“You’re not alone, Tess. Not ever.”
I had no idea what Linda and Adam were doing. I didn’t ask and didn’t check, because I didn’t want to know.
Then one morning, while I was making coffee, an ivory envelope slid through my mail slot. It had no return address, just gold-embossed lettering.
I opened it slowly, thinking it might be a wedding invite for some coworker I hadn’t seen since college. But when I pulled out the card, my breath caught as I scanned the words.
“Linda & Adam,”
“With Love,”
“Wedding Celebration.”
My hands started to shake. They were getting married!?
“Wedding Celebration.”
Not only had they blown up my life, but they dared to send me a formal invite — as if this was just a normal wedding! As if the bride wasn’t my mother and the groom wasn’t the man who said “I do” to me less than two years ago!
I tore it in half and dropped the pieces into the trash.
Calls started that night.
Uncle Samuel said, “Sweetheart, I’m not saying you have to go, but maybe being the bigger person and putting the past behind you will help you heal.”
Bigger person? I was done being the bigger person.
Aunt Lila left me a voicemail that said, “She’s still your mother. You should be supportive.”
I tore it in half
and dropped the pieces
into the trash.
Sophie didn’t say anything right away. She just showed up with donuts and sat beside me on the couch.
“Are you okay?” she finally asked.
I nodded, but my chest felt tight. “I’m not going,” I said. “I can’t.”
“Good,” she replied, eyes flashing. “You shouldn’t.”
“You shouldn’t.”
The wedding was set for a Saturday afternoon. I stayed home in sweatpants, curled under a blanket with greasy hair and a cup of peppermint tea I didn’t even want.
Now and then, I glanced at the clock, picturing them saying their vows.
“Do you take this husband, formerly your daughter’s?”
“Do you promise to betray, humiliate, and abandon, in sickness and in health?”
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