From Sneers to Cheers: Anthea’s Ascent

Rebecca closed her eyes for a moment, anger rising hot and sharp in her chest. Cards. Always the damn card games. That was all Sandra ever cared about.

It was already six thirty and dinner hadn't even been started. Did Sandra really think she was still some pampered socialite?

If it weren't for Sandra, Rebecca would never have broken off her engagement with the Christensens. It was all her fault. Every last bit of it.

The more she thought about it, the angrier Rebecca became. She slammed her phone down on the coffee table.

Only then did Sandra even look up, startled. "Rebecca, you're back! Go make dinner, would you? I'm starving. I can't figure out how to work that stove-it's nothing like the one we had before!"

After more than twenty years of living in comfort, Sandra was completely lost now that they'd moved into this shabby apartment. Nothing was familiar. Nothing was easy.

Cook dinner? And she actually had the nerve to order Rebecca around.

That was the final straw. Rebecca snatched Sandra's phone away. "Enough! Give it a rest!"

"Rebecca! What's wrong with you?" Sandra shot to her feet, furious. "I was about to win that hand!"

Rebecca's voice was shaking with rage. "Look at the time! How can you still think about playing cards? Is that all you know how to do? You're useless-worse than useless!"

believe this was her mother. Sometimes she thought she'd have been

was stunned. Rebecca had never spoken to her like this before. It was as if she'd

gotten into

me tell you— the Christensens never went

you, I'd

froze, the color

Sherman was Mr. Christensen? The

you must be mistaken," Sandra

wanted to test us! And you—you looked down on them from the start!

Sandra and Dad hadn't just broken off the engagement, they'd thrown money at the Christensens,

hadn't done those awful things, Karen would never

all their fault. All

had anything, maybe she could accept it. But she had—she'd had everything, and her own family

was like winning the lottery and

confusion and regret. She had never imagined the Christensens' bankruptcy was fake, let alone that

never have called off