My Sister Got the Condo.I Got an Old Bike Key.

On my wedding day, my sister Marigold suddenly announced that she wanted our parents to go hiking with her. I stood in the bridal suite doorway in my wedding dress. "It's my wedding day. Can't you go another time?" Mom didn't answer. She pulled the old wooden cup from her purse. "You know the rule. When we disagree, we draw lots." That wooden cup had been with our family for twenty years. Whenever Marigold and I disagreed over something, our parents made us draw a red stick or a black one. I'd never once pulled a red stick from the cup. I had nine hundred and ninety-nine black ones in my bedroom drawer. The first draw had decided where we'd go that weekend. Marigold wanted the amusement park. I wanted to watch my school's robotics competition. Mom said we wanted different things, and she couldn't favor either of us. I drew black that day. Every time after that, I drew black again. This time was no different. Marigold pulled out the red stick, leaving me with a black one. Caspian and I had scheduled a luncheon before the vows so we could host our relatives who'd traveled from out of state. Outside, the emcee was telling both sets of parents to get ready to enter. I caught my parents by the arms, my throat tight. "Can you at least stay until the ceremony's over this afternoon?" Dad pried my hand away. "We agreed to go by the draw. Marigold got red, so we're taking her hiking. That's fair." Fair? On the day of my high school graduation, Marigold wanted to see a movie. They took her to the theater. The day I brought Caspian to meet them for the first time, Marigold decided she wanted to go to Paris. They got on a plane with her. Now I was getting married, and because she wanted to hike, they were leaving again. I finally understood. The cup had never been about fairness. It was about which daughter they would always choose. I let go. The last bit of hope I'd held on to went with it. I'd wanted a family photo after the ceremony. The photographer had even set aside time for it. If they didn't want to stand beside me today, I didn't have to wait for them anymore. ... "Then cancel the wedding." Mom tore the corsage from her chest and threw it in the trash. "What kind of wedding goes on without the bride's parents?" I'd changed the date ten times to accommodate Marigold's latest whims. Caspian's relatives had traveled from other states to be here. I gripped my skirt and, for the first time, refused to give in. "Even if you leave, the ceremony is still happening." Dad glared at me. "Lavinia Ashby, do you have to accuse us of favoring your sister in front of the whole family? Do you want to embarrass us all?" When I wouldn't budge, Mom softened her voice. "If you want us to stay, fine. Give Marigold the client proposal you just finished." "You refuse to honor the draw. You owe her something." She jabbed a finger into my forehead as she spoke. "All you know how to do is bury yourself in work. She knows how to deal with people. Give her another strong proposal, and she'll get promoted by the end of the year." "You wrote it anyway. What do you lose by putting Marigold's name on it?" I stepped back. At last I understood why she'd chosen today to pull this stunt. I'd gotten Marigold into the same advertising agency where I worked. After that, the campaigns I stayed up all night creating often went out under her name. Clients I'd won were handed to her, too. Now my parents were using my wedding to threaten me into helping her get promoted. "What are you waiting for?" Mom took my laptop from her purse and set it on the vanity. "Send her the proposal. While you're at it, finish the work she's fallen behind on these past two days." "She made time to come to your wedding. You're just sitting here waiting to go in, so you've got time." I looked in the mirror. The veil the stylist had just secured still hung over my shoulders, and I hadn't even touched up my lipstick. Mom had already opened my laptop and clicked straight into my work folder. She turned to Caspian's parents. "I honestly don't know what you see in Lavinia. She's slow, and she doesn't know how to make people like her." "Let her handle the housework after the wedding. She's used to doing it at home." Then she took Marigold's hand. "Don't you ever let anyone treat you like that. If somebody tries to push all the chores onto you, your father and I will be the first to object." Marigold smiled. Caspian's parents looked uncomfortable. When their eyes met mine, all I saw was pity. "Mr. and Mrs. Ashby—" Caspian stepped forward. I caught his arm and shook my head. I'd been humiliated enough today. I didn't want to drag him into it, too. I finished the proposal and Marigold's backlog, then uploaded everything to the company project folder. Marigold downloaded the files at once, put her own name on them, and sent them to her supervisor. Mom smiled at Dad. "Marigold's promotion is practically guaranteed now. Of our two girls, she's the one who's really going places." I stared at the screen, my eyes burning. They didn't know that a major advertising group in London had offered me the Director of Strategy role the previous month. Caspian was willing to move with me. I hadn't accepted because I couldn't bear to leave my parents. Now I didn't want to wait any longer.

