The room shifted.
Voices dropped.
Maya walked in wearing a sparkling dress more suited to a gala than her daughter’s wedding. Diamonds flashed at her throat. Harry walked beside her, neat and expensive, his family close behind.
Then the doors opened.
Maya saw Adele and opened her arms.
“My beautiful girl!”
Her voice carried across the room.
“I dreamed of this day,” Maya said, loud enough for Harry’s family to hear. “You have no idea how long I’ve dreamed of seeing you like this.”
Adele smiled, but I knew that smile. Polite. Not warm.
“I’m glad you made it,” she said.
“My beautiful girl!”
Maya touched Adele’s cheek.
Then turned to me. “Robert.”
“Maya.”
Her eyes ran over my suit. “You look tired.”
“Fifteen years of parenting will do that.”
Harry shifted behind her.
Maya’s smile tightened. “Don’t start today.”
Maya touched Adele’s cheek.
