“Okay, it has to be said that we’re at a stalemate about this that we should call for eternity. I’m over Tommy. I’m really over discussing this. It’s clear you agree with Dad that I did wrong and deserved to be punished.”

She tried to interrupt. “Liv—”

But I persevered.

“I’ve made it clear that I felt as a human being I should be free to work and earn my own money and have the right to pursue happiness with whoever I choose without threat of imprisonment and torture. I’m afraid I have rather strong feelings about that ideology, no matter how brutally I was proven wrong. Thus, we won’t come to an agreement or even a compromise. So allow me to live my repression with some dignity.”

She leaned toward the table and lowered her voice as she said, “Like I’ve said a million times before, we keep discussing this because you need to be careful about shit like that, sis. I’m not happy David stole from us but I’m glad you found it. Dad’ll be seriously pissed about David but he’ll be pleased you seem more on board, sorting that out, calling the order to get Gill and Tommy involved, taking care of family. But, you keep going the way you’re going, saying the shit you say, behaving the way you do, not letting that shit go…” She let that hang and finished, “You have to know, Dad doesn’t trust your loyalty.”

I let my eyes widen in faux shock.

“Really?” I asked sarcastically. “You can’t be serious, Georgie. Gee…that must be why he still watches my house.”

“You learned the loyalty lesson once,” she hissed, but she said it like she wished she didn’t have to. “The way you carry on, Liv, he’s not sure it sunk in.”

“I did learn a lesson,” I agreed. “However, I will note that the lesson taught did not buy loyalty. It bought hatred. And in order to end this discussion once and for all, I’ll stop pussyfooting around and say it out loud. I loathe that man. Since he never liked me much, I returned the favor. But after that, I hated him. The only reason I do what I do is not loyalty to him. It’s because it’s the only livelihood I have. Then there’s the small fact I have absolutely no other choice. And last, the only good part about it all, I do it because I love you.”

She sat back at my last, her face growing soft.

I watched her reaction wishing I didn’t love her. It might make some things much easier.

But I did because she was my sister. I did because she’d always, as best she could, took my back.

And her showing so readily how much it meant to her was another one of the reasons why.