Free Cutting Loose by Jayson Dash

her face, which was wrinkle-free.
    “Ugh.” Sabrina sighed as she plopped
onto the sofa. “Do I really need to get into this right now?”
    “Yes,” interjected Camille.
    “No, you don’t,” Sean intercepted. “Some
things are private.”
    “Gosh, you are such a big baby,” said
Camille snidely. “When are you ever going to grow up?”
    “You know what, Camille?” Sabrina
started to say as she stood up and moved close to Camille.
    Sean intervened and said, “I could use
some fresh air.”
    “Daddy, when are you going to stop
taking her side all the time? You never do that for me.”
    “Aw, is that a tear drop I see forming
in the corner of your eye?” teased Sabrina.
    “Okay, girls, I think that’s enough,”
Dorothy said as stepped between them. “Can you go check on the bread pudding
for me? Thank you dear.”
    “Sure,” Camille said, with a fake smile.
Rolling her eyes, she stalked off toward the enormous kitchen.
    Once Camille was out of sight, Dorothy
asked, “So, how’s my baby doing?”
    Sabrina already knew that she was referring
to the fashion magazine she started and recently retired from; the same company
that Sabrina had managed to get an amazing position that was the envy of the
dozens of jobless college grads she still kept in contact with. “It’s pretty
good, considering the fiasco from last issue. Sales are still strong, and I saw
another magazine trying to steal our ideas for a future cover but I guess it
happens when everybody wants to be like Fabulous .”
    Dorothy laughed. “That’s true. You know
we have the set the standard. I was thinking about updating our brother
magazine because everyone is comparing it to Esquire . What do you think,
Sean?”
    “I think it’s a great idea just as long
as we have the right people on board. I could use some fresh air right now.
Sabrina, do you want to sit on the deck with your old man?”
    “Sure.” She couldn’t stand another
minute talking about work, and since getting a glass of wine was definitely out
of the question, fresh air was the next best thing.
    Sean gently took Sabrina by the arm and
led her outside to the patio overlooking a huge swimming pool, Jacuzzi and a
large yard full of manicured green grass.
    They sat down and enjoyed the starlit
sky with the cool breeze flowing past them.
    After a moment or so of silence, Sabrina
broke the silence and said, “This is nice. Too bad it can’t always be like
this.”
    “I know exactly what you mean.” He
paused and said, “That Camille is something else. I think she’s still upset
about what happened last week.”
    “Oh, gosh,” sighed Sabrina heavily. “I
am so way passed that. But I think it’s deeper than that.”
    “Really? How so?”
    “She’s feeling threatened, as if I might
take her job from her. After all, I do most of the work nowadays and all she
does is bitch and complain when she something doesn’t go the way she wants it
to.”
    “I’ve noticed that too. But you can’t
blame her for being threatened by you. Hell, if I were her, you’d threaten me
too. Between me and you, if she doesn’t straighten up her act, she might find
herself looking for another profession.”
    Sabrina turned to look at Sean. “You
would do that? Not that I’m feeling sorry for her or anything. I just figured
that since she’s your daughter and all. Well, you know.”
    “Yeah, I know what you mean. But think
about it, she never wanted to work for Fabulous and the only reason she
does is because of your mother.”
    “Yeah, but my mother isn’t the chairmen
anymore and doesn’t control anything; you do.”
    “Yeah you’re right about that,” said
Sean. “I just don’t want to see her out doing something ridiculous.”
    “Sean,” Sabrina said, looking Sean
directly in the eyes, “Camille is a grown woman with a college degree—I’m sure
she’ll be fine on her own.”
    He waited a beat and said, “Sabrina,
sometimes you are too smart for your own good.” He