The way he said it didn’t sound complimentary.
Barely concealed disdain.
“Department store?” Her tone made it sound like an accusation.
“Macy’s.”
“How quaint.”
She moved away before I could respond.
I decided to try one more time.
I walked over to where Daniel and Vanessa stood with a group of her friends.
“I was thinking,” I said to Daniel, touching his arm lightly. “Maybe we could do Sunday dinner next week. Just the three of us. I’d love to get to know Vanessa better before the wedding planning really takes off.”
That’s when it happened.
Vanessa laughed.
It wasn’t nice. It was sharp and dismissive.
“Sunday dinners? Daniel, you didn’t tell me your mom was still doing that whole weekly family dinner thing. How very 1950s.”
Her friend snickered.
I felt my face flush.
“It’s something Daniel and I have done for years,” I said quietly.
“Past tense,” Vanessa corrected. “Daniel’s building a new life now. With me. We’re quite busy with the business and wedding planning. We don’t really have time for obligatory family dinners.”
I waited for him to say something.
But he just stared at his drink.
“Daniel works so hard,” Vanessa continued, her voice getting louder.
Other conversations around us were stopping. People were turning to watch.
“The last thing he needs is guilt trips about skipping Sunday dinners with his mother. It’s honestly a bit much at his age, don’t you think? A grown man having weekly dinners with Mommy.”
The group around us laughed.
My face burned.
“I just want to spend time with my son,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“There is when it’s suffocating,” Vanessa shot back. Her eyes glittered. “Daniel’s told me all about how overbearing you can be. How you’ve tried to control his life, his choices, his relationships. Charlotte, you need to learn when to let go.”
The room had gone quiet.
Everyone was watching now.
Watching me be humiliated by my son’s fiancée while he said nothing.
Tears pricked my eyes.
“Is that true?” I asked him. “Is that how you feel?”
He finally looked at me.
And what I saw in his face broke my heart.
Embarrassment. Shame.