He Said It Was Just Paper. I Left. novel · Chapter 5 of 24
Chapter 5: Please Be Gentle
The Lowell family's charity luncheon filled the ballroom of the lake club every September, and I had never missed one.
This year I walked in through the front doors in my best blue dress with the certificate folded in my clutch.
All week I had carried Elliot's sentence around with me: there was no surgery.
Dalton had looked me in the eye and invented a sick girl, and I meant to make him say so in front of everyone he lied to.
Yvette had texted me a photo of the program an hour earlier.
Page two read: Remarks from Dalton Lowell and a Special Announcement.
Two hundred women in good shoes sat at round tables with tiny cakes on their plates.
Constance was at the head table in a pale green suit, and she spotted me the moment I entered.
Her smile did not move, but her hand tightened on her water glass.
I took a seat at the back, beside a woman who was holding a program.
On the stage, Dalton stepped up to the podium.
He wore the navy suit I had picked out for him and a calm, tired expression.
"Thank you all for coming," he said. "My mother says that every year, and every year I'm the one who gets to say it for her."
People laughed warmly.
"Before the raffle, I'd like to share something personal."
He let a pause stand.
"As many of you know, my fiancée, Willa, and I are expecting our first child."
A murmur of delight went through the room.
"Willa has been unwell lately. Pregnancy is hard, and she's had some emotional difficulty." His eyes moved over the tables and found me at the back. "If you see her, please be gentle. Please give her privacy. We're taking things one day at a time."
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