Belle looked out the window.
"She can't, can you, Belle?" Owen said darkly.
"Explain," I demanded.
"You're not really happy to be back, and you know you have to stay to keep Mom and Dad away from Chloe and Jack," Owen said.
"I can protect Chloe," I protested.
Belle rolled her eyes and looked over at Chloe, who was watching the exchange from the kitchen island as she methodically fried pork chops.
"Owen's right, I have to stay. Narcissists like Mom and Dad can go nutty when they think people aren’t paying attention to them or they feel like they aren't being given what's rightfully theirs. New York City's not a bad place to live."
"But you don't want to be here," Owen said. "Admit it. You're still angry that you had to raise us, that you were forced to give up your life for us."
"Stop being so dramatic," Belle said. "Our parents hold all the blame for what happened. I don’t resent you guys at all. I am angry, I'm not going to lie, but I'm angrier at our parents. They didn't just steal my childhood and young adulthood, they stole my chance to be your sister and not your mom. I really want to be your big sister."
"Well," I said. "You can have an apartment."
"And a job with me or Jack," Owen said.
"I'll pass," Belle said. "I'm going to do some work with Romance Creative. They need some software engineers. I'll travel around but mostly stay based out of New York City."
"Is that really what you want?" I asked her.
"It's fine," she insisted. "I missed you guys."
"We'll do anything for you, Belle," Owen told her.
"Yeah, Jack and Owen are billionaires," Jonathan said. "They can buy you a ticket to the moon if you wanted."
She laughed. "I'll think about it."
We stood around looking at her.
"Look lively, boys," she said. "This could be worse. The poor Holbrooks had three of their younger family members die in a horrible house fire a few Christmases ago. We still have each other." She hugged us again.
"And we have Chloe," she added. "Speaking of which, is it time to eat? That smells amazing."
"It's ready," Chloe said, beaming. She had all the food set out on the long kitchen island with a stack of plates, buffet style.
The food was amazing as usual.
"Are you going to make these for your restaurant?" Jonathan asked as he went back for his seventh pork chop.
"Don't eat so much," Belle admonished. "Leave some for other people."
"It's all right," Chloe said. "I have two more pans. Eat away! It’s better when it's fresh."
"We decorated," Oliver said proudly.
"I see that," Belle said, looking around with a critical eye. Belle always did like decorating.
"Now, I think this place looks great," she said, "but it looks like we are missing a Christmas tree."
After dinner, we waited for Chloe to bundle up in a coat. The rest of us stayed as we were.
"None of you are wearing a jacket?" she asked in disbelief.
