She sighed dramatically. “Your father is being cruel,” she said. “He cut me off completely.
I have nowhere to go. I thought maybe I could stay here for a little while until I get back on my feet.”
I walked over, drying my hands on a towel.
I thought about that turkey in the trash.
About her voice saying, “poor little orphan girl.” About the way she’d smiled while I tried not to cry.
“I’m sorry you’re struggling,” I said slowly. “But you can’t stay here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Wow,” she said.
“I see. You turned my son against me, and now you want me homeless.”
Jason shook his head. “You did this,” he said.
“You treated people like they were disposable. You blew up your marriage. You don’t get to act shocked there are consequences.”
“If you change your mind—” she started.
“We won’t,” I said gently.
Richard handled the rest.
He set firm boundaries, got legal help, and stopped answering her late-night calls.
The following Thanksgiving, we hosted again.
We invited my brother, some friends who had nowhere to go, and Richard. No Diane.
I woke up early, prepped another turkey, and did the exact same process as the one she’d thrown away.
Jason whistled. “Queen behavior,” he said.
“Don’t jinx it,” I said, but I was grinning.
We set it on the table.
People actually took pictures of it. They moaned when they took their first bites.
“This is insane,” one of our friends said. “I’m never eating my mom’s dry turkey again.”
Richard raised his glass.
“To our hosts,” he said. “For a home filled with kindness and good food.”
My chest felt warm.
We ate, laughed, argued about stupid movies, and nobody insulted anybody’s past. Nobody threw anything in the trash.
Later that night, when the dishes were done and the house was quiet again, Jason and I stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter.
“Second year in a row you’ve nailed the turkey,” he said.
“Starting to feel like I married way up.”
I nudged him. “You definitely did.”
I thought about that first Thanksgiving, about how one ugly, humiliating moment ended up peeling back layers of lies and abuse none of us wanted to see.
Diane lost her audience. Richard found peace.
Jason and I learned how to draw a hard line, even when it came to family.
And me?Continue reading…
