KENNEDY
Having a weekend off from work meant lounging in my room all day in my pajamas doing my favorite thing — drawing. I'd never heard of an ice cream parlour running out of ice-cream until I started working in one. There was a mix up with our order so we didn't have any new stock come in. Archer decided to take the opportunity to do some repairs on the shop and we all got the weekend off.
At least I know I'm off, Isaiah is probably working his butt off at his second job or at practice. The boy doesn't know when to stop and take a break but if that's what works for him then who am I to judge.
I smile in contentment when I see his grinning face staring back at me from the piece I'm sketching. I am so used to drawing Isaiah that I can do it from pure memory. He doesn't even have to be in the room for me to draw the perfect picture of his handsome face. Maybe I am a little obsessed but I know it's my way of coping after we friendzoned each other. It's been harder than I thought especially when he's the most perfect guy out there inside and out but I am doing better at being his friend.
The current piece I'm working on is a goofy selfie he sent me of himself and Ruby on their morning run earlier in the day. He's all sweaty with a huge grin on his face, his eyes alight with pure joy as he stares at the camera. Ruby is standing on his shoulder panting with her mouth hanging open, some of her saliva dripping onto his hoodie. He sends me random photos of him and Ruby or just Ruby a lot, not that I am complaining. I had to create a special folder just for all the pictures he sends me. More than ever he makes me wish to have a pet of my own but my parents would never allow that to happen.
At least I have my stuffed animals, yes I am an eighteen year old who still likes stuffed animals, sue me. They are not the real thing but I love them all the same. Like the bear I bought when my friends and I visited the zoo. It was one of the best days I've had all year. It was perfect, from them surprising me with stickers for my locker to visiting all those amazing places. I even had fun watching a baseball game yet I'm not a fan of sports. Hanging out with everyone that day showed me that I truly belong at Pine View. It didn't seem like so at first but they've made me feel welcome from day one and that I am exactly where I need to be. I'm not even mad at my parents for forcing me to go there anymore because it all worked out for the best.
My bedroom door slams open and I look up from my desk with a frown that quickly turns upside down.
"Honey I'm home!" The intruder declares with a singsong voice.
"Astrid!!!" I scream as I scramble to get off my chair.
I get across the room in one second and jump into her open arms.
"Miss me?" She chuckles hugging me back.
I hold onto her for a few moments longer before I pull back. "Of course I missed you. When did you get back?"
"Last night and these are for you." She smiles handing me a bouquet of flowers and a couple of gift bags.
"Thank you." I smile kissing her cheek.
"You're welcome."
"I really did miss you. You've been gone so long, tell me all about your trip in DC." I demand softly.
"Only if you promise to catch me up on what I've missed." She replies.
"Deal." I grin as we settle on top of my bed.
While Astrid tells me all about her trip, I open the presents that she's brought me. There's clothes, shoes, jewelry, new tote bags and of course brand new brushes and an assorted paint set. I am the luckiest small sister in the world.
When it's my turn, I ramble on and on about school, working at Frosty Dream and of course my new friends.
"Seems like you settled in perfectly like I knew you would." She praises patting my cheek affectionately.
"It was really hard at first but the guys and Kristie really made me feel welcome. They might not know it but without them I wouldn't have lasted a week at Pine View." I answer.
"Wow, I must meet these friends of yours. Especially this Isaiah." She grins.
"Stick around long enough and you will."
I wouldn't mind Astrid meeting my friends, she is cool and would get along with Kristie really well.
"I definitely am. DC was fun but I missed home and I missed you. No more trips for a while now." She expresses.
I'm glad to hear that because I have missed Astrid. Sure we were calling and texting every single day that she was away but it's not the same as seeing her in person.
"It's great to have you back." I confess.
"It is good to be back. How about I take you out for lunch? We can get Mexican or Italian." She suggests naming my eyes light up at the suggestion.
"Mexican please." I reply getting up from the bed.
"Mexican it is. Go get changed." She demands softly.
She doesn't have to ask me twice as I skip into my closet to pick out something to wear. I already showered earlier so there's no point of doing it again. I get dressed in a short plaid skirt, a white cropped sweater and a pair of my favorite boots. I walk out of the closest combing out my hair to find Astrid on the balcony.
"Is that me?" She asks gawking at the piece I presented for show and tell in AP French and Culture a couple of weeks ago.
"Yes." I reply.
"When did you do this? I've never seen it before?"
She cannot hide the wonder in her voice and even I am proud of that piece. I'm amazed that I was able to do create such perfect art. It's the best piece I've drawn so far.
"I did it for show and tell last month. Do you like it?"
