The party took place at Travis’s house which was already loud before I even stepped inside. Balloons crowded the doorway and two grocery store cakes sat on the kitchen counter while Dylan’s presents were stacked beside his chair like trophies waiting for attention.
When I walked in nobody noticed me at first because everyone was busy watching Dylan show off a new watch his father had bought him. I stood there holding a small gift bag with a silver necklace for my mother until I finally cleared my throat to make my presence known.
“Oh hi Allison,” Travis’s wife Nicole said casually as if she had just noticed a delivery driver, “You can sit over there.”
The chair she pointed to was squeezed between two of my mother’s friends who were already tipsy and singing along with the music playing in the living room. One of them borrowed my fork after dropping hers and did not even glance at me while she reached across the table.
My mother briefly looked up when I arrived then immediately turned back to Dylan with an affectionate smile.
“Tell everyone what your teacher said about you,” she encouraged.
Dylan straightened proudly and began explaining how his teacher described him as gifted and capable of genius level thinking. Everyone laughed and applauded while my gift sat untouched on a side table like an afterthought.
No one asked about my store or mentioned the charity fundraiser I had hosted two weeks earlier for the children’s hospital in the neighboring town. I felt like a piece of furniture placed politely in the corner of a room that did not actually want me there.
I tried to follow my usual strategy by smiling and staying quiet because for years that had been the easiest way to survive these gatherings. Then Dylan suddenly stood up holding a large plastic cup filled with soda.
He walked directly toward me and stopped so close that I could smell the sugary drink and the strong cologne teenagers like to use. He stared into my face with the confidence of someone who expected the room to support whatever he did next.
“Grandma says you do not belong here,” Dylan announced loudly.
The room fell silent for a brief moment before the laughter started.
Then Dylan tilted the cup and poured the cold soda directly into my lap.