* * *
Snapchat Messages Between Noah and Liam:
Noah: Brah, when are you done being grounded?
Liam: January 1st. I called my dad an asshole last week. Why?
Noah: Brah, stop fucking swearing at your parents. Charmaine’s parents are going out of town this weekend and she’s having a party. Can u sneak out?
Liam: Not if I don’t want to end up dead.
Noah: Come on, your dad won’t literally kill you.
Liam: Maybe not, but he’ll come really fucking close.
18
“Sometimes we do the wrong things for the right reasons.”
~ Mr. Ping, Kung Fu Panda
Text from Winnie: Why did you freak out at Hannah’s mom on Saturday? Do you know how shitty that is for me? Everyone is talking about how you lost your mind. And they all know you want to be a lawyer now?! SERIOUSLY HUMILIATING!!!
Jess: I’m really sorry that people are talking about what happened. I promise I didn’t freak out at anyone. I just said I wasn’t going to be able to stay to volunteer. I explained that I’m very busy with my new job and preparing for the LSAT.
Winnie: How could you tell them all that stuff? That’s private! Besides, you should have just stayed and helped out. Kaitlyn’s mom had to run the dog wash by herself and it was so hard, she ended up in tears about it.
Jess: Or Hannah’s mom could have stayed instead of going to Pilates. I feel bad that Patricia was so upset, and I’ll write her a note to apologize, but I don’t feel bad about leaving what was a totally unfair situation. And I don’t consider my new career path a secret. I’m proud of what I’m doing. I hope someday you’ll feel proud of your mom too, but I know it won’t be any time soon.
Winnie: Or EVER. I honestly don’t know who you are anymore. The mom I knew cared about people other than herself.
Jess: I still care about other people, including you, very much. I love you, Winnie. It’s also time I show myself some love too.
Winnie: Whatever. If you cared about me, you wouldn’t be taking my college money and blowing it on yourself.
* * *
It was two days before Thanksgiving. Jessica was scarfing down reheated leftovers at her desk while she worked on the assignment that had to be presented in an hour. Tonight was her fourth class. They’d be continuing on with levels of truth, which she seemed to have had a better grasp on in her twenties. Maybe the rules of logic were easier when life was black and white. Or maybe everything was easier when you were young. And it was definitely easier to focus on her studies before she had become a wife and mother—especially a disappointing one at that. The emotional burden of having an upset family was huge.
Once the shine of her new job wore off, she couldn’t just leave the burden when she got in her car every morning. Winnie’s anger and Mike’s indifference went with her wherever she went.
Wasshe doing the wrong thing? Maybe it wouldn’t feel like it if she could just find a way to pay for her college tuition. But she simply couldn’t find another way to do it, not without saving up for another decade or so, and that wasn’t an option. Other than the money for the prep class, she hadn’t taken anything out of the college fund. Maybe she could figure something out without impacting her kids so much. Or maybe Winnie could just suck it up and live at home for college. More and more students were doing that these days because fewer people could afford to send their children out of state. Or perhaps Jess would be able to pay off Winnie’s student loans for her when she was bringing in the big dollars. But that was a problem for Future Jess. Jess today needed to do her homework.
The truth was, each week, Jess felt like she was getting a little farther behind. She wasn’t just exhausted anymore, she was panicked, which made it nearly impossible to sleep at night. Her eyes were heavy, her neck and shoulders were stiff from all the hours at her desk, and all she wanted to do was lay her head down for a few minutes for a nap. But she couldn’t. She had to write up a Must Be True question and present it. The person whose question was not solved by the class but could be explained by its creator would win an hour of extra time with Nina. Jessica was determined to win that hour.
Most home-cooked Thanksgiving meals are prepared by women, and most of the food made is consumed by men. Additionally, most of the clean-up is done by women, all of whom are exhausted by the end of Thanksgiving Day. Most men can forget about sex on Thanksgiving night.
Assuming the statements above are true, which of the following can be properly inferred?
Her phone rang, interrupting Jess, just when she was finally on a roll. It was her mom calling. Guilt stabbed at her chest as she swiped to answer it. Her mom had left three messages over the last week and Jess had yet to call her back. Instead she had texted a quick note that she was super busy, but all was well and not to worry.
“Hey Mom, what’s up?”
“Just calling to check in on you. Where are you?”
“At the office,” Jessica answered, shoving a bite of tortellini with meat sauce into her mouth.
“At this hour?” Clearly, her mother disapproved.
