Chapter 3 - The Nursery Cleanup
While Marcus laid the legal groundwork downtown, Daniel and I were fighting a very different kind of battle at home: restoring Lily’s nursery.
It took us two full days of scrubbing, vacuuming, and repainting to rid the house of the lingering trauma of Vanessa’s bachelorette party. We had to hire a professional carpet cleaning service to extract the stubborn pink lipstick stains from the hallway runner and dispose of the broken dining chairs.
Most importantly, we completely dismantled Lily’s crib, washed every piece of bedding in hypoallergenic detergent, and inspected the mattress to ensure no stray pieces of glitter or debris remained where our newborn daughter slept.
On Thursday evening, while Lily was sleeping peacefully in her newly sanitized room, my mother marched through our front door without knocking.
She walked straight into the kitchen, holding a clipboard filled with wedding timelines.
"Maya, why haven't you responded to Vanessa’s text about the florist deposit?" Mom demanded, dropping her purse onto the kitchen counter. "The florist needs a five-thousand-dollar wire transfer by tomorrow morning, or they're pulling the centerpieces."
I stood by the sink, calmly washing a baby bottle. I didn't turn around.
"My credit card is maxed out, Mom," I said evenly. "Between the $4,700 Vanessa charged for her bachelorette party and the twenty-thousand-dollar Grand Plaza contract, my limits are completely exhausted."
Mom scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, transfer it from your savings account! Your grandfather left you that fund for emergencies. A sister's wedding is an emergency."
Daniel walked into the kitchen, carrying a stack of folded laundry. His face was tight with controlled fury.
"Helen," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a cold, hard register that made my mother stop in her tracks. "Maya just gave birth six days ago. Her credit card was stolen by her sister to pay for male strippers, and now you're demanding she drain her savings for a floral arrangement?"
Mom crossed her arms defensively. "Oh, stop being so dramatic, Daniel! It's family! In our family, we support each other no matter what! Unlike Maya, who has been sitting upstairs acting like a martyr ever since the baby arrived."
I turned off the faucet, dried my hands slowly on a kitchen towel, and turned to face my mother.
"You're right, Mom," I said softly, a calm smile touching my lips. "Family is everything. Which is why I've made sure Vanessa's rehearsal dinner is going to be an event she and the entire Mercer family will never, ever forget."
May you like
Mom narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," I replied, "you should probably tell Arthur Mercer to check his email tomorrow morning. He’s going to get a very interesting notification from the Grand Plaza Hotel."
