Not there.
“She’s always so sensitive about this.”
Not in front of Susan.
She rolled her eyes.
“It’s a joke.”
“No,” Thomas said. “It isn’t.”
“She’s always so sensitive about this.”
“You need to leave.”
Thomas stepped around the table.
“You need to leave.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
Susan looked at me.
Then Matthew quietly put down his fork.
I hated that.
Like I had created the problem.
“I honestly thought you’d laugh.”
I said nothing.
Then Matthew quietly put down his fork.
For years, every time Susan crossed a line, he had been the one smoothing it over.
That got my attention.
Matthew almost never got involved.
For years, every time Susan crossed a line, he had been the one smoothing it over.
“That’s just how she is.”
“She didn’t mean it.”
He was a kind man in most ways, but he treated Susan’s behavior like weather.
“Let’s not ruin the evening.”
He was a kind man in most ways, but he treated Susan’s behavior like weather.
Unpleasant.
Unavoidable.
Something everyone else should dress around.
I think she assumed he was about to defend her.
This time, he reached across the table.
“Let me see it.”
Susan smiled slightly.
