She wiped her cheek.
“What about it?”
“Tessa announced she was launching that subscription box company.”
Mom gave a weak smile.
“She was so excited.”
“Exactly.”
“What?”
“My birthday dinner became a two-hour conversation about Tessa’s company.”
Mom’s expression changed.
“I don’t remember that.”
“I do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“She asked me for twelve thousand dollars three days later.”
Mom looked uncomfortable.
“You gave it to her.”
“Yes.”
“No one forced you.”
That sentence hurt more than it should have.
Because technically, she was right.
Nobody had put a gun to my head.
They didn’t need to.
Family systems rarely work through direct force.
They work through identity.
I was the dependable one.
The successful one.
The one who could handle it.
Tessa was fragile.
Tessa needed support.
Tessa was finding herself.
If I said no, I wasn’t merely refusing money.
I was rejecting my assigned role.
