Kate Hopper thought she'd finally had everything taken from her.
With her father gone and her sister all the way across the country, she truly didn't have anything left. Since her father's death eight months before, she'd broken up with her boyfrien...
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KATE HAD ALREADY dragged herself through her morning shift at the café before getting to eat anything.
On Saturdays and Sundays, Kate made sure to work from open to close, just to make sure she could make the brunch tips. She hated that she worked so much, mostly because she didn't have any time to do anything other than work or school anymore. During the week, her classes seemed to simply be a distraction from all of the time she spent working. She'd only done the math one time, partially because it hurt her brain to think she worked two jobs a week close to forty hours a week each, and that didn't include the time she was studying or in class. She didn't even think to leave room to try and attempt a social life—she didn't have time for things like that. Not anymore.
Everything was much more expensive now that she was on her own, especially now that she was living in the city. Even though she'd gotten all of her father's financials, including her college fund, she knew she needed to save most of it for whenever she was out of school and El was living with her again. With the way Kate worked, she was comfortable. She had enough money to do things like buy plane tickets to California to see her sister, to see Joyce and the boys. She had enough money to buy Christmas presents for everyone, to buy a birthday present for one of the kids every time one came around.
Kate didn't like to be looked at like she was struggling. Even though she was struggling, it wasn't in the way that everyone thought she was. She didn't want any handouts, and that extended to something as simple as using her dad's money that had been left to her. She put Joyce's names on all the accounts, just to make sure she could use it for El whenever it was necessary. Kate didn't like that even if she'd been granted guardianship, Joyce had still been the one to pay for everything. It wasn't fair, she didn't think to Joyce. Besides, even all these years later, Kate still hadn't forgiven herself for what had happened to Bob. Even if Joyce didn't seem to mind, that she'd put it past her, Kate felt like she owed her, and that was what she saved that money for. Besides, it was better to save what was rest of it for later—whenever she really had to grow up.
