Page 93 of A Moment for Us
Oliver huffs. “No shit. We all have degrees in things Dad thought would help him.”
“Yeah, but Alex is the only one who actually loved what he studied.”
I got stuck with a business degree and hospitality. It was always clear that I would be running the family business. Grayson followed my path, but took more finance interests, but Alex was dead set on being able to draw up plans. Dad wanted to expand, so I imagine he saw it as a great opportunity to get free designs.
“A lot of good it does me,” Alex says while moving around the room. “I had the chance of a lifetime, and I had to walk away.”
“What do you mean?” Ollie asks.
“Nothing.”
“It’s clearly not nothing,” I push him.
Alex sighs. “My mentor called about a week ago with an offer to go to Egypt to run the new office out there as a lead architect. Obviously, I said no because we’re doing this, but it would have been incredible.”
Oliver looks to me and then at Alex. “You wanted to take it?”
“Of course I did. It was like being asked to play in the Superbowl of the architecture world. I would’ve been working on a design that defied rules, and the building is going to be incredible. It would’ve been a dream, but this is family.”
He starts to walk away, but no way am I letting him leave it at that. Part of what this family had to deal with was our father controlling our lives and forcing us to give up our dreams to further his. That’s not what this resort is supposed to be about.
It’s about a chance to do something for ourselves.
It’s about having what we’ve always wanted but thought we couldn’t have.
If Alex has dreams, he should chase them.
“Wait,” I say, moving toward him. “Look, I’m going to speak for the family when I say this, but if you want to take that job, do it. We’ve all given up so much, and for what? To suffer more?”
“I’m part owner.”
“And you’ll be part owner wherever you live. It’s not as if we don’t have enough of us to handle this shit or won’t be able to reach you if we need something.”
Oliver nods. “You’re really not all that useful anyway. Once the walls are up, you’re pretty much done.”
“Gee, thanks,” Alex says with an eyeroll.
“He’s right.” I shrug. I know Alex well enough to know that he needs this push. My siblings would never want him to stay here if that’s not what he wants. “You’ve done your part, Alex. We needed you to be involved with Odette during the drawings and layout. Now that it’s done, we can all handle the rest.”
“You’re acting like I can just move away on a dime.”
“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Oliver explains. “You live in an RV, you helped us when we needed you to, and I don’t think a single one of us would be okay with you passing up this chance because you felt like you didn’t have a choice. What do you have to stay for?”
Alex’s face scrunches. “Oh, I don’t know. He’s having twins. Stella just got married. Grayson just had another baby. Not to mention Amelia . . .”
“You can have all the quality time with Amelia you want, just stay there for a week,” Ollie says with a shudder. “That life . . . so not for me.”
“My point is that things are happening here, and my running off to Egypt doesn’t make sense.”
“Do they no longer have planes in Egypt?” I ask. “Or the internet?”
Alex throws his hands up and then starts to pace. We’re making sense, and he doesn’t want that.
“Delia is my best friend, and she’s going to have a baby.”
“I’m fully aware.”
“And you’re an asshole who will fuck this up somehow,” Alex tacks on.
