Mom wiped her hands and took it.
« I told you I wanted cream, not milk. »
Laura burst out laughing. « It’s really obvious that you weren’t very educated. You can’t even remember something so simple. »
I put my plates down hard enough to knock the cutlery off.
Mom blushed. She looked down at the cup.
I walked towards them.
That’s when Nathan walked past me. He had heard everything.
» Mom. »
« It’s really obvious that you’ve never received much of an education. »
Laura looked up.
Nathan gently took the cup from my mother’s hands and placed it in front of Laura. Then he closed his book.
« Nathan, what are you doing? »
He pulled up the chair opposite her and sat down. « You spent the whole weekend reminding everyone how cultured you are. »
Laura frowned. « So what? »
Then he closed his book.
« Okay, let me just ask you one question. »
She gave him a confident smile. « Of course. Ask me anything you want. »
Nathan leaned towards her. « If you’re so intelligent, why did you manage to get by by cheating in college? »
Her smile disappeared.
A fork clicked against a plate behind me.
« Okay, let me just ask you one question. »
Laura stared at her son. « Excuse me? »
« Copying answers from an exam. Bringing notes to another exam. Asking your father to intervene when you get caught. »
His face fell. « These incidents have been completely distorted. »
« Dad confirmed them. »
She turned to Ronald. « Tell him. »
« These incidents have been completely distorted. »
Ronald put down his coffee. « Laura, I told them what happened. »
« You had no right. »
« And you had no right to speak to Rose’s mother like that, » Nathan said.
Laura glanced around. « No matter what happened decades ago, I’ve dedicated my life to teaching. A mistake I made when I was young doesn’t change what I know today. »
« It wasn’t just one mistake, » Nathan said.
« Laura, I told them what happened. »
She clenched her jaw. Then she looked at her mother. « And that certainly doesn’t mean she knows more than I do. »
And there it was again.
I thought about the envelope that was upstairs in our room.
Before I could move, Nathan looked at me. « Rose. »
I immediately understood what he meant.
I went upstairs and came back with the envelope.
I thought about the envelope that was upstairs in our room.
Laura watched me take out the cards. « What’s this? »
Nathan held out his hand, and I gave him the battery.
« My fiancée has prepared well, » he said.
» For what ? »
« That’s exactly why. » He passed around the cards. « A little general knowledge quiz. Anyone can play. »
« What is this? »
Laura laughed once. « Are you serious? »
« You just said that thanks to education, you know more than Rose’s mother. So let’s see what we all really know. »
Mom touched his arm. « Nathan, we don’t need to do that. »
« You’re right. We don’t need to do that. » He looked at Laura. « But she just insulted you because she thinks a degree makes her smarter. »
« So let’s see what we all really know. »
Laura raised her chin. « Okay. »
Nathan handed him a slip of paper. « Put away your phones, please. »
A few relatives laughed and started putting theirs on the counter.
Laura didn’t move.
» Mom ? »
« My phone is in my bag. »
« Please put away your phones. »
« Great. Then he can stay here. »
For a second, she looked at him without saying anything.
Then she placed her handbag next to Ronald’s chair.
Nathan handed me the first question.
Got it.
Laura didn’t move.
« What was the Boston Tea Party? »
Everyone started writing.
Mom frowned as she looked at her report card.
Laura wrote quickly.
When we compared our answers, his was the correct one.
She settled back in her seat. « Was it supposed to be difficult? »
« What was the Boston Tea Party? »
« No, » said Nathan.
I looked at my mother’s profile.
She had simply written: » Protest against tea. Boston Harbor. »
» Mom ? »
« I don’t remember the details. »
Laura smiled. I felt a knot in my stomach.
Perhaps I had a very bad idea bringing those cards.
I looked at Mom’s card.
« The next one, » said Nathan.
I read a question about a 19th century novel.
Laura knew the answer. Mom didn’t.
Laura’s smile widened.
« Rose, » whispered Mom, « it’s really not worth it. »
I almost stopped.
