But Sophie never called. Never texted. Never stopped by. I told myself it was normal, that young people were busy, that I was lucky to be included at all—to be able to give my granddaughter this extraordinary gift.
Then came the phone call that changed everything. It was mid-July, and I was watering the plants on my terrace when my phone rang. “Mrs. Rivers, this is Jessica Martinez from Green Valley Estate. I’m calling about your event on September 14th.”
“Yes,” I said, setting down my watering can. “Sophie’s wedding. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to confirm a change to our records. Your son requested that we update the billing contact information to his name and email address. He said there might be some last-minute changes to the order and it would be easier if the invoices came directly to him. I wanted to make sure that’s accurate before I process it.”
My stomach dropped. “He requested what? When did he make this request?”
“Let me check… It was two weeks ago. July 19th.”
Two weeks ago. They’d been at my apartment that very day, showing me photos of the centerpieces, thanking me for being so generous. “Mrs. Rivers, should I make the change?”