“Look, in a couple of days we’ll all be in New York together. You’ll have alone time with her at night and she’ll be with us girls during the day and the games. You two can have a heart-to-heart and I’ll try to get her to tell me what’s going on in her head too.”
“I appreciate you,” I say somberly. “Thank you.”
“That’s what friends are for.” She squeezes my arm and then picks up a plate.
We’ve just finished the gender reveal, where it turns out Aiden and Hana are having a girl, when my phone buzzes. It’s Victoria, so I walk outside to talk to her.
“Hey, babe.”
“How was it?” she asks.
“Still going on—the ladies all asked about you.”
“I wish I’d been able to come.”
“Well, it turns out they’re having a girl.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” She says the words but her tone doesn’t match them.
“You okay?” I ask.
“I have to talk to you about something, but it can wait until you’re home. I thought it would be over by now.”
“Are you still at work?”
“Yeah, but it’s really quiet today.”
“You want me to come pick you up?”
“I’d love that but I have to stay late to do inventory. Terri is coming in at five and we’ll be here late. The good news is that I get paid time-and-a-half after five, but I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”
“Okay. So, what’s up?”
“Please don’t be mad.”
A bad feeling winds through my gut. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t think I can go to New York.”
I blow out a frustrated breath. “Babe, it’s all paid for.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I looked and the flight is refundable so you can get your money back. And I’ll pay you back for the spa day.”
“It’s not about the money!” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “Why are you letting your parents manipulate you?”
“If I go and my dad dies of a heart attack while I’m gone, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Maybe if he went to a doctor and got medicated, you wouldn’t be responsible for his well-being.”
“I know. Mom, Ivy, and I are all working on him. Please try to understand.” Her voice breaks a little. “You have no idea how much I want to go but?—”
“Obviously not enough to actually stand up to your parents.”
“Jordan, you know how hard this is.”
“I know how good they are at making you feel guilty. Just like they did four years ago. I wanted you to go to the All-Star weekend with me but they said it was inappropriate even though you were eighteen and I offered to put you in a separate hotel room. They wouldn’t let you go to weeknight games because you’d be out too late even though you never went to bed before midnight anyway. I can think of a dozen ways they manipulated you then and you’re still letting them do it now.”
She’s quiet, and I hate that we’re having this argument while I’m at the party but she started it.
