My Daughter Told Me Not to Attend Her Wedding Because I Would Embarrass Her—But When the Groom Saw Me Holding a Pearl Locket, He Walked Away From the Altar

I answered:

Of course.

She asked whether I could meet her at the church parking lot the next day.

I agreed.

Not because I wanted a sentimental reunion.

Because I had spent six weeks thinking about the difference between letting a daughter return and pretending she had never left.

I wanted to be able to do one without the other.

PART 8 — THE SUNDAY TABLE

Lauren arrived carrying my gray cardigan folded over both arms.

I was standing beside the Buick in the St.

Mark’s parking lot.

The weather had turned cooler.

Autumn was beginning to settle over Cedar Falls.

Lauren looked tired.