“I’ve left your lunch in the fridge. I made plenty for your sisters, so take some home to them too.” I tossed him my apartment key without blinking. “Noproductin my apartment, but if you ever need a safe place to stay for the night, it’s all yours.”
His hard act softened for the barest moment, letting through a shy smile. A reminder that whoever he worked for, he was still just a kid. “Thanks, Ms. Kim.”
“Can we go now?” Sue demanded.
I ignored her. “Also, there are two cops clocking you across the street.”
“Ah, don’t worry.” He winked. “I clocked them first.”
We said goodbye, then I set off—starting the eight-hour drive back home.
I didn’t need directions. I knew the way back to my old life by heart.
“YOU MUST BE WONDERINGwhat I’ve been up to since you went away.”
Twelve minutes.That’s how long it took Sue to break the silence after thefifthtime I told her I didn’t want to talk.
“Nope,” I replied simply.
“Obviously I got accepted into a string of Ivy League colleges,” she plowed on. “Nearly did the full sweep. Harvard, Brown, Cornell, Columbia, Penn... Yale.”
I felt her eyes on me, but mine stayed glued on the road—my expression as bland as the gray stretch of road before me.
“I’m sure I would’ve gotten into the others if I applied, but I decided to only entertain universities near Omma. She lost Appa and her youngest daughter took off. I couldn’t abandon her too.”
“Does this car take regular or premium gas?” I asked, not rising to the bait. It was wild how quickly she tried to drag me into our old routines. Sue used to love making her little, biting digs, but when I called her out,she’d spin it on me so fast—saying I was too sensitive, and attacking her for telling the truth. Some people change over a decade.
And some people don’t.
“Or is it electric?” I continued. “If it is, good for you looking out for the environment.”
“Well, I should,” she returned, a tad snappish. “I’ve built my entire brand on natural and sustainable methods and products.”
“Admirable.”
“Yeah, it is admirable, Sarah.” Temper leaked into her voice. The poor thing finally got her favorite punching bag back, only to discover it’s nothing but a damp old sock.
No fun to hit.
“Some of us are trying to build things that last.” She snapped her fingers in my face. “Leave a legacy that makes the world better than we found it. What do you have to show for yourself? Did you even go to college? Or was that rathole what your prestigious law firm gives you when you make partner?”
I burst out laughing. “Hardly,” I chirped. “Can you imagine?Here’s a raise and a smallpox-laden apartment. Try not to think too hard about why there’s a chalk outline on the floor.” I howled. “Everyone turning to random strangers on the internet for legal advice has really hit the profession hard.”
Sue tsked, turning away. “Always the clown, Sarah. That’s forever been your problem. You could never take anything seriously.”
I snapped up straight, setting my chin. “You’re right, Sue. Tell you what? I’ll take the next six hours we’re going to sit in silence seriously. You won’t get another word out of me.” I made a show of zipping my lips and throwing away the key.
True to my word, I didn’t utter another syllable to Sue, even when she made two more attempts to drag me into a conversation where she could brag about how great her life was. When I still didn’t respond, she went ahead and did it anyway.
“—that’s why I ended up leaving the influencer space,” she said. “While I loved being an inspiration and role model to young Asian girls and women, I couldn’t get past the fact that I was pouring so much of my timeand energy into uplifting other people’s brands, when what I really needed to do was create something of my own.”
Biting hard on my lip, I flicked to the clock—my nostrils flaring. We were now at hour six, and Sue had spent three of them droning on about herself.
“When I was at Columbia— Oh, did I mention I went to Columbia?” she asked, nudging my shoulder. “I know you were all about New Haven, but there is nowhere on earth like New York City, and no better place to go to college. When I lived there, I met people from all walks of life, from so many different cultures and countries.
“The one thing they had in common was a desire for clean, healthy, sustainable products that they could afford, and that’s what SueNation is all about.Clean. Healthy. Affordable.That’s my motto.”
I turned off the highway, setting down the road that would take me to Lantana—a town that I still found unique after ten years of living in many different places.
