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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When we had pulled up to my sister Clara\u2019s house an hour earlier, a familiar knot was already forming in my stomach. Maybe this time things will be different,<\/i> I\u2019d told myself. Maybe Clara and Mom will actually be kind.<\/i><\/p>\n
I turned to Nora, who was smoothing the front of her yellow sundress. She had saved up for it herself by babysitting the neighbors\u2019 twins. It wasn\u2019t flashy or expensive, but it was her<\/i>\u2014soft, pretty, and modest. She looked beautiful.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust be yourself, sweetie,\u201d I said, squeezing her hand. \u201cYou\u2019re perfect the way you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled, but I could see the nervousness in her big, hopeful eyes. We were immediately hit by the smell of grilled meat and the sound of forced laughter. It was the kind of family gathering you see in commercials, all sunshine and smiles, but I knew better. This wasn\u2019t about connection; it was about comparison, a quiet, suburban battlefield where worth was measured in brand names and job titles.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When we had pulled up to my sister Clara\u2019s house an hour earlier, a familiar knot was already forming in my stomach. Maybe this time things will be different, I\u2019d told myself. Maybe Clara and Mom will actually be kind. I turned to Nora, who was smoothing the front of her yellow sundress. She had…<\/p>\n