“Honey, come taste this Cabernet I bought. It was $300 a bottle.” And so began the dinner that would end up changing everything.
The other guests arrived shortly after. Two couples who were friends of Harper and Madison, people I had never seen before, but who clearly belonged to the same world of luxury and appearances. They entered the dining room laughing, carrying shopping bags from expensive department stores and talking about a trip they were planning to Europe.
Harper greeted them with effusive hugs while I remained seated in my corner, invisible. No one introduced me. No one said hello.
“It was as if my chair were empty. Well, let’s all sit down,” Harper announced in a sing-song voice. Dinner is served.
A team of servers appeared from the kitchen, dressed in crisp black uniforms, carrying trays of food that looked more expensive than everything I ate in a month. They placed the plates in front of each guest with precise movements. When they got to me, one of the servers hesitated.
He looked at Harper as if waiting for instructions. “Give her a small portion,” Harper said without looking at me. Eleanor has to watch her health at her age.
You know, she cannot eat much. The laughter was discreet, but I heard it all. Madison covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes dancing with amusement.
My plate arrived with exactly half the food the others had. A tiny piece of steak, three small potatoes, a spoonful of vegetables. I felt the heat of humiliation rising up my neck, but I lowered my gaze and said nothing.
So, Eleanor, one of the guests addressed me suddenly. She was a woman in her 40s with mahogany dyed hair and raspberry colored lips. What do you do for a living?
I opened my mouth to answer, but Harper cut me off. Oh, Eleanor works at a discount store. She folds t-shirts and organizes racks.
It is very noble work. The way she said noble made it sound like an insult. After all, not everyone can have successful careers like my Liam.
Liam said nothing. He kept eating in silence, never lifting his eyes from his plate. My son, the boy I had raised alone after his father died when he was barely five.
The boy for whom I worked three jobs simultaneously to pay for his private school, his university, his books. The boy who now could not even look me in the eye while his wife tore me apart in front of strangers. “How admirable,” said another guest, though her tone made it clear she admired nothing.
And how long have you worked there, Eleanor? I swallowed hard. Three years, I replied quietly.
Madison let out a laugh. Three years folding other people’s clothes. How interesting.
I could not do it. I would die of boredom. Harper gave her a playful tap on the arm.
Madison, do not be cruel. Everyone does what they can with what they have. Every word was a stake driven deeper.
I looked at Liam desperately, waiting for him to say something, to defend me, to remember who had given him everything so he could be sitting at that table. But he just took his glass of wine and drank deeply, avoiding my gaze. And tell me, Mrs. Eleanor, continued the woman with the mahogany hair.
Where do you live? Somewhere quiet, right? Before I could answer, Madison jumped in.
Przeczytaj więcej, klikając przycisk ( DALEJ »» ) poniżej!
