I Was The Temporary Guest In The Home I Helped Buy Chapter 02

I Was The Temporary Guest In The Home I Helped Buy Chapter 02

That night, after I got home, I stayed in the shower for a long time. The mud stains would not come out of my dress, and my knees had turned bluish from the freezing rain.

The next morning, Graham’s calls woke me. He called three times before I finally answered.

His voice sounded rough.

“Why did you leave yesterday?”

I said nothing.

He sighed.

“I checked with the management office about your license plate. Sabrina was helping my mom register a temporary vehicle and accidentally changed the wrong entry.”

“She didn’t mean to.”

It was always the same excuse.

Sabrina hadn’t meant to.

Light filtered through a gap in the curtains. All at once, I was sick of hearing it.

Graham softened his voice.

“Come to dinner tonight. We still haven’t finalized the reception menu.”

“My mom will be there. Don’t let her read too much into this.”

I wanted to refuse. But my parents had already bought their tickets for the wedding, and there was still the $50,000 they had put toward the down payment.

In the end, I agreed.

By the time I arrived at the restaurant that evening, the private dining room was already full.

Graham’s mother sat at the head of the table. Sabrina sat to her right, placing food on her plate.

“Mrs. Mercer, this one’s light. It should be easy on your stomach. Try it.”

Graham’s mother smiled, deepening the lines around her eyes.

“Sabrina is always so thoughtful.”

When I opened the door, everyone looked up.

Sabrina was the first to rise.

“Nora, you made it. Come sit down.”

She pointed to the seat closest to the door.

“That spot will make things easier for the servers. You can see what you think of each dish as it comes out.”

I looked at Graham.

He kept his eyes lowered as he refilled his mother’s iced tea. He did not look at me.

So I sat down.

Throughout dinner, Sabrina acted like a cohost. She handled the menu, chose the drinks, and even weighed in on what color gown Graham’s mother should wear to the wedding.

“Let’s do Alaskan king crab for the main course and build the whole menu around seafood. What do you think?”

“Seafood costs more, but it feels upscale. We can’t have a Mercer wedding looking cheap.”

My mother was allergic to seafood. I had told Graham three days earlier.

I looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

Instead, he smiled.

“I trust your judgment.”

Graham’s mother patted the back of Sabrina’s hand.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Sabrina lowered her eyes with a smile.

“Don’t say that, Mrs. Mercer. I’ll be happy if the reception turns out well too.”

Someone laughed and teased her.

“Listen to Sabrina. Anyone would think she was the bride.”

The entire room erupted in laughter.

Graham laughed with them.

Only my fork remained suspended halfway to my mouth.

As though she had only just remembered I was there, Sabrina quickly turned toward me.

“Nora, you don’t mind, do you? We’ve been making jokes like this since we were kids.”

I set down my fork.

“No, I don’t mind.”

Graham finally looked at me.

The look in his eyes said he was pleased that I was being so understanding.

Halfway through dinner, Graham’s mother suddenly brought up the house.

“The renovations are almost finished. The final payment is due in the next few days.”

She looked at me as though what she was about to say were perfectly reasonable.

“Nora, we’ll count your parents’ $50,000 as their contribution toward the shared cost of furnishing the house.”

I looked up.

“What do you mean, shared cost?”

Her smile faded slightly.

“You two are getting married. Why do you need to draw such strict lines?”

“Graham bought the house before the wedding. If your family contributes some money, it still goes toward the life you’ll build together.”

My hand tightened around my glass.

“The memo on my father’s wire transfer says [House down payment].”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Sabrina gently set down her fork and spoke in a soft voice.

“Nora, Mrs. Mercer didn’t mean it that way. Maybe she’s just trying to keep you from taking on the mortgage because she doesn’t want you under that kind of pressure.”

“Don’t get so defensive whenever money comes up.”

Graham frowned.

“Nora, we’re here to finalize the menu, not argue over money.”

I looked at him.

“My family put in $50,000. Am I not even allowed to ask what it’s being counted as?”

Graham’s mother’s expression darkened completely.

“You two aren’t even married yet, and you’re already drawing lines between ‘your family’ and ‘ours.’”

Sabrina quickly refilled her iced tea.

“Mrs. Mercer, don’t be upset. Nora’s probably just repeating what her parents have been telling her.”

That was worse than an insult.

She made my parents sound calculating, as though my entire family had been eyeing the Mercers’ house.