There was no response.
Elena’s mouth opened, but no words came out.
Finally, she whispered, “Oh my God.”
Chloe looked at her.
“You told me Dad never let you contact us.”
Elena shook her head rapidly.
“I didn’t know about these.”
“You didn’t know about the invitations Dad sent?”
“No!”
“Did you know about the birthday cards?”
“I said I didn’t know!”
Her voice rose sharply, and several guests flinched.
Chloe stepped back.
“Then someone needs to explain why you didn’t receive them.”
Elena turned toward me.
“How dare you do this to me?”
I felt the old instinct rise inside me, the instinct to apologize and smooth everything over.
But this time, I resisted it.
“I didn’t put a single false thing in that box.”
“You’ve humiliated me!”
“No, Elena. You came here and told everyone you had always wanted to be part of our lives. These are the things that happened while you were gone.”
