Wesley stood there in his rumpled tuxedo shirt, lake mud covering his shoes and his eyes swollen red from crying. He looked straight at his mother. “Mama,” he said, “don’t you take one more thing from her. She doesn’t owe us a dime.” Then, in front of all 175 guests, he finally admitted what had happened. There had never been a honeymoon cruise. His mother had given him nine thousand dollars in March to book it, but Wesley had lost every cent gambling on online ball games. He had hidden the truth for months, and that morning, when his mother demanded to see the cruise tickets, he panicked.

Mrs. Pruett sank into a folding chair. She realized she had sent her daughter to demand money from Lacey to cover her own son’s mistake. Her daughter hadn’t even known the truth. In the silence, Mrs. Pruett took the offering envelope back from Daddy, tore it in half, and then tore it again. “Lacey Ann,” she whispered, her voice breaking, “I am so ashamed.” Wesley apologized to Lacey and her family, then walked out of the side door alone. Nobody stopped him. But Lacey still had one decision left to make about the ring sitting on that plate.

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