‘It’s Just A Meeting, My Son Said When I Didn’t Receive An Invitation To His Big Engagement Party. So I Transferred Back The $25k From The Honeymoon Fund And Updated The Flights I Had Arranged For Them.

“Whose presence isn’t important.”

“Whose resources are expected, but whose personhood is inconvenient.”

“That’s not fair,” he protested.

With less conviction. “Perhaps not entirely,” I conceded. “But ask yourself this.”

“Would you have excluded Vanessa’s mother from your engagement celebration?”

“Would you have dismissed her hurt feelings as unimportant?”

“Would you have expected her to fund your honeymoon while accepting being treated as an afterthought?”

The questions hung in the air between us.

Unanswerable. Because we both knew the truth. The Pearsons’ social position, wealth, and connection to Vanessa granted them considerations I had been denied.

“I need to think about this,” James finally said, his voice subdued. “And I need to talk to Vanessa. We’re still figuring out how to navigate between our families.”

I nodded.

Recognizing it was as close to acknowledgement as I would get today. “I understand. And I hope you know that I still love you, James.”

“That hasn’t changed.”

“What’s changing is how I express that love.”

“Not just for you.”

“For myself, too.”

He left shortly after.

Neither of us having reached the resolution he had clearly expected when he arrived. As I watched him drive away, I felt a complex mixture of emotions. Sadness.

Pride. Anxiety. And underneath it all, a quiet certainty that I had taken a necessary step.

Toward a healthier relationship. Not just with James. With myself.

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