CHAPTER 3 – THE NIGHT THE MASKS FELL
CHAPTER 3 – THE NIGHT THE MASKS FELL
Nobody moved.
The words hung over the table like smoke.
Aunt Cheryl looked as shocked as everyone else that they had come out of her mouth.
Paige was the first to recover.
"Oh, please."
She laughed, but it came out thin.
"So he sold some app."
"It's software," Uncle Dennis corrected quietly.
She waved him off.
"Whatever. People exaggerate these deals all the time."
She looked directly at me.
"How much did you actually get?"
I reached for my water.
"I don't discuss my finances."
Her smile disappeared.
"You just told everyone you bought an eleven-million-dollar penthouse."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You asked where I lived."
"You knew what you were doing."
"I answered your question."
That irritated her more than if I had yelled.
She wanted a fight.
I kept giving her facts.
Dad finally cleared his throat.
"Son..."
It had been years since he called me that.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?"
I looked at him for a long moment.
"Would it have mattered?"
"Of course."
"Really?"
He hesitated.
"You never asked what company I worked for."
Silence.
"You never asked what I was building."
Silence.
"You never came to visit."
Silence.
"You didn't even know what city I lived in until tonight."
My mother's eyes dropped to her lap.
I continued calmly.
"When I graduated college, nobody came."
Dad rubbed the back of his neck.
"We were helping Paige move into her apartment."
"When my company raised its first round of funding..."
Nothing.
"When we hired our fiftieth employee..."
Nothing.
"When Forbes interviewed me..."
Still nothing.
"I mailed Grandma the magazine because I knew she was the only one who'd read it."
Grandma slowly reached into her purse.
Everyone watched as she pulled out a worn plastic folder.
Inside was a magazine.
The edges were bent from being handled so many times.
My picture smiled from the cover.
She placed it gently on the table.
"I've carried this with me for eight months."
Nobody spoke.
"I showed everyone."
She looked around the table.
"No one wanted to read it."
My mother's face drained of color.
"I... don't remember."
Grandma's voice became unexpectedly firm.
"That's exactly the problem."
For eighty-five years, I had never heard her sound angry.
Until now.
"I remember."
She looked at my parents.
"I remember every birthday you missed because Paige had rehearsals."
"I remember every baseball game where Jaden looked into the crowd hoping you'd come."
"I remember him pretending not to cry."
Mom covered her mouth.
Grandma continued.
"I remember him asking me if he had done something wrong."
My chest tightened.
I had forgotten saying that.
Apparently she never had.
"He was ten."
The restaurant had become completely silent.
Even strangers were pretending not to listen.
Grandma looked at my father.
"Do you know what your son asked me?"
Dad couldn't answer.
"He asked..."
Her voice trembled.
"...'Grandma, if I become really successful one day...will Mom and Dad love me like they love Paige?'"
Nobody breathed.
Mom burst into tears.
"I never..."
She couldn't finish.
Grandma wasn't done.
"I lied to him."
Everyone looked at her.
"I told him yes."
She turned toward me.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I was wrong."
For the first time that night...
I felt something crack.
Not anger.
Grief.
The grief of realizing the child I used to be had spent years trying to earn something that should never have required earning.
Paige suddenly slammed both hands onto the table.
"This is ridiculous!"
She pointed at Grandma.
"You're making me into the villain!"
"No," Grandma answered.
"You did that yourself."
Paige grabbed her designer handbag.
"I am not sitting here while everyone worships Saint Jaden."
She stormed toward the restaurant exit.
Halfway there—
She stopped.
Turned around.
And shouted loudly enough for every customer to hear.
"If he's so rich..."
She pointed directly at me.
"...then he can pay for everybody's dinner!"
She smiled triumphantly.
Like she'd trapped me.
Every eye turned toward me again.
I simply reached into my wallet.
Pulled out a black card.
Set it beside my plate.
"I already did."
The waiter, who had been standing quietly nearby, nodded.
"Mr. Carter paid for the private room and everyone's meals yesterday afternoon."
Another silence.
Grandma smiled.
"I know."
She reached over and squeezed my hand.
"He called me himself."
Paige stared at me.
Then at the waiter.
Then back at me.
May you like
For the first time in her life...
She had no audience left.
