Marlene continued eating now with more enthusiasm. Between bites, she started talking about her life, her accomplishments, about everything she had achieved, as if she needed to constantly highlight the difference between her and me.
“We just closed on the new condo,” she announced, looking at her parents with pride. “Three bedrooms, park view, 12th floor. It cost $450,000, but Michael and I decided it was worth the investment.”
Her father raised his glass. “Let’s toast to that. To success, to the future.”
Everyone raised their glasses—except me, of course. I didn’t have a glass, just my glass of water, which now seemed to mock me with its transparency.
“And the best part,” Marleene continued, “is that we’ll finally have the space we always wanted. No interruptions, no unexpected visits, no having to worry about accommodating people who just show up unannounced.”
She looked directly at me when she said that, directly into my eyes. She wanted me to know she was talking about me, that she was telling me without saying it explicitly, that I was no longer welcome in their lives.
Michael coughed uncomfortably. “Marlene, I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Necessary what?” She interrupted him with that fake sweetness she had mastered. “I’m just sharing our good news. Is there a problem with that?”
“None,” he replied, looking down again.
And that’s when I understood. My son wasn’t just a coward. He was an accomplice. He had chosen his side a long time ago, and that side didn’t include me.
The waiter returned to clear some empty plates. He glanced at me as if wondering why I was still sitting there with nothing. I felt sorry for him. He had probably seen a thousand awkward scenes in this restaurant, but this one had to be in the top five.
“Would you like dessert?” he asked in a professional voice.
“Of course,” Marlene replied immediately. “Bring your best option for four.”
Again, four, not five. Four.
The waiter nodded and walked away. I was still there like a ghost, like someone who had been erased from the equation but who, for some cruel reason, still occupied space in the chair.
Marlene’s mother leaned forward, looking at me with a mix of curiosity and condescension. “Helen dear, what do you do for work currently? Or are you already retired?”