The first person through the door was a woman carrying a small handbag.
She looked toward me.
Then she smiled.
"Della!"
I stepped aside so she could come in.
"You're right on time."
She reached for my hands.
"Wouldn't miss it."
Behind her came another familiar face.
Then another.
The entrance became busy.
People were coming in one after another, some smiling, some laughing, and some looking around the hall as though they weren't quite sure what they had walked into.
I knew every one of them.
And every one of them knew me.
Bonnie's smile had disappeared.
She looked at the people coming through the door.
Then she looked at me.
Garland stood beside her, holding a little paper plate.
He had stopped eating.
One of the men near him leaned forward.
"Who are all these people?"
Garland didn't answer.
I could see him trying to understand what was happening.
The first woman hugged me again.
Then she turned toward the birthday table.
"Happy birthday, Garland."
He nodded.
"Thank you."
She didn't stay beside him.
She returned to my side.
That was when Bonnie stepped forward.
"Excuse me. Is there some kind of mistake?"
I looked at her.
"No mistake."
She glanced at the people behind me.
"These are your guests?"
"They're with me."
"But the invitation…"
She stopped.
I waited.
She looked down toward my handbag.
I knew what she was thinking.
The RSVP card.
The number.
Party of twelve.
"Yes," I said. "I sent my response."
Bonnie's cheeks turned pink.
Garland finally put his plate down.
"Della, what's going on?"
I looked at him.
"Your birthday party."
He glanced at the people gathering around me.
"I can see that."
"Then I suppose everything is going as planned."
One of the men behind him laughed.
It was a short laugh.
He quickly stopped when Bonnie looked at him.
I didn't know which of the three sons he was.
I hadn't met any of them before.
They were grown men now.
They had their father's features in different ways.
One had his broad shoulders.
Another had his nose.
The youngest seemed to have his smile.
I wondered what they had been told about me.
I wondered whether they knew their father had once been married to a woman named Della.
The thought made me uncomfortable.
But I wasn't going to apologize for being there.
The woman beside me touched my elbow.
"Come on, Della. Let's get settled."
I nodded.
We walked toward the tables.
There was a place near the middle.
A few people had already moved chairs together.
I noticed that somebody had put out twelve paper napkins.
I smiled.
It was a small thing.
But it meant somebody had remembered.
Bonnie followed us with her eyes.
I could feel her watching.
One of the guests whispered something to another.
I didn't turn around.
I had no intention of spending the afternoon trying to discover who was talking about me.
I had spent too much of my life doing that already.
Garland came over a few minutes later.
He stood near the end of our table.
"Della."
I looked up.
"Yes?"
He seemed uncertain.
"Could we talk?"
I glanced at the people around me.
"About what?"
"Just a minute."
I placed my handbag on the chair.
"All right."
We stepped a little away from the table.
He looked older up close.
His skin had changed.
His hands had changed.
The man who once walked out of my kitchen had become somebody who probably needed help getting up from a low chair.
I didn't feel sorry for him.
Not exactly.
But I felt the weight of all those years.
He looked at me.
"You look well."
"Thank you."
"I didn't know whether you'd come."
I almost smiled.
"You invited me."
He lowered his eyes.
"I know."
There was a pause.
Then he asked the question I had been expecting.
"Who are all those people?"
I looked toward the table.
"People I love."
He followed my gaze.
"Friends?"
"Some."
He looked confused.
I didn't explain further.
Not yet.
He shifted his weight.
"Bonnie thought you might come alone."
I looked at him.
"Did she?"
He nodded.
"She didn't mean anything by that note."
I said nothing.
He seemed to want me to make the conversation easier.
I wasn't going to do that for him.
He cleared his throat.
"She's got a way of saying things."
"Most people do."
He looked toward the birthday table.
Bonnie was standing with one of the sons.
She was watching us.
Garland lowered his voice.
"I hope you won't take offense."
I looked at him for a moment.
Then I answered honestly.
"I already did."
He had no reply.
I returned to my table.
The people around me were talking.
Some were asking about the drive.
Others were laughing about something that had happened years ago.
I sat down.
A woman passed me a cup of water.
I thanked her.
Then I looked across the hall.
Garland was still standing in the same place.
Bonnie had joined him.
They were speaking quietly.
The three sons had gathered nearby.
I wondered what they were discussing.
But I didn't need to know.
I had eleven people to greet.
And I intended to enjoy my afternoon.
Click here to continue reading: PART 6: Bonnie Wanted to Know Why I Had Brought So Many Guests, But She Had No Idea What Those Eleven People Meant to Me
The Birthday Invitation That Arrived Forty-Two Years After My Marriage Ended Had One Cruel Sentence Written at the Bottom
Part 5 of 20
