Chapter 12: The Guest of Honor
A few days later, the four of us attended a banquet honoring Walter for his service to family and community.
The irony almost made me laugh.
The hotel ballroom glittered with chandeliers, linen tablecloths, and people who had always liked Walter because Walter had always known how to be liked.
He saw us enter and immediately went pale.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came for the award ceremony.”
His eyes darted toward Marcy, who stood near the stage in a silver dress.
“You weren’t invited.”
I smiled.
“I spent fifty years married to the guest of honor. That seems close enough.”
My children stood behind me like a wall.
Walter opened his mouth, then closed it again.
For once, he seemed to understand that there were no private corners left to hide in.
When he eventually stepped onto the stage, he smiled proudly.
“Everything I built,” he announced, “I built because of family.”
That was when I stood.
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