Chapter 19 - A Christmas Table with Six Chairs
One year after Grace’s birth, snow fell softly across Anna’s front yard.
The Christmas tree stood beside the window.
Nothing matched perfectly.
The ornaments were a mixture of expensive gifts, handmade decorations, and a crooked paper star Anna had made when she was six.
Her father arrived carrying too many presents.
Anna opened the door.
“You were told one gift.”
“I brought one bag.”
“There are five boxes inside the bag.”
“That sounds like one bag.”
Anna laughed.
Grace was walking now.
Unsteadily.
Determined.
She stumbled toward Jonathan and raised both hands.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court immediately dropped to his knees.
Every terrifying headline from the previous year seemed impossibly far away.
Rachel came for dinner.
Michael and his sister were invited too.
A NICU nurse named Caroline stopped by after her shift.
Nobody sat according to status.
Nobody waited for permission.
Nobody was told where they belonged.
Before dinner, Anna stood alone in the kitchen.
For a moment, the smell of roasted turkey transported her back.
Heat.
Granite.
Blood.
David’s voice.
Sylvia’s hands.
Anna gripped the counter.
Her breathing changed.
Then small footsteps approached.
Grace appeared in the doorway.
“Mama.”
Anna turned.
Grace reached up.
Anna lifted her.
“I’m okay.”
She whispered it to both of them.
Her father appeared behind Grace.
“You need anything?”
Anna smiled.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Take the potatoes.”
Jonathan picked up the dish.
“Where?”
Anna looked toward the dining room.
“To the table.”
She followed him.
Six chairs waited beneath warm lights.
Jonathan took one.
Rachel took another.
Michael sat beside his sister.
Grace had a high chair at the corner.
Anna remained standing for a moment.
Everyone looked at her.
Not because she was serving.
Not because she was waiting.
Because they wanted her there.
Jonathan pulled out the final chair.
“Anna?”
She sat.
Nobody told her to stand.
May you like
Nobody told her to know her place.
She already knew it.