"Like it, I love it. It's like I'm looking into a mirror. Why didn't you tell me about it?" She inquires.
"I was afraid you wouldn't like it." I admit with a shy smile.
"Oh Kenny, I love everything that you do and this is proof of that. Here take a photo, it's going on all my socials. I've got to brag about my gifted baby sister." She requests handing me her phone.
I smile and take loads of pictures for her next to her replica.
After we are done, I grab my phone since its all I'll need and we leave my room. When I'm with Astrid I never need money or a credit card because she always picks up all my bills and spoils me. Being the last born has its perks.
I'm suggesting Mexican restaurants we can try out as we walk past the living room when the last voice I want to hear calls out to us.
"Girls."
We both stop and turn at the same time.
"Mother."
"Don't call me mother like that, it sounds so condescending." She scolds.
Astrid and I turn to look at each other resisting the urge to roll our eyes.
"Astrid darling, when did you get back from DC?" Mother asks getting up to hug her and kiss her cheek.
She barely glances at me yet we haven't seen each other for two weeks.
Feeling the love here mother.
"Last night." Astrid answers shortly.
"Perfect and just in time for you birthday. Happy birthday dear." Mother replies with a proud smile.
"Her birthday isn't till next week." I cut in confused.
I know this because I've been planning Astrid's birthday surprise present for weeks and the date is saved on my calendar because I don't want to make the mistake of forgetting.
"What she said." Astrid adds.
Mother looks shocked at the fact that she doesn't know the birthday of her own child. Her golden child at that. It comes as no surprise to me because she's forgotten mine a couple of times but I stopped caring a few years ago.
"Oh then I am a bit early but still we should celebrate." She declares as if she just came up with the best idea.
"But it's not my birthday." Astrid challenges.
Mother looks irked by her defiance and its clear from the ticking in her brow.
"Who said we can't start the celebrations early. Family dinner, have Glynn make the reservation." She asserts leaving no room for an argument.
I squeeze Astrid's hand subtly because this means that our plans for the day are ruined.
"Yes mother." Astrid accepts with a defeated sigh.
She's being forced by our mother to celebrate her birthday a week early yet its not even a premeditated surprise. It's just a random idea she's come up with.
"Good, I will see you both at seven. And tame your hair will you, we don't want you looking like a hillbilly." She asserts giving me a pointed look.
"Yes mother." I reply.
She is gone a minute later so Astrid and I drop onto the closet couch. She will never get over the fact that I embraced my natural hair color but I don't care. I love the me that I am now and she will never be able to take that away.
"There's goes our Mexican lunch date." I grumble in disappointment.
"I'm sorry, when did she come back?" Astrid inquires.
"I don't know and I don't care. Honestly life is better when they are both half across the world. Now we have to dress up for a dinner that I don't want to go to in the first place." I grunt.
Astrid goes silent for a moment before she gets up and hold her hands out for me.
"We're not letting this ruin our day. We are going to get Mexican for lunch, get our hair and nails done and then go shopping for the perfect dresses to wear this evening. Just because we are being forced to go doesn't mean we don't make the most out of it." Astrid demands.
I take her hands and let her pull me up. "You're right, let's go."
We make sure to tell Glynn to make all the necessary dinner reservations before we leave the house.
After getting away from my mother and into the city Astrid and I have a marvelous afternoon together. She makes up for all the time that she was gone by showing me a good time and treating me like a princess. It's not even about the money that she spends on me but the quality time that we get to spend together.
We get back to the house an hour before we have to leave. Our hair is already done and so are our nails so all we have to do is shower, do our make up and get dressed. Astrid wanted to go back to her place and meet us at the restaurant but I convinced her to come back with me to the house. The evening is about her, this dinner is happening because of her so if I am going to deal with our parents then she needs to be here for every second of it.
After I finish getting dressed, I waltz over to Astrid's room so she can zip me up. I find her putting on her earings seated at her vanity. Her room is still the same as it's always been because even when she lived here, it was always minimalistic and plain looking unlike mine. I'm more chaotic but I am learning to pick up after myself and maintain a clean room. I need to be ready for college because there I won't have Glynn or an abundance of maids to clean up my messes.
"Zip me up please." I request her turning around.
Astrid stands and zips up my dress before turning her back to me so I can do the same for her.
"Are you ready for this?" She asks.
"No! Are you?"
"Definitely not but it's happening so we might as well get it over and done with." She relents.
"I am so glad they forget my birthday. I cannot do this twice a year." I confess.
Astrid doesn't even comment because she knows how overbearing our parents can be. Most people would be sad that their parents don't bother to remember their birthday but not me. If they did remember all they would do is make it about themselves anyway, like I should be grateful that they decided to sire me in the first place.
