"Dorothy, I'm so sorry. I had no idea your family was going through something like this. If I'd known sooner, I would've asked Dr. Farley to move the banquet somewhere else. This is just so... unfortunate."
Clay's arm was wrapped around her waist. His expression darkened the instant his gaze swept over the memorial hall, disgust plain on his face. "Dorothy, you did this on purpose, didn't you? Setting up your mother's memorial right here just to ruin my mom's birthday? What the hell is wrong with you?"
I looked at him standing there, so self-righteous, so sure of himself, and almost laughed. I raised my hand and pointed toward the birthday arch across the way.
"Clay, are you blind, or just heartless? This is your own mother's memorial."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Clay's voice cracked like a whip, fury blazing behind his eyes. "My mom is fine. There's no way she's gone. You just can't stand to see me happy, so you're using your dead mother to curse mine. You're sick, Dorothy. You're truly sick."
That was when Audrey Farley came charging over in a glittering party dress, jabbing her finger in my face.