Chapter 17 - The Second Birthday Party
We celebrated Frederick’s first birthday again on a Saturday afternoon.
Three weeks late.
Amy’s sister came.
Two close friends came.
My father’s old friend Martin came.
That was it.
Six adults.
One baby.
One small cake.
No champagne.
No lobster.
No performance.
Frederick wore a tiny blue shirt.
Amy wore the blue dress I had originally bought for her.
When she walked downstairs, I forgot what I was saying.
She laughed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That face is not nothing.”
“You look beautiful.”
For the first time in weeks, she smiled without forcing it.
I gave her the small pendant with the letter F.
Then we put one candle on Frederick’s cake.
Everyone sang.
He smashed icing into his hair.
Amy laughed so hard she cried.
That was the memory I wanted.
Then the gate opened.
Teresa walked into the backyard.
Everything inside me became cold.
She carried a wrapped gift.
Amy stopped smiling.
I stepped between them.
“You need to leave.”
Teresa looked around.
“So her family is allowed?”
“They were invited.”
“I’m his grandmother.”
“You were not invited.”
Her eyes filled.
“I only brought him something.”
“No.”
“Connor.”
“No.”
She looked at Amy.
“I want five minutes.”
Amy shook her head.
Teresa’s expression changed immediately.
“There.”
She pointed.
“That is exactly what I mean.”
I moved closer.
“Leave.”
“She controls you.”
“Mom.”
“She stole my son.”
“No.”
My voice rose.
“You lost access to me because of what you did.”
Teresa froze.
I had never said it that clearly.
Not Amy.
Not Rachel.
Not Raymond.
Her.
“You forged my name.”
She looked around nervously.
“You took my inheritance.”
“That is not proven.”
“You helped try to put our house into a trust you controlled.”
“I was protecting you.”
“You humiliated my wife.”
“She is too sensitive.”
“You ignored my sick son.”
“He had a fever.”
“You tried to make Amy look unstable.”
Teresa’s face became red.
“I did everything for you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You did everything so I would owe you.”
Silence.
Then she threw the gift onto the patio.
The box broke open.
Inside was a silver picture frame.
A photograph of Teresa holding Frederick as a newborn.
She looked down at it.
Then at me.
“You will regret this when I’m dead.”
Amy flinched.
I didn’t.
“I hope you live a long time.”
Teresa blinked.
“I hope you have enough time to understand why this happened.”
For once, she had nothing to say.
Police arrived because I had already called when she entered the yard.
They escorted her out.
Frederick started crying.
Amy picked him up.
I watched my mother disappear through the gate.
Then I turned back toward my family.
The party continued.
May you like
And for the first time, Teresa did not get to decide how the day ended.
---
