Page 35 of Until Now

“I didn’t realize she was so fluent.”

“You’ll start to pick up on it. And, if she starts on one of her rants, just remind her to translate. That’s what I do.”

Taking a sip of beer, I contemplate asking him the question I’ve wanted to ask since we got here. I’ve tried not to pry into Nina’s life, respect the boundaries she has set and the information she doesn’t want me to know. But, it’s hard when these things keep happening right in front of me. “Kai, can I ask you a question?”

“Go for it,” he climbs into the golf cart.

“What’s the deal with your sister and your mom?”

Kai doesn’t answer. The drive to the next hole is quiet, at first, I think he didn’t hear me, but then I see him chew on the inside of his cheek, his eyes slightly narrowed. He’s trying to formulate an answer. He parks but doesn’t get out, his hands still gripping the steering wheel. “I don’t think I should tell you any of this. If Nin hasn’t…I don’t want to overstep that.”

“I just…I see some of this stuff go on with them and it worries me.”

Kai sighs. “Their relationship is very different. They have never gotten along, ever. The only time I’ve ever seen Mom somewhat invested in Nina was when she was dating Lee. When that ended—”

“Why does your mom love him so much?”

Without hesitation, “The money.”

“So, she does only care about two things: you and money.”

Kai laughs, but it’s more of a scoff. “Trust me, our relationship has been different since I brought Eileen home. She wanted me to marry some trust fund brat, but nothing will ever compare to what I have with Eileen.” He sighs. “Look, I don’t know how well you knew Nin before this, but she is not the same person she used to be. I’m sure you heard the rumors, but that’s just not her. Don’t get me wrong, Nina had her fun. Partied hard, messed around, but a lot of those rumors were wildly exaggerated.”

“People love to talk.”

“Bet you’d never guess Teagan started most of them.”

“Teagan?”

“Nin made it easy for people to believe she was this sex-crazed party girl living off Daddy’s money, but if you paid attention, you’d realize it was Teagan. She would drag Nina to parties, feed her drinks, all to keep up appearances while Teagan slipped away with God knows who doing God knows what. Then, Monday morning she’d tell everyone what ‘Nina’ did.”

“Why would she do that?”

“When you grow up in a family like ours, you learn to play the game. Everyone has something to offer.” Kai sipped his beer. “The name Villa means a lot, it means you can do what you want, when you want. People like having that kind of access. Teagan loved it, especially when her family was in some legal trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“The kind you get in when you’ve been cooking the books and stealing money from your clients. Somehow, her dad was able to weasel his way out of it.”

“How do you just walk away from that?”

“That’s a great question. One you don’t bring up and if you do, no one hears it. Teagan is great at playing the airhead, but she knows exactly what she’s doing. When she and Lee started messing around, it wasn’t by chance.”

“You and Nina and your dad, you’re not like these people. But your mom—”

“I used to be. I just realized there was more to life than a name and having expensive shit. Nina and I never got along, she was the wild child and I was the perfect one.”

“What changed?”

“I brought Lina home.” He smiles thinking about her. “Eileen doesn’t come from money. She went to college on a scholarship and dropped out to go to cosmetology school. Her family runs a restaurant down in Tampa where she’s from. It’s not exactly what Mom had pictured for a wife.”

“Speaking of, when you gonna put a ring on it?”

“When are you?”

My eyes widen.

“I’m joking,” Kai laughs. “But, to answer your original question…Mom and Dad had me pretty early and they never planned on having more kids, one and done.” A sad look crosses Kai’s face. “Mom always made sure Nina knew she wasn’t planned. And, Nin tried, she did…until one day, she just stopped caring. Like a switch flipped and she started doing anything and everything just to piss Mom off. I guess she thought if Mom was gonna hate her, might as well give her a reason.”

---