‘Small change of plans. Shower is at my house tomorrow evening, six o’clock. Backyard.
Please don’t bring anything expensive. Just come.’
I closed the laptop. I put my phone on silent.
I thought I was just ruining Karen’s plan. I had no idea what mine was about to expose.
“No one came!”
At 11:04 the next morning, my phone started ringing. Karen.
“Nicole!” she screamed. “What have you done?!”
I kept my voice even. “Good morning, Karen.”
“No one came! I called the guests, and they said you canceled everything.”
“I moved the shower to my house. Tonight, at six.”
“You had no right.”
“I had every right. It’s my baby shower.”
“Then what is the point?”
She was breathing like she’d run up a flight of stairs. “You can’t just uninvite forty people. Nicole. Do you understand what you’ve done? Those guests were coming to my house. MY HOUSE!”
“You’re welcome to come, Karen. We can still celebrate you becoming a grandmother. Bring a casserole if you want.”
“That is not the point.”
“Then what is the point? Because if it’s about the guests being at your house specifically, I’d love to know why that matters so much.”
She’d needed me out of the way.
Silence. A long one.
“You have no idea what you’ve ruined.”
She hung up on me.
Something was wrong. Karen hadn’t just wanted me out of the way – she’d needed me out of the way.
And judging by her reaction, whatever I’d ruined mattered a lot more than a baby shower.
He went quiet.
I got dressed. My guests would be here in seven hours.
That evening my backyard filled with the people I actually loved.
Lemonade, casseroles, small wrapped boxes.
Ben stood by the grill with a beer he wasn’t drinking, watching the gate. He’d spent most of the afternoon insisting there had to be some misunderstanding.
But when I told him what I’d learned from Ashley, he went quiet.
“And this wasn’t the first time, was it?”
“I just want to hear her say it,” he’d finally said.
So did I.
Karen came through the side gate at seven, her husband Richard trailing behind her with his hands in his pockets.
“She did this out of jealousy,” Karen announced to the room. “She couldn’t stand me having one nice day.”
I stood up slowly, one hand under my belly. “I canceled your guest list because Ashley told me you asked everyone to bring cash. A hundred to two hundred dollars each. You told them I wanted it.”
“What trip?”
“I never said that.” I turned back to my mother-in-law. “And this wasn’t the first time, was it?”
Her face changed.
“Dad’s retirement party,” I continued. “Your anniversary. Your birthday. Every time, more guests. Every time, cash instead of gifts.”
Ben set his beer down on the picnic table.
“Mom. Tell me she’s wrong.”
Karen didn’t answer him.
“I was going to put it back.”
Then Aunt Denise set down her cup. “She’s right. At the anniversary, Karen told us they were saving for a trip.”
Richard frowned. “What trip?”
My mother-in-law’s face changed. Nobody spoke.
Ashley looked at her mother. “Mom?”
Richard’s expression hardened. “Karen, where did that money go?”
Karen looked away. “It doesn’t matter. I was going to put it back.”
“Forty-two thousand.”
Richard stared at her. “Put what back?”
I looked at Ashley. “You mentioned something else on the phone. The letters.”
Ashley’s eyes widened. “The bank letters?”
“Chase. Discover. Karen grabbed them when she saw you looking.”
“Karen.” Richard’s voice was very quiet. “What is the balance on the Chase card?”
“I don’t remember exactly…”
“Karen.”
“What happened to all that money?”
She sank into a lawn chair. “Forty-two thousand.”
Ben sat down hard on the bench beside me.
“Jesus, Mom.”
“Forty-two thousand on one card?” I asked.
Karen looked away. “There’s Discover. And Capital One.”
“Then tell us why,” I said. “What happened to all that money?”
“How much did you give him?”
“I made a mistake.”
