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Chapter thirty-eight

How The Game is Played

Karma

“There’s something I need to tell you.” I feel horrible, but what else can I do? Between Patterson’s offer of a full-ride scholarship to his new creative writing program and Josh’s plan for a globe-trotting adventure, I don’t have any choice but to follow my heart. I just wish that it didn’t come at the expense of people I love.

“Go on,” Em says from the lumpy old couch in the Wilson family room. “What is it you wanted to say?”

Hank plops down next to our sister. “Yeah, Bro. Tell us what’s on your mind.”

I gaze at my siblings through the screen, trying to figure out how to break the news. We’ve been talking about the Wilson Wake and Bakery for the past two years, and now I’m about to yank the rug right out from under them. Nothing that I say could ever make up for my betrayal. “The thing is… I don’t want to be in charge of a coffee shop. I’m really sorry to let you down, but I don’t want to run a business anymore.”

“No shit.” Em snorts a laugh. “We’ve been wondering when you would tell us.”

“Wait… you’re not mad?” After all of the time she’s invested in creating recipes for the bakery, I don’t see how she could let me off that easily. And that’s not even counting the different cannabis strains my brother has developed. All of that painstaking work—down the drain because of me.

“ Pfft .“ Hank rolls his eyes. “We were doing the Wake and Bakery for you . The last thing I want to do is run a dispensary. I just want to grow my plants, not own a business. Em, on the other hand…”

My sister folds her arms across her chest. “ I , on the other hand, do want to run a business—and I didn’t say I wasn’t mad at you.”

Shit. Well, it’s not like I don’t have it coming. “I’m really sorry, Sis. What can I do to make it up to you?”

“Grovel.” An evil grin spreads across her face.

She deserves that, and more. “I suck as a brother for letting you down,” I tell her. “I’m a selfish, horrible person.”

She quirks an eyebrow. “And?”

“And I beg for your forgiveness.” I make a show of getting down on my hands and knees, hanging my head in remorse.

“And?” She motions for me to continue.

Hank bumps his shoulder against hers. “Quit busting his balls. You’re just trying to make him feel bad.”

“Duh.” Em rolls her eyes at him. “Who else is gonna fuel his guilt and shame?”

I let out a groan. “You’re gonna make me pay for this for months, aren’t you?”

“ Years. “ She grins at me.

“Dude, don’t listen to her,” Dubya says as he walks into the family room. “She’s been working on a business plan with Simon Crenshaw for the past month.”

With Sigh-Moan? I stand up from the floor and dust off my knees. “What are you talking about, Bro?”

Leaning over the back of the couch, my younger brother explains, “They’re gonna market her cannabis truffles online, along with some gourmet vegan gummies. What’re you gonna call them again, Em?”

Ananda strolls in from the kitchen. “Personally, I think the espresso-flavored candies should be called Cannaccino.”

Freedom waltzes in after her. “I think they should be called Coffee Pot.”

Harmony enters through a side door, pushing Dubya out her way as she passes. After wedging herself between Hank and Em on the couch, she says, “Who cares what any of the candies are called when the name of her business is so good?”

Em gives the redhead a side hug. “That’s so sweet of you, Taylor.”

Taylor? Hold on, wait one damn minute. “Why does this brat get to change her name before she turns eighteen?” I stick my tongue out at my little sister, who promptly returns the favor.

My father wraps an arm around my mother’s waist as they gaze at the temperamental teenager. “Taylor presented a compelling argument, using logic and reason to persuade us to her point of view. She’ll make a fine philosopher someday.”

“Or a district attorney,” my mother points out.

“Hey! We were talking about my business, remember?” Em darts a glance at me from the side of her eye. “Y’know, the one that I’m creating because Karma let me down?”

Hank smacks her on the back of the head. “You’d better check your own karma. What goes around comes around, Sis.”

“OK, OK.” She rubs her head. “Can I tell Karma the name of my business now, or does anyone else want to interrupt?”

“I’ll tell him!” Harmony—I mean, Taylor—says.

Em shakes her head. “Nah, I got this. The name of my cannabis candy business is…” She waves a hand through the air. “ Emerson’s Edibles, and my tagline is ‘They’re Thoreau-ly Transcendental’ .”

Holy shit. “That’s genius .”

“I know.” Em pats her hair.

“I deserve some credit, too,” Hank grumbles. “She’s using my marijuana strains, after all.”

“Hence, the ‘Thoreau’, Henry David.” Emerson narrows her eyes at him.

Freedom interrupts the bickering pair. “Speaking of transcendentalists, a certain quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson comes to mind: ‘Always do what you are afraid to do.’ “ My father turns to me with an expectant look. “Do you have something else you wanted to tell us, Karma?”

Oh, right. I’d planned on breaking the news to my parents in private before letting the rest of my siblings know—but I guess they’ll find out soon enough. How am I gonna tell everyone that I’m dropping out of school to go backpacking with my boyfriend? As I search for the right words to say to my family, my mother lets out a loud sigh.

