Cassandra, three years my senior, married Eric, an investment banker from a wealthy family. Their wedding was lavish. Mom blew nearly $50,000 she didn\u2019t have, claiming a daughter only gets married once. I was nineteen, working two jobs and going to community college, barely scraping together enough to afford a bridesmaid dress.<\/p>\n
Then came the babies\u2014Thomas, Natalie, and Benjamin. With each child, Cassandra\u2019s sense of entitlement grew, and Mom was always there to bail them out, often at my expense. \u201cYour sister has three children to feed,\u201d Mom would say. \u201cWhat do you need extra money for anyway\u2014books? Can\u2019t you just use the library?\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I was working myself to exhaustion. Scholarships helped, but without family support I was a barista in the mornings, a tutor in the afternoons, and a data-entry clerk on weekends. Sleep was a luxury. Dad, after moving to Chicago and starting a new family, became a distant echo. Mom, honestly, made it harder for him to stay connected with me\u2014\u201cforgetting\u201d to pass along messages or deleting his voicemails.<\/p>\n
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