The wedding day started like a dream.
I stood in the bridal suite with my sister helping me into Lucas’s dress.
When I walked out, the guests gasped.
“Oh my God, is that handmade?”
“That’s the most unique dress I’ve ever seen!”
“My son made it,” I kept saying, watching Lucas turn pink with pride.
He looked so handsome in his suit.
For once, he wasn’t trying to be invisible.
He was radiant.
Then Loretta arrived.
Her eyes found me immediately.
She froze.
I watched her gaze travel from my neckline to the hem and back up.
Her expression shifted from confusion to horror to something like disgust.
“Oh,” she said loudly enough for nearby guests to hear. “So we’re doing craft hour for the wedding theme now?”
I forced a smile and ignored her.
But Loretta wasn’t done.
She walked right into the middle of the courtyard, where at least 40 people stood chatting, and her voice cut through the music like a knife.
“Is that dress crocheted?”
The photographer paused.
Several heads turned.
“Please tell me you didn’t let that child make your wedding dress.”
Lucas went rigid beside me. I felt him start to shrink inward.
I kept my voice steady. “Actually, I did.
He spent four months creating it. It’s the most meaningful gift I’ve ever received.”
Loretta laughed.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she cooed at Lucas, patting his head like he was a misbehaving puppy. “Crochet is for girls.
You know that, right?”
Lucas stared at the ground.
“And honestly, honey,” she continued, looking at me now, “this dress looks like a tablecloth! Next time, leave the wedding planning to real adults who know what they’re doing.”
Someone nearby gasped.
Lucas’s face crumpled. His eyes filled with tears he was desperately trying to hold back.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered.
“I tried my best. I’m so sorry.”
That shattered me.
But before I could even open my mouth, Michael moved.
He stepped forward so fast people actually startled backward.
His face was calm, but his eyes were blazing.
“Mom,” he announced. “Stop talking.”
Loretta blinked.
“Michael, I’m just being honest…”
“No, you’ve done enough.”
Michael turned to face the crowd.
“Everyone, I need your attention for a moment.”Continue reading…
