3: 3
3
Lucille's eyes went red.
"Mr. Harding, I didn't mean anything by it. Why is Ella upset again?"
Cedric's face soured.
"Ella, can you stop being so up and down all the time?"
"Lucille was just complimenting your parents. Do you have to be this touchy?"
The bitterness and fury churning in me were almost more than I could hold down.
"Cedric, you gave my parents the freebies that came with the dog's clothes."
"You sat the dog and your secretary at the head of the table. You think we're not good enough for it?"
Cedric lifted his hand and checked his watch, frowning.
"I never said that. Can you stop blowing everything out of proportion?"
"I dropped everything at work to come out here. Not to watch you throw a fit."
Something knotted in my chest and I couldn't speak.
Mom stood up, took my hand, her voice pleading.
"Ella, don't say any more."
"Your dad and I are fine, really, we're fine."
She turned and gave Cedric a smile.
"Cedric, thank you for making time to have dinner with your uncle and me."
"Ella's been spoiled by us. Don't be angry with her."
Then she looked at Lucille. "Young lady, thank you for the gift. We love it."
She reached up, took off the necklace, and slipped it into her bag.
Then she sat down, lifted the teacup in front of her, her hand trembling and would not stop.
Tea spilled over the rim, onto the brand-new dress she'd worn.
My dad kept his head down and said nothing.
I fought with everything I had to hold back the tears.
The waiter brought the food. Every dish was seafood and raw sashimi.
One of my parents is allergic to seafood, the other has gout.
When they didn't pick up their chopsticks, Lucille's eyes welled up as if she'd been wronged.
"Why are your parents so fussy? I went out of my way to book the best restaurant in Chicago. They're so hard to please."
Cedric didn't make a sound. He just bent over Lucille's plate, peeling shrimp for her.
When I stepped out to the restroom, Cedric followed me out, his tone ugly.
"Ella, what's going on with you and your parents? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass Lucille?"
"She pulled a lot of strings to book this place. Can't you show a little sense?"
"A whole family ganging up on one young girl. Have you no shame?"
I glared at him.
"Cedric, who exactly is ganging up on whom?"
"My parents can't eat seafood. How many times have I told you that?"
He simply didn't care.
A flicker of guilt crossed Cedric's eyes.
"All right, Lucille didn't do it on purpose."
"Take your parents out for another meal later. Just order whatever they like."
By the time dinner ended, it was pouring outside.
Lucille climbed into the passenger seat like she'd done it a hundred times.
Her dog jumped into the back.
"Ella, sorry about this. My dog has an anxiety thing. He doesn't like strangers near him."
"Why don't you catch a ride?"
Cedric saw nothing wrong with any of it.
"Lucille just got her nails done today. If they get wet, it costs a few thousand to redo them."
"Ella, it's easy to get an Uber."
Then he hit the gas, and the water his tires kicked up sprayed straight into us.
The dress and suit my parents had bought specially were streaked with filth, the two of them a wretched mess.
The rain came down harder. We stood at the restaurant entrance for forty minutes and couldn't get a single ride.
Mom's carefully styled hair collapsed into a wet clump, plastered to her face.
She crouched down and used her sleeve to wipe the mud off my dad's trouser legs.
"It's fine, it's fine, it'll wipe clean."
Somehow the pearl necklace had broken, and the beads scattered across the ground.
Mom knelt in the rain, picking them up one by one.
Tears blurred my eyes, and I stepped forward and pulled her to her feet.
"Leave them. We don't want them."
"And this marriage, I'm not going through with it either."
The real estate agent called.
"Ms. Pruitt, you mentioned wanting to sell the place. I happen to have a buyer, in a hurry to buy, and the price is one you'd accept. Are you sure you want to sell?"
I looked back at my parents' aged faces.
They had emptied every last bit of their savings to buy me that home.
They had ridden a train for more than thirty hours, hearts full, wanting to witness their daughter's happiness.
They had worn their finest clothes, and been made a joke of.
I gripped the phone and gave a firm nod.
"I'm sure."
