“Like what?”
“One guy invested in all these small businesses and then deliberately undermined them so they failed. He made money off of ruining these people’s lives. Now he’s left the country to escape going to prison. Like, he’s an actual fugitive from justice. My dad is his financial advisor.”
“Wow.”
“Yes. And one of the people that guy ruined on purpose? Was Jenny Neugebauer’s mom. It was a documented fact. In the newspaper.”
“You think your dad knew about it?”
“Oh, for certain. And another friend of his—this couple he advises—they were indicted for embezzlement. My dad is way deep in, no question. His list of client friends is full of seriously disgusting people.”
I don’t know what to say.
Yardley goes on: “The thing is, Jenny Neugebauer—my dad knew her. He knew her mom, too. I mean, I know I should care about all the people he’s been screwing over, and all the laws he’s been helping people break, but when I saw that name—Miriam Neugebauer—written down, that’s when I really got it. He doesn’t care who he hurts if he’s making money. If he’s having a good time. He likes a bit of danger, probably, or he likes the feeling of getting away with stuff. And these clients are making him rich.”
“Ugh.”
Yardley sighs. “He’s a good dad. Stupid annoying, a lot of the time, and he drinks too much, but a good dad. Like, he’s horsing around with Tomkin in the water all the time, and making steaks on the grill, and seeing us every weekend when we’re at Mom’s. He takes us places.” She wipes her eyes and sniffs. “And now I basically don’t want anything to do with him. So I told Harris. Last night.”
“What did he say?”
“He got very serious. He said that if everything I said about Dean panned out—that he planned to cut ties.”
To Harris, family means the good name of the family. They are one and the same to him. You must be a credit to the family or he wants nothing to do with you.
When I think about it later, I see that this thinking is compromised. My mother’s family money is dirty—earned by the exploitation and enslavement of people. But Harris can imagine that money washed clean, because it came into the family so very long ago. Then there is dirty money like his own, earned by hard work but also by the exploitation of nonunionized and vulnerable workers. But he can imagine it’s clean because it’s legal, and he cares very much about freedom of the press.
Dirty money like Uncle Dean’s? He cannot imagine that money clean.
I cannot articulate any of these thoughts, nor even think them clearly when Yardley is talking to me, but I feel the force of the situation nonetheless.
This is the last summer we will be together.
“I’m so sorry,” I say.
“My dad still thinks it’ll blow over. He tells me I don’t understand how he does business.” Yardley takes a deep breath. “But I don’t want his college money and I don’t want his spending money and all the money just seems, whatever, tainted to me, basically. It’s toxic. That’s the money he paid for this shirt with, and ugh.” Yardley wipes the hem of her shirt as if it’s filthy. “I told Harris before supper,” she goes on. “And then I told my dad that I told Harris, and he was all, ‘Honey, don’t worry so much,’ and I was all, ‘I’m leaving.’ And then we all ate, and I was going to tell you, but then we were cleaning up with Tipper and then there was the thing with Penny and Pfeff, and then everyone was all worked up.”
“Who was worked up?”
“Bess, of course. And Erin. And George, actually. Major didn’t care. Sorry about Pfeff, by the way, but I did tell you to watch out.” She pokes me and smiles through her misery. “I completely did tell you to watch out.”
“You did.”
“Pfeff’s a bastard and I hate him and he sucks and I’m never speaking to him again, in case that’s any help. And I told Penny off, as well. I called her the b-word and the f-word and a lot of other words. It was pretty cathartic.”
I feel tears and rage rising behind my eyes. “Let’s not talk about it yet,” I say. “I don’t want to cry.”
She pats my shoulder and returns to her own problems. “So I dragged George away and I told him I needed to leave in the morning. I said I didn’t want anything to do with my dad or his money ever again. And do you know what George said?”