Chapter 4 - The Price of Keeping Everyone Happy
By Friday morning, Naomi's phone was full of messages from relatives.
Some asked if she was okay.
Others asked why she was trying to ruin her father's wedding.
One cousin wrote that Vanessa had been nothing but generous and deserved a chance to be happy.
Naomi had barely spoken to that cousin in two years.
She soon learned why the messages were coming.
Vanessa had posted in the family's wedding group chat.
"We're dealing with an unfortunate situation. Naomi took a treasured family dress that David had graciously offered for our ceremony. I know grief is complicated, and we're trying to give her space, but I hope everyone understands how painful this has been."
Naomi read the message three times.
Then she handed the phone to Lillian.
Her aunt's jaw tightened.
"That's a very careful way of leaving out the truth."
Naomi called her father.
"Did you see what she posted?"
"I did."
"Then why haven't you corrected it?"
"Because I don't want a family argument in the group chat."
Naomi shut her eyes.
"Dad, they're already arguing. They're just blaming me."
"I'll handle it privately."
"That's what you always say."
He grew quiet.
Naomi continued, "She publicly accused me of stealing a dress you promised me. You can't fix that by whispering to her afterward."
"I need you to understand how much pressure there is right now. The wedding is close. Guests have made travel arrangements. We've paid deposits."
"So it's more expensive to tell the truth?"
"That's not fair."
Naomi stared at the wall.
"Neither was taking Mom's dress."
She ended the call.
For the rest of the morning, she helped Lillian prepare breakfast and clean the kitchen.
They said little.
It was the first ordinary morning Naomi had experienced in weeks without waiting to hear Vanessa's footsteps in the hallway.
Later, they contacted a professional textile conservator.
Lillian emailed photographs of the damage and explained that the original gown had been partially unstitched and pinned for alteration.
The conservator advised them not to attempt home repairs. Fragile silk could worsen if handled repeatedly, and the damaged lining needed careful examination.
Naomi listened from beside the table.
"Does that mean it can be fixed?"
"Possibly," Lillian said after the call. "But we need someone to look at it properly."
They arranged an appointment.
Naomi folded the dress into its protective sheet, relieved to have a plan that didn't depend on her father's permission.
That afternoon, David appeared at the house again.
He brought Naomi's school backpack, medication-free toiletries, and a change of clothes she had asked him to collect.
Naomi noticed that he had remembered her favorite sweatshirt.
For an instant, that familiar thoughtfulness made her ache.
Then he spoke.
"Vanessa wants you home before tomorrow's family lunch."
Naomi looked up.
"Why?"
"She thinks we should all sit down together."
"After what she posted?"
"She feels humiliated, Naomi."
Naomi placed the sweatshirt on the sofa.
"And how am I supposed to feel?"
David rubbed his eyes.
"I don't know how to make both of you happy."
Lillian, standing in the kitchen doorway, answered before Naomi could.
"David, your daughter isn't asking you to make her happy. She's asking you to stop allowing someone to hurt her."
He looked at his sister-in-law.
"This is my life too."
"Of course it is," Lillian said. "But your life includes a child you promised to protect."
David sat down heavily.
For several moments, he said nothing.
Then his phone buzzed.
He checked the message.
His expression changed.
Naomi noticed.
"What is it?"
He turned the screen over.
"Nothing."
Lillian held out her hand.
"David."
He hesitated before showing her the message.
Vanessa had sent an updated program for the family lunch and wedding preparations.
Near the top was a proposed ceremony note.
HONORING THE PAST, CELEBRATING THE FUTURE.
Beneath it was a paragraph describing Vanessa's plan to wear Evelyn's wedding dress as a tribute to the woman who had helped create their family.
Naomi read it.
She felt suddenly cold.
Vanessa had not merely wanted the dress.
She had intended to turn the act of wearing it into a public celebration of her own generosity.
And everyone would have been expected to applaud.
"Did you approve this?" Naomi asked.
David shook his head.
"No. I hadn't seen it."
"Then tell her she can't use Mom's name."
David looked at the program.
His face was pale.
"I'll talk to her tonight."
Naomi stood.
"No more private conversations."
He looked up.
"If she's telling everyone that I'm selfish, then everyone deserves to know what actually happened."
Lillian moved beside her niece.
David stared between them.
Tomorrow's family lunch had already been arranged.
Vanessa's relatives would be there.
So would members of Evelyn's family.
For the first time, keeping the peace would require David to tell a lie in front of people who had loved his wife.
Naomi looked directly at him.
"Dad, tomorrow you either tell the truth, or you let her erase Mom in front of our entire family."
David didn't answer.
May you like
And Naomi understood that the hardest part was no longer protecting the dress.
It was discovering whether she could still trust her father.
