To give my son the wedding of his dreams, I donated $85,000 of my retirement funds. I got there early and dressed to the nines on the day of the event. After then, I was instructed to leave by a man wearing a black suit. for an explanation that still makes me sad.
I’m Sheila, sixty-three, and I felt I’d seen enough of life to no longer be shocked. I was mistaken.
Since the death of his father fifteen years ago, my son David has been my entire world. He and I joined together as a team. We supported one another through every challenge, difficult day, and minor triumph. I was very happy when he told me he had met someone wonderful six months ago, with that apprehensive smile.
David had remarked, “Mom, her name’s Melissa. I think she might be the one,” and I was overjoyed for him.
Melissa looked beautiful when I finally met her. She quickly complimented my meal and was kind and upbeat. As soon as David entered the room, she seemed to light up, and I thought, “This is it. This is the woman who will make my son happy.”
David made the proposal three months later. Yes, she replied. And during their engagement celebration, I shed a few happy tears. My kid, however, appeared at my door one evening as though he were carrying the weight of the universe.
“Mom, can we talk?”
As I always did when a serious topic needed to be discussed, I served us tea. David was unable to look me in the eye as he sat at my kitchen table.
I pressed, “What’s wrong, honey?”
He combed his hair with his hand. “It’s about the wedding. Melissa has this vision, you know? She wants it to be really special. And beautiful… something we’ll remember forever.”
I answered, “That’s wonderful,” but I could already hear the “but” coming.
“But we don’t have the money for it.” He then turned to me. “Melissa’s been looking at venues and caterers, and the numbers just keep going up. I don’t know how to give her what she wants without going into serious debt.”
I felt so sorry for him. “How much are we talking about?”
He took a deep swallow. “With everything she’s planning? My share would be about… $85,000.”
I didn’t even think twice. “I’ll help you.”
“Mom, no. I can’t ask you to do that.”
I grasped his hand and extended across the table, saying, “You’re not asking. I’m offering.” “I have money saved. It was supposed to be for retirement, but what good is money if I can’t use it to see my only son happy?”
“That’s your safety net,” David uttered in a broken voice. “That’s everything you worked for.”
I squeezed his palm and said, “And you’re everything to me.” “I still have my pension. I can pick up some extra shifts if I need to. Let me do this for you.”
Tears were streaming from his eyes. “Mom, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll have the wedding of your dreams. That’s all I need.”
Melissa threw her arms around me and almost knocked me over when I informed her about the money. “Sheila, oh my God! Are you serious? This is incredible! Thank you so much!”
She was almost glowing, and my chest began to fill with a wonderful sense of satisfaction. This was accurate. Mothers did this.
***
The months that followed flew by. Melissa gave me footage of the ballroom with crystal chandeliers that glistened like stars, pictures of intricate floral arrangements, designs of a five-tier cake covered in real gold leaf, and regular updates regarding the wedding plans.
Then she would exclaim, “Isn’t it gorgeous?” “Your money is making all of this possible, Sheila. You’re amazing!”
Even though the numbers made my stomach flip, I kept a grin on my face during the entire conversation. And even after I became aware that I would only have enough money for one day.
“It was worth it,” I assured myself. “David’s happiness was worth everything.”
I got up early and took great care to get ready the morning of the wedding. I wore the pearl necklace my mother had given me on my wedding day, along with a delicate blue dress that David had always felt accentuated my eyes.
In person, the location was much more stunning. Everything shone. Every surface was covered in white roses. Silk-draped tables were bathed in a warm, golden glow from the chandeliers. Near the entryway, a string quartet played softly.
Every flower, every piece of cutlery, every musical note had been purchased with my money. And even though it was odd to see my life savings turned into table centerpieces, I was ecstatic. David was getting married.
I smiled at the other guests as they came and took a seat close to the center of the room. Everyone appeared delighted and joyful.
Then I noticed him coming. A man in a sharp black suit strode purposefully in my direction. He had a deliberately blank, almost contrite, expression.
“Ma’am? Could I speak with you for just a moment?”
