Page 74 of Waking Olivia

Family time?God, there are so many responses that come to mind. I just barely keep them to myself.

“And it’s time she found a family of her own,” she continues. “She can’t be leaning on you guys as her only source of support.”

“How exactly is she supposed to find a family, Jess?” I ask, my voice precise and angry. “Post an ad on Craigslist?”

“Will,” she says, “don’t get snippy with me. You know what I mean.”

“No, actually I have no fucking idea what you mean.”

“You always defend her,” she accuses. “Ever since she got here, you’ve done nothing but make excuses for her, and she’s totally taking advantage.”

Jessica has a big family, and parents who dote on her. Her car and the fancy apartment she couldn’t possibly afford on her salary are all benefits of having parents who can’t deny her anything. It makes every word out of her mouth that much more appalling. “Taking advantage ofwhatexactly, Jessica? My family’s yacht and mansion?”

“Will,” she says with a tremulous note in her voice, “this is a really hard week for me, okay? Please stop making it worse.”

“Hard in what way?” I growl, irritated before I even know what she’s going to say.

“This is the week we lost my grandfather,” she says, pressing her index finger to the corner of her eye as if to stem the tears. “I miss my family and I’m thinking about my grandfather and now you’re mad at me and it’s hard, okay?”

We are almost into town and I should let this go, just make it through the evening, but I can’t.

“When?”

“When what?” she sniffles.

“When did your grandfather die?”

“A few years ago.”

“How many, Jess?”

“I don’t know. High school.”

“What year of high school?”

“I don’t know!” she exclaims in exasperation. “I was maybe a sophomore. How could it possibly matter?”

“You expect me to feel sorry for you because your grandfather died at leastnineyears ago, but you think Olivia should find her own family?”

“It’s hard for me to be away from them over the holidays and it’s like you don’t evencare.” This is classic Jessica. Lose the point and just throw out a new accusation. “I stayed here foryou, remember?”

“I told you to go visit them,” I groan. Her parents moved to Denver over the summer, but she insisted on staying here for the holiday, even after I all but begged her to go.

“It’s okay,” she says tearfully. “You’ll come to Denver with me at Christmas and it’ll all even out.”

That’s when I turn the car around.

I wanted to believe that my father knew better. I tried to see the best in her, and I was wrong. We both were.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“I’m taking you home.”

“You don’t need to do that.” She smiles, wiping away another invisible tear and then putting most of her faux-sadness aside. “I’m okay, just a little sad about not seeing my family. Let’s go out. I’ll be fine.”

I take a deep breath, aiming for neutrality rather than scorn. “I’m sorry, Jess, but this isn’t going to work out.”

“Will, it’s fine. I just needed a little cry—”

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