Chapter 1

I accompanied my father-in-law to the neighborhood restaurant and was surprised to find a long line outside.

Twenty minutes later, it was finally our turn to go in.

Lily, one of the servers, waved at me. "Danny, come on in."

I nodded and reached for Arthur's arm to guide him inside.

The next second, someone slammed into him and knocked him to the ground, scraping the skin from his knee and forearm.

"Move it, old man! You're blocking the way!"

Lily hurried over to intervene.

"Sir, please wait your turn."

The man glanced at her. "Are you blind? Can't you see I'm in a hurry? It's boiling out here. Ever heard of respecting your elders?"

His words made Lily's face turn red, and tears gathered in her eyes.

I couldn't stand it and was about to confront him, but Arthur caught my arm.

"Let it go. He can go first."

The man gave us a smug look, swaggered inside, and took the last four-person booth.

Arthur and I had to squeeze into a tiny table against the wall.

Our beef stew arrived soon after.

Arthur took a small bite, and his eyes lit up. "Judith made this batch herself. I'd know her cooking anywhere."

The tenderness in his expression left me feeling both warm and strangely sad.

Just then, the man at the next table shouted, "Hey! Server! Bring me a trash can!"

Lily quickly carried a small bin over.

The man promptly propped his feet on the table, smearing mud from his soles across the surface.

"Sir, could you please respect the cleanliness of the dining area?"

Lily couldn't help speaking up, but he acted as though he hadn't heard her.

Then he did something even worse.

When he finished eating, he swept the bones and scraps from his plate toward us.

They landed squarely on our table, splattering broth everywhere.

Arthur's hand jerked, and his spoon dropped into his bowl, splashing soup all over his suit.

"Sir!" I finally lost my temper and shouted. "Could you show some basic decency?"

"Decency?" The man sneered. "You people refuse to be understanding, and now you want to lecture me about decency?"

The argument made customers at several nearby tables frown.

"That's enough. Maybe he's having a difficult day. Everyone should calm down."

Arthur pressed a hand to my arm.

Seeing that, the man grew even more smug.

"Get out of here. Stop ruining my meal!"

My head buzzed with rage.

Arthur had grown up surrounded by privilege and had always treated others with courtesy, but he didn't understand that patience only made bullies like this more arrogant.

I wasn't going to back down.

"Leave? You ruined my father-in-law's suit and think that's the end of it?"

I pointed at the large stain across Arthur's jacket and faced the man.

It was a fully bespoke suit.

It had taken months to make and had cost a fortune.

Arthur had given me one from the same tailor when I married Grace. It was worth nearly $150,000.