I drew a deep breath, forcing down the bitterness rising in my throat.
My hands trembled as I made the drinks.
Karen's saccharine voice carried over from the other side of the counter.
"Drew, after graduation, let's travel the world together."
Drew's reply was soft, indulgent. "Sure. Whatever you want."
Karen shot me a guarded glance, then burrowed deeper into his arms.
"Promise me. Promise I'm the only one in your eyes and in your heart."
Drew stiffened. His gaze flicked to me, guilt flickering across his face.
"I promise. I belong to you. Only you. For the rest of my life."
He'd lowered his voice on purpose, but every syllable drilled straight into my ears.
A sharp pain lanced through my chest. I could barely breathe.
I didn't know how long it took. I finished all twenty new drinks on autopilot, moving like a machine. By the end, my hands were shaking from exhaustion.
Karen glared at me with a triumphant little smile.
"All these? I can't possibly drink them all."
"Drew, you're so mean! You're trying to fatten me up like a little piglet."
Then she swept her arm out and "accidentally" knocked an entire row of cups off the counter.
The floor became a mess of ice, milk, and shattered cups.
Karen giggled, looped her arm through Drew's, and sauntered toward the door.
I stood behind the sticky counter, staring down at the wreckage.
That was when I noticed the writing on a napkin.
"I'll explain tonight when I get home. —Love, Drew"
Disgusting.
Three years of devotion. Three years of waiting.
Shattered into nothing by a few scribbled words.
I swept the napkin into the trash. The second it hit the bottom, a familiar, weathered voice drifted in from the doorway.
"Ina! Ina, sweetheart!"
My nose stung. Tears nearly spilled over.
Grandma Pauline Fox shuffled in, a lunch container clutched in her gnarled hands.
I blinked hard, swallowing the tears, and started toward her.
Then she slipped.
Her foot hit the puddle of spilled milk tea and went out from under her. She crashed to the floor. The lunch container shattered, and a few drops of soup splashed onto Karen's coat.
"What the hell!" Karen shrieked. "You disgusting old hag! Are you blind?!"
She grabbed Grandma by the collar and shoved her, hard.
Grandma was already shaking from the fall, pain written across every line of her face. The shove sent her crumpling to her knees.
"I'm sorry, miss, I'm so sorry." Grandma's voice quavered, her eyes wide with fear. "I didn't mean to. The floor was slippery..."
"'Didn't mean to' doesn't cut it!" Karen screamed. "This coat was a gift from Drew! It's designer! Thousands of dollars! Can you even afford to pay for it?"
Then she lifted her foot and kicked my grandmother.
"Grandma!"
I lunged forward and shoved Karen away.
Something clicked behind her eyes. A vicious smile curled across her lips.
"Oh. So she's your grandmother."
"Like grandmother, like granddaughter. The old one has no shame, and the young one is a homewrecker."
She spun around toward Drew, who hadn't yet left, and threw herself into a tearful performance.
"Drew, they're ganging up on me!"
Drew walked over with a frown. He didn't spare a single glance at the old woman on the floor.
His eyes were cold when they found me.
"Ina, I never thought you'd be the type to cause a scene like this."
"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Pay for the coat. Apologize."
"Be reasonable. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
Grandma heard the word homewrecker. Tears pooled instantly in her clouded eyes.
She had lived her whole life by one principle: dignity above all else.
"Ina... did you really... Are you really the other woman? Stealing someone else's man?"
"Grandma, I didn't! I'm not!"
I held back my tears and stared at Drew, stubborn, desperate, waiting for him to set the record straight. Three years. Three years together.
All he gave me was silence and a flicker of guilt in his eyes.
