The Woman Who Paid for Everything
When Eleanor Hayes agreed to pay for her son Daniel’s wedding, she had only one condition.
“Make sure the two of you are happy,” she told him. “That’s all I want.”
Daniel had laughed and hugged her.
“Mom, you’re going to have the best seat in the house.”
Eleanor smiled.
At sixty-two, she had spent most of her life putting other people first. After her husband died when Daniel was only twelve, she worked two jobs to keep their small home and make sure her son could attend a good school.
She never bought expensive clothes. She rarely traveled. When Daniel needed money for college, she sold the jewelry her husband had given her.
She had never regretted any of it.
So when Daniel announced that he wanted to marry Victoria Hayes, Eleanor welcomed the news with an open heart.
Victoria was beautiful, ambitious, and confident. She worked in marketing and loved elegant restaurants, designer clothes, and expensive vacations.
At first, Eleanor tried to find common ground with her.
Eleanor invited Victoria to dinner and asked about her career. She even tried learning the names of the fashion designers Victoria admired, hoping they might find something to talk about.
But Victoria seemed to find something wrong with everything Eleanor did.
Eleanor’s clothes were too plain.
Her cooking was too old-fashioned.
Her house was too small.
And her habit of calling Daniel every Sunday was, according to Victoria, “a little excessive for a grown man.”
Eleanor tried not to take the comments personally.
She told herself that young people had different expectations and that, eventually, they would learn to understand each other.
Then the wedding planning began.
“If You Want Your Son to Have a Beautiful Wedding…”
Daniel and Victoria wanted a lavish celebration.
They chose a luxury hotel ballroom, a designer wedding dress, imported flowers, a live orchestra, and a five-course dinner.
