Chapter 6 - A Daughter Nobody Believed
“No, Daddy.”
I went to my father immediately.
He looked at me with the same frightened expression he'd worn when he was first diagnosed.
“Are you sure?”
I knelt beside his chair.
“Of course I'm sure.”
He glanced toward the cancellation slip.
“But it says your name.”
“I know.”
“Did I make you angry?”
My eyes filled.
“No, Daddy.”
He looked down.
“Sometimes I say the wrong thing.”
I took his hands.
“You're my father. Nothing about your memory could ever make me ashamed of you.”
He studied my face.
Then he nodded.
“Okay, Pumpkin.”
He believed me.
At least for that moment.
And I hated that somebody had made him doubt it.
Behind me, Vanessa cleared her throat.
“Melissa, I think you're becoming emotional.”
I stood.
“Yes, I am.”
She seemed surprised.
“You need to remember you're working.”
I looked at her.
“For sixteen months, I've served your dinners, cleaned your house, and done everything you've asked.”
Vanessa's expression hardened.
“And?”
“And I've never once given anyone permission to use my name to hurt my parents.”
The room fell silent.
Luca stepped beside me.
“Melissa, you're not in trouble.”
Vanessa turned sharply.
“Luca, she just accused me—”
“She's asking why her name appears on a document she says she didn't authorize.”
“Perhaps she forgot mentioning it.”
I stared at her.
“Don't do that.”
Vanessa blinked.
“Excuse me?”
“Don't use my father's illness to make everyone else sound confused.”
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then Luca turned toward Margaret.
“Did Melissa personally cancel the reservation?”
Margaret hesitated.
“I didn't receive the request directly from her.”
My heart began pounding.
“Then who gave it to you?”
The manager looked toward Vanessa.
“She did.”
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“I was coordinating the room arrangements.”
Luca held up the paper.
“Why is Melissa's name here?”
“Because I was told the family had concerns.”
“By whom?”
“Betty had expressed reservations about the evening.”
Mom stood.
“About Robert making a speech.”
Vanessa turned toward her.
“And about him becoming overwhelmed.”
“Yes.”
“So I interpreted that as a request to arrange something quieter.”
Mom shook her head.
“You told me the restaurant was preparing a private table.”
Vanessa looked uncomfortable.
“I was trying to find a solution.”
“Then why did you cancel the reservation without telling us?”
Margaret looked increasingly distressed.
“Mrs. Bellini, I was instructed not to contact the Carter family after the change.”
Luca slowly turned.
“Who instructed you?”
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“Mrs. Bellini.”
Vanessa sighed.
“Because their situation was sensitive.”
I felt a terrible anger rising inside me.
Not the kind that made me want to shout.
The kind that made every word seem painfully clear.
“You knew my mother was worried.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“Yes.”
“You knew my father sometimes forgot conversations.”
“Yes.”
“And you told the manager not to check with either of them.”
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Luca looked at Margaret.
“Why didn't you verify the cancellation with Melissa?”
The manager's eyes filled.
“Because Vanessa told me Melissa had already agreed.”
I turned toward her.
“Margaret, I've known you for sixteen months.”
“I know.”
“You could have asked me.”
She looked ashamed.
“I should have.”
Her admission hurt.
But it also mattered.
For the first time, somebody besides my parents was taking responsibility.
Luca placed the cancellation slip on the table.
“From now on, no employee should ever be afraid to verify an instruction that affects a guest's reservation.”
Margaret nodded.
“Understood.”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“Wonderful. So now I'm being treated like somebody who deliberately set out to hurt an elderly couple.”
Luca looked at her.
“Did you deliberately cancel their reservation?”
She hesitated.
“I made a scheduling decision.”
“Without their permission?”
“I believed I had enough information.”
“You had enough information to know they wanted to be here.”
Her face reddened.
“Luca, I was trying to prevent a difficult situation.”
“By creating one?”
She looked away.
My mother sat beside Dad.
He was rubbing the leather strap of his watch.
Then he looked up.
“Vanessa helped me Monday.”
Everyone turned.
He nodded toward her.
“I remember she got me water.”
Vanessa's expression softened.
“Yes, Robert.”
“And she found my coat.”
“Yes.”
Dad thought carefully.
“I was scared.”
Mom put her arm around him.
“I know, honey.”
He looked at Vanessa.
“You were nice to me then.”
For a moment, her face changed completely.
It was the first time I'd seen her look genuinely ashamed.
Dad continued.
“So I don't understand why you didn't want me here today.”
Nobody answered.
He wasn't accusing her.
He simply wanted to understand.
Somehow, that made it harder to bear.
Vanessa sat down slowly.
“I thought you might have another frightening experience.”
Dad nodded.
“Maybe.”
Then he looked at Mom.
“But Betty would've helped me.”
My mother kissed his forehead.
“Always.”
Vanessa covered her mouth.
Luca looked toward the fireplace.
Then back at his fiancée.
“Vanessa, why didn't you trust them to decide what they could handle?”
She whispered, “Because I know what happens when people pretend everything is fine.”
I frowned.
There was something in her voice I hadn't heard before.
Not irritation.
Fear.
But before Luca could ask what she meant, Margaret spoke again.
“Mr. Moretti, there's another problem with the cancellation.”
Luca turned.
“What problem?”
Margaret unfolded the accounting page attached to the reservation.
“The Carter family paid a four-hundred-dollar deposit in May.”
Mom nodded.
“Robert saved for it.”
“The cancellation should have resulted in a refund or a credit issued directly to them.”
Luca frowned.
“Should have?”
Margaret looked toward Vanessa.
“The deposit was never returned.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What happened to it?”
May you like
Margaret swallowed.
Then she said, “It was transferred to tonight's engagement account under Mrs. Bellini's instructions.”
