For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a woman near the driveway asked a question.
"Are you saying the house hasn't been transferred?"
I turned toward her.
"That's correct. I have not completed a transfer to my son."
She glanced at Laurelai.
Laurelai gave a short laugh that sounded forced.
"This is just a misunderstanding between family members."
I looked at her.
"Then it should be easy to explain."
Her smile disappeared.
The woman didn't ask anything else.
But I could see her thinking.
Others were thinking too.
The gathering had been arranged around a simple expectation.
Cullen and Blythe were returning from Hawaii.
The beach house was supposed to become their home.
The family would celebrate.
Someone would hand over the keys.
Now the person who owned the property was standing on the porch saying no such agreement existed.
The difference was difficult to ignore.
Cullen stepped toward me.
"Can we please talk privately?"
I studied his face.
There was anger there, but embarrassment had begun to show through it.
I knew how much he cared about appearances.
He had made that clear when he explained why I hadn't been invited to his wedding.
People with status.
He had wanted to be surrounded by people he considered important.
Now those same people were watching him argue with his mother over a house he did not own.
I didn't enjoy seeing him uncomfortable.
I also couldn't protect him from every consequence of his choices.
"We can talk privately when you're ready to speak honestly," I said.
He looked down.
Laurelai interrupted.
"This is not the time to lecture him."
I turned toward her.
"You are the one who arranged this gathering."
Her cheeks reddened.
"We were trying to help the children."
"By inviting people to my house without asking me?"
She pressed her lips together.
For the first time since she had arrived, she seemed to have no prepared answer.
Miles walked closer.
"Perhaps we should all calm down."
I appreciated that he spoke quietly.
I also wanted him to understand that calmness would not solve the problem by itself.
"I am calm, Miles. I just want everyone to understand that I never promised to hand over the keys today."
He nodded slowly.
A guest asked whether the couple had already given up their apartment.
Blythe had not arrived yet, and I couldn't answer for her.
I said I had been told they had made other arrangements, but I had never instructed them to leave their apartment.
Cullen looked at me sharply.
"Mom, we can't just go back to how things were."
I felt something tighten in my chest.
He was right about one thing.
We could not return to the way things had been.
Not after the wedding.
Not after the claim about the house.
Not after the envelope.
But I wasn't responsible for making his new circumstances convenient.
"You should have discussed your plans with me before giving up your apartment," I said.
He shook his head.
"We thought we had everything settled."
"Who settled it?"
He didn't answer.
Laurelai moved toward the guests and began telling them that the situation would be resolved.
Her voice was polite, but I could hear the strain in it.
She asked people to be patient.
She said the family needed time to discuss the details.
Several guests looked at one another.
One man quietly asked his companion whether they should leave.
I stepped away from the door to give people room to move.
Nobody was trapped there.
Nobody needed to remain for a celebration that was no longer taking place as expected.
I didn't ask anyone to go.
I didn't ask anyone to stay.
The decision was theirs.
A woman approached me before leaving.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you hadn't agreed to this."
I thanked her.
She glanced toward Cullen.
"I thought it was already settled."
"I understand."
She walked back toward her car.
Two more guests followed.
The sound of car doors opening and closing began to replace the conversations.
I watched them leave without feeling victorious.
I felt tired.
This was not how I had wanted to spend the day.
I had imagined a conversation with Cullen about his father's note.
I had imagined telling him about the document my attorney had prepared.
I had imagined giving him something meaningful when he began his married life.
Instead, I was standing outside my home while strangers discovered that they had been invited to witness an event that had never been authorized.
Cullen watched the departing guests.
His shoulders were tense.
"You've made me look like a fool," he said.
I turned to him.
"I didn't tell anyone you owned the house."
He opened his mouth, then closed it.
I could have said more.
I could have reminded him that he had excluded me from his wedding.
I could have asked whether he had told the guests I was sick.
I could have demanded to know why the house had been reproduced on the wedding cake.
But those questions would not change the fact standing between us.
He had made a promise on my behalf.
Now he was angry because I had refused to keep it.
I looked at the remaining guests.
There were fewer of them now.
Laurelai stood beside Miles, speaking in a low voice.
The folding chairs faced the blue door.
Nobody sat in them.
I returned to the porch and placed my hand on the railing.
The wood was warm from the sun.
Nile had helped me sand and repaint it more than once.
We had repaired that railing after the hurricane, replacing damaged sections until it was strong enough to hold the weight of someone leaning over to watch the waves.
I thought of the six summers we had spent working on the property.
Then I looked at Cullen.
"I am willing to talk about the future," I said. "But I won't pretend a decision has been made when it hasn't."
He looked away.
For the moment, that was all I could offer.
And it was more than he had offered me before his wedding.
Click here to continue reading: PART 11: The Word Deed Kept Coming Back, but Nobody Could Explain Why My Private Envelope Had Been Opened
The Sunday Morning Call That Made Me Question Everything I Thought I Knew About My Only Son
Part 10 of 24
