Claire answered in the same calm, businesslike tone she used when telling clients the final cost of a renovation.
“Our gift.”
She pushed the envelope a little closer.
“Open it in front of everyone. Let the others enjoy it too. You’ve always liked things to happen openly, with witnesses.”
“Claire, sit down. Right now.”
Daniel hissed the words from his seat. He had already realized that the evening was unfolding nothing like the way he had planned.
Margaret pressed her lips into a thin line.
She picked up the burgundy envelope between two fingers as though afraid of getting dirty, then carefully tore open the edge.
It was empty.
Exactly as Claire had expected.
Uneven red patches appeared on the older woman’s cheeks.
“There’s nothing here,” Margaret said coldly, tossing the envelope onto the tablecloth.
Claire nodded.
“That’s right. There’s exactly as much in it as there was in the envelope you gave us a year and a half ago at our wedding. And, as you can see, it’s the same envelope.”
Uncle Frank stopped chewing.
Laura stretched her neck, trying to get a better look at what was happening.
An oppressive silence settled over the table.
The steady hum of the air conditioner overhead suddenly sounded unnaturally loud.
Daniel sprang to his feet.
Blotches spread across his face.
“Do you even hear yourself? Mom simply forgot to put the money in back then! I already explained that to you! There was a wedding, too many guests, complete chaos—people make mistakes! Why are you humiliating us like this?”
Claire looked at her husband with complete composure.
“She forgot?”
She allowed the question to hang in the air for a moment.
“Then ask your mother what she said to me the next day when I went to her homeowners’ association office.”
Claire turned her eyes toward Margaret.
Her mother-in-law remained silent, staring heavily at her.
“Would you like me to remind you?” Claire asked. “You said, ‘I’m not going to pay for your ambitions out of my own pocket. Consider it a matter of principle.’ Do you remember that conversation?”
For several seconds, Margaret struggled to preserve her calm expression in front of her quiet relatives.
Finally, she forced out, “What a shameless, insolent woman you are. I invited you to my own anniversary celebration, you’re sitting at my table, and now you think you can lecture me? I’ve lived long enough to decide for myself who deserves my help and who doesn’t!”
“Of course,” Claire agreed without arguing. “That is your right. And I have the right to return gifts. I helped pay for our wedding with borrowed money, and you ceremoniously gave us an empty envelope. Today I’m simply returning your present. And the envelope is genuine, by the way. That is the exact grease stain from the piece of fish Uncle Frank accidentally dropped on it during the wedding.”
Hearing his name, Uncle Frank ducked his head awkwardly.
Daniel hurried around the table and grabbed Claire firmly by the elbow.
“Apologize to my mother. Now.”
Claire tore her arm free.
“Let go of me.”
Daniel finally lost control.
“You’re completely out of your mind! You’ve embarrassed us in front of the entire family! If you don’t know how to behave like a normal person, then get out!”
Claire did not bother to argue.
“With pleasure. The estimate is closed.”
She turned and walked toward the exit.
At the coat check, Claire collected her coat, put it on, and left the café.
The air outside was cool.
She did not call a taxi.
Instead, she walked at an unhurried pace to the nearest stop, waited for an almost empty evening bus, and took a seat by the window.
Strangely, she felt completely calm.
Three weeks passed.
Claire stood on a stepladder in the middle of an empty apartment in a new development, checking a crooked wall with a laser level.
She had signed a lease on a small studio two days after Margaret’s birthday celebration.
While Daniel was at work, Claire packed her belongings quickly and moved out.
Her phone vibrated inside the pocket of her work overalls.
Daniel’s name appeared on the screen.
During the first week after she left, he had sent her a constant stream of angry messages. He demanded an apology for ruining the celebration and threatened to file for divorce before she could.
Claire had not replied.
But for some reason, she decided to answer this call.
“Yes?”
Daniel’s voice sounded surprisingly ordinary, as though Claire had merely left for work that morning and was expected to come home that evening.
“Listen, Claire. Do you remember where the warranty card for the robot vacuum is? It stopped finding its charging dock for some reason.”
Claire lowered the laser level and gave a short, humorless laugh.
“I have no idea.”
Daniel sounded genuinely surprised.
“What do you mean, you don’t know? You sorted through the documents before you moved. Look among your things. I need to take it to the service center. Mom called and said her back is hurting, and it’s too hard for her to wash the floor herself.”
Claire said nothing for several seconds.
“Daniel, we’ve been living separately for three weeks. Whatever happens to your vacuum cleaner is no longer my concern.”
“Oh, come on. You’re still upset?”
He sighed heavily, then adopted the same patronizing tone he used when explaining something obvious to a small child.
“You lost your temper that day. It happens. Just come home already. Mom will calm down eventually, and we’ll sort everything out somehow. I can’t even pay the utilities properly without you. There are already late fees.”
Claire’s answer was brief.
“Figure it out yourself.”
She ended the call, put the phone back into her work pocket, and picked up the measuring tape again.
A major project was waiting for her.
And Claire had no intention of spending her time correcting other people’s mistakes, calculations, and budgets that never added up.