AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Erica transferred the stir-fry from the wok to a serving bowl and topped it with cilantro. Peanuts were already on the table.
“How was school?” Erica asked when they were seated across from each other at the table by the window. Most meals were taken in the kitchen. The dining room was for special occasions, entertaining or holidays.
“Good.” She scooped rice onto her plate, then wrinkled her nose. “We have to read The Great Gatsby. Ugh. I loved The Color Purple. That was so interesting, but this book is about a bunch of rich people. Why should we care?”
Erica tried to recall what the book was about. Or the movie—there’d been a remake several years ago. At least she thought there had been. Plus that old one her mother had made her watch a couple of times.
“Gatsby doesn’t really love Daisy,” she said, remembering a discussion in high school. “He wants to possess her, or what he thinks is her, but he never truly knows her. His feelings for her aren’t about love, they’re about acquisition.”
Summer stared at her wide-eyed. “Go, Mom!”
Erica laughed. “I know it sounds impressive, but honestly that’s all I can remember. I didn’t love it, either.”
“Shouldn’t literature be interesting? And relevant?”
“The basic themes of great literature are relevant. But you’re right—the setting, the way people act, that’s all out of step with our lives. The Great Gatsby was written a long time ago. Part of understanding it is to understand the times the author was living in. Everything changes with perspective.”
“Maybe.”
“How does everyone feel about the next game?” The team was playing the Bellevue High School Wolverines, typically a tough opponent.
“We’re going to kick Wolverine butt. Player for player, we’re better.” Summer paused. “But they do have a better outfield.”
As her daughter spoke, Erica wondered (for the eight-thousandth time) why Summer wouldn’t put a little effort into her appearance. Her hair was thick and shiny, but she wore it back in a ponytail or braid all the time. She had no interest in skin care or makeup. Her clothes were equally utilitarian. Summer had never wanted to experiment with different looks or go shopping. She never wore dresses or skirts unless it was a special event and Erica insisted.
Several of her friends dressed well, wore makeup and even asked Erica for tips. But not her own daughter. When pressed, Summer would roll her eyes and say she couldn’t be bothered with something so unimportant. Erica tried not to take the remarks personally, but it was difficult. Helping women look more beautiful was the entire point of her business.
Summer helped herself to seconds. “I don’t know what to do for Allison.”
Erica ignored the flash of impatience and resisted the urge to point out they’d agreed not to discuss the topic at dinner.
“You’re being supportive. That’s your role in all this. You don’t have to do anything. I’m sure your dad’s giving her advice.”
“I guess. She’s going to go see him. I wonder what that will be like. I don’t know anything about prison or jail or stuff. Do you think Dad’s scared?”
“I doubt he’s happy where he is, but I don’t think he’s in any physical danger.”
“Do you think he did the things he’s charged with? Dad’s not a bad person. He’s so great with Jackson and I know he loves me. Allison is his world. They fit together, you know?”
Before things had gone south in her marriage, Erica would have said Peter loved her very much, but she wouldn’t have ever thought of herself as “his world.” They simply didn’t have that kind of relationship. No one should be anyone else’s world. That was too much pressure and it sounded incredibly codependent.
“They must miss each other,” she said, going for the neutral response.
“They do. Remember after the divorce, when Dad was so down? I worried about him. He wasn’t himself, but then he met her and it was like a light went on inside. She makes him happy.”
Erica told herself that her daughter wasn’t being cruel on purpose, that the teen’s insistence at seeing things from her father’s point of view was more about her being the stronger parent, more successful. Summer saw her as capable, determined and rarely bothered by the emotions that laid the rest of humanity bare. There was no thought that Peter had initiated the divorce, and she’d never told Summer that she’d been blindsided.
The unfairness of it all made her push away the rest of her meal. Part of her wanted to point out that she’d suffered, too. That the divorce had been hard emotionally, although unlike Peter, Erica hadn’t shared many of her feelings with her daughter. She’d felt Summer was going through enough on her own without having her mother dump her disappointment on her.
“He was working so hard to grow his business,” Summer continued. “Practically starting from scratch.”
Because once Peter had said he was leaving, she’d pulled her account from his business. Twisted had been his major client, so she knew the move had hurt him financially, but given what was happening at the time, staying had been out of the question. Finding out he’d stolen a hundred thousand dollars from her over the years had only solidified her decision. Thank God she’d had the brains to insist on a prenup before they married. She’d started Twisted before they’d ever met and was the sole owner of the business. Despite being in love, she hadn’t been willing to risk her salons.
“Allison is so scared,” Summer said. “Mom, we need to do something to help her.”
“We talked about this. Let’s wait until we know more.”
“But she’s broke and pregnant. There’s no internet anymore—she canceled that. What about when Bethany’s born? How is she going to do that, on her own? What about Jackson?”
