I Couldn’t Attend My Daughter’s Wedding In Paris – The Same Wedding I Helped Pay For. She Told Me By Email: “If You Want To Be A Part Of It, You Can Watch Online.” So I Just Said, “Sure. Enjoy Your Big Day.” The Next Morning, She Kept Calling Me.

“Just didn’t sleep well, that’s all.”
He didn’t push, but he brought me a latte from the cafe downstairs an hour later, setting it on my desk with a gentle pat on my shoulder. It was the first genuine kindness I’d experienced in months, and I nearly broke down right there. By lunchtime, Natalie had called 12 times and left eight voicemails.

I listened to one. Mom, pick up. This isn’t funny.

We need to talk about this. Her voice had that edge to it—the one she used when she wasn’t getting her way. I deleted it along with the others.

At 5:00, I drove to Ridgewood Bank and asked to speak with Carlos, the manager who’d handled my accounts for years. “Mrs. Brown, always good to see you,” he said, ushering me into his office.

“What can I help you with today?”

I sat down, smoothed my skirt over my knees, and met his eyes. “I need to cancel a wire transfer.”

His eyebrows rose slightly. “The one to France for your daughter’s wedding?”

“Yes, that one.”

“May I ask why?

There might be fees associated with the cancellation.”

“I’ll pay the fees,” I said, my voice steadier than I’d expected. “The circumstances have changed.”

Carlos typed something into his computer. “The good news is it hasn’t processed yet.

You caught it just in time.”

He looked up at me. “Are you sure about this, Mrs. Brown?

$50,000 is a significant amount.”

Fifty thousand. That was what I’d planned to give them on top of the $30,000 I’d already contributed. $80,000 total for a wedding I wasn’t allowed to attend.

“I’m sure.”

When I got home, there were three more missed calls from Natalie and one from my son Justin. So she’d called in reinforcements. I turned off my phone and opened a bottle of Merlot I’d been saving for a special occasion.

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