Mom picked up the gift box beside the reception table. She pulled out the wedding cards one by one and piled them, along with the cash and gift cards inside, into Marigold's arms. "Since you missed your hike, go buy yourself something you like." Marigold hugged her. "Thanks, Mom." I froze. "Those are gifts for Caspian and me." "My friends and coworkers left cards in there, and so did Caspian's family. I need to thank them myself." Mom's face darkened. "I paid for the venue and the food. If I want to give Marigold the cash and gift cards, I will. Are you really keeping score with me?" I took home $8,000 a month after taxes. Mom said she was saving for my wedding and made me hand over $7,000. Over five years, that added up to $420,000. The venue, catering, and decorations had all been paid for with that money. Mom pulled out the gift card with the smallest balance and tossed it onto my wedding dress. "There. Stop eyeing every card like we're stealing from you." The card weighed almost nothing, but I could barely breathe beneath it. Caspian bent to pick it up and set it aside. He didn't accept her so-called compensation on my behalf. He just steadied my trembling arm. The emcee knocked again. Mom and Dad couldn't stand the thought of the guests seeing them absent, so they went up onto the luncheon stage. Caspian's mother offered us her blessing first. When Mom took the microphone, she pulled Marigold to her side. "Today is Lavinia's wedding, but I want to say something about my younger daughter, too. Marigold has always been bright and outgoing. We're so proud of her." The guests applauded politely. At my own wedding, I felt as though I'd wandered into the wrong place. Mom took two gift boxes out of her bag. "We've prepared gifts for both our daughters. Marigold isn't married yet, but we believe in treating our girls equally. We couldn't give something only to Lavinia." She raised the wooden cup again. "Same rule as always. Red gets the box on the right. Black gets the one on the left." People in the audience exchanged looks. Someone whispered, "Isn't this Lavinia's wedding?" Marigold reached toward the cup, but I spoke first. "I'm drawing first this time." I'd always let her choose and taken what was left. This time, I wanted to choose for myself. Mom's smile stiffened. She shot Dad a quick look. "Why the rush? You're acting like we'd rigged it. Fine." "Go ahead." My fingertips moved over the ends of the sticks. The black ones were smooth. On the back of each red one, I felt a shallow notch. All those years, every time I'd lost, someone had marked the winner for Marigold. I gripped a notched stick and had barely pulled it halfway out when Mom caught my hand. I looked up. She was staring at my fingers, too distracted to care about the guests watching from below. "Wrong one. That stick's still in the cup." She snatched the red stick and forced a black one into my hand. Marigold took the red one. Dad exhaled. Mom held both sticks up for the guests. "See? They drew for themselves. They get what they picked." The box on the right held the transfer documents for a river-view condo. The condo was over two thousand square feet, and the deed had already been recorded in Marigold's name. "Your name is the only one on the deed." Mom wrapped an arm around Marigold. "That place is yours to do with as you please." The box on the left held the key to the lock on the old e-bike in my parents' garage. Mom pushed it toward me. "Didn't you always complain that we were too busy to pick you up from school? Now you've got a bike. You can get yourself wherever you need to go."

I stared at the key, my nails digging into my palm. Marigold deliberately moved closer. "I'm so jealous, Lavinia. It may be a used e-bike, but at least you have a ride. I don't even have a car." Mom gave Marigold's nose an affectionate tap. "We got yours already. We were going to wait until your birthday." Dad pulled a new car key from his suit pocket and placed it in her hand. Marigold squealed and hugged them both. The key to my old e-bike lay forgotten in its box. Mom watched my face. "You get a gift and can't even say thank you? That sour look is exactly why we never want to buy you anything." Caspian took my hand. I squeezed back and managed a strained smile. The guests were still there. I didn't want him humiliated alongside me, so I sat down at our table. Then I saw the food. Dad was cutting a piece of roast beef for Marigold. "She didn't like a single thing on the menu you picked. I had the restaurant change it." Every meal at home had always been made to Marigold's taste. My wedding menu had been the first one I'd ever chosen for myself. In the end, even that choice hadn't lasted. Dad seemed to notice my expression and pointed to another plate. "There's garlic shrimp. You love that." His smile looked forced, as if he'd finally found proof he remembered something I liked. I looked at the shrimp. "I'm allergic." His knife paused. He clearly hadn't remembered. Mom frowned. "Then don't eat it. Did you have to bring it up today?" But she turned to Marigold at once. "Don't touch the steak. You broke out in a rash the last time you ate it." I set down my napkin and stood with Caspian to thank our guests. I'd only taken two steps when I felt a sudden chill across my chest. Rrrip. The front of my dress split open, and the fabric slipped down off my shoulder. Gasps rose around us. Caspian shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around me, shielding me with his body. Marigold was the only person who'd gone into the room where my dress had been kept. Now she stood nearby, laughing. "Lavinia, you could've said the dress was too small. Don't blame the fabric. Everyone saw what happened." I clutched the jacket closed and looked to Mom. Some part of me still wanted her to stand up for me. She glanced at me, then looked away. Just as she always had. In middle school, when I was performing in a school show, Marigold slipped a laxative into my breakfast. I was humiliated backstage. In high school, she replaced the slides for my public speech with explicit photos. The school withdrew its recommendation for my college scholarship application. Now she'd ruined my wedding, too. I looked at my parents. "You're not going to say anything?" Mom's voice turned shrill. "What proof do you have that Marigold did it? Your dress doesn't fit, so you blame your sister?" "Maybe you wanted everyone looking at you." "Even if she did touch it, it was only a joke between sisters. The guests are watching. How much longer are you going to make a scene?" I dug my nails into my palm. Somehow, I smiled. "Fine. If you won't deal with her, I will."