Chapter 4 - The Family Group Chat
Claire found out how many guests knew.
Not through hacking.
Someone sent screenshots.
My cousin-in-law Rachel had attended the party.
She texted:
I’m sorry. I didn’t know it involved June.
Then sent a group chat called:
WELCOME COMMITTEE.
Members:
Margaret.
Six relatives.
Two family friends.
Wesley was not in it.
Three days before party:
Margaret:
Special surprise for our newest Hale girls.
Photo of two velvet boxes.
Someone:
NO WAY 😂
Another:
You’re bringing back the collar?
Margaret:
Tradition matters.
Then:
Mama and puppy this time.
My hands went cold.
A guest replied:
Don’t put anything around newborn’s neck.
Margaret:
Obviously not tight. It’s a photo.
Then:
Nora needs sense of humor anyway.
Another:
Wesley will die.
Margaret:
Wesley will survive.
One person asked:
Does Nora know?
Margaret:
That ruins the point.
There.
The humiliation depended on surprise.
Not misunderstanding.
Then Margaret posted image of tags.
The adult tag:
GOOD GIRL
MRS. WESLEY HALE
Baby tag:
LITTLE PUP
JUNE HALE
The baby collar I had thrown in champagne apparently had a tag turned downward.
I had not seen it.
One guest replied:
This is mean.
Margaret:
It’s family.
That phrase.
Again.
A woman named Diane Hale reacted with a thumbs-down.
Aunt Diane.
The woman Wesley said had worn the original collar decades earlier.
Two minutes later Diane left the group.
Interesting.
The next morning I called her.
She answered:
“I wondered when you would.”
“What happened to you?”
Silence.
Then:
“Nothing anyone called serious.”
May you like
That sentence told me the story before she did.
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