“What is this?”
The clown knelt before Daniel and presented him with a tiny plastic trophy.
Its inscription read, “Best Son.”
Daniel accepted it without smiling.
The clown bowed and marched away.
I watched the video twice.
I’d wanted Daniel to feel the humiliation he’d caused me.
But seeing his face, I remembered the cardboard medal he’d made me for Mother’s Day when he was little.
“Best Mom Ever.”
I still had it.
My joke had landed.
Yet it didn’t feel as satisfying as I’d imagined.
Then came the delivery that would change the entire reception.
Ten minutes later, the coordinator approached Jessica with a sealed envelope.
I learned what happened next from Richard that evening.
He’d confronted Jessica the night before, but she’d insisted I’d chosen to stay home.
When the coordinator told him an envelope from me was about to arrive, Richard returned to the ballroom to see what it contained.
