Chapter 15 - THE MORNING SHE CHOSE HERSELF
Two years after Ronan walked out of our apartment at 2:43 a.m., I stood in the kitchen of my new home overlooking Lake Michigan.
The sun was rising.
Coffee brewed.
The windows were open.
And the air smelled like spring.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Rebecca.
Ellison House just crossed its strongest annual revenue milestone. Congratulations, Mara.
I smiled.
Then looked toward the framed photograph on my kitchen counter.
My grandmother.
Standing outside the original restaurant.
Her hands on her hips.
Her smile fierce.
I laughed softly.
“We did it, Grandma.”
Outside, the lake glittered.
I stepped onto the balcony.
For a moment, I remembered that night.
The sleet.
The cold tile.
Ronan buttoning his shirt.
Kelsey's message glowing on his phone.
The door closing.
And the terrible silence afterward.
I remembered how frightened I'd been.
Not of losing Ronan.
But of discovering how much of myself I'd allowed to disappear while trying to keep him.
Now I knew.
I hadn't lost my power.
I'd simply stopped using it.
My phone buzzed again.
A message from James.
Board meeting at ten. Breakfast first?
I smiled.
Typed:
Only if you're buying.
His reply came immediately.
Deal.
I laughed.
Then set down my phone.
The morning sunlight warmed my face.
Two years earlier, I'd told Ronan that something would be gone before he came back.
He thought I meant my patience.
My affection.
My willingness to forgive.
He hadn't understood.
I meant the woman who kept making herself smaller so he could feel important.
That woman was gone.
And I didn't miss her.
I looked toward the horizon.
Then whispered:
May you like
“Good morning, Mara.”
For the first time in years, I liked the sound of my own name.
