Chapter 5 - The Silver Dress
Eleanor chose a pale silver dress for the wedding.
It was elegant, simple, and carefully altered to accommodate the brace she wore beneath one knee.
Thomas had once told her silver made her look like moonlight.
She wanted to feel close to him when Grant said his vows.
At the final fitting, Madison smiled when Eleanor stepped from the dressing room.
“You look beautiful.”
Vivian did not agree.
She walked around Eleanor slowly.
“The color will disappear in photographs.”
“I’m not trying to be the center of attention.”
“No,” Vivian said. “But people will notice the cane.”
Madison’s expression changed.
“Mom.”
Vivian lifted both hands.
“I’m being practical.”
Grant arrived ten minutes later.
Instead of defending Eleanor, he suggested she wear something darker and sit near the rear of the ballroom.
“The walk to the family table is long,” he said. “We don’t want you falling in front of everyone.”
Eleanor’s face went still.
“I walk perfectly well with my cane.”
“I’m thinking about your dignity.”
“No. You’re thinking about your photographs.”
Madison looked at Grant in shock.
He immediately softened his voice.
“Mom has been sensitive lately.”
Eleanor heard the words.
So did Madison.
Later, Madison confronted him in the parking garage.
“Why are you talking about her like she can’t understand you?”
Grant rubbed both hands over his face.
“You don’t see what I see. She forgets things. She becomes suspicious. Henry fills her head with ideas.”
“She seemed completely clear to me.”
Grant stepped closer.
“Please trust me. After the wedding, I’ll handle everything.”
From behind a concrete pillar, Vivian appeared.
She placed one hand on her daughter’s arm.
“Grant is protecting his mother.”
Madison looked from one of them to the other.
As they walked away, she heard Grant whisper something to Vivian.
May you like
“By Monday, none of this will matter.”
👉 Madison thought Grant was referring to wedding stress, but Monday was the date he had chosen for a far more permanent plan.
