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“How are you settling in?” Cindy asked, moving right to the next subject at hand. Cindy was a to-the-point type of person.
“It’s like a time warp. Everything is exactly how I left it, and I feel sixteen again.” Olivia had been back a million times over the years, but now that she was here to stay, the blast from the past was unsettling. Especially the dream board that held magazine clippings glued to it of Madison Ave, New York City penthouse apartments, designer bags, and Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl—Olivia’s favorite television show in high school.
Her entire life was focused on moving forward, reaching for the top, and now she was back at the bottom. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
“At least they didn’t turn your room into the dog’s room,” Cindy spat.
Shortly after Cindy moved out to live with her fiancé, now husband, Mom and Dad moved John Andre into her room. Now the room was filled with a toybox full of dog toys, two beds, and a painting of John Andre hung on the far wall.
“Still not over that, huh?”
“Do you know Mom made him filet mignon for dinner the other night. Filet mignon! We used to get tossed ten bucks and told to call for pizza.”
“We weren’t fluffy and adorable.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was adorable and still am.” And she had over a million followers who agreed, but Olivia was her sister, and it was her job to knock her down a few notches every chance she got.
“You’re all right.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Anytime. Besides, it’s not about you right now. Your life is perfect. Can we focus on the disaster that is my life?”
Olivia swore eye rolls made noise, and Cindy just made a very dramatic roll. “If we must.”
“Why do I like you again?” Olivia asked.
“Because you’re my sister, and you have no choice.”
“Good point.”
“But seriously… How are you holding up?”
“I cried for twenty minutes in the shower this morning before Dad knocked on the door to remind me I was using all the hot water.”
“Oil’s expensive,” Cindy snapped.
Olivia’s brow furrowed at the hostility in Cindy’s tone. She expected her sister to laugh with her or at least commiserate with her over the intrusion. “Geez, didn’t know you were paying their oil bill.”
“I’m just saying, as a homeowner, I get it.”
“And because I don’t own a home, I don’t?” This was exactly why Olivia came home instead of crashing at Cindy’s. Cindy, while always there for her, had a way of making Olivia feel as if she was too immature in life to understand responsibilities, all because she wasn’t married with a house and kid. “Besides they don’t have oil burners in skyrises.”
Cindy sighed into the phone. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
Olivia inhaled slowly. She was projecting. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m a little on edge.”
“You just went through a breakup. Give yourself a little time.”
“It’s not just that, Cin. I’m twenty-five, no career, no place of my own, no savings. I have nothing, and I have no idea how I let myself get here.”
“It’s part of life. Not everything can be up. Sometimes we have to be dropped down a few pegs to realize what we have. Harsh lessons are the best ones. At least you’re twenty-five and single. You only have to worry about you right now. And don’t take that as an insult, because it’s not. Take a few weeks, a month, the entire summer if you have to. There’s no rush. You’ll figure it out when the time is right.”
“I don’t know if I’ll last the entire summer with Mom and Dad.”
“Look at it as a test of your endurance.” Cindy laughed. At least she could find the humor in her parental hell; Olivia didn’t share her sentiment.
“I’m glad you can laugh about this.”
