Magnolia had always been the spitting image of their mother, and it had only gotten more apparent with age. When Daphne opened the door, she’d nearly had a small heart attack, thinking it was her mother at the door. Maggie kept her hair short in a bob, unlike their mother. Maggie’s hair also had the same blueish hue that their mother’s had.

“It’s been a while,” Maggie said with a warm smile, unlike their mother, as she enveloped Daphne into a warm hug.

“It has,” Daphne agreed, hugging her sister back. Even longer for me than it has been for you, Daphne added in her mind.

“I’m so glad you reached out to me,” Maggie said as she stepped into Daphne’s apartment, the door thudding behind her. “I was worried we had stopped hanging out so much because I had sent you updates about Mom.”

Daphne swallowed hard, feeling her stomach getting tied up in knots. She hit the nail on the head, she thought.

“Well, you’re busy with your husband and your family, too,” Daphne replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

Maggie turned around and looked at her younger sister with narrowed eyes. “Daph, you and both know you better than that,” she replied, her voice chiding.

Daphne bit her lip. “Sorry,” she admitted. “It’s just really hard for me to hear anything about Mom.”

Maggie span back around, strolling into Daphne’s kitchen. “I get it, I get it,” she replied, putting her hand on Daphne’s table and leaning on it. She smiled at Daphne. “You should know that I only tell you because she’d have my head on a platter if I didn’t.”

Daphne rolled her eyes up towards the ceiling in acknowledgement. “I just don’t want anything to do with her. That’s the problem.”

“I get that,” Maggie said, pointing at her chest. “If it wasn’t for the girls, I’d have nothing to do with her too.”

“I’m sure Michael’s parents are better grandparents to the girls than mom ever could be.”

“You got that right,” Maggie replied, her bag falling off her shoulder onto the table. She ignored it. “And once they’re older we’ll have nothing to do with her. I just want them to have fond memories of their grandma.”

Daphne just grimaced. “I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to relate,” she said. “Speaking of that, how are Michael and the girls?” Daphne asked.

“They’re doing great,” Maggie replied with a small smile. “Lola is five now, and going to kindergarten now. Cheynne just turned two and has been an absolute menace.” Maggie pressed her hand against her forehead.

“What about you?” Daphne asked. “How have you been?”

“When I’m not chasing little ones, I’m a lot better,” Maggie said with a grin. “I never valued my free time enough.” She chuckled a little and Daphne smiled.

She cleared her throat and chewed on her lip a little. I should probably ask about mom to be polite, she thought.

“What about Mom?” Daphne asked. “How is she doing these days?”

“I’m surprised you asked,” Maggie replied, her eyebrows raising. “She’s doing pretty good. Disappointed we are going into winter, same as she usually is this time of year.” Maggie was smiling tightly, clearly uncomfortable.

“That’s good to hear, I suppose,” Daphne replied, plastering a polite smile onto her face.

Maggie nodded enthusiastically, and then began looking around Daphne’s apartment, clearly already moving on from Daphne’s transgressions. “You’ve lived here for three years, right?” she asked.

“Yes,” Daphne replied, following her sister’s eyes.”

“Have you…” Maggie paused, biting her lip. “Have you ever thought to decorate?” she asked.

Daphne looked around the blank walls of her apartment. Even the furniture that she had was fairly sparse, giving the apartment a hardly lived in feel.

“What’s wrong with it?” Daphne asked, cocking her head to the side.

“Well…” Maggie began to reply, taking Daphne seriously. Maggie looked nervous.

“I’m just kidding,” Daphne said, waiving her hand at her sister. “I guess I just haven’t had much time to consider where to put things.”

“For three years?” Maggie asked, raising her eyebrows, clearly appalled.

“Well, that’s a good way to start talking about what I wanted your advice on,” Daphne said, gesturing toward the couch, and cringing at her own transition.

“Oh perfect,” Maggie replied, beginning to walk into the living room. She took a few steps toward the couch and then Daphne saw Maggie’s head swivel towards Tanpopo. “You have a cat,” Maggie observed, turning to face Daphne. “Is it friendly?”

“I’m not sure,” Daphne admitted, grimacing. “I don’t have people over very often.”

Maggie began to slowly approach Tanpopo in his bed. He opened one of his eyes slightly to look at her, then closed it again, seemingly deciding that he wasn’t in danger.

“What’s it’s name?” Maggie asked as she gently laid a hand on Tanpopo’s poufy side.

