But enough to continue listening.
“What happened after you left?” I asked.
“I returned to the hotel. Vanessa came later with her parents. They were furious. Her mother said I had embarrassed the family. Her father said I owed the guests an apology. Vanessa said you destroyed the wedding.”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
“I told her she destroyed it when she made humiliation part of the seating plan.”
“And then?”
“We argued until three in the morning.”
“About me?”
“About everything.”
That answer mattered.
Daniel’s voice became steadier.
“About how she checks my phone. How she becomes angry when I visit you. How she says your calls make me emotionally unavailable. After we got engaged, she said holidays should be spent with her family because yours was ‘too small to count.’”
I remembered the Thanksgiving I had spent alone, telling myself young couples needed space.
“I kept finding excuses,” he said. “I thought marriage required compromise. But last night I finally understood what I had compromised.”
