The entire western wall was glass.
Beyond it, the lake stretched toward the mountains.
Every brass fixture.
Every lighting angle.
Every piece of stone.
Every curve in the reception desk.
It looked exactly the way I had imagined it three years earlier.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Vanessa slowly turned in a circle.
Her heels clicked against the floor.
“This, Maya, is what actual achievement looks like.”
She smiled.
“Not wearing fluorescent safety gear and punching a clock at some warehouse.”
I let my gaze move across the lobby.
“I’m glad both of you are doing well.”
Mom stopped to adjust her scarf.
“Are you?”
Her expression shifted into theatrical concern.
“Because every time I see you, you look more exhausted.”
She sighed.
“I warned you years ago. You insisted on chasing unrealistic ideas instead of building a sensible life.”
I already knew what was coming next.
“You should have married Richard.”
There it was.
“His dental practice is opening another location.”
“Mom, I never wanted Richard.”
“What you wanted was to be difficult.”
Her tone sharpened immediately.
“And look where that has left you.”
She gestured toward Vanessa.
“Your sister sells luxury property worth millions.”
Then toward herself.
“I run a successful consulting business.”
Finally, she looked at me.
“And you spend your days moving boxes around some industrial building.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
A resort attendant passed carrying a silver tray of champagne.
Vanessa stopped him.
She lifted three crystal glasses.
One went to Mom.
She kept another.
Then, after a tiny pause, she kept the third as well.
She gave me an exaggerated look of sympathy.
“Oh, sorry, Maya. I forgot.”
She took a sip.