When we were younger our parents used our birthdays to throw the most extravagant of parties but after I started acting out and Astrid left for college they stopped.
I have an incredible time when they don't remember like for my birthday earlier this year Astrid flew me to Thailand for a week. It was the perfect birthday week in a magical country.
"Ready to go?" Astrid asks holding my hand out for me.
"Not really but we might as well." I reply taking her hand.
We both exit her room with only our shawls and phones. Our parents aren't downstairs when we walk into the living room but they join us a few minutes later.
"My girls." Father greets us with a smile holding his arms out.
We walk into his embrace and hug him. He is the lesser of two evils so we've always gotten along better with him than with our mother.
"Happy birthday Astrid." He smiles kissing her forehead.
She doesn't even try to correct him since she already lost the battle with mom. What's the point anyway if we're already heading out to celebrate?
"Thanks dad." She replies with a polite smile.
"Glynn has already pulled the car around, let's get going before we are late for our reservation." Mother demands.
I take a deep breath and remind myself to be on my best behavior. Tonight is about Astrid and even if it's not her real birthday, I want to make sure that she has a great time, as much as she can anyway with our parents present.
"You couldn't have chosen a more subtle car?" I whisper to Glynn as he holds the backseat door open for me.
"It wasn't my choice miss." He answers with an apologetic smile.
Of all the cars in our vast fleet our father had to go with the Rolls-Royce. It's already obvious that we are rich but sometimes I feel like my parents feel the need to rub it on people's faces. I exchange a knowing look with Astrid as we settle into the backseat and put our seatbelts on. Father gets in behind the wheel with mother by his side. They engage in mundane conversation while Astrid and I quietly scroll through our phones.
I am so engrossed watching reels on Instagram that I don't realize we have arrived until Astrid taps my arm. I had no idea which restaurant Glynn picked for dinner until I focus my attention on my surroundings. Of all the five star restaurants why did he have to pick The Mayfair. I thought the evening couldn't get anyworse but the universe is determined to prove me wrong.
My parents get out of the car first and I barely have time to gather my thoughts or reel in my panic before my door is opened. I look up at the young man holding his hand out to help me out of the car. His jaw drops once he sees my face as everything he knows about me or thinks he knows crumbles in front of him as he takes me in.
"Berry." He chokes out in disbelief.
"Hi Iz." I reply shyly taking his hand.
He helps me step out of the car and we both stand there awkwardly not knowing what to say to each other.
"What are you doing here dressed like that?" He asks looking at the fancy updo, the pearls my mom insisted that I wear, the expensive gown and the six inch heels.
"Birthday dinner for my sister with my parents." I reply glancing at my family for a brief moment.
There is no point hiding the truth from him.
"Your parents are Reese and Eloise Foster?" He asks still in shock when he sees who I'm looking at as if we didn't all just get out of the same car.
"Unfortunately yes." I grumble.
Inside I am freaking out because the secret that I've been hiding for so long is coming undone infront of me. He doesn't even look angry, just confused which is completely understandable. The me he is seeing right now is completely different from the me he knows from school and work. Sure there have been moments where my status has slipped out but not monumentally like this.
My mom picks that exact moment to turn around.
"Jane Kennedy, quit messing around before we miss our reservation." She demands in a scolding tone.
I grit my teeth and turn to her with a fake smile. "Coming mother."
I then look at Isaiah with an apologetic smile on my face. It's clear that he still has a lot of questions but it's not the place nor time to give him the answers he's so desperate for.
"I'll explain everything, I promise." I say to him.
I take a risk and squeeze his arm. It's only for a brief moment before I let go and join my family. I sneak in one last glance at Isaiah before we head inside and he's still staring at me in disbelief only this time his co-worker is by his side and its clear that they are talking about me. It hurts to see the confused look on his face but I hope he knows that besides the money aspect, I've never lied to him about anything. All I can hope for is that it doesn't change the way he looks at me or how we relate to each other.
"Who is the cutie? You guys seem awfully familiar." Astrid asks linking her arm with mine.
"That is Isaiah." I answer.
Her jaw drops just like Isaiah's did when he saw me a few moments ago.
"No."
"Yes."
"Telling by the shock on his face, I presume you never got around to telling him that you come from one of the oldest founding families of New York." She reasons.
"It never came up." I reply with a shrug.
"It never came up?! Kenny you've known the guy for more than a month." Astrid scolds.
She thinks I don't know that already but it's not as easy as she's making it seem.
"It's not something you can casually slide into a conversation you know. I couldn't just be like 'Hey Iz, guess what, my family owns half of New York and a small part of this country and probably more around the world.' Cut me some slack." I retort sarcastically.
