"Tristram bought this for me. Cost him a small fortune."
She said it dripping with superiority, though the green of the jade on her wrist was cheap and dull.
It was a good while before Tristram finally sauntered in.
Mrs. Henson was still going.
"Even for a woman, you have to be ambitious at work. You can't be lazy."
I lifted my eyes to Tristram, the impatience in them barely held down.
He picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks and set it in his mother's bowl.
"Mom, ease up."
Mrs. Henson let out a hard huff and shut her mouth, but her eyelids flicked upward, fast and scornful.
Tristram turned to look at me instead.
"Honestly, my mom's not wrong."
"Ellie, your salary really does need to come up. Otherwise, down the line, our living expenses aren't going to stretch far enough."
I shot him a stunned look, the knuckles gripping my glass going white.
Anyone else had the right to say that. Tristram didn't.
For a whole year I'd broken my back at the company while he lived it up out there.
I set the glass down with a hard clunk.
I was about to say something when my father caught my wrist.
He rose to his feet, glass in hand, forcing a smile onto his face.
"The two families got together tonight mainly to talk over Ellie and Tristram's situation."
"Her mother and I were thinking we'd settle the engagement now, while we can, and once Ellie comes back from—"
Before he could finish, Mrs. Henson spat out a mouthful of tea leaves, loud, and followed it with several sharp, disgusted pehs.
Tristram just kept his head down, tapping at his phone. He probably hadn't caught a single word.
The air froze solid. My father stood there, his face red as if he'd been slapped.
The Hensons' stance was clear enough already.
For now, they weren't for it.
I took the glass from him and eased my father back into his seat.
I opened up the bill, then tossed my phone onto the table.
I was just about to speak when Tristram abruptly stood.
His chair scraped fast across the floor, letting out a shrill, grating screech.
Everyone looked up at him.
"We'll talk about the engagement later. Something urgent's come up. I have to go."
He threw on his coat and turned to leave.
At the same moment, my phone buzzed.
I saw what had popped up on the screen.
My pupils shrank all at once, my fingertips trembling slightly.
