Chapter 5 - THE MONEY WE NEVER SAW
The manager cleared the doorway before the argument could become another show.
Martha was escorted outside.
This time, nobody followed her.
Vivian sat with us in the private room.
Caroline closed the door.
“I gave her the money in March,” Vivian said.
“She told me you were embarrassed to ask.”
Nick looked at me.
We had spent March comparing chicken prices for the reception.
I had picked up Saturday shifts.
Nick had repaired a coworker’s truck for cash.
We had delayed replacing our refrigerator because the old one still worked if you kicked the bottom drawer.
“We didn’t know,” I said.
Vivian stared at her phone.
“She sent me your thank-you note.”
A photograph filled the screen.
Cream paper.
Our names printed at the bottom.
A message about generosity, family, and how much her gift meant to us.
It sounded almost like something I would write.
Almost.
“That isn’t mine.”
Vivian swallowed.
“She said you didn’t want anyone to know. I thought I was respecting your privacy.”
Caroline sat beside her mother.
“Show them the other messages.”
Vivian hesitated.
“Mom.”
There were more.
Martha asking Vivian to speak to Nick about a job.
Martha suggesting that Caroline invite him to lunch.
Martha promising that the engagement was going through “a difficult phase.”
Dates from six weeks before our wedding.
My wedding invitations had already been mailed.
Caroline met my eyes.
“I told her no. Every time.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Because I thought she was embarrassing herself. I didn’t realize she was doing this to all of us.”
Nick read one message twice.
He didn’t show me.
I held out my hand.
“Please.”
He passed me the phone.
Once the house is sold, I can settle everything. By then he’ll see what kind of woman he almost married.
Almost.
Martha hadn’t considered our wedding a beginning.
She had considered it a deadline.
Outside the room, someone tapped gently.
The manager wanted to know whether to serve dinner.
For a moment, all five of us stared at him.
Then I laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the chicken was getting cold while my life burned down.
“Serve dinner,” I said.
“And bring us five plates.”
Nick reached for my hand under the table.
This time, he stayed.
We ate a few bites.
Vivian forwarded the messages.
Ruth put the documents back in the envelope.
Then Nick checked his phone.
The color drained from his face.
“What now?”
He turned the screen toward me.
May you like
A message from the real estate agent Martha had chosen.
Congratulations on moving forward. We’re confirmed for the house closing Monday at nine.