Perhaps I had a very bad idea bringing those cards.
Nathan caught my eye.
No one was supposed to know everything.
I read the following card. « What does ‘harden off seedlings’ mean? »
Laura answered first. « It’s letting the soil dry out so the stems become stronger. »
Mom shook her head. « You gradually acclimate indoor plants to outdoor conditions. A little time outside, then more and more over several days. »
No one was supposed to know everything.
« The ones that are on your windowsill? » asked Nathan.
« Yes. I took them out for an hour yesterday. »
Laura reached for her handbag. Then she stopped.
I noticed it. Nathan did too.
I asked the following question: « To check if a shelf is perfectly horizontal, would you use a spirit level or a plumb line? »
Laura reached for her handbag.
Laura’s gaze drifted back to her bag.
« A plumb line. »
Mom twirled her pen between her fingers. « A spirit level. A plumb line lets you know if something is vertical. »
« Are you sure? » asked Laura.
« I installed the shelves in my living room. The bubble had to be positioned between the markers. »
« Are you sure? »
My uncle laughed. « That explains why my shelves look like they’re wobbling. »
Some guests also laughed. Not Laura.
I glanced down at the next map. « What percentage of the water on Earth is fresh water? »
Silence.
I didn’t know the answer myself.
Nathan wrote something.
« What percentage of the water on Earth is fresh water? »
Mom shrugged. « No idea. »
Laura’s fingers moved towards her handbag for the third time.
This time, it was Ronald who spoke. « Laura. »
Her hand stopped. No one said anything. She slowly placed it back on her lap.
« I don’t know, » she said.
« I have no idea. »
That was the first time I’d heard him say that.
Mom looked at her. « Me neither. »
Laura’s face has changed slightly.
I glanced at the next question, but Mom laid her card flat on the table. « Three questions are enough. »
« Five, » Nathan corrected gently.
Mom smiled. « See? Apparently, I can’t count either. »
« Three questions are enough. »
Some people laughed.
« I made mistakes, » she continued. « I would certainly have made many more. »
Laura said nothing.
« But if you made a mistake in my garden, I wouldn’t call you an idiot. I’d show you how to do it. »
I slipped the remaining cards into their envelope.
« See? Apparently, I can’t count either. »
Another question would only have spoiled what Mom had just said.
Nathan leaned forward. « That’s the lesson, Mom. It’s not that she’s smarter than you. And it’s not that you’re smarter than her. »
Laura looked at him. « So, what exactly was the point of all this? »
« You can’t judge someone’s intelligence based on the opportunities they’ve had. »
A silence fell over the room.
« So, what exactly was the point of all this? »
“My grandfather made sure you could stay at college even when you broke the rules,” Nathan continued. “She dropped out because her two siblings needed food, rent, and shoes for school.”
Laura’s face tightened.
« You owe her an apology. Not because she knew answers you didn’t. Because you spent the entire weekend treating her as if not going to college made her inferior to you. »
« She dropped out of school because her two children needed food, rent, and shoes for school. »
Laura looked at Ronald, but he held her gaze without saying anything.
Finally, she turned to her mother.
« I’m sorry I insulted your intelligence. And I’m sorry I spoke to you as if you were there to serve me. »
The words came out slowly.
Mom let them pause for a moment. « Thank you for saying that. »
« You owe him an apology. »
When my aunt started to collect the plates, Mom reached out to help her, then sat down next to me instead. I held her hand in mine.
Laura stood for a few seconds near the table, looking uneasy, before heading towards the kitchen.
A moment later, she returned with the coffee maker and the carton of cream.
She stopped next to Mom. « How do you take your coffee? »
Mom looked up at her. « With milk, actually. »
Laura stared at the cardboard box she was holding in her hand.
« And how do you take your coffee? »
Nathan coughed to hide a fit of laughter.
For the first time that morning, Laura laughed too.
» Of course. »
It wasn’t forgiveness. It wasn’t a change of personality.
But when she returned to the kitchen, she left her phone on the countertop.
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