Her arms dropped.
“The lake house?” she asked. “The one on Marion Lake?”
I looked at her.
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped backward as if the ground had shifted.
“Mom…”
I shook my head.
“I came here ready to bless your marriage. I came here ready to give you the place where you learned to swim, where your grandfather taught you to fish, where we spread your grandmother’s ashes under the maple tree.”
My voice remained steady, but Daniel’s eyes filled with tears.
“And I was seated beside garbage,” I continued. “Not by accident. Not because of limited space. Because your wife wanted me humiliated.”
Vanessa seized his sleeve.
“This is ridiculous. She’s manipulating you.”
I ignored her and kept my attention on my son.
“For years, I made excuses for you pulling away,” I said. “I told myself you were busy. In love. Starting your life. But tonight, Daniel, you let me arrive alone, sit alone, and be treated like something unwanted.”
