I paused, but something in my chest kept twisting, again and again.
I turned my face toward her. "Do you believe her? She really was set up by Sean, made up to look like that."
"Not this again. Why would Sean set her up?"
"Patrick, sometimes you're just too stubborn. You only ever see one thing."
"Let me ask you one thing. Would you really—"
"He wouldn't!"
I told her, flat and certain.
My father died when I was six. My mother raised me by scavenging trash, and that was the only reason I ever got a chance to make something of myself.
Meeting the weight of the Hardings bearing down on me, I kept my head level and apologized to her all the same, then took hold of my mother's arm to leave.
But Sean pulled his trick again, sticking out a foot to trip her.
I never expected her whole body to crash into Marina, knocking over the wine rack beside them too.
Wine soaked through both their dresses.
I whipped my head around, glaring at Sean with wide, furious eyes. He winked at me, pleased with himself, taunting me in silence.
Before my anger could break, Marina's voice came at me, shrill with rage.
"You wretched jinx, it's you again."
"Get away from me!"
This time it wasn't a slap. She swung a fist straight into my mother and knocked her down.
I couldn't spare a thought for settling scores with Sean. I spun around at once to protect her.
Sarah grabbed my hand, her face flushed with anger, looking as if she hated my mother.
"What exactly are you two playing at?"
"Sarah, can't you see what they're doing?"
"They came here just to bring bad luck down on me."
Marina finished, then turned and fixed my mother with a murderous glare.
"You've cursed me again and again. Don't think I have no temper."
"Do you know how expensive this dress is? Even the thread is spun gold, and you ruined it with wine."
With that, she drove another fist into the other side of my mother's face.
"Marina! Stop it!"
I broke free of Sarah's grip and stepped forward.
"My mother was tripped by Sean. That's the only reason she fell into you."
"Ha, Sarah, see? This is a man who loves nothing more than shoving off the blame."
"Sean just stood there and did nothing. How did he end up the target of these two?"
Sean came over wearing all the innocence in the world, his voice thick with grievance.
"He's been slandering me for a long time now, not just today."
"At the company he never missed a chance to steal my credit. The good work he took for himself, the hard jobs he handed to me."
"I'm used to it."
The moment he stopped speaking, every eye in the room turned on me with scorn and contempt.
"Well. Like mother, like son, I suppose."
"You know the old saying. Dragons breed dragons, phoenixes breed phoenixes, and a rat's son knows how to dig holes!"
"Yes, yes! Exactly!"
Eyes shut tight, my mother pushed herself up off the floor.
"That's not how it is. You can't slander my son like this."
"You still have the nerve to speak? Why don't you first tell us how you're going to pay for Marina's dress before you open your mouth!"
Hearing how costly the dress was, my mother grew more and more panicked.
She was afraid I couldn't afford it, and the guilt was enough to set off her stomach.
Back when I was small, she wouldn't eat for fear I'd go hungry, giving every scrap of food to me.
That was how she starved her stomach into sickness, with no money to treat it in time.
And by now, no amount of explaining would change anything.
The gap between us was too wide. People only believed the ones with standing.
"It was our fault for staining your dress. We'll pay for it."
"Hah. What could a pair of paupers like you possibly pay with?"
"You're only a supervisor at my company. Don't you think I know exactly what you're worth?"
"But I'm not some monster. If you can't pay, then get down on your knees, crawl and bark like a dog, all the way out the Harding door."
For a second I was stunned. I never imagined Sarah's mother could be a woman like this.
Sarah wasn't looking at me anymore. She was comforting Sean.
The two of them stood pressed close together, every gesture intimate.
In that moment, it was as though I no longer cared about love between a man and a woman.
