“Everything,” James said. “Tom's getting divorced, I'm depressed, Kate's having panic attacks, and Dani's been homeless.”
“Not homeless,” Kate corrected. “Couch-surfing.”
“Same thing with better PR,” Tom said.
Ben took a sip of bourbon. “My business is failing.”
Everyone looked at him.
“The storm damaged more than just your inn. I've got three insurance claims that won't pay out for months, if at all. I'm behind on my shop rent. This job for you guys is keeping me afloat, but barely.”
“Why didn't you say something?” Kate asked.
He shrugged, “If I had to guess, I’d say pride.”
“Pride's expensive,” Tom said, raising his glass. “To expensive pride.”
They all drank.
“What do we do now?” James asked. “We're all failures hiding in our childhood home.”
“We're not failures,” Kate said, though she wasn't sure she believed it. “We're just... lost.”
“I haven't been lost,” Tom said. “I've been lying to myself. Thinking if I worked harder, billed more hours, made partner, somehow that would fix my marriage. But Sarah was right. I chose the job over her, every time.”
“Why?” Kate asked.
“Because the job was easier. Clear metrics. Bill hours, win cases, make partner. Marriage was messy, unpredictable. I couldn't control it.”
“Control,” James said quietly. “That's the family curse, isn't it? We need to control everything.”
“I couldn't control Mom dying,” Kate said. “Couldn't control Pop's mind failing. So I controlled everything else. Every detail of the inn, every minute of Pop's schedule.”
“I tried to control my entire life trajectory,” James added. “Perfect startup exit, perfect next move, perfect everything. And now I'm perfectly miserable.”
“Where's Dani in all this?” Ben asked.
“Probably the smartest of all of us,” Tom said. “She tried things. Failed. Tried again. She's the only one who hasn't been paralyzed by the need to be perfect.”
The kitchen door opened, and Dani appeared in her pajamas.
“I heard voices,” she said, then saw the bourbon. “And you're drinking Pop's good stuff without me?”
“We're confessing our failures,” James said, pouring her a glass. “Tom's divorced, I'm depressed, Kate's panicking, Ben’s business is suffering and you've been couch-surfing.”
Dani sat down. “You all knew?”
“Kate just told us,” Tom said.
“Traitor,” Dani said without heat. She took a sip. “Well, since we're confessing, I also maxed out three credit cards and owe the IRS four thousand dollars.”
“Dani!” Kate exclaimed.
“I know. But I kept thinking the next thing would work out. The next job, the next opportunity.” She looked at her siblings. “I'm thirty-two and have nothing to show for it except debt and a very patient friend in New York.”
“You have ideas,” Kate said. “The events program is brilliant.”
“Ideas don't pay bills.”
