“It’s just their nature, I guess,” I rebutted
“Yeah, well, their nature is getting old quickly. I mean, did they honestly think Dan wouldn’t tell me about my father’s decision? Like he could keep that away from me. You know, it’s Calvin everyone should be worrying about,” Camille roared.
I nodded. Though I didn’t really know how to react to her rant. I truly didn’t know if she was aware that Max was going to be named CEO of GP. God, this is the part of knowing secrets that I hate.
“Well, we will see how Cal does tomorrow during the reading of the will. I mean, let’s face it, we all knew my father wouldn’t name someone who wasn’t a Goldstein to run the company; so, right there, Dan was out of the picture. And as much as I loved my father, he still had that small piece of him that believed where a woman’s place was.”
Instantly my stomach twisted into an aching mess. Frank never came across to me as believing that. He seemed like the type of guy who believed in equal rights.
“Your dad was that way?” I asked.
“Yeah, but don’t get me wrong. If I would have pushed working for the company, he would have caved and let me. But he always felt that nothing could ever replace a mom who stays home to take care of her family,” Camille said trying to make her dad not look so sexist.
“So that left Calvin and Max.”
“And let’s face it, Calvin isn’t really the CEO material Dad was looking for,” Camille said in a snarky tone.
“And he never would have chosen Dan?” I interjected.
“Nope, he is—I mean was—stubborn that way,” Camille added.
“Even if Dan was better qualified?”
“Dan is better qualified for the position. But Dad, well, he was always set in his ways.”
My mouth grew dry, my throat parched. Every thought of having Max ripped away from me while I finished school landed heavily on me. It was like a freaking hungry lion decided to sit on my chest, staring down at me, ready to rip off my head.
“And your mom—” I began to ask, trying to keep from thinking about Max coming back without me.
“Has no idea about any of it. But it’s a lot less painful for her, not knowing. But here you are, totally aware that Max has no choice but to come back to Aspen without you,” Camille croaked.
My eyes blurred with every cutting word that poured from her mouth. Camille continued to speak. “And you just got Max back…” She was totally unaware of the daggers she was thrusting deep in my heart over and over again.
“Excuse me,” I spat as I shot up, forcing my chair back, before I sped to the closest bathroom.
My whole body began to throb and my skin swelled with a chilling dampness from my scalp down to the bottoms of my feet. I didn’t want Max to leave me at school. I didn’t want to wait five months to be with him again. I stood at the sink, staring into the basin, wondering how I was going to handle being the girl he had to leave back at school. My eyes were fringed with tears. I don’t want to cry. Damn it, I’m not going to cry. Instead I began to talk myself off the ledge of losing it. Come on, Wilson, pull it together. This is what having a family is about. So what? What’s five months in a lifetime of forever? I love him, deeper than I ever knew I could. I pulled a tissue from the box of Kleenex on the back of the toilet and wiped my eyes dry. God, my eyes look like shit, my cheeks are frickin’ bright red. Urrghh. I fanned my hands in front of my face trying to erase the redness that wouldn’t go away fast enough.
“Fuck it, time to face your family, Wilson,” I whispered to myself. My heart leapt into my throat. The words came out so automatically, almost thoughtlessly, like I’d been saying them forever. Suddenly I felt what it was like to have a family. And with a newfound warmth, I opened the door and went back to the dining room.
“Hey, are you okay? I hope I didn’t upset you,” Camille sighed.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well, here you go!” Nancy sang, completely unaware that I was just in the bathroom crying and Camille was the one who upset me. She slipped a plate loaded with a gigantic piece of lipsmacking, homemade mixed berry pie, perfectly topped with a flawless half-circle scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. The sweet aroma of the warm berries, mixed with my longing to taste it, made my mouth water. My fork sank into the crumbling crust as it cut through a sliver of the ice cream. Warm and cold mixed sinfully with my taste buds. God, she makes the best berry pie. I didn’t know if I’d be able to save any for Max.
“This is delicious, Ma—I mean, Nancy. Thank you,” I hummed.