Trail of Broken Wings Read Online Free PDF Page B

pregnant with Gia, she worried how her career would be impacted. In hindsight there was no real need for concern. She worked right up to her labor. A driver chauffeured her straight to the hospital after a board meeting. Five days later, Marin was back at work.
    She hands her valet ticket to the small man at the counter, waiting impatiently while he searches for her keys. “It’s those, right there,” Marin says, pointing to her set among the dozens. He checks her ticket stub against the tag on the key chain. To keep from snapping at himto hurry, she starts to dial her assistant when Raj and Gia come up behind her.
    “Were you planning on waiting for us?” Raj asks.
    “I told you I have work.” Marin takes in Gia and her demeanor relaxes. She runs her hand down her daughter’s hair. “You have a test on Monday, Beti. It is important you study, right?” She is about to pull Gia in for a hug when her phone buzzes. Glancing down to see the caller, Marin murmurs, “We have very little time before college applications.”
    “Yes.” Gia steps closer to her father. He slips his arm around her shoulders. “I have to get into a good college.”
    Marin stiffens at their easy affection, wishing she had the same camaraderie. “Not just a good college,” Marin says, texting her assistant to prepare a file. Marin repeats the list of their top choices from memory. “Harvard or Yale will open many doors for you. Brown, Princeton, Chicago, and Pennsylvania are also acceptable, but only if Harvard or Yale fall through.”
    “Berkeley would be brilliant also,” Raj says. His arm still around her, he smiles down at their only child. “I don’t know if I can send my little girl across the country for school.”
    “We don’t have to discuss this now,” Marin snaps, surprised at Raj’s words. The valet attendant has pulled their car up and waits with the door open. “Raj, please drive. I have to return a phone call.”
    They settle into their seats. Raj pulls out of the garage and onto the tree-lined Sand Hill Road, the road connecting Palo Alto to their home in Los Altos. As he picks up speed, they pass small buildings housing some of the most powerful venture capitalists in the world. After a few minutes of silence Gia asks, “Daddy, what do you think of UCLA? Or maybe a small liberal arts college in Southern California?”
    Tension teases up Marin’s neck like a spider with claws. The hours of work she endures to pay for Gia to have the best of everything scratch at her eyelids, creating shooting pain. A reminder of the sacrificesshe has made so her daughter won’t lack as she did. The memories of her own secondhand clothes still haunting, she has always bought Gia designer clothes. Restricted from participating in any after-school activities so she could care for her sisters, Marin insists Gia be involved in as many as possible. Swim team, tennis, dance, and soccer just some of the commitments. Cost has never been a concern, the money irrelevant in comparison to the benefit to her daughter.
    When Gia reached school age, Raj researched the local public elementary, but Marin overrode his decision in favor of a prestigious private collegiate school in San Jose that admitted only the elite members of their community. She was steadfast in her decision. At forty thousand a year in tuition, Marin was sure her daughter would get the best education available. Each choice, each activity guaranteed to Marin that she was not a product of her past. That she had broken the cycle of hurt and disappointment, and that her daughter was the future.
    “A small college?” Marin shuts off her phone and turns in her seat to face her daughter in the back. “Gia, that is not an option.”
    “Why?” Gia breaks off eye contact to stare out the window. “It could be a good school.”
    “Not for you it isn’t. Why would you even mention it?” Marin demands. “I don’t want to hear about it again.”
    “It’s not a big deal where I