The Sum of Us

Chapter 2

Olivia

Mom and Dad arrive shortly after. There is a bit of We never see you anymore and You look a little pale, are you eating enough?. Mom shakes her head at my cake. Dad makes a comment about the game on Friday. And I insist of us all singing Happy Birthday. Alexander looks a little bit lost throughout the entire thing.

Then we settle around the table and Conner serves dinner.

"Wow! It looks really edible, Conner.", I say.

"It smells delicious!", Mom counters with a stern look towards me.

"Thanks, Mom.", Conner its down at the head of the table "And thanks for all coming today! It's good to see you guys.", Conner smiles into the round and we respond with sounds of agreement. Then there are a few moments of silence, as we all start eating.

"So, Alexander, we haven't seen you since you two finished college. How are you doing?", Dad breaks the silence.

"I am doing well, thank you for asking," Alexander replies, his tone polite but guarded. I look between the two as I chew on another bite. It seems like everything about Alexander is stiff and rigid. His broad shoulders are pulled back, his jaw is tense and sharp. His shirt is taught around his chest and shoulders and... I mentally slap myself on the wrist. No more checking out Alexander! It is embarrassing and I am better than this! But he does look really good.

Dad nods, seeming satisfied with the answer. "And how's the business going? Conner tells us you've been really successful."

Alexander shifts in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the attention. "It's going quite well."

"What was it again? Something with financial data? Aren't you developing software?", Dad asks, leaning forward with interest.

"Yes, I run a financial trading firm. We develop research-driven tools to analyze the market, and we also provide software and services relating to financial data analytics to clients.", he sounds like a salesman performing his pitch. I cannot help but raise an eyebrow at him. 

"Olivia, isn't that what you did, honey?",  Mom chimes in. And that's my cue to become visibly mortified. I blush. "Yes... well, I did my masters in data science.", my words come out as a mumbled rush. I usually don't mind attention, but this has recently become a delicate topic for me. I look to Alexander and catch him actually seeming somewhat surprised. Mom just looks pleased to have contributed something. She is oblivious to my embarrassment.

"Really? What are you doing now?", Alexander sounds intrigued.

"I design websites for small businesses.", I say, but the words come out hurried and too quiet. Alexander looks to Conner in confusion.

"She designs websites for small businesses.", Conner clarifies. He is obviously amused by my torture.

"Liv had a bit of a situation at her previous job.", Conner grins as I give him an angry look.

Maybe we can just leave it at that and move on with...

"What happened?", Alexander asks, curios.

... never mind.

"Well, I messed up, ok?", I snap. 

"Don't be rude, Olivia.", Mom chides me. "Also, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, honey.", she adds a little softer, as if suddenly realizing I might be uncomfortable.

"I think she should talk about it." my dad interjects. "You made a mistake, we all make mistakes. It's about time you moved on."

"It wasn't just a small mistake, Dad. I caused a huge scandal and got fired." I say, feeling my face grow hot with embarrassment.