Chapter 16 - THE DINNER WHERE EVERYONE FINALLY HEARD ANNA
Three months later, Aunt Linda asked us to dinner.
Mom would not be there.
That was the first question I asked.
Linda promised.
Anna agreed to go.
It was the first family gathering we had attended since Noah's birth.
The atmosphere was awkward.
Everyone knew what had happened.
Nobody knew what to say.
Then cousin Mark made a mistake.
"I still think the whole thing got blown out of proportion."
The room went silent.
Anna looked down.
I opened my mouth.
She touched my arm.
"No."
She stood.
"I want to answer."
Everyone looked at her.
Anna's voice remained calm.
"I was afraid in my own home."
Nobody moved.
"I changed how I dressed."
"I changed when I ate."
"I stopped calling my friends because Margaret told me Ethan thought I complained too much."
My throat tightened.
Anna continued.
"I hid money because I thought I might need to escape."
Aunt Linda began crying.
"I met with a lawyer because I didn't know whether my husband would believe me."
Anna looked around the table.
"Then one night, nine months pregnant, I was forced out of bed to wash dishes because Margaret decided I hadn't done enough that day."
Mark lowered his eyes.
Anna rested her hands on the back of her chair.
"So no."
She looked directly at him.
"It was not blown out of proportion."
Nobody argued.
Claire stood and walked toward Anna.
She hugged her.
Then Aunt Linda did the same.
Mark apologized.
A real apology.
No explanation afterward.
No but.
No excuse.
Just an apology.
On the drive home, Anna stared out the window.
"You okay?"
She nodded.
"I think that was the first time I said everything out loud."
"How did it feel?"
"Terrible."
I laughed softly.
She smiled.
"Also good."
At home, Noah was asleep in his car seat.
I carried him inside.
Anna stopped at the kitchen doorway.
For a moment, she stared at the sink.
The same sink.
The same counter.
The same room.
I walked beside her.
"Do you want to renovate it?"
She looked at me.
"What?"
"The kitchen."
"Why?"
"Because every time I walk in here, I see that night."
Anna was quiet.
Then she smiled.
"I don't want a new kitchen."
"What do you want?"
"A new house."
I blinked.
She laughed.
"Not because I'm running away."
She took my hand.
"Because I think we're allowed to build something that doesn't belong to your past."
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For the first time, the idea did not feel like abandonment.
It felt like freedom.
