Page 15 of Old Money
“It’s been in the works for a few months,” she said. “I didn’t want to tell you until it was official.”
My legs felt cold and wobbly. I sat on the edge of the bathtub, clutching the sink.
“Patrick isn’t involved in the foundation,” Susannah continued. “Neither are his parents. I made sure of that, obviously.”
I shook my head in silence. None of it made sense. No part of it was obvious.
“His uncle is chairman, but even that’s mostly a title,” she said, a bit more relaxed. “It’s quite independent from the family at this point.”
“Oh?” I said, my voice loud and craggy. “Is it quite?”
A heavy breath came through the speaker again, tickling my ear.
“Was that asigh?” I almost laughed. “So sorry, am I being quite tiresome?”
“You’re being unfair.”
Fury burst like a firecracker in my chest.
“Are you actually joking? You call me at midnight, out of the blue, and tell me you’re going to work for the Yateses. And—”
“For the YatesFoundation.”
“And it’s been ‘in the works’ formonths. For months, Susannah! Without telling me!I’mbeing unfair?”
“Yeah,” she spit back. “Unfair, and completely selfish.”
I stood up, speechless, still clutching the sink.
“You think Iwantto pick up and move?” she barked. “Start a new job across the fucking country?”
“Well. Okay, why are—”
“Because my parents asked me to,” she said, her voice breaking. “My motherbeggedme to. Okay? My dad’s barely mobile after the last back surgery, and she can’t take care of him alone anymore.”
She was really crying now.
“It’s not like they can afford help, you know? I’m it. They need me. She actually said that, Alice. ‘Please, I need you.’ ”
I forced myself to breathe. I pictured Gloria Joyce’s face, as familiar as my own mother’s. How many times had she given me dinner? How many birthday cards had I gotten with goofy little notes to “our second daughter”?
“Shit,” I winced. “I’m sorry. About your parents, I mean.”
I heard her turn away from the phone and blow her nose.
“Look, it’s fine, you didn’t know. And I’m sorry for not calling sooner. It’s been chaos. I had to drop everything.”
Something about her voice—some thread of hesitation. I pictured her on the other end, blinking slowly as she spoke. Susannah was a bad liar with an obvious tell. She’d start blinking uncontrollably the second she started saying something false. It was hilarious—in high school, she actually practiced on me, trying to stop the reflex. The best she could do was slow it down, which made the giveaway even more obvious. She’d start blinking in slow motion like a sleepy kitten, whenever she tried to fudge the details or tell even a minor fib.
“Right,” I said, trying to put my finger on it. “Chaos, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, breaking my lease, finding a new job. God, is thereanychance you could be cool with this?”
I faced myself in the mirror, my mouth agape and incredulous. Susannah continued before I could answer.
“You know, I only applied because it was local. But honestly? The foundation’s great—the people are great.”
There it is, I thought.There’s the bullshit.
