The House Emily Came Home To
Chapter 13 - The House Emily Came Home To
Jonathan transformed his house slowly.
Not because it needed renovation.
Because it needed children.
Emily's old bedroom became Lily's.
Jonathan offered to redecorate it.
Lily refused.
"I like knowing Mom slept here."
Noah chose the room overlooking the backyard.
He filled it with dinosaur drawings and baseball cards.
Claire began visiting every weekend.
The children called her Aunt Claire.
At first Jonathan struggled with her presence.
Every time he looked at her, he thought about Margaret's secret.
One evening Claire found him sitting alone on the porch.
"You're angry with your wife."
Jonathan nodded.
"She kept you from me."
"She kept an entire daughter from me."
Claire sat beside him.
"My mother said Margaret was terrified."
"That doesn't make it right."
"No."
Claire looked toward the children playing inside.
"But people can love us and still make choices that hurt us."
Jonathan laughed sadly.
"You sound like Emily."
"I wish I'd met her."
Jonathan handed Claire an old photo album.
Together they spent hours looking through Emily's life.
First birthday.
School plays.
College graduation.
Wedding.
Children.
Claire cried when she reached the final pages.
"I lost a sister I barely had."
Jonathan placed his hand over hers.
"So did she."
That spring, they planted a tree in Emily's memory.
Lily chose a magnolia.
"Mom liked flowers that looked too fancy for normal yards."
Jonathan laughed.
As they finished planting, a letter arrived.
It was from Michael.
Addressed to Lily.
Jonathan didn't open it.
He gave it to her.
She stared at the envelope.
"Do I have to read it?"
"No."
She placed it in a drawer.
Months later, she finally opened it.
The first line said:
I spent years telling myself I loved your mother.
Now I understand I mostly loved controlling whether she could leave me.
May you like
Lily stopped reading.
Then she began again.
