Chapter 8 - SEATED AT THE TABLE
|
Brandon, who had been quietly cutting his steak at the far end of the table, suddenly snapped his head up. His face went pale when he caught the look in my eyes.
“Elaine,” Brandon warned, his voice tight. “Not now.”
“Relax, Brandon,” I replied smoothly, pulling out a chair near the center of the table. “It’s just dinner. I’m joining the party.”
Vanessa glared at me, her knuckles turning white around her wine glass, but with twelve distinguished guests watching, she couldn't throw an outright tantrum.
“Fine,” Vanessa hissed through clenched teeth. “Sit.”
Mom shuffled forward timidly, trying to walk past us toward the kitchen pantry at the far end of the room.
Vanessa immediately blocked her path.
“Oh, Margaret, before you take a break, we need another bottle of the '08 Cabernet from the cellar rack in the pantry.”
My mother froze in her tracks, her head bowed, looking exhausted and broken.
I reached out, grabbed the wooden chair beside mine, and pulled it out with a loud, deliberate scrape against the floorboards.
“Mom,” I said, looking at her gently. “Sit down.”
Vanessa’s head snapped toward me.
“Elaine, don't be ridiculous. She usually helps serve during formal dinners.”
“She is sixty-six years old,” I said, holding my mother’s gaze.
“She likes staying useful!” Vanessa snapped, her fake polite facade beginning to crack at the edges.
I stood up slowly, leaning my hands on the edge of the dining table, looking directly across at Vanessa.
“My mother is not your maid,” I said, each word dropping like a lead weight into the silent room. “And she sure as hell is not your employee.”
The entire dining room went dead quiet. You could hear the hum of the refrigerator from the kitchen.
Rachel froze with her fork halfway to her mouth. Brandon looked down at his plate as if he wished the floor would swallow him whole.
Vanessa’s smile tightened into a vicious line.
“Elaine,” she whispered, her voice laced with venom. “Perhaps this isn’t the time or the place for your personal issues.”
May you like
I sat back down, folding my arms.
“Actually, Vanessa, I think this is exactly the time.”
