aunt was busy wagging a finger at her brother and scolding him, Charlotte saw her uncle, Rob, sneak up on her and wolf down the rest of the food. Aunt Angie’s eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of her sockets as she glared at her brothers. The two of them gave her sheepish smiles and darted away.
Charlotte was still snickering and enjoying the feeling of her bare feet against the grass when she saw her mom’s Uncle Frankie at the grill, his bellowing laughter slicing through the air. He had one arm draped around Jonathan, his son. When another one of her mom’s cousins, Aunt Suzie, sidled up to them, Charlotte glanced away. She finished off the rest of her drink and ducked back into the house, where loud jazz music was playing.
Her great-grandparents were swaying to the music in the middle of the dining room, while Lara and Glen Jr. were trying to set the table. Charlie, her uncle Rob’s son, came downstairs with a few board games tucked under his arms. Siblings Jason and Maria, her uncle Jeff’s kids, followed in his wake, already bickering and talking over each other.
She squeezed past them and went into the kitchen, where she found her mother, her aunt Sophia, and her uncle Ian. No one looked up from what they were doing, but they all greeted her. Her aunt, Lily, was the only one who was able to pull Charlotte in for a hug before turning to her boyfriend, Ben, with a smile. Her great-aunts, Heather and Rebecca, were whispering in a corner until her grandma, Ashley, appeared, and the three of them huddled together.
When the doorbell rang, Charlotte opened the door to reveal her aunt Heather’s son and daughter, Luke and Tammy, carrying coolers full of drinks. Behind them, Charlotte saw her uncle, Jeff, park the car next to the curb, and her aunt, Tara, pushed the car door open, carefully balancing a casserole. Her daughter, Ruby, came out of the back seat, her usual hoodie pulled low over her head.
