“I don’t know what it is, Mom.”
“That is fair.”
She slid the envelope back into her handbag.
Celeste laughed sharply. “There. You see? This is exactly what I mean. She creates a moment, makes everyone uncomfortable, and then withdraws whatever she was offering so we feel guilty.”
Eleanor stood.
“No, Celeste. I am withdrawing because I no longer believe this is the right moment.”
“You cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
Celeste rose too, her chair scraping across the floor.
“You know what your problem is? You have spent your entire life believing that because you sacrificed things for Daniel, he owes you his entire future.”
Eleanor’s fingers tightened around the handle of her handbag.
“I never believed that.”
“Then prove it. Stop interfering. Stop acting as if you have some permanent place in our decisions. Daniel is an adult, and he does not need your permission to marry me.”
Eleanor glanced at her son.
“Do you believe I have ever tried to prevent you from marrying her?”
Daniel opened his mouth, but Celeste answered first.
“You don’t have to say it. Your silence says enough.”
She turned back to Eleanor.
“Perhaps the truth is that you cannot stand the idea of no longer being the most important woman in his life.”
For the first time that evening, Eleanor felt anger rise above the hurt.
Not because Celeste had insulted her, but because she had taken something beautiful and reduced it to a competition.
A mother’s love was not a chair that another woman had to steal.
“I have never competed with you,” Eleanor said. “And I will not begin tonight.”
Celeste stepped closer.
“Then stop behaving like a woman who expects everyone to bow whenever she enters a room.”
Eleanor looked at Daniel one final time.
“Would you like me to stay?”
He stared at her.
The question was simple. The answer should have been simple too.
Instead, Daniel looked down at the table.
