"She's a real trophy wife now. All she has to do is tend her flowers and play with the dog at home, and she's got money to burn. No in-laws to serve, no one nagging her about having kids! Talk about picking the right stock back in the day."
As she finished, a few classmates around the table chimed in with agreement.
I kept my head down, eating in silence.
Mrs. Lambert set down her chopsticks gently. She was still smiling, but her voice had turned several degrees cooler.
"That's not quite fair to say."
"Back then, Jill stretched every penny to help Jeffrey stay in school—all behind her family's back. If my grandson hadn't been her childhood friend, I never would have known that this pampered young lady sold off her treasured handbags and collectibles online just to scrape together money. She even gave up the competition spot her family had fought so hard to get for her—handed it right over to Jeffrey."
"Jill suffered quite a bit marrying Jeffrey."
The table fell silent. Someone let out an awkward laugh, trying to smooth things over. "You're right, Mrs. Lambert. We didn't know any of that. Spoke out of turn."