He opened his eyes wide.
“All of it?”
Doing that felt right. I might not be able to use the money to pay for anything substantial for myself, but maybe… Maybe I could give it to other people. I could go around London buying random shit from those who needed it the most.
I told myself I would do that as soon as I got back home.
“Buy yourself a real belt, for God’s sake. Would you do me that favour?”
Alex pulled out my chair and thanked me. We sat down.
The rest of the guests followed suit. Soon, the only empty table was the one belonging to the Dubois family, with the purple tablecloth.
Then they walked on stage. Laurent Dubois, all business, and his daughter, Eloïse, who flashed that perfect smile, the one that made her Instagram famous, dimples and all.
I would’ve loved to sit through her charming little speech. I’m sure it was riveting, but my phone buzzed. My mum. Fantastic timing. I jumped out of my seat so fast I nearly tripped, muttered something to Alex about needing a minute, and slipped out of the room.
“Before you say anything,” I began, breathless, “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t give you a heads-up about tomorrow. Please tell me you haven’t made the dessert yet.”
My mother sighed, a mix of frustration and worry clouding her voice. “Why not?”
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to deliver the one phrase every mother dreads hearing: “Don’t be scared,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “I have something to tell you.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter, more tentative. “What is it, Vera?”
I rubbed my temples, trying to find the right words. “Mom, I… I’m in a bit of a mess. I’m dealing with something much bigger than I thought.”
“Is this about your job?” Her voice wavered. “I’ve heard you mention it a lot lately.”
“Something came up, and I don’t know how it is related to my case, but it is. I just need to figure things out here.”
My background has never been one thing I like to discuss. Not even with mum, not even over the phone, in a different time zone than she was.
“I took extra turns all weekend,” she sighed. “I was hoping you could help me around the house.”
I felt a pang of guilt. “I know, mum. And I’m really sorry. I promise I’ll help you next week.”
Her silence was heavy. Finally, she spoke, her voice barely a whisper. “I just wish things were different. I wish we didn’t have to fight so hard just to stay afloat.”
“I know,” I said softly. “I wish the same. But right now, Ineed to focus on getting through this. I promise I’ll explain everything when I can.”
I knew I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.
“Just… be careful, okay?”
“I will,” I assured her. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
When I returned to the room, the speech had ended, and a baked fish dish had appeared at my seat. Alex was making faces at it while murmuring that he would have preferred to be left alone with the hot dog cart. In front of us, there were two men and an older woman who laughed at their jokes every three seconds.
“Kids your age only eat junk!” said the man, a bald, fat gentleman who had been playing with the fish instead of eating it.
“Antoine, you have no idea what kids your age do,” interjected another man. “You left that behind a long time ago.”
The woman didn’t chime in. She was focused on her tiny bits of bread and occasionally laughed in a thin whistle.
“What I know,” the man spoke again, “is that when I was young, I wasn’t lucky enough to walk around with such beautiful girls.”
The poor woman next to him seemed to think otherwise. I smiled with my teeth, hoping my disgust didn’t show on my face.
