“Only to record the incident. I’m not asking anyone to remove the couple.”
“Understood.”
He explained the remaining charges.
The dinner, original music package, venue rental, and most services already provided were payable.
Some later arrangements could be canceled.
Others carried fees.
The hotel wasn’t going to return every dollar I’d spent simply because the wedding had gone badly.
I understood.
What I wanted was to stop the additional spending and leave with my dignity intact.
Before Adrian stood, I asked one question.
“How much have I paid toward this wedding?”
He reviewed the account.
“Your payments to the hotel total just over forty-eight thousand dollars. The optional arrangements scheduled for later would have added several thousand more.”
I stared at the figure.
Forty-eight thousand dollars.
I’d spent months telling myself that money was a gift.
Now I wondered when a gift had become an expectation.
***
Michael came upstairs twenty minutes later.
He entered without knocking.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
I was sitting beside the window, using a damp towel to remove the last frosting from my neck.
My pale blue dress was stained across the shoulder and bodice.
I looked at him.
“Cleaning myself.”
He shut the door.
“Cassandra is furious.”
I almost laughed.
“Is she?”
“She’s crying downstairs.”
