Chapter 6 - The Lie Both Parents Shared
“Three months?”
Luca stared at the place card.
Vanessa reached for it.
“It's a sample.”
He didn't move.
“A sample of what?”
“The seating arrangements.”
“Why would your sister's name appear as Molly's mother?”
Vanessa looked toward the little girl.
“She wouldn't understand.”
Luca's expression hardened.
“Molly isn't the one who needs to explain herself.”
Michael stepped closer.
“Vanessa, you told me Lila was only helping until things settled down.”
“She is.”
“Then why does that card say Molly is her daughter?”
Vanessa took a shaky breath.
“Because people ask questions at weddings.”
Evelyn stared at her.
“And you thought the answer should be a lie?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“I thought it would be easier.”
“For whom?” Luca asked.
She couldn't answer.
That was when Teresa Moretti stepped forward.
Luca's mother had spent most of the evening quietly watching from beside the fireplace.
She was seventy-eight, with silver-gray hair and a dark-blue evening dress.
I'd always found her kind.
But I'd never heard her sound so disappointed.
“Vanessa, I raised three children. Not one of them ever made my life easier.”
Despite everything, a few people smiled.
Teresa continued.
“They spilled things. They got sick at inconvenient times. They embarrassed me in grocery stores.”
She looked toward Molly.
“And I wouldn't trade a single one of those years.”
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“Mrs. Moretti, I never meant to hurt her.”
“Then why was she alone behind a locked door?”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
Teresa waited.
When no answer came, she said, “You don't get to decide a child is safe simply because nobody saw her crying.”
I looked toward Molly.
She was helping Mrs. Carter arrange crackers on a little plate.
She hadn't heard the conversation.
I was grateful.
Luca moved the place card away from the edge of the table.
“Michael, did you know about this?”
“No.”
“Did you know Molly was moving to Lila's?”
“I knew she was going for a while.”
“How long is a while?”
Michael rubbed his forehead.
“Vanessa said the rest of the school year.”
The words surprised everyone.
Luca stared at him.
“The school year?”
Michael nodded.
“Lila offered to help. Molly's grandmother hasn't been well, and Vanessa said she needed time.”
“Time for what?”
“To get married. To settle into her new life.”
Luca looked toward the little girl.
“And where exactly did Molly fit into that life?”
Michael couldn't answer.
Neither could Vanessa.
I felt an anger I hadn't experienced before.
Because both parents were standing in a beautiful room surrounded by people who could have helped them.
They had money.
Family.
Homes.
And opportunities most single parents could only dream of.
Yet they'd decided the easiest solution was to send their daughter away.
I looked at Michael.
“You knew she was going to be gone for months?”
He nodded.
“Then why did you tell Molly you couldn't see her anymore?”
His face changed.
“I never said that.”
I kept my voice steady.
“That's what she believes.”
Michael looked toward Molly.
“I told Vanessa I needed to sort things out with Evelyn before promising regular visits.”
Evelyn stepped back.
“You told me you were already arranging those visits.”
“I was trying.”
“Michael.”
He looked at her.
She shook her head.
“Thinking about being a father isn't the same as being one.”
He lowered his eyes.
For a moment, I expected him to become angry.
Instead, he said, “You're right.”
It was the first time that evening he'd admitted something without adding an excuse.
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You're all acting like I invented this situation.”
Luca turned.
“Then tell us what we're missing.”
She looked at Teresa.
Then toward the window.
“My mother raised me alone.”
Her voice became quiet.
“She cleaned offices at night. When she brought me to work, people asked why I wasn't with my father.”
Nobody interrupted.
“Once, I heard a woman tell her that respectable families didn't bring their children into other people's homes.”
Teresa's expression softened.
Vanessa continued.
“I was eight. I remember standing behind my mother's coat, wishing I could disappear.”
She looked toward Molly.
“I promised myself my daughter would never feel that ashamed.”
Luca spoke gently.
“Vanessa, you're making her feel exactly that.”
She began crying.
“I know.”
For several seconds, she couldn't continue.
Then she whispered, “I thought if everybody accepted me first, I could introduce Molly later.”
“After the engagement?” Luca asked.
She nodded.
“Then after the wedding?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
Luca looked toward the place card.
“There's always another event, isn't there?”
She lowered her head.
“Another reason to wait.”
Teresa sat beside her.
“Your mother wasn't wrong for bringing you to work.”
Vanessa looked up.
“And Molly isn't wrong for being your daughter.”
Tears rolled down Vanessa's face.
For the first time, I thought she might actually listen.
Then Molly approached.
She was holding the photograph from the pumpkin festival.
“Daddy?”
Michael turned immediately.
“Yes, honey?”
She held it out.
“Can we go back here sometime?”
His eyes filled.
“I'd like that.”
Molly looked relieved.
Then she glanced toward Luca.
“Is it okay if I ask something?”
“Of course,” he said.
She pointed at Michael.
“Do you know my daddy from work?”
Luca nodded.
“For a very long time.”
Molly smiled.
Then her expression changed.
“That's funny.”
I crouched beside her.
“What's funny, sweetheart?”
She looked at her father.
“Daddy told me that if I ever saw him at a party with Mr. Moretti, I should call him Uncle Michael.”
The room went silent.
Michael closed his eyes.
Molly continued innocently.
“He said it would make everything easier.”
Luca slowly turned toward his oldest friend.
“You taught her that?”
Michael didn't answer.
Luca took another step closer.
May you like
And when he finally spoke, his voice was unsteady.
“Michael, was hiding your daughter your idea before Vanessa ever started doing it?”
