“I’d like everyone in this room to please stand.”
I gripped the bouquet so hard that the stems bent.
My knees felt unreliable.
A path began to open down the center aisle, classmates stepping into the rows to clear the way.
Ethan lifted his hand from the podium and held it out toward me.
“Mom,” he said, “come up here. Please.”
And the entire room turned to watch me take my first step forward.
A path began to open down the center aisle.
I walked forward, one slow step at a time, tears blurring the faces on either side of me.
Vanessa sank low in the stolen chair. Her cheeks burned red.
Mark stared at the floor like it might swallow him.
Ethan met me halfway down the aisle and wrapped his arms around me.
“I’m so sorry she did that to you. I should’ve said something years ago,” he whispered.
“You don’t owe me an apology, baby,” I whispered back.
He walked me to the front row and stopped at my seat.
