Chapter 63—Brekka
Mary and Luke jump up and down and cheer at 10:31 p.m.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“We won the nursery suite,” Mary gushes. “It was way, way more than we should have spent, but I pointed out to Luke…”
“It’s for charity,” he says. “Which means the whole amount is deductible and goes to fund a good cause.”
“We are going to pay almost nothing in taxes this year,” Mary says. “And our baby is going to have the cutest crib in the world.”
Luke spins Mary in a circle. “So what if we need to eat Ramen for a few months?”
She hits his arm. “Knock it off.”
They’re having a baby? “When are you due?”
Mary’s grin widens more than I thought possible. “March twelfth.”
“Very exciting.” I can’t quite inject true energy into my tone, and I hope they don’t notice. I am happy for them, but something contracts inside me, a longing. I want to have a child. I want a baby in my arms, and they already have two. A third before I’m even married seems… greedy.
“Have you seen Geo tonight?” Mary asks.
I shake my head, but her words spark something inside of me. Why would she ask me about Geo, my recently married sister-in-law, after a conversation about babies? I look around the room without luck.
“Pardon me,” I say. “I ought to look for her.”
Mary winks at me, and I redouble my efforts to squeeze past the people all around me and find my brother. If there’s news, I better not be finding out after Mary and Luke. I finally see them, their eyes on a monitor in the corner of the room, the back of Geo’s head leaning against Trig’s chest, his arms wrapped around her, both of them watching something earnestly.
I move toward them, but once I’m close, I realize what they’re watching. It’s the ten o’clock news. And my beautiful, handsome, All American boyfriend is talking to everyone who’s tuning in.
“—Clive and I went over his expenses. He’s going to work for the same salary he was being paid as a teacher, forty-thousand dollars a year, and since he’s got VA coverage, we don’t even have to pay for his health insurance.” When he winks, I imagine girls all over the world sighing and giggling.
“Which is really why I gave him the job,” Rob says. “He’s cheaper than anyone else would be.”
Clive rolls his eyes.
Rob looks so earnest. He’s about to announce whether they met their goals on national television. And I realize that my donation, my bid, isn’t anonymous.
My stomach ties in knots and I wheel toward Geo frantically.
“Geo!” I shout. “Geo!”
She races across the room to meet me. “What? Brekka, are you alright?”
I shake my head. “No, no, I’m not. Why are they announcing this on television?”
Trig shrugs. “All press is good press, right, but especially this. The more people inspired by Rob’s donations and his work, the more support Cultivate will generate. It was Christine’s idea, but Geo set it up.”
I can’t stop shaking my head, even if it’s starting to give me a headache. “No, but I bid astronomically high on something.”
“That’s good, right?” Trig asks. “You’re a supportive girlfriend.”
Geo cocks her head. “Umm. Exactly how high is astronomically high?”
She gets it. I’m going to steal Rob’s thunder, utterly and completely.
“A million?” Trig asks.
“Two?” Geo asks.
I shake my head, my stomach sinking like an Acme anvil.
“Oh no,” Trig says. “What did you do?”
I close my eyes. “It’s a long story I’ll update you on later, but I might have seized control of the reins of the trust and told Mom I was donating my share to charity.”
Trig’s jaw drops. “You didn’t donate three billion dollars though, right? Tell me you didn’t.”
I exhale. “No, it’s not that bad. But a hundred million.”
Geo frowns. “That’s way too much.”
Or maybe no one will find out, I think.
“—It was made by Brekka Thornton, who paid one hundred million dollars from the Aldertree Thornton Family Trust.”
Trig whistles. “Mom will like the good PR, at least.”
I drop my face into my hands. “I’ve completely ruined this, haven’t I?”
“Maybe not,” Geo says. “I mean, obviously Cultivate is poised to be a huge success, and it shows the world you support your boyfriend.”
Trig snorts. “And it completely cuts the legs out from under Rob and what he was trying to do. If his girlfriend can come in and drop, what did they say? Like twenty-five times what he earned, just by writing a check?”
“Oh no, oh no, oh no.” I realize I’m muttering under my breath and click my teeth shut.
“It’s going to be fine,” Geo says. “Rob loves you. If he’s upset, he’ll get over it.”
Trig bites his lip. “It’s kind of thousands of years of social conditioning that propels guys to want to provide for their family. That’s a lot to shrug off.”
“Shut up,” Geo says. “You aren’t helping.”
“And you guys don’t know everything yet. I doubt Rob’s told you any details about our interactions in the six weeks since your wedding?”
Geo and Trig exchange a glance.
“What would he tell us?” Geo asks.
“I might have been kind of weird at the wedding. Like, we both said I love you, and then I kind of ran away and I’ve been blowing him off a little. Coming for this and donating to show my support was supposed to be my grand gesture.”
“It’s grand,” Trig says. “That’s for sure.”
I groan.
“Look, no need to get all melodramatic yet.” Geo strokes my head soothingly. “Wait to freak out until you talk to Rob and find out how he feels. He’s pretty evolved, for a guy.” She glares at Trig.
He shrugs. “I’m not very evolved, but at least I admit that. Maybe our kids will get your genes in that regard. We can hope, anyway.”