Bella was quiet.
Then she said, “Brooke wasn’t trying to take your place.”
“I didn’t say she was.”
“Mom shouldn’t have said it like that.”
“No.”
“She thought you’d understand because Brooke needs somewhere to stay too.”
There were several things I could have said to that.
I chose the simplest.
“Then Mom should have talked to me.”
Bella did not argue.
For once, she could not turn the note into a misunderstanding without admitting that there had never been a conversation in the first place.
I asked her whether she had figured out another plan for the university balance.
“Not yet.”
“Then that’s what you need to work on.”
“Are you really not signing?”
“No.”
She started crying quietly.
I hated hearing it.
She was still my sister.
I still wanted good things for her.
But wanting good things for someone did not require placing my daughter’s security behind their expectations.
I told Bella I hoped she found another way.
