Liv: How about the little one?
Eros: She’s complicated. There’s an age gap between us that, for some reason, isn’t closing as she gets older. But maybe you’d get along with her too.
Liv: We’ll see. As for the money, if I were you, I’d take the loan from Persy.
Eros: In the back of my mind I keep asking myself, but what if it fails?
Liv: Toss those negative thoughts away. I believe in you.
Eros: I guess these past few years did a number on my self-confidence.
Liv: Time to straighten up, dust off those knees, and keep going. Listen, I hate to go but Dad’s calling me.
Eros: Good luck!
From: E. Brassard
To: O. Sierra
Subject: Land
Gil owns some land in Costa Rica. He’s leasing it to the company. I’m booking a flight to Costa Rica for the second week of June. Would you like to join me?
I’m attaching the blueprints and all the information that Gil sent me about the place.
E.
From: O. Sierra
To: E. Brassard
Subject: RE: Land
I love the location. I hate that I have to decline your invitation. If I leave my post, Dad will try to take back his company. (Apparently, I’ve snatched it from beneath his almost dying corpse and I’m destroying his legacy with all my nonsense.) Dan likes to call this stage three of his recovery. You might ask, what is he recovering from? Workaholism. He’s in the stage of anger.
Send me pictures and maybe a souvenir. (By that, I don’t mean your sisters.)
Liv x
Liv: Happy Birthday, old man. Ready for your AARP card?
Eros: What is that?
Liv: The discount card for people fifty and older.
Eros: Oh, that. I’m not THAT old, OLIVIA EVELYN.
Liv: Old enough to need a hearing aid and shout like an old man.
Eros: Is this how you show your love and appreciation for your friends and family?
Liv: Only to my elders. Will you ever tell me how life was during the last century, Grandpa?
Eros: That’s it, I’m changing my number.
Liv: How’s your day going, Grandpa?
Eros: I just came back from my morning run. You’re actually the first one to congratulate me. Why are you up so early?
Liv: We’re having issues in Boston.
Eros: You have a project in Boston?
Liv: Yes, and a branch.
Eros: How big is this company?
Liv: Google it. We have branches in many cities, including one in Colorado.
Eros: That can be an excuse to visit me.
Liv: Surprisingly, that branch does well. They don’t need me there.
Eros: So, any hopes of talking you into coming to Costa Rica with me? It’d be a great birthday present.
Liv: Sorry, not happening. Happy Birthday though.
Eros: Thank you for the text.
Liv: I’ll try to connect tonight unless you’re busy.
Eros: We’re having dinner at my parents’. You’re invited if you can make it by six.
Liv: Maybe another year. I gotta go. Have a wonderful day.
Chapter Seventeen
Eros: This year’s family trip was entertaining.
Liv: Well, hello to you too. It’s been a long time since I heard from you.
Eros: I told you I’d be gone for a week.
Liv: You did?
Eros: I sent you an email last week about it. You emailed me back with your suggestions and said, text me when you’re home.
Liv: Oops, I only opened the attachment. I didn’t read the rest. No wonder you didn’t text me that night, or the next day, or… you get the idea.
Eros: I don’t know how to reply to that.
Liv: Just tell me about this trip. Is this the one you take every Memorial Day weekend?
Eros: Yes, that one.
Liv: What happened?
Eros: Callie brought her boyfriend. Some preppy guy who is out of touch with reality. His name starts with a J and we began to joke about it. I can’t remember if it was Jarred, Joshua, Jonathan, or what. He caught my parents having sex.
Liv: So those jokes about catching your parents naked and doing it aren’t just some propaganda for Persy’s show?
Eros: Unfortunately, no. They are all real.
Liv: I’d die if I caught my parents having sex.
Eros: It is traumatizing.
Liv: So, what happened with the boyfriend?
Eros: They broke up. Apparently, we’re too much to handle.
Liv: How long had they’ve been together?
Eros: I’m not sure. Maybe three months?
Liv: And she brought him on a family trip? There must be some dating rule about not introducing the parents to your significant other until you are comfortable enough to show the crazy. You can’t include them in family events until you’ve been together for a year. A camping trip? I wouldn’t know, but definitely more than a year.
Eros: I couldn’t agree more. I doubt I’d bring any girl to them, like ever.
Liv: Not even the wife?
Eros: Maybe when our children are eighteen and can fend for themselves.
Liv: Have you ever introduced anyone to them?
Eros: I’ve never had a long-term relationship, so nope.
Liv: Interesting. Why not?
Eros: I don’t have time. There’s a lot involved in having a steady and committed relationship.
Liv: So, you just sleep around?
Eros: Can I plead the fifth?
Liv: This isn’t a trial, but if you don’t want to answer, I’ll give you a pass. Now, tell me more about the trip.
Eros: Well, after the guy left, everything snowballed.
Liv: Are you giving me details?
Eros: I teased Callie for the rest of the week. Nyx was trying to micromanage everyone. She loves Persy, but she’d like to have her privacy back. As you well know, I borrowed Persy’s savings. She can’t afford a down payment or the deposit for a new place, at least not until she gets her quarterly royalties. Nyx isn’t happy that I’m yet to start another business that might fail. She also wants Callie to get a real job or apply for a master’s degree.
Liv: Isn’t that something your parents should be telling you?
Eros: Nyx thinks it’s her responsibility to do that. She is also like one of those mothers who says, “I believe in you, but are you sure you’re doing the right thing? I have a feeling that this won’t be successful—like all your ideas. Do something safe.”
Liv: Does she know she’s not your mother?
Eros: She believes that if she doesn’t take charge of us, we’ll be drowning. She’s afraid of failure. I adore her, but she needs a chill pill. No. She needs to fail to understand that not everything has to be perfect.
Liv: That’s deep.
Eros: How are you?
Liv: I’m well. Dad and Dan are traveling during the summer. I’m officially in charge of the company. I’m the interim president.
Eros: Interim president? That only applies to politics.
Liv: Listen, if the guy wants to call himself the president of his company, it’s his choice.
Eros: I should be the emperor of my company.
Liv: Ha!
Eros: Fine, you can be the empress. I’ll be the god.
Liv: Why don’t you stick to CEO?
Eros: Too conventional, but if that’s what you want, I’ll use it.
Liv: So where is Persy going to live?