After they finished their meal, Rhea Dempsey went to pay, but the cashier told her the bill had already been settled.
"Who paid?" she asked, turning to look at Renee Jennings. "Did you?"
Renee affectionately linked her arm with her mother's and said with a grin, "You paid when I was little, so I'll pay now that I'm grown up."
Upon hearing this, Rhea's eyes instantly reddened, and tears welled up.
Seeing this, the smile on Renee's face vanished. "Mom, why are you crying?" she asked in a panic.
"It's nothing," Rhea said, wiping her eyes and choking back a sob. "I just got some sand in my eye."
"Huh?" Renee looked around, completely bewildered. "But we're in a mall. Where would sand come from?"
Rhea: "..."
"Oh, just drop it," she said, striding out of the restaurant.
Renee didn't know why her mother had suddenly started crying. She frowned and hurried after her. "Did Dad do something to make you mad?"
