Chapter 5 - Sabrina’s Seat
I had assigned Sabrina a chair in the front row.
Right beside Margaret.
That was deliberate.
Margaret stared at the place card.
Then at me.
“Claire.”
“Yes?”
“Why is she here?”
Ryan answered before I could.
“There’s been a misunderstanding.”
Sabrina laughed.
It was soft.
But Margaret heard it.
Her eyes narrowed.
“What misunderstanding?”
Ryan moved closer.
“Mom, not now.”
Margaret looked between her son and his ex-wife.
Then at me.
She understood enough to become silent.
That frightened Ryan more than anger would have.
Guests continued arriving.
My parents.
Ryan’s grandfather, Charles Whitmore.
My cousins.
Business partners.
Family friends.
Nearly eighty people filled the garden.
Everyone congratulated Ryan.
He accepted every compliment.
“You must be excited.”
“Best thing that ever happened to me.”
“You’re going to be a wonderful father.”
“I hope so.”
Each lie sharpened something inside me.
Sabrina watched him.
At first she looked amused.
Then impatient.
She had expected something from him.
A declaration.
A decision.
Maybe today.
At eleven fifty-five, Ryan approached the event coordinator.
“Cancel the slideshow.”
She looked confused.
“Mrs. Whitmore approved it this morning.”
“I’m changing the schedule.”
I stepped beside them.
“No.”
The coordinator looked between us.
Ryan smiled tightly.
“My wife is tired.”
“I’m not.”
“Claire.”
“It’s a baby shower.”
I rested both hands over my stomach.
“I want our families to see our memories.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
He knew.
Not how much.
But enough.
“Can I speak to you?”
“You’ve had three years.”
Charles Whitmore appeared behind him.
“What’s going on?”
Ryan straightened.
“Nothing, Grandpa.”
Charles looked at me.
“Claire?”
I smiled.
“Everything is ready.”
The old man studied me for several seconds.
Then nodded.
“Good.”
Lunch began.
Sabrina barely touched her food.
Ryan drank two glasses of water and no wine.
Margaret spoke to nobody.
At twelve forty, the event coordinator tapped a microphone.
“We have a special presentation celebrating Ryan, Claire, and their little girl.”
Applause filled the garden.
The giant screen behind the roses came alive.
Ryan looked at me.
May you like
I reached beneath my chair.
And pressed play.
