Chapter 3 - The Golden Child
Serena had been the family favorite for as long as Clara could remember.
As children, Serena won dance competitions and smiled easily for photographs. Clara preferred books, early morning runs, and repairing broken objects with their father.
When Serena earned a business degree, Marjorie hosted a formal dinner.
When Clara graduated from military training, Marjorie complained that the ceremony was too far away.
When Serena received a promotion, her photograph appeared in the family Christmas letter.
When Clara received a medal after coordinating an emergency evacuation during a flood, Marjorie mentioned only that military work had made her “a little severe.”
Clara learned not to expect applause.
The mortgage payments, however, made every comparison harder to ignore.
At Sunday dinners, Marjorie praised Serena’s apartment while sitting beneath a chandelier Clara was paying to keep above her head.
At Christmas, Richard gave Serena an expensive bracelet while quietly asking Clara to cover the annual property tax increase.
When Clara arrived late after a seventeen-hour shift during a regional emergency exercise, Marjorie called her unreliable.
Serena rarely joined in directly, but she never stopped the criticism. She accepted the praise as if it belonged to her naturally.
Clara did not hate her sister.
That would have been easier.
Instead, she remembered the Serena who once held her hand during thunderstorms and hid candy beneath Clara’s pillow. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, affection had been replaced by competition.
One evening, Serena raised her glass and said, “I suppose some people are meant to build a life, while others are meant to follow orders.”
Everyone laughed except Richard.
May you like
Clara smiled politely.
The next morning, the mortgage payment left her account.
