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I lean forward, interested now that it’s not me we’re talking about. “What’s going on with you that’s rough?”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother—” A faint blush stains her cheeks as she pauses. “You just said the same thing, didn’t you?”
My lips twist, but I hold back my smile, surprised she got that much out of me after the day I’ve had.
“How about if I tell you something, you do the same?” she suggests.
I nod, curious as to what she’ll say.
She fidgets in her chair for a moment, looking down at her lap. “We’re, um, having some issues at home right now.” The pink on her cheeks darkens, and she dips her head down lower to hide it.
“You and your… boyfriend?”
She glances up but doesn’t call me out on my obvious attempt at fishing for information. “No, me and my mom. I don’t have a boyfriend.”
Okay, mentally stowing that nugget of info away. Even though it doesn’t matter. Can’t matter.
“She’s had these medical issues for a while,” she continues, “and some of it was resolved, but then another thing popped up. She finally got a diagnosis, and along the way I’ve become her caregiver. She relies on me, but I don’t know what I’m doing half the time. Or I have to be the bad guy and control her meds so she won’t take too many. It’s exhausting.”
“So your roles are switched now? You have to be the parent?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Though, honestly…” She bites her lip. “You know, never mind.”
“No, no. You can tell me.” It’s refreshing to step out of my own mess for a minute and remember there are other things going on in the world.
She shrugs half-heartedly. “She’s always kind of stuck her head in the sand when it comes to actual problems. I’m realizing as I get older that I’ve been the parent in some ways for a long time.”
Ouch. And she said something the other day about never going to her dad’s house, so I guess he wasn’t in the picture much either. “It was the same for me. Not my mom, but my dad. It’s like he wanted me and my brothers to be miniatures of him, and then didn’t understand when we weren’t.”
“It’s hard when parents have expectations of you that are near impossible to meet. Sometimes there’s only so much you can do.”
“Your mom expects a lot?”
“Actually, I was talking about…” She swallows and glances over her shoulder as if she half anticipates someone to be there. “My dad. He wants me to be this person I don’t have the first clue how to be. And assumes I’ll figure it out magically.”
I study her, wondering how she could have hit the nail on the head twice now. “Are you in my brain or something?”
A small smile spreads over her lips. “Is that how you feel too?”
I nod. “Except all I can do now is try to live up to his legacy.”
She shifts closer, leaning her elbows on the desk. “Did your dad prepare you for this?”
“Are you ever really prepared for something like this?” I gesture around me, but there’s no way to encompass everything that’s mine now. The renown. The responsibility. The resentment. It all weaves together into an obligation I’m still not quite sure I’m ready for, but it’s my job to do regardless. “Archer was meant to take over one day, but that obviously didn’t happen. I always thought I’d be some kind of upper-level management.”
“I think you’re doing an amazing job, for what it’s worth.”
I nod my thanks, ignoring the glow in my chest at her praise. I’ve barely done anything. I’m only treading water.
She stands, her slim fingers lingering on the edge of my desk. “I should get going. I have to head home and get dinner started.”
I stand too, though I’m not sure why. “Sorry for keeping you.”
A shy smile crosses her face. “I liked talking with you. Maybe we can do it again tomorrow?”
“Sure.” And truth be told, I do feel a little lighter. Emma’s more of a kindred spirit than I thought.
“And we’ll figure something out with your schedule. It won’t be like this forever.”