‘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.

“The memories move with us, James,” I said gently, echoing words I’d spoken to him decades earlier when we’d upgraded from our starter house to this larger home.

“And it hasn’t been our home for quite some time.”

“You haven’t lived here in ten years.”

“But I always assumed…”

He trailed off. The unfinished thought revealing volumes about his expectations. That the house would remain unchanged.

A museum to his childhood. That my life would remain centered around preserving his past while facilitating his future. “I know,” I acknowledged.

“We both made a lot of assumptions.”

“But I’m making different choices now.”

The conversation ended with his reluctant acceptance. Though I suspected the topic would resurface. What surprised me was how little his disapproval affected my resolve.

The decision felt right. A concrete step toward the recalibrated life I was building. Three days later, I received an unexpected visitor.

Margaret Pearson. Vanessa’s mother. The architect of the engagement party from which I’d been excluded.

She arrived unannounced at my door, her Mercedes gleaming in my driveway. “Diana,” she greeted me with the practiced warmth of the socially proficient. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by.

I felt it was time we spoke directly.”

I invited her in with equal politeness. Curious about this unprecedented outreach. Margaret had never visited my home before.

Despite our children’s relationship spanning nearly two years. In my living room, she declined tea. But sat perched on the edge of my sofa, her designer handbag placed precisely beside her.

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