"You ready for your first class Monday?" I ask between bites. Any dining etiquette my mother taught me was thrown at the window in the military, where a spoon is referred to as a shovel and time for eating is often limited to ten minutes or less. It doesn't take a soldier long to put two and two together.
"Yeah." Todd smiles. "I don't know how you did it. She's so stubborn."
"Wasn't me. Totally her decision."
"Whatever." He rolls his eyes.
I wink at him. "Glad you could make it. Is your sister here, too?"
"She'll be by soon. Laundry day. I barely escaped." Todd grins.
"Go get some food," I say with a laugh.
He leaves with Maya, and I watch the adorable couple awkwardly join the masses plucking food from the buffet style banquet spread. Todd is truly happy, and it lifts my spirits to see it. The instinct warning me that I've never learned the source of their issue wants me to ask Todd about it, since he's more likely to cooperate. But I know better than to upset him or worse, to provoke the motherly instinct of a woman who appears unforgiving if crossed.
I finish up and start to make my rounds when I run into Brianna.
"Hey. Glad you're here!" I say cheerfully and give her a quick hug.
"Thanks." She offers a smile. "Gets busier every year."
"Just the way Baba likes it." I motion to the tables of food. "Grab some grub!"
She glances towards the buffet, uninterested. "I thought we could talk."
I'd rather say no, but today is supposed to be a holiday, one about appreciating our blessings and the people in our lives. The least I can do is listen. "Sure. Let's talk."
She leads me away from the crowds to the hallway marked for staff members only. Employees from the catering company are bustling to and from the dining area with stainless steel bins, deep bowls and fresh plates and utensils. We make way for them more than once before passing the kitchens into the relatively quiet section of the hallway.
Brianna has always been the ideal beauty to me with light brown hair and gorgeous eyes. She's smart, sharp and attractive. The only real problem we've ever had, aside from the cheating issue, was that she's always resented my family for being wealthy. It's not something I can help, and I definitely don't flaunt it. Her family isn't hurting, so I've never really understood why she sees us the way she does.
Katya received the brunt of Brianna's anger in school. I always racked it up to typical high school rivalry that somehow followed both girls into their early twenties. Katya was a partyer before my incident and never driven towards personal accomplishment the way Brianna was. It's what drew me to Brianna initially - she's always determined to succeed no matter what.