“I understand you wish to change both your first and last name, is that right?” Judge Hopper asks.
“Yes, sir. I mean, Your Honor.”
“Please state your name for the record.”
“Erin Silver Callahan.”
“The court supports and fully accepts your decision, Erin,” he says. “Congratulations.”
Tears fill my eyes at the start of a new beginning.
I’m told to smile, and for the first time in a long time, I do.
The picture gets taken, and Bella throws her arms around me as I sob into her. She wipes my face before her own.
“You’re stuck with me now, baby sis. Us against the world. I promise. I’ll never let anyone hurt you ever again.”
A laugh echoes from the hallway. A second later, Bella bursts through the door, files clutched in her hands. Her blonde hair spills down her back, and her vibrant green eyes—so similar to our parents—flick to my hands.
“Caught red-handed,” she teases, kicking off her heels and bending to pick them up.
“Just saying hi to Mom and Dad,” I say, putting the frame back.
Her features brighten with affection. “Us against the world.”
“Us against the world,” I echo.
We stand there, letting the space fill with our grief. The Silvers died two years ago in a boating accident. Losing two sets of parents right before turning eighteen leaves behind an everlasting kind of ache, but somehow, you find a way to live with it because you have to.
Bella straightens, the moment gone as quickly as it came.
“How was your last session?” she asks, slipping into a pair of flats.
“Strange that it’s over, but it’s freeing.”
“I’m glad,” she says. “So, listen, I have some news, and I want to celebrate so we’re going out tonight. Hendrick’s Bar.”
“Bella…” I drag her name out in protest. “A bar is not my scene, and you know it.”
She grins. “I do. But Brodie will be there, and I really want you to meet him.”
“Ah, the guy who asked for your number at the architect conference a few months ago.”
“Yep,” she confirms. “We’ve only been on a handful of dates, but I really think he’s the one.”
“What are we celebrating?” I ask.
“Do you remember me telling you that he works with his father, who owns a whiskey distillery?”
I nod. “Emerson’s Barrel & Sons.”
“Brodie wants to take it one step further and open his own club in California. He wants me to design and build it with him from scratch,” she explains. “The meeting I came from a few minutes ago… My boss signed off on me transferring to The Sketch Pad location in California.”
“Bella! That’s incredible,” I beam, pulling her into a hug and holding her tightly as I try to ignore the quiet churn inside of me at the thought of Bella leaving. It’s a change I’m not sure I’m ready for.
Bella untangles herself from me.
“Victor said this project is exactly what the firm needs to get Helena James’s attention.” Bella’s eyes sparkle with excitement. “And that it might get us her upcoming estate project.”
