Chương 14
Her shoulders lowered.
Her grip on the phone loosened.
The shame remained, but some other pressure seemed to leave her.
“Greg.”
“What?”
“She didn’t blow up the wedding.”
He stopped.
“I did.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I told her not to come.”
“Because we agreed—”
“No.”
She cut him off.
“You told me it was the only way your family would feel comfortable.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You said your mother thought Mom was embarrassing.”
I looked at Samantha.
Her eyes flicked toward mine.
Greg said, “Elaine never said embarrassing.”
“She said Mom would draw attention.”
“Those are different things.”
“No, they aren’t.”
“They are.”
Samantha shook her head as though he could see her.
“And you said if I invited Mom anyway, you’d know I wasn’t ready to put our marriage first.”
My stomach tightened.
That part was new.
Greg spoke more quietly.
“Every marriage requires priorities.”
“We weren’t married yet.”
“You know what I mean.”
“No.”
She inhaled.
“I don’t think I do anymore.”
There was a long silence.
Outside, the afternoon sun had shifted enough to throw the sycamore’s shadow across the kitchen window.
I noticed a smear on the glass.
Thomas used to complain about fingerprints on that pane because it caught the western light.
The memory arrived at exactly the wrong moment.
I almost smiled.
Almost.
Greg spoke again.
“Come outside.”
“No.”
“Please.”
It was the first time all day I had heard him say please.
Samantha looked toward the driveway.
His car was gone, but I knew he could not be far.
Maybe parked beyond the gate.
Maybe driving in circles.
“I’m not coming outside.”
“Then I’ll come back.”
“No.”
Her answer was immediate.
“Don’t.”
“Sam.”
“Do not come back here.”
His tone hardened.
“You’re letting her isolate you.”
Samantha looked at me.
“No.”
She wiped her cheek with the heel of her hand.
“I think you already did that.”
He said her name again.
This time there was frustration in it.
Maybe fear too.
“Tell me where the wedding money is now.”
“It’s invested.”
“Can you get it back?”
“Not immediately.”
“How long?”
“I don’t know.”
She closed her eyes.
“Is it gone?”
“No.”
“Do you know that?”
Silence.
“Greg.”
“I said no.”
“That wasn’t what I asked.”
He exhaled.
“The funds are committed.”
“Can the company return them?”
“Not without affecting everyone.”
“So no.”
“Sam.”
“So you took Mom’s money and put it somewhere you can’t get it back from.”
“I invested it.”
“Without asking.”
“I was protecting our future.”
She laughed once.
It was a terrible sound.
“I think I’m done hearing that sentence.”
He went quiet.
Samantha’s hand shook.
Then she said, “The wedding is canceled.”
I watched her face as the words left her.
She did not crumble.
She did not become stronger either.
She simply looked like someone who had opened a door and found a different life on the other side.
Greg did not answer for several seconds.
When he did, his voice was flat.
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“You’re upset.”
“Yes.”
“You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I think I’m thinking clearly for the first time in a while.”
“Because your mother spent an afternoon feeding you half a story?”
I saw Samantha flinch.
Then she looked at me.
I did not rescue her.
I hated myself a little for that.
But I stayed still.
She turned away.
“No.”
Her voice steadied.
“Because you took money without telling me.”
“It was for us.”
“Because you made plans for Mom’s land without telling me.”
“I was planning ahead.”
“Because you asked me to sign something I didn’t understand.”
“It was designed to protect both of us.”
“And because you told me if I invited my own mother to my wedding, you’d question whether I was loyal to you.”
Greg’s breathing was audible.
Then he said, “You’re going to regret this.”
Samantha’s face tightened.
“Maybe.”
“After everything I’ve done.”
“What did you do?”
That stopped him.
She continued.
“What did you actually do, Greg?”
He said nothing.
“You didn’t pay for the honeymoon.”
Silence.
“You didn’t pay the photographer, did you?”
Another silence.
“You used Mom’s money for your company.”
“Sam, don’t reduce this to money.”
She laughed again, bitterly this time.
“You made it about money.”
“I made it about building something.”
“With her land.”
“For us.”
“With her land.”
The repetition shut him down more effectively than shouting would have.
Finally he said, “If you cancel this wedding, don’t expect me to come crawling back.”
Samantha’s eyes filled again.
“That sounds like a threat from someone who wants me to beg.”
“Fine.”
His voice turned cold.
“Do whatever you want.”
He hung up.
Samantha remained standing with the phone against her ear.
For several seconds she did not move.
Then she lowered it.
The screen returned to her home page.
A photograph of her and Greg filled the background.
They were standing on a beach in Monterey, both smiling into the wind.
She stared at it.
Then she locked the phone.
No dramatic deletion.
No symbolic gesture.
Just darkness.
She sat down.
“I think I’m going to throw up.”
I got the trash can from beside the pantry.
She glared at me.
“Seriously?”
“You said you were going to throw up.”
“I meant emotionally.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
She made a broken little laugh.
“God, Mom.”
I put the trash can near her anyway.
Michael spoke from the table.
“I hate to interrupt, but there are some things we should do now.”
Samantha rubbed both hands over her face.
“Of course there are.”
“First, change the passwords on any accounts Greg can access.”
She nodded.
“Banking, email, cloud storage, investment accounts, anything with saved payment methods.”
“I have shared streaming passwords too.”
Michael paused.
“Those are less urgent.”
I almost smiled.
Samantha did.
“See, this is why lawyers get paid.”
“Second,” Michael continued, ignoring us, “contact the bank associated with the wedding account.”
May you like
“Do not accuse Greg of theft on the call.”
“Why not?”
