Page 22 of Just What She Needed

Damn. She'd almost made it out of the house, too. With a resigned sigh, she faced her mother again.

"I don't know. This may sound stupid, but I've just recently realized I don't know what I want to be when I grow up."

Again her mother surprised her with her answer. "Well, you never did have much of a chance to find out, did you? You took what you could get, and there aren't a lot of exciting career opportunities here in Claiborne."

"It kept us out of debt." Rhett shrugged. "But now here I am in my forties and with no education, so an actual career has kind of passed me by."

"Don't take too long to find something," her mother advised. "You don't want to wake up one day and find out most of your money is gone."

"I won't, Mama." She leaned forward and kissed her mother on the cheek. "You and Patsy have fun in California and be sure to call when you get back and tell me how it went."

"I will," Bettina answered. "You drive safe getting home, now."

Just before the new storm door closed behind Rhett, her mother delivered her final parting shot.

"And tell Melanie to call me!"

10

If you truly dig what you are doing, if you lay it out that way, nobody can not respond. That's what rock and roll is; it's relentless.—Cass Elliot

“I gotta get a job."

Even Rhett could hear the whine in her voice as she spoke. Disgusted, she realized she sounded like a spoiled teenager forced to pay for his or her own cell phone plan. She sat up from her slumped position on the couch and attempted a more mature tone.

"I need to get a job."

"Why?" Mel looked up from her tablet where she was perusing The Wall Street Journal.

"Because that's how people support themselves." Rhett wrinkled her nose at her sister. "And here I thought you worked at a bank."

"Smart ass." Mel gave Rhett that look that older sisters seemed to be born with, a look that conveyed condescension and made it clear they knew everything. "You have money. In fact, it's in my bank."

"Double smart ass." And she was back to sounding like a whiny teenager. Rhett took a deep breath and summoned maturity again. "I don't want to wake up some morning and realize most of that money is gone, though."

"Mm." Mel dropped her gaze back to her tablet. "Mom tell you that?"

"As a matter fact, she did." When Mel didn't respond, Rhett added a defensive, "She isn't wrong, you know."

"Only if you were running through your money, which you aren't." With a sigh, Mel laid aside the tablet and tucked one foot under her, a sure sign she was getting down to business. "Look, I don't know the particulars of your finances. And I don't want to," she added as Rhett opened her mouth to speak. "But I do know a couple of things. One, you have a financial advisor where Brendan works, and that dude isn't going to let you run out of dough. And two, you're the most frugal person I know. Since you bought the car—which you needed, I might add—what have you spent money on? Insurance? A little makeup and hair styling? Groceries? Oh, and you insist on giving me money for half the utilities. How's that going to break you?"

"Because that's money going out while nothing's coming in, that's how. Seriously, Mel."

"Your financial guy, what's his name? Scott? He's invested a chunk of your money, and you're going to see quarterly returns on that, so you will have income. It's only been a couple of months, so relax."

Rhett shifted her shoulders in an attempt to ease the knot at the base of her neck. Talk of money always made her tense. "I'm afraid that those quarterly whatevers I get won't be enough for a house payment, though. I need income for stuff like that."

The expression on Mel's face was truly astounded. "House? Why are you going to buy a house?"

Rhett was sure her own expression mirrored her sister's. "I appreciate you letting me stay here, Mel, but I can't keep sponging off you like this."

"Excuse me, but what part of paying half the light bill and groceries do you consider sponging?"

"Well, I know my being here has to cramp your lifestyle, and—"

"Nope." Mel held up a well-manicured hand, palm out. "Stop right there. You're not cramping anything, and I mean that. I haven't changed one iota about the way I live since you moved in. Really. In fact..." She cast a dark glance out the window at the grey clouds. "The only thing cramping my style right now is this rain. If it doesn't let off soon my hair is going to frizz, and Gary'll think he's taking a badly surprised cat to the movies tonight."

"Okay, see? Right there." Rhett pounced on Mel's statement. "If I wasn't here then Gary could come by any time he wanted."