Chương 1
""“You’re organizing my mother’s seventieth birthday party, and if you make us look cheap in front of everyone, I will never forgive you,” Brandon said before Gwen even finished reading the bank notification.
The number on the screen sat there like a joke nobody had the courage to laugh at.
Two hundred dollars had been transferred into her account at 6:02 in the morning.
Gwen stared at it while the coffee in her mug turned cold beside her.
For a few seconds, she wondered if there was another transfer coming.
There wasn’t.
Her phone remained silent except for the usual stream of messages from relatives asking about decorations, food choices, parking, and whether Rosalind preferred white roses or orchids.
Thirty guests were coming.
Thirty people who would arrive expecting the kind of celebration Rosalind had spent weeks describing.
There would be relatives from three different counties, old neighbors, former coworkers, and several people Rosalind referred to as “important connections.”
Gwen opened the notes app on her phone and looked at the list her mother-in-law had sent two days earlier.
Prime rib.
Stuffed pork loin.
Seafood appetizer tray.
Custom cake.
Fresh flowers.
Elegant table settings.
“No disposable plates,” Rosalind had written.
The final sentence had been underlined.
“Nothing that looks like we didn’t try.”
Gwen placed her phone on the table and rubbed her forehead.
The kitchen around her looked exactly like it had for years.
The same scratched wooden cabinets.
The same loose handle on the refrigerator door Brandon always promised to fix.
The same stack of unopened mail near the fruit bowl because she was the only person in the house who remembered bills existed.
She walked to the refrigerator and removed the list.
The magnet holding it was shaped like a tiny blue fish that she had bought on a weekend trip before she married Brandon.
She almost threw it away.
Instead, she folded the paper neatly and placed it in the blue folder inside the drawer.
The folder was where she kept receipts.
Brandon hated that folder.
He called it her “evidence collection.”
Gwen called it the only reason she could remember what had happened in a house where everyone seemed to remember things differently.
She had paid for Rosalind’s emergency dental work two years ago.
She had covered the rental deposit for Brandon’s cousin when he lost his apartment.
She had bought Christmas gifts for his entire family because Brandon said he was too busy at work.
Every time, the answer was the same.
“I’ll take care of it.”
Every time, taking care of it somehow meant Gwen waiting.
She picked up her phone and called him.
He answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey, what’s up?”
There was music behind him and the distant sound of people laughing.
“Where are you?”
“Meeting with clients.”
“You’re playing golf.”
A pause followed.
Not long.
Just long enough.
“It’s a client thing.”
Gwen looked out the kitchen window at the neighbor walking a small dog in pajamas.
She had always found it strange that the dog looked more prepared for the day than Brandon usually did.
“You sent two hundred dollars for your mother’s birthday.”
“Yes.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you mean, that’s it?”
“There are thirty people coming.”
Brandon exhaled.
“Gwen, don’t start.”
“I’m asking a question.”
“You’re making it a problem.”
She closed her eyes.
“I’m making it a problem because two hundred dollars won’t cover what your mother asked for.”
“Then use your money and figure it out.”
The answer came so easily that it almost impressed her.
Almost.
“You still owe me for the medical bill.”
“That was months ago.”
“You said you would pay me back.”
“And I will.”
“When?”
“Why are you keeping score?”
Gwen looked at the blue folder sitting in the drawer.
Because nobody else was.
“Brandon, what if I don’t fix this?”
The silence on the phone changed.
Not because he was thinking.
Because he was deciding how annoyed he wanted to sound.
“You always figure things out.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It is.”
“No, it’s a habit.”
Another pause.
Then his voice lowered.
“My family is going to be there.”
“I know.”
“My mother has been looking forward to this.”
“I know.”
“Then don’t embarrass me.”
The call ended before she could respond.
Gwen stood in the kitchen holding the phone against her ear even though the call was already gone.
A few years ago, she would have cried.
She would have searched for a way to make the impossible work.
She would have blamed herself for not planning better.
This time, she opened her laptop.
She searched for affordable venues.
The first results were restaurants with minimum spending requirements higher than her monthly grocery budget.
The second results were hotels with event packages that started around four thousand dollars.
She almost laughed when she saw the numbers.
Not because they were funny.
Because they confirmed something she had already known.
Brandon had not made a mistake.
He had simply handed her a problem and assumed she would absorb the cost.
That afternoon, she drove to Rosalind’s house.
She wanted to discuss the budget before making decisions.
She wanted to be reasonable.
She wanted, one last time, to give everyone a chance to act like adults.
Rosalind’s neighborhood was the kind of place where every lawn looked carefully managed and every mailbox matched the color of the front door.
Gwen parked behind Heather’s SUV and walked inside.
Her sister-in-law was sitting at the kitchen island scrolling through dress options on her tablet.
“Gwen,” Heather said without looking up.
“You’re early.”
“I wanted to talk about the party.”
Rosalind appeared from the dining room carrying fabric samples.
“Perfect.”
She placed them on the counter.
“I was just deciding between champagne and ivory.”
Gwen glanced at the samples.
“Those are nice.”
“They’re for the table runners.”
“How much are they?”
Rosalind looked surprised.
“Why?”
“Because I’m trying to plan within the budget.”
“The budget?”
May you like
Rosalind smiled slightly.
“Brandon said he handled everything.”
