Together

114. We can be friends

When I wake up
You're the first thing that comes to mind
Wanna see you like all the time
Yeah, we be lovin' so hard
When I wake up
You're the first thing that comes to mind
Wanna see you like all the time
Yeah, we be lovin' so hard
We be lovin', we be lovin' so hard
-Becky G

Kiara got off the phone with JJ and hurriedly put on the dress her mom appointed her to wear. The simple red velvet above the knee dress was fine, but it wasn't her. She felt stuffy and stuck up. She'd much rather be in one of JJ's hoodies.

When she went down stairs the heels her mom wanted her to wear were also waiting by the door, like she knew Kiara was going to try and get by with just flats, or God forbid, her converses.

Anna gave her a once over, picking at tiny fuzzes she couldn't see. "You ready?" Anna smiles.

Kiara gives a pretend excited face that Anna knows is fake. She only drops her smile for a second before she catches her husband's eye as he puts on his jacket in the kitchen. She turns back to Kiara.

"This is important," she reminds.

"I know," Kiara agrees. "You'll talk to dad after, right?" she says, looking over her mom's shoulder to make sure her dad was still out of ear shot. She didn't think her mom would go back like that, but she needed to hear her say that she still planned on upholding her end of things. She was wearing a fucking velvet dress for crying out loud.

"Of course, Kiara," Anna says with offense. "I'm not leading you on. You just have to behave tonight, alright?"

Geez. She understands that her parents want to open up a new restaurant on the mainland, but was this party really this vital to that success? Honestly, she's never asked either parent what the specific details of the venture entailed, although her dad has probably mentioned it. What with wanting her to take it on, it wouldn't surprise her if she tuned out a wrong conversation or two.

"What happens if it doesn't go well? What's the backup plan?" she asks, curious and genuinely wanting to know. She didn't want her parents dreams to fail, but she also wanted to know what the reality of the situation was.

Anna purses her lips. "There is no backup plan," she says curtly, continuing to fuss over Kiara's dress as she attempts to smooth nonexistent wrinkles. "Opening a new restaurant is expensive. It takes a lot of capital and upfront money to pay for things to even get you to a point where you are breaking even. We almost didn't make it when we opened the Wreck the first time."

Kiara nods, she remembers what her mom told her about how hard that was. Anna grabs a shawl from the coat hooks, and takes a deep breath. "We can't afford to struggle like that again."

Wow. They really are putting all their eggs in one basket then. The thought makes Kiara a bit more nervous about tonight.

"Do you need me to do anything?" she asks, not even sure what that would entail.

"Not specifically," Anna says. "Tonight is about finalizing things with a couple of families that have shown serious interest. Most of the groundwork is done, this will just set things in place."

At least the pomp and circumstance around her going to all those other events wasn't for nothing then.

"That doesn't mean that you are off the hook though," Anna clarifies. "Please, be pleasant. That would be very helpful."

The insistence is pleading as much as it is a warning. Anna is clearly worried that any wrong move could upend the deals that her and her father have worked hard to procure. Kiara would feel like shit if she actually messed it up for them just by doing something less than kooky.