Then Mom said, “Your father had to put the additional party charges on his own credit card.”
“The agreed event bill is being settled,” I said. “The extras you added are yours.”
“You embarrassed us in front of people.”
“I was here.”
“You know what I mean.”
I did.
She meant that their expectations had failed in public, and I was supposed to repair that before discussing anything else.
My father spoke quietly.
“We didn’t realize you were paying for so much.”
“You didn’t ask.”
“Where did that kind of money come from?”
“My business.”
“The data work?”
“The company I tried to tell you about.”
My mother folded her arms.
“If you’ve been doing that well, this is an especially cruel time to withdraw support.”
I looked at her for a long moment.
There it was: the discovery of my success had not produced curiosity or pride. It had produced a larger claim.