“My favorite quote from Henry David Thoreau is ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined’. “ Ananda stares at me with raised eyebrows, waiting.

Something funny is going on. It’s almost like they already know.

“Freedom, Ananda…” I take a deep breath. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Hold on,” Em cuts in, then touches the screen. “Sara’s calling from Rusirani.”

Arghh . It’s hard enough to spit the words out. The last thing I need is Swati saying ‘I told you so’ .

“Yo, fam!” My big sister greets us with an ear-to-ear grin. “Am I too late to play the game? I’ve got fifty points riding on ‘Karma Quits MBA’ .”

Game? What’s that supposed to mean? Though I’ve gotta admit… “Sara’s right—I’ve decided to drop out of business school.”

“Called it!” Em raises a fist in the air.

“We all called that one.” Hank rolls his eyes. “Get on with the good stuff, Karma.”

“Um, OK…” Now that I’ve started, it all comes out in a rush. “I got a huge bonus from my summer writing job, and I’ve decided to do some traveling with Josh.”

Dubya flashes a peace sign in victory. “Yes! I get twenty points for ‘Travels with Josh’ .”

What the hell is my family up to this time? They couldn’t possibly…

Everyone pulls scorecards out of their pockets, muttering among themselves as they tally up their points. When they start calling out other predictions, the noise level turns from its usual din into an ear-splitting roar.

“Quiet down, guys!” Freedom calls out. “We all get ‘Travel’ points—though I don’t think anyone guessed ‘Writing Bonus’ , did they?”

“It’s not on the master copy.” Ananda studies the notebook in her hand before passing it around.

I catch a glimpse of columns and rows. Though it’s too far away to make out any details, it’s enough to confirm my suspicions. “Holy shit. I’m telling you guys that I’m dropping out of school… and you’re playing bingo? ”

Even for the Wilsons, that’s some next-level shit.

“Don’t be such a baby,” my mother tells me. “Besides, it’s closer to a game of Yahtzee .”

My father nods. “Or like Clue , but without the murder.”

My little brother, Bo, races into the room and climbs onto the couch. “What are you gonna bring us from Chile, Karma?”

“I want something from India!” Mo rushes in after him, then jumps into Harmony’s—I mean, Taylor’s—lap.

What the fuck? “How did you know...?”

Sara shouts over the top of me. “Karma! We’ve been waiting to hear from you for hours . Once Josh told his parents he was going to Chile and then coming home to India, they told Pradnya, and she told me. Hence, the game. What else were we supposed to do to kill the time?”

I fold my arms across my chest, trying to keep from sounding defensive. “Just because my boyfriend is traveling to Chile doesn’t mean that I am, much less that I would follow him halfway around the world to India.”

My family groans theatrically, rolling their eyes at me extra hard.

“Son, we know you’ve always wanted to travel,” Freedom says, “and it’s obvious how you feel about Josh.”

“Don’t think that we haven’t noticed the new tattoo on your ring finger.” Ananda purses her lips.

Bo jumps off the couch, getting as close as he can to the webcam. “ Nani saw you in a dream. You were in India at a wedding.”

Mo joins him, nodding her small head up and down. “And everyone knows that Nani ‘s dreams are never wrong.”

Harmony—I mean, Taylor—pushes her way in between the twins, her eyes wide as she asks me, “Are you really gonna marry Josh?”

Holy shit. Is that what everyone in my family thinks?

“Twenty points if they get engaged in the next six months,” Hank calls out his bet. “Fifty points if they get married.”

“Dude, go with ‘ Engaged ‘ ,“ Dubya says in a loud whisper.

“Hey! No cheating, dude .“ Em smirks as she flashes him a peace sign.

“It’s a complicated scoring system,” my mother says as she peers down at her own scorecard. “At this point, anyone could win. All I ask of you, Son, is that you bring Josh home for the holidays before the spring semester starts. He’d like that, wouldn’t he? The NASA Ames Research Center is only an hour from here. Maybe you can take him there as a special surprise.”

That’s a fantastic idea! Not only would my boyfriend get to see Wilson Woods, as well as my favorite tree and tide pools, surprising Josh with a trip to the NASA Research Center would be the best gift that I could give him. Maybe, if we’re lucky, we could get a personalized tour… We could even post about it on our channels…

“Wait a minute.” Hank squints at the notebook. “That’s cheating, Ananda. You can’t give him ideas just to wrack up points.”

Our mother waggles her eyebrows at him. “All’s fair in love and war, Henry David.”

Everyone bickers about fair play until Sara lets out a piercing whistle. “Yo, fam! I bet Karma pops the question first. That should be worth twenty-five points, right?”

“Good idea, Swati,” Freedom tells her. “Let’s add that to the chart. What do you think, Taylor?”

“My money’s on Josh,” the redhead says.

That starts a whole new round of shouting. With all of the scorecards waving in the air, you’d think our crowded family room was the New York Stock Exchange. As I gaze at the mayhem, a warm glow fills my chest.

Family… You gotta love ’em.