“His name is Tanpopo,” Daphne replied with a smile.

“He’s freaking adorable,” Maggie said. She turned and sat down on the couch next to Tanpopo’s bed, her hand never leaving his body. Her eyes did not leave him either.

“He is,” Daphne replied, sitting down on the opposite size of the couch, perched as far away from her sister as possible.

“So you said you had a strange and rough day, and now you’re saying you want advice,” Maggie said, continuing to gently stroke Tanpopo, but finally tearing her eyes off of him to look at Daphne. “What happened?” she asked.

Daphne let out a heavy sigh, blowing the baby hairs on her face off of it. “Where do I even begin?” she asked.

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“That great, huh?” Maggie said with a small laugh.

“Yeah…” Daphne replied before chewing on her tongue a little. “I guess, to start, I have a boyfriend.”

“What?” Maggie shouted, leaning forward and spooking Tanpopo a little. He was watching her closely now.

“I don’t think things are going that well, though,” Daphne replied, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.

“Why not?” Maggie asked, leaning back onto the couch. Tanpopo put his head down, seeming to be under the impression that the racket was over.

“I really like him a lot,” Daphne stated. “But I don’t think he feels the same about me. He recently told me that he wants to spend more time together, but he doesn’t try to contact me.”

Maggie tsked a few times at Daphne. “He sounds like a loser,” Maggie said. “I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t want to spend time with you.”

“Heh,” Daphne said, looking down at the carpet on the floor. “He said I’m a workaholic.”

Maggie looked like she was trying to hold a grin on her face. “I mean, it sounds like he’s got you all figured out,” she said, a little smirk growing on her face.

Daphne felt her eyes go wide. “Do you think that about me too?” she asked.

“I’m not sure ‘think’ is the right word in this context,” Maggie replied. “’Know’ is more appropriate.”

Daphne bit her lip. “So would you say it’s probably a bad thing that I’m typically working an extra two to three hours after working every day?” Daphne asked.

She heard Maggie intake a deep breath, and looked over. Maggie had pointed her nose at the ceiling and was pinching the bridge of it.

“What?” Daphne asked, her stomach twisting up into a knot.

“You’re working an extra ten to fifteen hours a week?” Maggie asked, matter-of-factly, still pinching her nose.

“Oh,” Daphne replied, chewing her lip. “I never thought of it like that.”

So, I’ve been working…fiftyish hours a week? Daphne thought. Is it truly any wonder that Gary wanted to break up with me?

Maggie breathed out heavily, her eyes still closed, but her head falling back into more of a neutral position. “Why are you working so much?” she asked. “Is it a requirement of your job?”

“No,” Daphne replied. “A lot of the time people will push their work off onto me.”

Maggie’s eyes opened wide, and she turned to look at Daphne. “And you don’t say no?” Maggie asked, her voice sounding irritated.

“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say no or not,” Daphne admitted.

“You’re always allowed to say no,” Maggie stated, heavily emphasizing her sentence.

“My boss doesn’t seem like the type that will take no for an answer,” Daphne replied, frowning. “He yells at me a lot, and has a soft spot for one of the women who most commonly pushes her work on to me.”

Maggie fluttered her eyelids, touching two of her fingers to each side of her head. “So let me get this straight. You don’t try to say no to the extra work because your boss if playing favorites with one of your co-workers, and you’re ruining your romantic relationship because of it,” Maggie stated.

“Well…” Daphne replied, rubbing the back of her neck. “I think that’s the simplified version of it.”

“Is there more?” Maggie asked, her eyes opening and her face looking stern at Daphne.

“Um…” Daphne hesitated, chewing on her lips. “I’m also a little concerned that my boyfriend may be dating me because of my money.” Daphne’s voice shrank down the further she got into her sentence.

“Sorry?” Maggie asked, blinking a few times at Daphne. “Are you giving him money or something?”

Daphne let out a fake cough. “Umm,” she replied. “Well, he got laid off about a month after we got together…”

Maggie gave her sister a dirty look. “Daph…” Maggie replied. “Why?”

“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Daphne asked, her stomach starting to do flip flops. “Partnership and all that?”

She’s judging me, she’s judging me… A voice was murmuring in Daphne’s mind, repeating the statement over and over.

“Sure,” Maggie replied softly. “After you’ve been in a relationship for over a year.”

A lump grew in Daphne’s throat. “Oh,” she said.