Astrid snorts and lightly slaps my hand.
"Sure but that would have been a good conversation starter. And we own more than a small part of this country." She chides.
"Astrid it's not funny." I grit out my heart still beating fast from the fact that Isaiah now knows the one thing about me I'd been hoping to keep a secret for a little while longer.
"It is, a little bit." She giggles.
"You're enjoying my misery aren't you." I mumble feeling terrible.
"Only just." She laughs more attracting our mothers attention.
"What are you two whispering on about?" She demands.
"Nothing mother." We answer simultaneously.
The maitre d' leads us to our table and I take off my shawl draping it on the back of my seat before lowering myself onto it. All I want to do is go back home, slide into bed and scream into my pillow but I have to sit through dinner with my insufferable parents with Isaiah right outside the door probably thinking the worst of me.
Astrid places her hand over mine to capture my attention.
"Let it go, you'll talk to him later and straighten things out. Just try and enjoy dinner." She requests me.
It'll be hard but I at least owe her that much so I nod in agreement. I force myself to relax and table the impending conversation with Isaiah for later.
As expected, my parents dominate the conversation throughout dinner. I don't mind because it allows me to tune them out and plan how to talk to Isaiah about the new information he has just learnt about me. However I don't escape their attention for long as my father looks at me, bringing my attention back to the present.
"Look at us jibbering on and on about Astrid. It is her birthday dinner celebration but we do have another daughter. How are you Jane?" He asks.
He knows how much I hate that name yet he never fails to use it. To him, it's a way of honoring his father who named me but I call bullshit.
"I'm okay dad." I reply with a tight smile choosing to pick my battles carefully.
"How's school? Your teachers and the principal tell me that you're doing great." He says shocking me with that revelation.
"You keep tabs on me?" I gape at him.
"Of course we do knowing your history." Mother replies.
I don't blame them though, I have been a loose canon for a long time.
"I've changed." I declare confidently.
"So we hear." Father concedes.
"I'm doing good in school dad. I'm making friends, acing all my classes and I'm in the senior tutors program." I express further.
"That's good Jane."
That cursed name again.
"I'm glad you've decided to turn your life around just in time for sending out your college applications. Have you given thought to which school you're going to apply to?" Father asks.
"That's not even a question Reese. She's going to Yale, just like everyone else in our family. Right dear?" Mother declares giving me a pointed look challenging me to say otherwise.
I smile and nod. "Of course mother, I've got to honor the family legacy."
I have no idea what career path I am going to take but it's always been obvious that I am going to Yale. Both my parents went there and so did Astrid.
"See darling, she's going to Yale." Mother decrees with a proud smile.
"It's a fine institution. Our family has been attending there for generations, I know you'll do us proud." Father asserts.
"Yes father." I nod.
"Good, now who is ready for dessert?" He asks.
I am ready to go home but I smile as he waves over our waiter so we can make our dessert orders.
Dinner ends without a huff and before I know it, I'm facing Isaiah once again. His co-worker gets the ticket from my dad to go fetch the car as we all wait outside. Mother and father are deep in conversation and Astrid is on a call leaving me standing alone but not for long.
"We need to talk." He whispers approaching me.
He stands by my side, facing forward to make it less obvious that we are talking.
"I know, I'll text you tomorrow." I reply.
I need some sleep and rest to think about how I want to approach the situation.
"Berry ..."
"Please Isaiah. I promise you that I'll tell you everything, just not now." I plead with him.
He glances at me and the look on my face let's him know that I am serious. His determination fades and he nods.
"Okay, tomorrow it is." He relents.
"Thank you."
He steps away when another car pulls up just in time for his co-worker to drive up with our car. My dad tips him and takes the car keys from him. He give me a weird look but then he smiles and gives me a polite bow before walking away without a word. Isaiah definitely told him about me but he is of no concern to me.
My dad drops Astrid off at her place first.
"Thank you for dinner mother, father." She says once we stop outside her apartment building.
"Your welcome dear."
"Call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes." She whispers as she hugs me goodnight.
"I will."
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
She exits the car and father drives off taking us home. For a dinner with my parents, that wasn't a complete disaster but still things didn't turn out in my favor.
Even though I knew I couldn't keep the secret of how wealthy my family is forever, I am still dreading tomorrow. All I can hope for is that Isaiah will be as sweet and understanding as he's always been.
As I'm sliding into bed later, my phone pings with a text from Isaiah that makes me smile lets me know everything will be all right.
Iz 🏀
You looked beautiful tonight.
I don't even reply but reread the message over and over again until I fall asleep.
We are going to be just fine.