On the drive home, Nathan barely spoke.
“Not to me.”
Finally, he said, “Mom had someone clearing every obstacle out of her way. Your mother had nobody doing that, and she still looks down on her.”
At our next dinner, Ronald mentioned a proposal to turn an abandoned railway into a walking trail.
Laura reached for her phone.
“What do you think before you look it up?” Nathan asked.
“I’m checking a message.”
Laura reached for her phone.
“Then finish your thought.”
She placed the phone face down. “I’d need more information.”
“That’s fair,” he said. “So would I.”
Before our wedding, Nathan suggested both families spend a long weekend together at a rented house by the ocean. I hoped it would bring everyone closer.
“Then finish your thought.”
Mom immediately volunteered to make sandwiches for the drive and those lemon cookies Nathan liked.
“You’re supposed to enjoy yourself,” I told her.
“I enjoy feeding people.”
“You could try sitting beside them occasionally.”
“And do what with my hands?”
“Hold a glass. Accept a sandwich someone else made.”
She laughed. “You make that sound easy.”
“And do what with my hands?”
On Friday, before we left, I collected the printed place cards and other materials I’d ordered for the weekend.
At home, I spread everything across the dining table. Beside them was a smaller stack I’d made myself.
Nathan came in carrying groceries. “More wedding homework?”
“Weekend preparations.”
He picked up one of the cards.
I spread everything across the dining table.
“Don’t cheat.”
Nathan noticed the rest.
He looked at me. “Rose.”
“It’s insurance.”
“Against what?”
“Your mother is saying something to mine that I can’t ignore.”
“It’s insurance.”
“You’re expecting that?”
“I’m hoping I’m wrong.”
“And if you’re not?”
“Then maybe I’ll finally stop smiling through it.”
I slipped the cards into an envelope and packed them with the rest of our things.
Nathan didn’t say anything else about them.
“I’m hoping I’m wrong.”
By Sunday morning, the kitchen of the rented house was crowded with breakfast dishes, coffee cups, and relatives discussing wedding plans.
I found Mom at the counter washing everyone’s plates.
“You promised.”
“I promised to leave some for you.”
She handed me two plates, then reached for another.
I found Mom at the counter washing everyone’s plates.
Laura sat on the sofa nearby with a book open on her lap.
She took a sip of coffee and grimaced. “I told you I wanted cream, not milk.”
Mom turned from the sink. “I’m sorry. I must’ve misunderstood.”
Laura held out the mug. “Then make another.”
Mom dried her hands and reached for it.
“I told you I wanted cream, not milk.”
Laura laughed. “It really is obvious you never had much education. You can’t even remember one simple thing.”
I set my plates down hard enough to make the silverware jump.
Mom’s face reddened. She lowered her eyes to the mug.
I started toward them.
Then Nathan walked past me. He had heard everything.
“Mom.”
“It really is obvious you never had much education.”
Laura looked up.
Nathan gently took the mug from my mother’s hands and set it in front of Laura. Then he closed her book.
“Nathan, what are you doing?”
He pulled out the chair opposite her and sat down. “You’ve spent this entire weekend reminding everyone how educated you are.”
Laura frowned. “So?”
Then he closed her book.
“So, let me ask just one question.”
She gave him a confident smile. “Of course. Ask me anything.”
Nathan leaned closer. “If you’re so smart, why did you cheat your way through college?”
The smile disappeared.
A fork clinked against a plate behind me.
“So, let me ask just one question.”
Laura stared at her son. “Excuse me?”
“Copying someone’s exam answers. Bringing notes into another exam. Having your father intervene when you were caught.”
Her face changed. “Those incidents were completely misrepresented.”
“Dad confirmed them.”
She turned toward Ronald. “Tell him.”
“Those incidents were completely misrepresented.”
Ronald set down his coffee. “Laura, I told them what happened.”
“You had no right.”
“And you had no right to speak to Rose’s mother like that,” Nathan said.
Laura glanced around the room. “Whatever happened decades ago, I’ve spent my life in education. One mistake when I was young doesn’t change what I know now.”
“It wasn’t one mistake,” Nathan said.
“Laura, I told them what happened.”
Her jaw tightened. Then she looked toward Mom. “And it certainly doesn’t mean she knows more than I do.”
There it was again.
I thought of the envelope upstairs in our room.
Before I could move, Nathan looked at me. “Rose.”
I knew immediately what he meant.
I went upstairs and returned with the envelope.
I thought of the envelope upstairs in our room.
Laura watched me pull out the cards. “What is this?”
Nathan held out his hand, and I gave him the stack.
“My fiancée came prepared,” he said.
“For what?”
“For exactly this.” He passed the cards around. “A little general knowledge. Everyone can play.”
“What is this?”
Laura laughed once. “You’re serious?”
“You just said education makes you more knowledgeable than Rose’s mom. So let’s see what all of us actually know.”
Mom touched his arm. “Nathan, we don’t need to do this.”
“You’re right. We don’t.” He looked at Laura. “But she just insulted you because she thinks a diploma makes her smarter.”