Chapter 3
I reached the seafood market.
I found a vendor I knew and picked out a three-pound Australian lobster for twenty-eight hundred dollars.
He cleaned it and packed it into an insulated box. Then I rode home.
From a distance, I spotted several people outside our door.
Aunt Linda, Aunt Diane, Chloe, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Paul were all standing there.
When Aunt Linda saw me riding up, she looked as if her savior had arrived.
“Emily! Finally!”
“What happened?”
I parked my scooter and walked over with the box.
“Why aren’t you inside?”
Aunt Linda’s face twitched.
Chloe was biting her lip. Her eyes were red, as if she’d just been crying.
Aunt Diane scowled. “That stepmother of yours threw us out! Said we were disturbing her rest! Is that any way to treat guests?”
“Oh.”
I nodded and walked past them to unlock the door.
“You deserved it.”
“What did you say?” Aunt Linda’s voice cracked.
“I said you deserved it.”
I looked back and smiled.
“You insulted my mom in her own home. Of course she kicked you out.”
“She is not your mom!”
“Legally, she is.”
I slid my key into the lock.
“If that’s all, you should go home. I have a lobster to cook for Mom.”
“Emily Bennett!”
I ignored her and went inside.
Aunt Linda was still cursing behind me, but once I shut the door, I couldn’t hear a word.
My stepmother sat on the living room couch, reading documents on her tablet.
Half a cup of hot black tea steamed on the coffee table.
“Mom, I got the lobster.”
I set the insulated box on the dining table.
“How would you like it? Steamed? Garlic butter? Sashimi?”
She didn’t look up.
“I don’t want it anymore. You eat it.”
I blinked.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
I nearly dropped to my knees in gratitude.
A three-pound Australian lobster!
I’d never eaten a lobster that big in my life!
“Then I’m cooking it!”
Afraid she might change her mind, I grabbed the box and ran into the kitchen.
I worked for half an hour.
When I brought the lobster to the table, the scent of garlic filled the living room.
I’d barely picked up my fork when the noise outside started again.
I set it down, went to the door, and looked through the peephole.
Well, well.
They’d brought Grandma.
“Dad!”
I called over my shoulder.
“Grandma’s here!”
Dad came out of his room, and his expression changed immediately.
“Open the door,” he said.
I did.
Grandma stood at the front of the group. She planted her cane on the floor.
“Robert Bennett! Look at you now! Locking your own relatives out? Do you have any respect left for your mother?”
Dad ducked his head.
“Mom, don’t be upset. They started—”
“Started what? They made a few comments! Is your wife so precious no one can say a word to her?”
Aunt Linda eagerly added fuel to the fire.
“Exactly! You should’ve seen her, Mom. Acting like royalty! Emily peeled and deveined shrimp for her, and she complained they were farm-raised. Then she threw a card at Emily and sent her out for Australian lobster. A three-thousand-dollar lobster!”
Grandma’s face went dark.
“This is outrageous!”
She walked in with her cane, sat heavily on the couch, and scanned the room until her eyes landed on my stepmother.
My stepmother didn’t look up.
“Ahem!”
Grandma cleared her throat loudly.
“Robert, I’m here on important business.”
Dad stood obediently nearby. “What is it, Mom?”
“Your brother needs a house.”
Dad blinked.
“His place out in the suburbs is too small. His wife’s pregnant with their second child. They need more room.”
Grandma spoke as if this settled everything.
“They found a four-bedroom place in the city. The down payment is a million. You’ll cover it.”