Silence. My mother had clearly heard this already, from Claire, with different framing.
“She’s under a lot of stress,” my mother said.
“I know. I’ve been trying to support her through it.”
“You know how important this is to her. The venue, the whole day. She’s been planning this for months.”
“I know she has. I signed the contract for the venue. I paid the deposit.”
“Elise.”
“Mom. I’m not asking for your support on this. I’m not trying to create drama. But I can’t pay for a wedding and not go to it. That’s not something I’m able to do.”
“You’re going to ruin her wedding.”
That one landed. I sat with it for a moment.
“I’m not ruining her wedding,” I said. “The booking stands. Willowmere isn’t canceling. What I’m doing is telling Claire that she needs to arrange payment for the remaining balance, because I’m not going to do it. Jordan Ellis is going to help with the transfer process. The wedding can happen. It just needs to be funded by people who are actually invited.”
My mother said she needed to talk to Claire and she would call me back. She called back an hour later and told me Claire was not taking this well. I said I was sorry that Claire was not taking this well. My mother said she hoped I would reconsider. I said I had considered it carefully, and I had decided, and I was sorry that this was the situation we were in, but I hadn’t created the situation.