Daughters Of The Bride(84)

“Sure. I have your mother’s wedding date in my schedule. I need the design nailed down by mid-July. Otherwise, we’re good.”

“Thank you.”

Courtney expected her mother to have already left, but Maggie stood by her car. Courtney recognized the determined expression on her mother’s face and braced herself for battle.

“I can’t believe you kept this from me,” her mother said as she approached. “For years. How could you lie to me? How could you not tell me what you were doing, day after day, year after year?”

There were a thousand different responses. Courtney considered several of them before her own anger took over. “How could you not care about me for all those years? I was held back in school twice, Mom. Twice. Do you know what that was like for me? Do you know how horrible school was?”

“You had a learning disability. That wasn’t anyone’s fault. You can’t blame me for that.”

“I don’t. I blame you for not caring enough to get me tested earlier. I blame you for not noticing when I moved up from remedial classes into the mainstream ones. When I quit high school, I was getting As and Bs and you didn’t know.”

Her mother glared at her. “Of course. Make it my fault. I’d like to remind you I was doing my best to keep my family afloat. Your father left us destitute. You have no idea what I had to go through to save us.”

“You have no idea what I went through, either. The difference is I was the kid and you were my mom. You were supposed to be there for me and you weren’t. You didn’t see me at all except to tell me to try harder. I grew up knowing I was a disappointment and a failure in your eyes.”

Her mother began to cry. “That’s not true! How can you say that to me? I love you.”

“I know you do, but that’s different than believing in me. The reason I didn’t tell you what I was doing was because I had something to prove. I thought if I could hand you my diploma, you’d finally think I was good enough.”

“I do think that.”

“No, you don’t. You’re always trying to get me to try something else. You’re ashamed of me and what I do.”

“I thought you were just a maid. It’s not wrong to want more for my child.”

“No, and it’s not wrong for me to want to do it myself. You’ve never talked about me the way you talk about Rachel and Sienna. Even at the engagement party, you said ‘I’m so proud of my daughters...and Courtney.’ I’ve always been an afterthought.”

“That’s not true. I never said that.”

“Mom, there’s a video.”

The tears flowed faster. Maggie’s mouth trembled. She seemed to shrink a little. “Why are you doing this? Why are you so cruel?”

“I’m not. I’m trying to explain. I just wanted to do it on my own.”

“Without me.”

She wasn’t asking a question, so Courtney didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry that happened.”

“But you’re not sorry for what you did?”

“Getting my GED, my AA, and being a year away from my bachelor’s? No. I’m not sorry for that.”

“I would have helped you.”

“I wanted to do it on my own.”

Her mother brushed the moisture from her face. “No. You didn’t want me to be a part of it. There’s a difference.”

With that she turned and got in her car. Courtney watched her drive away. She felt sick and shaky. This wasn’t the end of it, she thought grimly. Not even close.



Sienna slid into the booth across from her sister. Courtney looked at her warily.

“So this is just lunch?” she asked.

Sienna frowned. “Sure. What else would it be?”

“Everyone is mad at me. Just checking you’re not.”

“No way. Like I said before, I think you’re to be commended for what you did.” She smiled. “We all know that if I’d been getting my GED and everything else, I would have been taking out ads in the local paper.”

Courtney relaxed. “Thanks. I need someone to not be mad at me.”

“I’m your girl.”

They were having lunch at Treats ’n Eats near the pier. Sienna had texted her sister impulsively and now she was really glad she’d suggested getting together. Funny how Courtney’s revelation had shifted everything. She was sorry her sister was having trouble with Rachel and their mom, but Sienna was happy to discover they were more alike than she’d thought.

“It’s the secret thing,” she said now. “Mom feels stupid for not knowing and Rachel feels betrayed.”