Read Online The Year Everything Changed by Georgia Bockoven - Free Book Online

original tire store in Fresno she’d managed their bills like a Cirque du Soleil juggler. The second five years they’d scrimped to cover opening six more stores. Now, with seventeen in the chain, their financial concerns centered on paying taxes on what they earned. Stephanie might not know exactly how much money they had, but she knew it was a lot. “What about dinner?”
    “I’ll have Janet send out for something.”
    “Not pizza.” His cholesterol had risen fifteen points, and the doctor had warned him he needed to control it with either diet and exercise or medication.
    “Not pizza,” he echoed, reaching around her to take a cup from the cupboard. “Back to Stephanie—”
    “Can we do this later?”
    “All I was going to say is that when she calls you to plead her case you can tell her that you talked me into matching funds. Whatever she earns—up to a grand—we’ll kick in an equal amount.”
    Elizabeth smiled. “That’s fair.”
    “It’s more than fair, but she’s not going to think so.” He poured his coffee. “Did you tell her how much you were counting on having her home this summer?”
    “No. What’s the point? She’s not going to change her mind, and it would only sound like I was trying to lay a guilt trip on her.” Elizabeth put a muffin on a plate and handed it to him. She and Stephanie used to be so close. What happened that turned hour-long phone calls four or five times a week into a rushed five minutes between classes? “You’re going to be late.”
    He set the plate on the counter. “Just tell her how you feel. I’m sure—”
    “I can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “I want her to come home because she wants to, not out of a sense of obligation.” Most of all, Elizabeth didn’t want to spend the summer being reminded of how much fun Stephanie was missing with her friends. For all of her wonderful qualities, Stephanie wasn’t hesitant to express her unhappiness when things didn’t go her way. Reluctantly, Elizabeth had finally acknowledged what Sam had been saying for years. Elizabeth was spoiled. And not the self-aware kind that came with appreciation for all she had and all she was given, but the kind of spoiled that led to a sense of entitlement that came across as more arrogant and demanding than grateful.
    “What difference does it make how she gets here as long as she’s here?”
    “Can we just drop this? Please?”
    “If that’s what you really want.”
    “It is.”
    He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get going. Steve’s car is in the shop, and I told him I’d give him a lift.” Sam snatched a muffin as he leaned over to kiss her. “Why don’t you do something fun today? Go shopping. Call Kathy and see if she’s free for lunch.”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    “At least get out of the house.”
    “I am getting out of the house. I have a library meeting this afternoon.”
    He stuffed a banana into his pocket to go with the muffin. “If we’re going to have the summer to ourselves, let’s do something. Just the two of us. What about a cruise?” When she didn’t respond, he tried again. “Okay, how’s this? Since Stephanie doesn’t want to come home to see us, we’ll go to Long Island to see her. We could take in a couple of plays in the city, pop up to Boston for a little history. We could even stop by to see the boys on the way home.”
    “She didn’t say she didn’t want to come home.” She followed him outside.
    “Just that she got a better offer.”
    “Nice, Sam. Just what I needed.”
    He made a face. “I did it again, didn’t I?”
    “Big time.”
    “Sorry.”
    “Drive carefully.” She gave him a dismissive wave.
    Their normal routine was that he told her he would, she watched as he got in the car, waved good-bye when he reached the end of the driveway, and went back inside when he turned the corner. Today he tossed his briefcase into the passenger seat and came back to take her in his arms. “If Stephanie knew how much this