“Sam, I forgot.”
There were moments when being forgotten hurt less than remembering the person had known.
Charlotte stepped forward.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, I genuinely forgot.”
“That’s what makes it okay.”
Charlotte winced.
“I’ll get you something.”
“I don’t need anything.”
“We can go shopping tomorrow.”
“I’m busy tomorrow.”
“Doing what?”
Samantha hesitated.
Then decided.
“I got into Berkeley.”
Charlotte stared.
“What?”
“For fall.”
“Berkeley Berkeley?”
“There isn’t another one I’m secretly excited about.”
A genuine smile appeared.
“Samantha!”
For one hopeful second, Samantha saw her sister.
Not Victoria’s favorite.
Not the young woman who expected breakfast.
Her sister.
Charlotte grabbed both her hands.
“That’s amazing.”
“Thanks.”
“You didn’t tell anyone?”
“I’m telling you.”
“Does Mom know?”
The fear in Charlotte’s face appeared instantly.
There it was.
Family hierarchy returning.
“No.”
Charlotte released her hands.
“You should tell her carefully.”
“What does carefully mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
“Sam.”
Charlotte lowered her voice.
“She’s planning things.”
“For me?”
“For everybody.”
“What things?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why are you warning me?”
Charlotte looked toward the doorway.
“Because whenever you talk about leaving, she gets… strange.”
Samantha stared.
“Stranger than normal?”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
Charlotte bit her lip.
“You know how she gets when she thinks people are abandoning her.”
Samantha nearly laughed.
“She ignores me most of the time.”
“That isn’t the same.”
“No. It’s better.”
Charlotte looked wounded.
Samantha immediately felt guilty.
That, too, was part of the family pattern.
Victoria created the rules.
The daughters injured one another trying to survive them.
Charlotte whispered, “I really am happy for you.”
Samantha nodded.
“I know.”
Maybe she did.
By noon, the mansion looked ready for a magazine spread.
Victoria inspected everything personally.
The dinner table.
Flowers.
Glassware.
Lighting.
She rejected one arrangement because the orchids “leaned desperate.”
Samantha did not know flowers could possess emotional instability.
At two, Victoria gathered Olivia and Charlotte inside her dressing room.
Samantha passed the half-open door carrying pressed napkins.
She heard her mother say:
“Adrian’s family expects refinement.”
Olivia replied, “Which one of us are you trying to sell?”
“Don’t be vulgar.”
Charlotte laughed nervously.
Victoria continued.
“You will both behave as if you’ve been raised properly.”
Samantha kept walking.
She reached the service pantry and dropped the napkins onto the table harder than necessary.