Christmases I hadn’t thought about yet.
After her diagnosis, the joke stopped feeling quite so casual.
Suddenly I couldn’t assume anything.
So when I went dress shopping, I took only her.
It wasn’t meant as an insult.
Isabella didn’t see it that way.
***
Nathan’s mother had stared at me when she found out.
When I went dress shopping, I took only her.
“So I’m good enough to help pay for flowers, but not important enough to see you choose the dress?”
“I’m sorry. Mom and I have talked about doing this since I was a teenager.”
“I see.”
“It’s not about excluding you.”
“No. You’ve made it very clear whose family matters.”
“It’s not about excluding you.”
I explained about Mom.
Isabella knew about the cancer.