The Empty Seat at the Head Table

The night before my wedding, my parents vanished from the head table guest list.

Ethan spread the revised seating chart on the table in front of me, casually mentioning that Chloe’s family had twenty unexpected plus-ones, so my relatives would need to be moved to the overflow tables at the back of the room.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. “What about my parents?”

“They can sit back there too. Mr. Anderson is a respected elder; we can’t exactly leave him off the head table.”

He looked down at his phone, texting Chloe back. His tone was as casual as if he were ordering appetizers.