Eventually, he asked Mavis directly whether she’d pushed the invitations into the bucket.
“And?”
Ryan looked at me.
“She admitted it.”
At first, she’d denied everything.
Then came a few half-baked lies.
Finally, according to Frank, she simply folded.
She hadn’t planned very far beyond destroying the invitations.
She’d been angry about the guest list and convinced that if the invitations couldn’t be mailed, we’d have to delay the wedding and reconsider everything.
“I thought they’d reconsider the guest list.”
I sat there silently.
Ryan no longer looked angry.
He just looked exhausted.
Before they ended the call, Frank told Ryan he’d understand if Ryan didn’t want him at the wedding anymore either.
Ryan stayed quiet for a moment.
Then he said:
“You’re still invited, Dad.”
Frank thanked him.
A week before we left, Mavis apologized.
Sort of.
She said she was sorry “things got out of hand” and asked once more if she could come.
Ryan said no.
For once, she didn’t get to negotiate.
We flew out the following morning.
There was no final confrontation.
No dramatic scene.
No last-minute change of heart.
And I’m glad.
