“Not planning to sell.”
“Oh.” Patricia took a small sip of her wine. “Well. To each their own.”
The conversation continued in that register for a good while longer — polite on its surface, condescending in everything underneath. They asked about my car. Still running well? With eyebrows raised in mild disbelief. My education. State school. That’s practical, delivered like a small, careful insult wrapped in a compliment. My current activities. No country club membership. Oh, well, they are expensive, Patricia offered, as if that settled something important about who I was.
Jessica kept trying to steer the conversation elsewhere — asking about Michael’s latest architectural project, bringing up a documentary she thought I’d enjoy — but her family kept circling back to the same current, each question quietly designed to reestablish exactly where I stood beneath them.
Then Richard turned his attention to Michael directly.
“Son, I have to ask, and please don’t take offense, but have you given real thought to long-term financial stability?”
Michael visibly stiffened beside me. “I’m doing well at the firm, sir. I just got promoted to—”
“No, no, I mean family stability. Marriage is expensive. Children are expensive. And with Jessica accustomed to a certain lifestyle…” He let the sentence trail off, the implication landing exactly where he wanted it.
“Dad,” Jessica said sharply, a warning in her voice.
“I’m simply being practical, darling. It’s a father’s job to protect his daughter’s future.”
Patricia added her own layer. “We’ve worked so hard to ensure Jessica has every opportunity, the right education, the right connections. We just want her to be comfortable.”
“Are you suggesting I can’t provide for your daughter?” Michael’s voice had gone tight, controlled in that way that told me he was one sentence away from losing his composure entirely.
“Not at all,” Richard said smoothly. “But let’s be realistic. Your father is retired on what I assume is a modest pension. No offense, Tom, but you’re not exactly positioned to help if times get difficult. And in this economy—”
I’d stayed quiet through the entire exchange, eating my plain chicken, watching, listening, letting the whole picture assemble itself in front of me. Now I set down my fork.
“You’re worried about Michael’s ability to provide for Jessica.”
“A father’s natural concern,” Richard said.
“I understand that,” I said evenly. “You want to know your daughter will be taken care of.”
