I started thinking maybe Thomas had finally gotten through to her.
For almost an hour, she behaved like a normal person.
That hour of good behavior made the box seem even more dangerous.
I started thinking maybe Thomas had finally gotten through to her.
Maybe she understood.
After dinner, we brought out the cake.
Susan clapped louder than anyone.
Thomas cut the ribbon from the bakery box and left the scissors beside it.
Everyone sang.
I blew out the candles.
Susan clapped louder than anyone.
I remember looking at him as his expression changed.
Then she slid the velvet box across the table.
“Open mine first.”
Thomas was cutting cake beside me.
His father, Matthew, was sitting across the table.
I remember looking at him as his expression changed.
A second later, Matthew reached for his water and said nothing.
Only slightly.
His eyes dropped to the box.
Then to Susan.
She didn’t look at him.
A second later, Matthew reached for his water and said nothing.
For a second, my brain couldn’t make head or tails of what I was looking at.
Matthew’s silence bothered me more than I understood at the time.
At the time, I thought nothing of it.
