CHAPTER 2: The Dinner That Ended a Marriage
CHAPTER 2: The Dinner That Ended a Marriage
The dining room was silent.
Only the soft ticking of the grandfather clock could be heard.
Ethan Bennett looked at his mother.
Then at the bowl of plain rice resting in her trembling hands.
Finally...
He turned toward his wife.
"Claire."
His voice was calm.
"So tell me what happened."
Claire folded her linen napkin neatly onto the table.
"It isn't what she says."
Ethan waited.
"Your mother insisted on sitting on the floor."
Mrs. Bennett slowly shook her head.
"I asked for a chair."
Claire sighed dramatically.
"She's becoming forgetful."
"I offered her dinner."
"She refused everything except rice."
Mrs. Bennett lowered her eyes.
"I asked if I could sit with everyone."
Claire's smile disappeared.
"There wasn't enough room."
Ethan slowly looked around the enormous twelve-seat dining table.
Only three chairs were occupied.
The silence became unbearable.
He knelt beside his mother.
Her hands were swollen with arthritis.
The bowl she held was chipped.
Unlike the fine porcelain set covering the table.
He gently touched her shoulder.
"Mom..."
"Why didn't you call me?"
She smiled weakly.
"I didn't want to cause trouble."
Ethan closed his eyes.
His late father had once told him,
"The way a person treats the elderly reveals who they truly are."
For years...
He had been too busy building an empire to notice what was happening inside his own home.
Tonight...
May you like
He finally looked.
And he didn't like what he saw.
