Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Dedication
- 1
- 2
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part I
- 3
- The History of My Beef with Brynn Foer-Preston
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part I
- 8
- 9
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part I
- 10
- 11
- 12
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part II
- 13
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part II
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- The Complicated History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Imaginary Relationship with Her Nonexistent Dad
- 20
- 21
- 22
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part III
- 23
- 24
- 25
- A Brief, Backward History of the McAllister Family, as Paraphrased from the San Jose Mercury News
- 26
- 27
- 28
- A Quick and Eerily Relevant History of Asians in America
- 29
- 30
- 31
- 32
- 33
- 34
- 35
- 36
- A Brief History of Chisaki Joan Katsuyama’s Romantic Learning Opportunities, Part IV
- 37
- 38
- 39
- 40
- 41
- 42
- 43
- 44
- A Series of Screw-ups: The Chisaki Joan Katsuyama Story, Part II (Or Maybe It’s a Prequel)
- 45
- 46
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- 52
- 53
- The History of the Katsuyama Family, Part III
- 54
- A Note from the Author
- Index of Flowers and their Meanings
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Praise for This Time Will Be Different
- Books by Misa Sugiura
- Back Ad
- About the Publisher
“Since forever,” says Mom grimly, which is not helpful.
“If it’s all about profit, maybe we could ask McAllister VC to kick in a few bucks,” mutters Hannah.
Oh no. Hannah has just pressed the nuclear button. Mom’s eyes widen and then narrow, and I leap in, desperate to prevent the train wreck on the horizon. “Hey, I have an idea!” I say. “What if I, um—”
Mom cuts me off. Though if I’d had an actual idea, I might have been able to keep going. “Are you really going to go there, Hannah?”
I try again. “Can you guys just let that go and focus on the real issue here? How about if we have a sale that coincides with—”
This time, Hannah steamrolls me. “I’d say McAllister owes us at least that much, considering what they’ve done to our family. It’d be very appropriate, really.”
“Oh, Hannah, please. They owe us exactly nothing. You’re acting like the internment happened yesterday.”
“And you’re acting like it never happened at all.”
“You guys!” I plead. “Let’s not talk about the McAllisters. We don’t need to involve them. Let’s just stay focused on how to turn the shop around. Okay? Let’s just start over.” God, they’re like children.
Hannah clears her throat. “Okay. You’re right, CJ. Let’s go back to square one. Meems, you can totally afford to pitch in a little extra this quarter.”
“I have been pitching in ‘a little extra’ for several quarters, Hannah,” says Mom. “Stop acting like I’m not the only reason Heart’s Desire is still in business.”
“Wait, what?” I feel like I’m lurching from one revelation to the next, trying to catch up, and I’m the tiniest bit annoyed with Hannah for keeping all of this from me. There’s so much I didn’t know. What was I thinking, trying to control the direction of this argument?
“It’s not like you don’t have money to spare. Just skip a couple of spa days. Or don’t buy a new dress and shoes for the next fancy fund-raiser you go to. Slum it in something you’ve worn once before.”
“Hannah, that wasn’t nice,” I say desperately. “That’s not what I meant by starting over.”
“Yes, it is. We’re starting this conversation over, and I’m asking your Mom why she can’t help her family by giving up one completely unnecessary luxury.”
“Really. Maybe we could both save money on clothes and spa days. And girls’ week getaways to Bora Bora.”
“That was for Kerri’s wedding, Mimi. My best friend. What was I supposed to do, not go?”
Their argument is whirling further and further out of my reach, and I feel like I’m grabbing at the threads whipping around its perimeter. “Stop it. You guys are supposed to be grown-ups! Can you please just stop fighting?”