Page 93 of The Glittering Edge

“Things there are weird. That’s all.” Corey chews his bottom lip. “Actually, that’s not all. It’s also my mom’s birthday.”

Penny doesn’t say anything at first. Then she shifts beside him, and when he glances at her, she’s crying.

“Sorry,” she says, hiccupping. “God, I’m so sorry. The smallest things make me cry right now.”

“I get that,” Corey says. When Penny keeps crying, Corey reaches out to put an arm around her shoulders. But his arm just hovers there. It feels like too much, touching her like that. He crosses his arms instead, looking away from her and feeling silly.

“Do you think our moms would’ve gotten along?” Penny asks.

“Yeah, probably. My mom went to the café a lot, so they probably talked. Maybe they could relate to each other. They were outsiders for different reasons.”

Penny goes silent at that, and Corey has the urge to explain it all away so she doesn’t feel uncomfortable. Then she says, “Maybe that’s true, but my mom didn’t have to deal with being the only African woman in a small town.”

“You know,” Corey says, “nobody in my family understands that.”

Penny watches him patiently. Moments ago, Corey couldn’t think of anything to say to her. Now, when he opens his mouth, the words come out in a rush.

“My mom made huge sacrifices to move here with my dad. She was a partner at a hedge fund, and she wanted to start her own investment firm. Then, by some twist of fate, she lands in Idlewood. Even the other Black people in Idlewood didn’t know what to make of her. And my family…” When Corey closes his eyes, he sees his grandpa’s face—the way he used to look right through Corey’s mom. He used to sit her far away from James and Corey at family dinners, as if she was a guest instead of his daughter-in-law. And Corey’s mom never said anything.

“No one in my family ever acknowledged how lonely my mom was,” Corey says. “Maybe it’s because they were all so wrapped up in their own grief, but I don’t think that’s enough of an excuse.”

Penny makes a thoughtful sound. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to. But is this on your mind because your family treats you the same way?”

Corey sighs. “Not exactly.”

“Oh. Well, that’s… good? Progress, maybe?”

“Maybe.” Corey tries to choose his words carefully, but there’s no delicate way to say this. “My grandpa wants me to be the next CEO.”

“TheCEO? Of Barrion Heating and Cooling?”

“Yeah.”

Penny goes silent. When he glances at her, she’s watching him.

“What?” he says.

“Corey… that’s a lot.”

“I know.”

“But you’re happy? You want this?”

Corey runs a hand over his curls. “My dad loves to say that we don’t get to choose what sacrifices we make.”

It’s better than saying the truth: that he doesn’t want it. Thatsometimes, when he can’t sleep, he daydreams about driving away and never coming back.

There’s another pause, and Corey is afraid he’s said too much. Penny didn’t ask to be on the receiving end of Corey’s family drama. But then Penny says, “My dad was supposed to inherit a business, too.”

“Really?”

“It wasn’t anything like your family’s company. It was just a mechanic shop.” Penny tucks a few curls behind her ear, and half of them immediately escape into her face again. “He wanted to do music. Like, grunge rock, lots of growling. But his parents were super-religious, and they wouldn’t even let him take guitar lessons. They thought it was devil stuff, I guess.”

“But he learned to play anyway?”

Penny nods. “When my grandparents found out, they had a huge fight, and they cut my dad off. They live in Florida now. I’ve never even met them.”

“Did they know he got cancer?”

---