Richard.
His message was longer than usual.
I used to think keeping the peace meant making sure Mom never got angry. Now I realize I wasn’t keeping peace at all. I was transferring the conflict to you because I trusted you to absorb it quietly.
Susan read on.
You were right. I chose a side long before I admitted I was choosing one. I hope I never do that to another person again.
Susan expected to feel satisfaction.
Instead, she felt relief.
She typed a short response.
I hope you don’t either.
Then she placed her phone facedown.
For years, Susan had believed being a good wife meant maintaining harmony in her marriage.
But harmony that requires one person to surrender comfort, privacy, money, memories, and authority isn’t harmony.
It is resentment disguised as peace.
The thermostat had never truly been about temperature.
The house had never simply been about money.
