Houston, Texas

Seated on the garden terrace, overlooking the grounds of the country club, Cliff Barnes felt far out of his element. He wasn't penniless, but he felt far from even middle class surrounded by what his youngest sister was apparently used to.

"Rebecca isn't going to appear out from behind a tree at some point, is she?"

Cracking a joke, he was genuinely a little concerned that his insistence had been ignored and he was about to be ambushed. He'd agreed to meet with Katherine and Katherine alone and he wished for that to be respected.

"No. I told her what you told me, and daddy agreed that it was for the best."

"Thank you."

"I think she'd like to see you."

Scoffing, he was unable to keep himself from staying silent. If Rebecca had wanted to see him, she would have contacted him.

"I think that might be guilt talking."

"She does feel guilty."

Furrowing her brow, Katherine showed him again that she had split loyalties, which he'd known from the start, but might potentially cause problems now.

"She should."

"She wasn't completely in the wrong; she had reasons for what she did. She was trapped in a bad marriage and saw no way out but to run."

Hearing what she was saying, he didn't disagree that Digger probably hadn't been an ideal husband, but he couldn't agree that what Rebecca had done was the right thing and he certainly didn't believe that she hadn't known exactly what she was doing by staying away in the two decades since she'd left. Digger and Pam were gone, he was the only member of her first family left, but it had still taken her seventeen-year-old daughter to make contact with him before she'd made her regrets heard.

"That might be so, but she's had a long time to make it right since then and hasn't. I don't think I can forgive her for that."

Tilting her head slightly, her striking blue eyes boring into his, Katherine answered simply with, "I understand."

Falling quiet, they held eye contact for a while before he had to look away. Her stare was intense and a little unnerving.

A few moments later, she broke the silence. "Will you tell me about yourself?"

Laughing nervously, he thought about how much he hated the question, always finding it difficult to describe himself to a person who had more than he did. Katherine was no more accomplished than he was, in fact, she was a lot less accomplished just because of her age, but she appeared worldly and that was intimidating.

"I'm an attorney, mostly working in environmental law, sometimes a little commercial", starting off, he felt like his answer was more suitable for a job interview than a casual conversation with his sister, but work took up a lot of his life, so it was the first thing that popped into his head.

"I have a strong interest in politics", assuming from their surroundings that they unlikely shared many similarities in the political sphere he didn't make any further comment about that.

"When I'm not working I'm usually doing something for my family, that's my aunt Maggie and cousin Jimmy now", acknowledging Pam and Digger's losses, he didn't wish to dwell on them, not yet, not before he really knew what she was like.

"I like Chinese food, and women", chuckling, he felt insecure about how lame he might sound to her.

"…and I probably sound incredibly boring to you", laughing nervously, he concluded his summary with a self-deprecating comment.

"Your turn."

Smiling, she reassured him that she was interested in what he had to say, even if they were complete opposites.

"You're not boring. I don't think we have a lot in common but that doesn't make you boring."

Tactful, he appreciated her answer.

"You're certainly polite."

Laughing good-naturedly, her blue eyes sparkled in the light. She had confidence, it wasn't the same sort of confidence Pam had had, but he didn't expect it to be, she and Pam weren't all that similar.

"Where did you go to college? I'm a senior, so I'll be starting college in the fall. I'm not sure where that will be yet, but I plan to major in English with a focus on journalism and a minor in business. The English is just for me, the business is so I'm ready to take over Wentworth Industries when the time comes."

Asking him a question about himself, the rest of what she said answered some of his questions. They were very different; she had no obstacles in her way to success, that was obvious, and he couldn't say he didn't find it a bit off-putting.

"You've got it all planned out."

"Didn't you?"

"Well yes, but not to that extent…" Hesitating, he chose his next words carefully as to not sound like her were blaming her for what she'd been born into. "I knew what I wanted to be however the path to get there was not as straight as yours is."

Saying nothing in response, he wasn't sure whether she understood what he was telling her, that she was in a far more privileged position than he had been in. They were siblings but their lives were unalike.

Uncomfortable with her silence, he returned to an earlier subject. "To answer your question, I went to UT."

Seemingly more comfortable with his second comment, she smiled and continued their conversation, "and Pamela?"

"She didn't go to college."

Not wanting to make her feel bad for not realising it, he didn't explicitly tell her why Pam hadn't also attended college. Higher education was not something that was just assumed for his or Pamela's futures, but Katherine's life experience was nothing like his so likely it didn't even occur to her.

"Was she travelling? I considered taking a year out to explore Europe beyond the holiday periods we spend there, but daddy wasn't convinced I'd want to return to school after that, so I'll stick to travelling over the summer, spring break and winter break for now."

Likely not even meaning to, Katherine's comments made him feel more self-conscious than he already did. Other than a trip or two to Mexico, he'd never left the US, and even leaving Texas was something he rarely did outside of business travel.

"Pam was working. We didn't travel much."

"Oh, you really should."

Laughing cynically, he couldn't quite believe that they were related. She didn't immediately strike him as malicious, more naïve, but still, it was difficult to just ignore their different outlooks on life.

"I believe you, I just haven't had a lot of opportunity to do it yet. I worked my way through college and I'm still paying back what I had to borrow to make ends meet. Pam always lived on what she made, then she married Bobby and didn't have to do that anymore. We didn't avoid travelling, we just had other priorities."

Finally seeming to hear what he was saying, Katherine fell silent.

He didn't feel great that he'd put her in her place, reminded her of what she had that he didn't, but it had had to be said.

Quiet for a long while, she spoke again, not directly addressing what he'd said earlier.

"May I ask something personal?"

"Go on."

"What was mama like when she was your mother?"

Knowing the question was coming, he still wasn't really prepared for the wave of emotion that swept over him when he heard it.

"I was young, but I remember bits…"

He expected that Katherine might think he had only bad memories but that wasn't true. His memory of their mother was tainted by the way she'd left and everything following that, but that wasn't what Katherine had asked him about.

"She sang songs, and gave hugs, and when she cried, I cried…"

Pausing, he thought back to that time in his life. He'd been only five when she'd left, most of what he remembered was the pain of her absence rather than the comfort of her presence.

"She liked liquorice…"

He wasn't going to cry, he'd cried enough for Pam and Digger and wasn't going to cry for a mother who was still very much alive, but it was difficult. She'd hurt him, and he'd never quite recovered.

To be continued...