Chapter 14 - CHRISTMAS AGAIN
Three years after that terrible Christmas, we gathered around the new table.
Snow fell outside.
Christmas lights filled the windows.
Claire brought pie.
Anna brought flowers.
Daniel brought a ridiculous amount of cookies.
My father sat beside me.
There was laughter.
Real laughter.
Not cruel.
Not forced.
Lily, Claire's daughter, climbed into a chair.
“Grandma?”
“Yes?”
“Is this the house where everyone was mean to you?”
I smiled.
“It used to be.”
“Are you sad?”
I looked around.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because something better happened here.”
“What?”
I pointed around the table.
“This.”
Lily smiled.
Then she handed me a small gift.
Inside was a wooden ornament.
It said:
FAMILY SITS TOGETHER.
I laughed through tears.
My father raised his glass.
“To family.”
Everyone repeated it.
I looked at Daniel.
He smiled.
There was no bitterness anymore.
May you like
Only history.
We had survived.