Confused, I stood. “Of course. Is something wrong?”
He motioned me to come a few paces away from the table. His features flickered with unease as he turned to face me.
“I’m very sorry to have to tell you this, but there’s been an issue with the guest list. Your name isn’t on the final list provided by the bride.”
I chuckled, confident that this was an error. “That’s impossible. I’m the groom’s mother.”
His face remained unchanged. “I understand, ma’am. But the bride was very specific. She requested that you not remain at the reception.”
I went cold. A faraway hum seemed to drown out the room’s sounds, including the music, laughter, and clinking glasses.
I was able to say, “There must be some kind of mistake,” “Let me talk to Melissa.”
I saw her and her bridesmaids across the room; they were all dressed in matching champagne-colored dresses and looked like models. She was laughing, very comfortable.
I strode over on legs that didn’t feel like they belonged to me. “Melissa?”
Something chilly flickered in her eyes for a brief moment as she turned, and then her grin came back. “Sheila. What’s wrong?”
“The event coordinator just told me I’m not on the guest list. He said I need to leave. There must be some confusion.”
Melissa’s smile persisted even though the bridesmaids had stopped talking and were observing us.
She shrugged, “There’s no confusion,” she remarked.
“What?”
She let out a sigh as if I were purposefully being challenging. “Sheila, look around. Really look. Do you see anyone here who looks like YOU?”
Unable to understand, I looked around the room. “I don’t know what you’re asking me.”
Melissa said, “Everyone here is young, beautiful, successful, and rich,” with a clipped tone. “This is my wedding, my day, and I need it to be perfect. I can’t have old people sitting around and bringing down the energy.”
The bridesmaids moved uneasily. Melissa, however, never took her eyes from mine.
“Melissa, I’m David’s mother. I gave you the money for this wedding. All of it.”
Something uglier twisted into her smile. “And I appreciate that, I really do. You wanted your son to have a nice wedding, right? Well, look around. Mission accomplished! But that doesn’t mean you get to stay and ruin it in your rags.”
“Ruin it?”
Her voice trailed off but retained its malice as she drew closer. “You’re old, Sheila. You don’t fit in here. My friends and family… they’re all young and vibrant. Even my mother looks better than you. I won’t have you sitting here making everyone uncomfortable. And I don’t want you to ruin my wedding photos with your ugly face.”
My eyes were burning with tears. I could feel the event planner looming behind me, waiting for me to comply.
“Please,” I said in a whisper. “Please don’t do this. I need to talk to my son. Where is he?”
Melissa’s face remained stern. “David’s busy greeting guests. I think it’s time for you to go.”
I don’t recall leaving or calling a cab to return home. I was standing in that glistening ballroom one minute, and then I was sitting on my driveway with tears in my eyes.
I cried until I had nothing left, then crashed on the couch inside my empty house. What had caused my blindness? The updates, pictures, and months of gratitude had all been a charade. My money had been her only concern.
David, too. Was he aware? Was he involved in this? No. That seemed unbelievable to me. Not my son.
Then, though, where was he? Why hadn’t he come to find me?
That night, still wearing my mother’s pearls and my blue dress, I sobbed myself to sleep. The following morning, I was awakened by the shrill ringing of the phone, and David’s name appeared on the screen.
He seemed happy and perfectly normal as he said, “Mom! Hey, how are you feeling?”
“What?” I cried so hard that my voice was raspy.
“Are you feeling better? Melissa told me you got dizzy at the wedding and you weren’t feeling well. She said she called you a taxi so you could go home and rest, that you didn’t want to worry me while I was busy with guests. I was worried sick all night. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you right away. How are you feeling now?”
I was speechless for a moment because the deception was so well-crafted.
I spoke carefully, “David,” “that’s not what happened.”
On the other end, there was silence. “What do you mean?” then.
“Melissa didn’t call me a taxi because I was sick. She had me THROWN OUT. She told the event coordinator I wasn’t on the guest list. When I asked her why, she said I was too old… that I didn’t fit in with her young, beautiful guests. She said I would ruin her perfect day with my ugly face.”
