Karen had sent him an invitation, not because she wanted his approval, but because she didn’t want to carry the burden of wondering whether she had acted out of spite.
He declined.
His absence hurt her more than she expected, though she never regretted inviting him.
Before the ceremony, she had told me, “I don’t need him to approve of my life. But I wish he could have been happy for me.”
I understood.
Healing doesn’t erase disappointment. It simply teaches you not to let disappointment make every decision for you.
After the ceremony, Daniel raised a glass.
“I’d like to say something about the happy couple.”
Karen groaned.
“Oh, no.”
He smiled.
“When Alex first became my best friend, I never imagined he’d one day marry my mother.”
The guests laughed.
“Frankly, if someone had told me that was the plan, I would have advised Alex to seek professional help.”
