But I never imagined the boy who watched me build his life out of scraps would grow into a man embarrassed by the hands that raised him.
Still, I bought a dress, a simple navy one from Goodwill for $12, then hand-washed it the night before and ironed it on my kitchen counter with an old towel underneath.
Then I texted Mark for the venue. He replied within a minute because he’d already decided where he wanted me to go instead.
I raised him on double shifts and clearance-rack casseroles.
***
Standing outside that crumbling building, I cried. But I did not go home.
I sat back in the car and let the quiet, furious tears run while my mind reached for the next move.
I thought of Mark at seven, pressing a crayon drawing into my hands: a giant house with blue shutters sketched across the page, with a stick-figure woman and a taller boy standing in front of it like a promise.
“That’s ours, Mom,” he said. “When I grow up, I’ll buy you a big house so you never have to work again.”
I kissed his forehead and laughed.
I sat outside a crumbling building and realized the same boy had grown up and decided the person who made him should be kept out of sight.
“When I grow up, I’ll buy you a big house so you never have to work again.
I wiped my face and opened Facebook. Mark had been smarter than I had expected. He hadn’t posted about his wedding. But Chloe was easier to find, because wealthy people don’t hide joy the way poor people hide bills.
Her caption read: “Counting down forever with my best friend, Mark. 
”
Below it was an invitation graphic in pale gold: The Ritz downtown.
I looked at her photos too long and whispered, “You look beautiful,” to a girl who had no idea I existed beyond whatever story Mark had told her.
Then I turned the car around. Rain caught up with me halfway there.
He hadn’t posted about his wedding.
