‘That’s fair enough,’ Barbara nodded, prouder than ever. She looked at Alex as if he’d hung the sun in the sky.
Mum’s hand froze on her wine glass. Dad set his fork aside with a sharp clink. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. It was as if my brain refused to accept how casually they were trying to gut me. I didn’t realise what was happening….
Then Debbie, my sweet old mum, folded her napkin and placed it on the table with such an eerie calm that the room fell silent.
‘I didn’t raise my daughter to be anyone’s fool,’ she said. Her voice was soft, but each word hit like a hammer.
‘Excuse me?’ Barbara blinked.
‘Do you want her to come home?’ – Mum continued. ‘You want Mo home? Then sue her. But I promise you’ll lose.’
Everyone froze.
‘Honey, give them the papers,’ she said, turning to me.
I nodded and walked over to a cabinet drawer that I had labelled ‘just in case’. I pulled out an envelope and went back and held it out to Alex.
He frowned and opened it. Katie leaned over. Barbara craned her neck. His face changed from an expression of confusion to something darker. Panic.
‘What the hell is this?’ muttered Alex, scanning the pages.
I sat up slowly, folding my hands in my lap.
‘Since my parents paid most of the down payment, they made sure the deed was in my name only. You don’t own a single square foot of this flat.’
The expression on Barbara’s face cracked like glass under pressure.
‘That…that can’t be true.’
My mum took a sip of wine.
‘Oh, but it is. We weren’t born yesterday, Barbara. We saw how you acted even before you got married. That’s why we made sure our daughter was protected.’
‘Maureen was never going to be abused by you,’ my father said. ‘Mo is our child. We want to provide for and protect her. Not your daughter and grandchildren, Barbara.’
‘So what? You’re just going to kick me out?’ Alex’s ears turned crimson.
‘No, Alex…’ I tilted my head.
He was rifling through the paperwork as if he could use magic to find a loophole.
‘You signed a prenup,’ I reminded him. ‘Remember? Any property acquired with my family’s help remains mine.’
Barbara’s voice rose a notch.
‘But you’re married! That must mean something!’
I laughed, once, low and bitter.
‘It should, I agree,’ I said. ‘But so should fidelity. Like the fact that you shouldn’t abandon your wife at her own party and try to give her house to your sister.’
Alex continued to flip through the pages, shaking his head.
‘There must be something in here that…’
‘No,’ his father interrupted, finally speaking. His voice was steady and low, the kind that makes grown men sit up straight. ‘And before you think about challenging this in court, know that our lawyer has it all set up.’
Katie finally spoke, her voice quite small.
‘But where are we supposed to go?’
I looked at her, then shrugged.
‘Stay with Mum? And Alex will come with you too.’
Alex slammed the papers on the table.
‘You… you knew about this from the beginning?’
I set my glass down, leaning in slightly.
‘No, Alex. I didn’t know you’d turn out to be so stupid. But I suspected your mother would try to pull something. Call it intuition, call it… a sixth sense. So I made sure I was protected. And now you’re without a home.’
Barbara looked as if she’d swallowed broken glass. Her mouth was opening and closing. She turned to Kathy, who had tears coming to her eyes.
‘Mum? What are we going to do?’ – She whispered. ‘I don’t want to… I thought it would finally be mine. I told the children…’
Barbara gritted her teeth.
‘We’re leaving. Now.’
Alex still hadn’t moved. He stared at the papers, as if they might catch fire and erase his mistake.
My father took a slow sip of his drink, looking at Alex as if he were peeling away layers of frustration.
‘A man who lets his mother control his marriage isn’t a man at all,’ he said, calm as ever. ‘And a man who tries to steal from his wife? He’s not just a fool…he’s a coward. Take that any way you like, Alex.’
That was it.
Alex blinked slowly. He stood up and put the papers on the table. His mouth opened to say something, maybe to apologise, maybe to defend himself, but no words came out.
Father didn’t even blink.
‘Now,’ he said, more firmly this time. ‘Get out, Alex.’
Barbara grabbed her purse. Katie followed silently behind her. Alex followed behind, his shoulders slumped as if a weight had finally been lifted off them. The door slammed shut behind them with a finality that rang out in the silence.
My mum leaned back in her chair and exhaled.
‘Well, Mo,’ she said, reaching for the wine again. ‘That went well… Now let’s eat cake.’
I looked at my parents, two people who had never once let me down, and smiled for the first time that evening since Barbara had walked through the door.
A week later, he suggested we get together.