More quiet. His respiration was irregular and harsh, and I could hear it.
“She WHAT??”
“She told me I was old and embarrassing. That even her mother looked better than me. She had security escort me out while you were greeting guests. David, I spent last night crying alone.”
“Mom.” His tone had entirely changed. “Don’t cry. I’m going to call you back in five minutes. I promise you, I’m getting to the bottom of this.”
It seemed like five hours in those five minutes. His voice was trembling with anger when he called back.
“I just watched the security footage,” David made public. “The venue keeps cameras at all entrances. I asked them to send me the files. I saw everything, Mom. I watched you sit down. I watched the coordinator approach you. And I watched Melissa wave him over and tell him to remove you. Then I watched you walk out alone.”
Once more, tears streamed down my face. I was believed by my son. He was aware of the reality. At last.
David continued, “She lied to me,” in a voice that broke. “She looked me in the eye and lied. I’m confronting her right now. Stay on the line…”
I heard shuffling, followed by David’s harsh, cutting voice. “MELISSA?!”
“What? David, what’s wrong?” she said in a worried yet innocent voice.
“I know what you did at the wedding. I’m talking about you throwing my mother out. I have the footage, Melissa. I saw everything.”
There was an electrifying hush. Melissa’s tone then became defensive. “She misunderstood. I was just trying to help her.”
David yelled, “Don’t lie to me!” and I recoiled. “I saw you wave at the coordinator. I saw you point at Mom. I saw her walk out alone while you laughed with your friends. How could you do that?”
Melissa’s voice had changed entirely to “Fine!” “You want the truth? She’s a BURDEN, David! She’s old and depressing… and she doesn’t belong with my friends and family. Do you know how embarrassing it was having her sit there? My mom is younger, prettier, and more appealing. Your mom is just dead weight. Yeah, she gave money, but that doesn’t buy her a seat at my table. That was MY day, and I wasn’t going to let some old woman ruin it.”
It was astounding how nasty her voice was. I put my palm to my mouth and started crying again.
“Melissa,” David yelled, his tone now utterly composed, “my mother gave up her retirement savings so we could have that wedding. She asked for nothing in return except to see her son get married. And you humiliated her. You lied to me. You showed me exactly who you are. This marriage is over.”
I heard Melissa’s frantic voice. “What? You can’t be serious! We just got married yesterday!”
“I’ve never been more serious. Anyone who treats my mother this way doesn’t deserve to be my wife. I’m filing for an annulment.”
“You’ll regret this! Do you know how this will make me look?”
“No. You did that all by yourself. Mom? Are you there?”
Whispering, “I’m here, dear,” I said.
David stated, “I’m coming over. I’m packing my things and I’m coming home. I’m so sorry,” before hanging up.
That following day, he returned to live with me. He had sought for annulment within a week. Melissa initially resisted. She even sobbed, pleaded, and made threats. However, the truth had already swept like wildfire across both households. For all the wrong reasons, her flawless, glitzy wedding became the talk of the town.
Three weeks or so after the wedding, David and I sat at my kitchen table one evening and drank tea.
He muttered, “I’m sorry it took me so long to see who she really was,”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“But you gave everything for us, Mom.”
I gave his hand a squeeze. “Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. If she could treat me that way after everything, imagine what kind of wife she would’ve been. What kind of mother in the future.”
Slowly, he nodded. “You’re right. Better to find out now than 10 years and two kids down the road.”
After a few period of comfortable silence, David turned to face me and began to cry. “I love you, Mom. And I’m never letting anyone treat you like that again.”
“I know, sweetheart. I love you too.”
Three months later, I’m still reflecting on everything that transpired. Do I feel bad about handing David the money? Not for a moment. Because something more valuable than a wedding was purchased with that money. The truth was purchased. Before he squandered years of his life with someone so vicious, it made my son realize Melissa’s true nature.
Melissa’s dream came to an end. She lost the future she believed she had secured, as well as the affection and respect of my son. However, I regained my son. Furthermore, that is more valuable than all of the money in the world.
