CHAPTER 8: A Toast Turns to Ash

Adrian looked at the donors as if one of them might interrupt reality on his behalf.
No one did.
Vanessa recovered first because she had practiced graceful disbelief in mirrors. 'That may be ceremonial language. Lifetime chair is not the same as active authority.'
Calder turned a page.
'It is when the chair filed reactivation papers, medical competency statements, and notice of fiduciary breach six days ago.'
The room understood the words in pieces. Reactivation. Competency. Breach.
Every piece landed closer to Adrian.
Eleanor lifted her water glass. She did not drink from it. She only held it with steady fingers while the people who had laughed near the fireplaces began revising their memories of the evening.
Adrian's toast, prepared on cream stationery beside his plate, remained unread. The first line said, To a new generation of stewardship.
No one asked him to continue.