“Television.”
Rebecca began shifting in her seat.
The judge looked up. “Mr. Daniel, do you have purchase receipts for these items?”
Daniel tightened his hands.
“They were for the house.”
“That was not the question.”
“I don’t have receipts.”
“Mrs. Rebecca?”
Her jaw stiffened.
“She bought them because she wanted to. Nobody forced her.”
Margaret felt those words bring everything full circle.
Nobody forced her.
That was true.
Nobody forced her to give too much. Nobody forced her to remain silent. Nobody forced her to mistake sacrifice for love. But they also had no right to expect her to keep paying for their comfort.
The judge set the folder on the desk.
“The property belongs to the person who purchased it. There is no basis for compensation. The claim is dismissed.”
Rebecca opened her mouth.
“But she left us with nothing.”
The judge looked at her calmly.
“No. Mrs. Margaret took what belonged to her.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
For the first time, Margaret no longer saw her son as the little boy who hid beneath the table during thunderstorms. She saw an adult man who had allowed his mother to disappear inside his own family.
When they walked out of the courthouse, a light rain was falling.
Daniel caught up with her.
“Mom.”
Margaret stopped.
Rebecca remained a few steps behind them, her arms crossed.
“Mom, I didn’t want this to go so far.”
Margaret looked at him.
“How far did you want it to go, Daniel? Until I kept watching the children, paying bills, and warming soup while you went to the beach?”
He lowered his eyes.
“I thought it was better for you not to come. The flight was long.”
“You didn’t let me choose.”
“Rebecca said you would ruin the trip.”
The words slipped out like a loose stone.
Rebecca went pale.
Margaret did not look at her. She didn’t need to.
“And you chose to believe her.”
Daniel’s eyes were red.
“I was wrong.”
Margaret wanted to embrace him. A part of her always would. He was her son. She had held him through fevers, waited for him at midnight, and defended him against half the world.
