Three days before the ceremony, he came to my kitchen looking miserable.
“Mom, Jessica thinks it would be better if you didn’t come on Saturday.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Her family has important guests coming. She’s worried you’ll feel out of place.”
“I bought a dress, Daniel.”
He glanced toward the hallway, where my blue dress hung inside a garment bag.
“She knows it’s secondhand. And she’s worried about your car. Some of her friends also know people who own the offices you clean.”
“My job embarrasses her?”
“Please don’t make this harder. I’m trying to keep the peace.”
“By keeping your mother away?”
He looked at the floor.
My son wasn’t asking me to miss his wedding.
He was asking me to hide.
“Are you ashamed of me too?” I asked.
“No, Mom.”
But he didn’t offer to tell Jessica I was coming.
I thought of the nights I’d worked until midnight so he could go to college without worrying about tuition.
