Chapter 25
Claudia changed too.
At least according to relatives.
We heard things indirectly.
She resigned from two charity boards.
She stopped hosting large family holidays.
Several relatives began keeping their distance.
Sarah’s younger brother started therapy.
Eventually he called Sarah.
They spoke for almost two hours.
Afterward, she sat at the dining table crying.
“Good call or bad call?” I asked.
“Both.”
He had apologized for staying silent.
He told Sarah he had been afraid of Jared for most of his life.
He admitted that Claudia had instructed everyone after the dinner to describe the incident as “a misunderstanding.”
He had refused.
That was why he had disappeared from family gatherings.
Sarah wiped her eyes.
“He said watching me leave made him realize he could leave too.”
I sat beside her.
“That’s a lot.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want a relationship with him?”
“I think so.”
“Then go slowly.”
She nodded.
Healing did not rebuild the old family.
It created different relationships from whatever pieces were healthy enough to survive.
May you like
Some pieces never returned.
That was okay.
