The following evening, Arthur invited David and Thomas over for dinner, hoping to reconnect with his adult sons. The long dining table was filled with food, but the atmosphere inside the dining room remained icy and heavy.
Evelyn sat at the head of the table next to Clara, wearing an expensive gold necklace Arthur had bought her. David sat across from her, looking exhausted from his long work hours at his financial firm down town.
Thomas barely touched his plate, eyeing Evelyn and Clara with obvious suspicion and deep discomfort throughout the entire meal. Arthur cleared his throat gently, trying to bring a warm tone back to the family dinner table.
Arthur: I am so glad we are all sitting together tonight.
David: Dad, you said you had something important to discuss regarding the family estate.
Evelyn: Your father just wants to make sure our future is secure and properly managed, David.
Thomas: Our future, or your financial portfolio, Evelyn?
Clara: You have no right to speak to my mother with that kind of disrespectful tone!
Thomas: I know what you two have been doing with Dad's personal bank statements lately.
David slammed his fork onto the wooden table, looking frustratedly at his younger brother across the room.
David: Thomas, stop starting drama every time we try to have a normal family dinner here.
Thomas: He is getting older, David! Can't you see how she speaks to him when we aren't around?
Evelyn: Arthur, are you going to let your son insult me in my own dining room?
Arthur looked back and forth between his family members, feeling a deep pressure building up inside his chest. He wanted to explain how Evelyn treated him when they were alone, but he feared causing a permanent divide.
David turned his gaze toward Arthur, expecting his father to defend Evelyn and keep the peace in the house. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but the stern look on Evelyn's face silenced him completely.
Arthur: Please, let us just eat in peace tonight without any more fighting.
Thomas: Unbelievable, Dad. You are letting her control every single aspect of your life now.
Thomas stood up from the table, grabbed his jacket, and walked out toward the front foyer in anger. The heavy oak door slammed shut behind him, leaving a ringing silence across the bright, open dining space.
David shook his head in disappointment, looking at his father with a look of growing distance and sadness. He felt his father had chosen a new wife over the children who had stood by him for decades.
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