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
Mom looks skeptical, and I wish I didn’t feel the same way. But now that she’s dismissed it, the sale looks childish and unrealistic. “This is the offer on the table,” she says. Mom drops a number: three million dollars. Cash. My jaw falls open.
We’re doomed. There’s no way we can make Heart’s Desire successful enough—by April!—to compete with an offer like that.
Hannah swallows. Then she squares her shoulders and says, “I don’t care. You can’t put a price on family.”
“We’re not selling people, Hannah. We’re selling dirt and concrete.”
“We are not selling anything. You are selling history. You’re selling our childhood. You’re selling blood, sweat, and tears. And pride and hard work.”
Mom closes her eyes and shakes her head like she can’t even do this. “Your memory of that place is not the same as mine. It wasn’t as great as you think it was. I’m getting sick of throwing away money for the sake of your nostalgia.”
“And what about CJ? Doesn’t she get a say?” Hannah turns to me.
I’ve been listening to this argument with growing alarm as the implications sink in. Heart’s Desire connects me to the only history I have—and I know it sounds bizarre, but I feel like myself when I’m working on an arrangement. I feel grounded when I work there, like I’ve finally found my feet. The thought of that going away makes me slightly panicky.
“Who’s making the offer? Who has that kind of money? Is it another florist?” I ask. Maybe I could get a job with them, I think desperately.
“Some corporate real estate monster, probably,” grumbles Hannah.
Mom takes a sip of wine before she answers without looking at either of us. “McAllister Venture Capital.”
There’s a long beat of silence, filled slowly by our stunned understanding, which expands until its edges are stretched as taut and thin as the skin of a balloon about to burst. This was the secret she had with Trey. This was what we weren’t ready to hear.
“What?” Hannah says finally. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Nope.” Mom is almost defiant, popping the “p” loudly and raising her eyebrows. She peers down at her glass and swirls the wine around in lazy circles. She looks relaxed, but I can see the muscles in her jaw twitch as she clenches her teeth.
“Is that—is that even legal?” I ask. It can’t be. It seems so wrong. Because (a) Mom works for MVC, and (b) it’s the McAllisters. That can’t be okay.