A spring-break trip.
Everyone laughed in the right places.
Then Amy looked toward me.
“And we have to talk about Rachel’s mom.”
My fork stopped.
Rachel grinned.
Amy continued.
“Diana has been going through what I guess we’d call a late-life crisis.”
Laughter.
“At sixty, she decided she was going to build an empire.”
More laughter.
I looked at Rachel.
She was laughing too.
Amy made air quotes.
“She has meetings and clients and strategies. Very corporate.”
A man near Jake’s table nearly spit out his drink.
Amy loved the response.
“We keep telling her to act her age, but she refuses.”
Another round of laughter.
“Personally, I think it’s adorable. Most moms her age garden. Diana apparently wants to compete with Silicon Valley.”
I set down my fork.
Slowly.
Amy ended with, “We love our delusional mom anyway.”
Applause.
Actual applause.
I waited for Rachel to look embarrassed.
She didn’t.
She stood and hugged Amy.
Then Rachel took the microphone.
For one second, I thought she was going to fix it.
“Thanks, Amy.”
Rachel looked toward me.
“Yes, Mom has definitely been on an adventure.”
My jaw tightened.
“She keeps insisting she’s building a business empire.”
Laughter.
“We’re just trying to convince her that some dreams have expiration dates.”
That one landed harder.
Not because strangers laughed.
Because Rachel had clearly rehearsed it.
“When you’re over sixty,” she continued, “maybe it’s okay to be realistic about what you can accomplish.”
Jake clapped.
Several people laughed hard enough to wipe their eyes.
I stared at the daughter whose wedding deposit had been wired from my corporate account.
Rachel raised her champagne glass.
“But we support Mom’s hobby.”
Hobby.
“Even if it means listening to her talk about client meetings like she’s some kind of CEO.”
The room erupted again.
I looked across the tables.
Then my eyes landed on Robert Anderson.
Jake’s boss.
Chief Operating Officer of Sterling Technologies.
A company DT Enterprises had acquired three months earlier.
Robert was laughing too.
Not cruelly.
He simply had no idea.
I almost admired the absurdity of it.
My daughter had successfully convinced an executive at one of my companies that I was pretending to be a businesswoman.
After the speeches, guests started approaching me.
A woman touched my arm.
“I think it’s wonderful that you’re trying something new.”
“Thank you.”
“My neighbor started making jewelry after retirement.”
“How inspiring.”
“She made almost three hundred dollars last year.”
“Remarkable.”
Another man smiled at me.
“My mother-in-law sells crafts on Etsy. Keeps her occupied.”
“I’ll alert Forbes.”
He blinked.
I smiled sweetly.
Jake found me ten minutes later.
“Hey, Diana.”
“Jake.”
He shoved his hands into his tuxedo pockets.
