It would only have given her another opportunity to call me difficult.
So I smiled.
I said, “Of course.”
I found a small two-person table near the bar, half concealed by a potted olive tree.
The bartender brought me a menu and asked whether I was waiting for someone.
“No,” I said. “It’s just me.”
I placed Celeste’s gift on the chair across from mine.
From where I sat, I could hear the birthday speeches without being fully visible to most of the guests.
Blake talked about Celeste’s strength.
Lila called her the heart of the family.
Warren described her as a woman who never allowed anyone to feel excluded.
That line drew warm laughter.
I looked down at my plate until the moment passed.
I ordered dinner because leaving immediately would have looked like a scene, and Celeste had spent my entire life teaching me that other people’s cruelty became my embarrassment the moment I reacted to it.