Maggie sighed. “I don’t blame you for not knowing,” she said. “We lived in the same house. I know what crap you experienced growing up.”

Daphne clenched her jaw, feeling her eyes prick from her emotions. I will not cry, she thought.

“So is the advice you wanted to ask me what you should do for these two situations?” Maggie continued.

Daphne nodded. “I’m not happy,” she said, her voice cracking with emotions. “In fact, I’m really unhappy and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Maggie sighed. “I wish you had said something sooner. The last thing I want to see you is unhappy.” She scooted across the couch and awkwardly wrapped one of her arms around Daphne’s shoulders. “Can I ask you one thing?”

Daphne could only nod, as she was holding back the tidal wave of her emotions.

“Outside of being happy, what is it you’re looking to get from your relationship and work?” Maggie asked.

“Well, I’m hoping the relationship continues,” Daphne said. She couldn’t help but notice the grimace on Maggie’s face as she said it.

Her heart sunk into her chest. Maybe pursuing this with Gary is doomed to fail, she thought. I still think it’s worth trying.

Daphne swallowed hard. “For work, I just hope for my efforts to be appreciated and to have an impact.”

Maggie nodded. “And you want my advice for both things?”

It was Daphne’s turn to nod, her guts feeling like she just got punched.

Maggie sighed. “I’ll be completely honest…I’m not sure if your relationship is salvageable, but there are two things you should do. First, stop paying him any of your money. Consider it a test to see if he actually cares about you.”

“Isn’t it…toxic to do something like that?” Daphne asked.

Maggie looked like she wanted to pull her short hair out. “What corner of the internet has given you such terrible advice?” she asked. She breathed out heavily and then shook her head. “It’s also toxic to let yourself get used like a piece of toilet paper. It would be different if you were living with him.”

“Understood,” Daphne said. “What do I say when I tell him I can’t pay anymore? Should I just be honest?”

“It’s okay to tell a small white lie,” Maggie replied, waving her hands to imply that Daphne should definitely not be honest. “Just say you had some expensive things come up and you can’t afford to pay him extra right now.”

“Will that be believable?” Daphne asked.

“In this economy? Absolutely,” Maggie replied.

Daphne cringed at the word “economy.” It was one of the words Gary had said to her during their breakup. “Understood,” she said.

“Also,” Maggie added. “Try to spend as much time with him as you can. If he’s complaining that you’re not spending enough time with him, then give him what he wants and see if things improve.”

“How am I supposed to do that when I’m working late every night?” Daphne asked.

“We’ll get that to here in a moment, but even if you work late, try to spend time with him anyway.”

“Alright,” Daphne said with a nod.

“Does that sound like a plan for your relationship?” Maggie asked.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Daphne agreed.

“So now work,” Maggie said, running her hand through her curtain bangs. “First and foremost, you should try talking to your boss about your workload.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea,” Daphne replied, making an “x” with her arms. Her heart felt like it was decaying in her chest.

“I understand,” Maggie said with a nod. “You should try anyway. The other thing you can do is start saying no when you’re asked to take on additional work.”

Daphne raised her eyebrows. “I don’t see that going over well either.”

Maggie nodded. “It may not. If it doesn’t, then you know that it’s time to find a new job.”

“Will doing those things make me happy?” Daphne asked, touching her chest, feeling as though it was a bit hollow.

Maggie looked exasperated. Daphne bit her lip and felt her ears flame. “Only you can really decide what makes you happy,” Maggie told Daphne. “If it’s work, focus on work. If it’s your boyfriend, focus on your boyfriend.”

Daphne nodded at her sister. “I think I understand,” she said.

Maggie’s face blossomed into a smile. “Glad to hear it,” she said.

“Thanks for taking the time to come out here and help me,” Daphne said, a small smile on her face.

Thanks for not judging me too badly…

“Thank you for reaching out,” Maggie replied, placing one of her hands on Daphne’s shoulder. “I don’t like to hear that you’re struggling so much, sister,” she said.

Daphne felt her eyes sting a little. Was it really necessary to let my relationship with Maggie fall to the wayside? She wondered. She’s hardly brought up Mom at all.

“Sorry,” Daphne replied.

Maggie smiled and shook her head. “Don’t be sorry,” she said. “On another note, have you had dinner yet? Would you like to go grab a bite?”

“I haven’t,” Daphne replied, tucking one of the long strands of her dark hair behind her ear. “That sounds great.”

“Perfect,” Maggie said with a bright grin. “What should we get to eat then?”