“I won’t have to worry about that after the wedding.”

My mother closed her eyes.

“You keep talking as though his money already belongs to you.”

I didn’t answer.

The gown cost twenty thousand dollars.

I’d charged it to my credit card.

The purchase brought my personal debt close to forty thousand dollars when combined with my other spending.

Designer clothes.

Restaurant bills.

A luxury car lease I’d taken out to impress people whose approval I couldn’t afford to purchase.