Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 125117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125117 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Maggie stifled a snort with her fist.
“Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you care so much if I stay here?” Greta asked, squaring her shoulders. “You don’t even like me.”
“Oh, what, like you’re a big fan of mine?” Sadie retorted.
Before Greta could reply, her mother chimed in. “Greta, you’ve had your adventure. Now it’s time to come back home. Let me make you a plate.”
Nell moved to the table where Greta now noticed a place setting for her was already laid.
“No thank you,” Greta said. “I ate.”
“Honey,” Greta’s father said. “Have you really felt like you had to do things you didn’t want to go along with the family? We always wanted you to be who you are. All of you.” He looked around at his daughters, and the guilt scratched at Greta’s gut.
She looked at her sisters. Sadie looked scornful, but not as scornful as she usually did. Tillie looked sad. Adelaide’s eyes were narrowed as if she too were confused. Maggie winked exaggeratedly and gave her a tiny thumbs-up. But her father looked shocked, drained. Her mother was working hard not to look at anyone.
“Am I, like, delusional right now?” Greta said. “Please someone tell me this isn’t in my head, because I’m freaking out.”
Maggie rolled her eyes at the silent room. “It’s not in your head, dude! Come on, guys.” She looked around the dining room table. “You know what she means. Sure, there was never, like, a you-do-this-or-else, but it was always just easier if we all agreed ’cause there’re so many of us that we knew it could only ever be one thing. So if everyone wanted ice cream but you wanted cake, you knew it would be easier to just want ice cream rather than try and convince everyone else to want cake or to be disappointed that you didn’t get what you wanted.”
Her mom sniffed. “I’m sorry we didn’t have the money to give each of you the snack food of your choice at all times,” she said, sounding so much like Sadie that Greta almost laughed. Then realized that, no, Sadie sounded like their mom.
“It’s not like that, Mom,” Maggie said. “It’s not a fault, just a fact.”
“I know what you mean,” Tillie said. “I just never care that much about the details, so I guess I was fine going with what everyone else wanted.”
Greta had always looked up to Tillie. Sweet, selfless, agreeable Tillie was never the problem, always the peacemaker, and always seemed satisfied with whatever the outcome. Greta had felt like she could never measure up and had felt guilty for not being more like her.
Now, for the first time, Greta felt sad for her.
“You get what I’m talking about, right, Ads?” she asked her twin.
Adelaide nodded slowly but didn’t say a word. Greta knew what that meant: she was processing something large, and she’d need to check back in later.
“Well, I don’t,” Sadie said. “Compromise is a good thing. Mom and Dad needed us to get along and share, so we did, because we’re not spoiled monsters. The fact that you don’t know the difference between compromise and martyrdom isn’t their fault.”
“I never said it was their fault, Sadie!”
Then the penny dropped, and Greta felt utterly foolish that it had taken her so long to understand.
“It must have been really hard on you to feel the strain to make us agree to take pressure off Mom and Dad, huh?”
Sadie started to snap at her out of habit but paused. “What?”
“You’re the oldest. You must have seen how hard Mom and Dad worked to provide for us, to give us time. So of course you wanted to help, because you identified with them. So if we weren’t compromising or sharing or whatever, you knew it meant more work for them. So you tried hard to help out.”
Sadie narrowed her eyes.
“Probably you tried so hard to help out that there was stuff you wanted to do that you didn’t get to, huh? You were so busy trying to be helpful that you didn’t get to be yourself either.”
Sadie sat back down. For a moment, she looked like she had absorbed what Greta’d said. Then she shook her head. “Whatever. I was the most mature, so sure, I helped keep you all in line. But I’m an adult now, and I can do whatever I want. I choose to stay here.”
“Well, I’m really glad to hear that, Sadie. I want you to be happy.”
And she really did. But it came out sounding sarcastic because she was talking to Sadie. So Sadie flipped her off.
“I’m going to the West Coast for the summer with Naveen, and I’m moving there after graduation,” Maggie blurted.
All eyes turned to her.
“What?” their mother said, sounding horrified.
Maggie gave a nervous laugh. “Uh. Yeah. Seemed like an appropriately upheaval-y moment to bring it up.”